2012年11月20日星期二

Yahoo! News: Iraq

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Iraq


Army veteran drove float in Texas parade crash

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:39 PM PST

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2012 file photo authorities respond to an accident involving a trailer carrying wounded veterans that was struck by a train during a parade in Midland, Texas. 50-year-old Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan was driving the parade float that investigators say edged across a railroad crossing in Texas despite warning signals of a fast approaching train, the man's attorney said Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Four veterans and sixteen people were injured in the resulting collision. (AP Photo/Reporter-Telegram, Tim Fischer, File)The driver of a parade float filled with wounded veterans and their spouses that was struck by a freight train in West Texas is an Army veteran himself who is "in shock" over the accident that killed four people, an attorney said Tuesday.


Afghan revolving door: 5 US generals, 5 years

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 03:35 PM PST

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 9, 2011 file photo, Gen. David Petraeus, then top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, arrives for an interview at the NATO's head quarter in Kabul, Afghanistan. Nearly two dozen generals have commanded troops from the United States and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, since the American invasion in late 2001. While some analysts say fresh eyes are important, others wonder if the revolving door command has hurt U.S. continuity with critical Afghan partners. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq, File)For former CIA director David Petraeus, it was a one-year stint as top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. His replacement is scheduled to leave next year after 18 months in the job.


Celebrities Join #GivingTuesday Movement to Inspire Nationwide Day of Giving on November 27

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 03:32 PM PST

Diverse Collection of America's Top Talent Asks People to "Get out the Give"Washington, DC (PRWEB) November 20, 2012 A diverse group of musicians, actors, athletes, artists and the nation's top creative talents are joining the #GivingTuesday movement to help inspire the first national day dedicated to giving coinciding with the Holiday season. ...

US sues contractors over troop trailers in Iraq

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:26 PM PST

The U.S. government has filed a civil lawsuit accusing a Houston-based global construction company and its Kuwaiti subcontractor of submitting nearly $50 million in inflated claims to install live-in trailers for troops during the Iraq War.

Review: A dizzyingly implausible new 'Red Dawn'

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:04 PM PST

This film image released by Film District shows Josh Peck , left, Josh Hutcherson, center, and Chris Hemsworth in a scene from "Red Dawn." (AP Photo/Film District)The army invading the United States in "Red Dawn," an ill-advised remake of the campy 1984 original, was changed in post-production from Chinese to North Korean. With a few snips here, a few re-dubs there, the filmmakers re-edited and re-shot, fearful of offending China and its increasingly important movie-going market.


Texas veterans parade hit by train did not have city permit

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 12:50 PM PST

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Reuters) - The Texas parade where four veterans were killed last week when a freight train crashed into a float did not have a permit, the city of Midland said on Tuesday. A Union Pacific train on November 15 hit a flat bed trailer carrying wounded veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and their wives, killing four and wounding 16. The National Transportation Safety Board said the warning signal lights flashed, the alarm sounded and the arm came down on one of the parade floats before the train traveling at 62 miles per hour hit the trailer. ...

AP Exclusive: Syrian rebels seize base, arms trove

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 12:26 PM PST

Syrian army soldier prisoners stand near ammunition after Syrian fighters took over the military base in Aleppo, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra)After a nearly two-month siege, Syrian rebels overwhelmed a large military base in the north of the country and made off with tanks, armored vehicles and truckloads of munitions that rebel leaders say will give them a boost in the fight against President Bashar Assad's army.


Gaza’s Grim Prophecy

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 12:01 PM PST

The Gaza crisis teeters between the momentum of violence and a cease-fire all sides desperately want but no one can easily stomach. Many lives tragically hang in that precarious balance, but the outcome does not. Israel enjoys such overwhelming military superiority over Hamas militants that a tactical victory has always been assured, as evidenced by the lopsided death toll to date of over 100 Palestinians killed to three Israelis. The only question from the outset of Israel's launching of "Operation Pillar of Defense" in response to escalating rocket attacks from Gaza, was at what cost?

Florida Representative Allen West concedes defeat

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 11:10 AM PST

Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West speaks at a campaign stop with guests at SCORE South Palm Beach, a resource partner to the U.S. Small Business Administration, in Boca RatonMIAMI (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Representative Allen West, a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, conceded defeat on Tuesday after two weeks of challenges and partial recounts that only widened his Florida congressional opponent's victory in the November 6 election. West, a former Army lieutenant colonel who quickly became a controversial figure in his two years in Congress, acknowledged that Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy had won the election after the recounts he requested widened his margin of defeat. ...


Driver in Texas parade crash is an Army veteran

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 10:11 AM PST

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2012 file photo authorities respond to an accident involving a trailer carrying wounded veterans that was struck by a train during a parade in Midland, Texas. 50-year-old Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan was driving the parade float that investigators say edged across a railroad crossing in Texas despite warning signals of a fast approaching train, the man's attorney said Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Four veterans and sixteen people were injured in the resulting collision. (AP Photo/Reporter-Telegram, Tim Fischer, File)A 50-year-old Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan was driving a parade float that investigators say edged across a railroad crossing in Texas despite warning signals of a fast approaching train, an attorney said Tuesday.


'Cult of David Petraeus': Did media perpetuate a myth?

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 09:26 AM PST

The case of former CIA Director David Petraeus has not only caused head-scratching in the halls of the Pentagon and within the intelligence community. It has also inspired journalists to do a bit of soul-searching within their own ranks. The questions tend to go something like this: Were we too easy on him?

Prince of Blackwater heads to Africa

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 09:17 AM PST

Erik Prince, the man who founded Blackwater, the private military contractor that became synonymous with mercenary excess during the Iraq war, has apparently begun a bold new business venture: He's going to be investing with a group of unnamed Chinese government-linked companies in resource extraction and infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa.

Attorney: Driver in Texas parade crash 'in shock'

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 09:10 AM PST

Railroad investigators work the scene of an accident where four veterans were killed and 16 other people were injured when a train slammed into a parade float carrying the returning heroes to a banquet last Thursday in Midland, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. Federal investigators were trying to determine whether the two-float parade had been given enough warning to clear the tracks. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Llorca)A 50-year-old Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan was driving a parade float that investigators say edged across a railroad crossing in Texas despite warning signals of a fast approaching train, the man's attorney said Tuesday.


Even with Expansion of VOW Act TAP Classes, Veterans Need Private Career Coaching

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 09:02 AM PST

Many veterans will need one-on-one help targeting their federal employment search, writing or rewriting their resumes and preparing to succeed in job interviews.Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) November 20, 2012 The Veterans Opportunity to Work Act adds a new wrinkle on Nov. 21, 2012: The law will require retiring servicemen and women to attend the previously optional Transition Assistance Program (TAP) career class, which will be extended from 3 days to 5. ...

How Asia sees Obama's pivot to the Pacific

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 06:55 AM PST

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, attends the East Asian Summit Plenary Session at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Seated right is Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)A lot has happened in Asia while the United States was off fighting its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and most of it can be summed up in one word — China. Fueled by China's amazing growth and the promise of its huge and expanding consumer market, the Asia-Pacific region is now, as experts like to say, the global economy's center of gravity. Sorry, Europe.


Obama wades into thorny Asian territorial row

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 06:50 AM PST

U.S. President Barack Obama attends the East Asia Summit at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Obama is in Cambodia on the final leg of his three-country tour of Southeast Asia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)President Barack Obama's attendance at an annual summit of Southeast Asian leaders on Tuesday thrust him right in the eye of the region's most stormy dispute: the long-raging rivalry between China and five neighbors for control of strategic and resource-rich waters in the South China Sea.


Israelis ponder alternatives to 'mowing the lawn' in Gaza

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 06:30 AM PST

Not too many Israelis seem able or willing to articulate a long-term solution for Gaza. But Gilad Sharon, the son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, has offered an unequivocal strategy: Crush the coastal territory with such force that Gaza militants will never again be able to strike Israel.

ANALYSIS: Can Susan Rice Deal With Defections?

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 06:21 AM PST

ANALYSIS: Can Susan Rice Deal With Defections?It was President Obama at his most fired up.The question, from ABC's Jonathan Karl at his news conference last week, was about threats from Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham indicating they favored Watergate-style hearings about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi -- with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice at the center of that inquiry.Would those threats deter the president from naming Rice his next Secretary of State, Karl asked?"For them to go after the U.N. ...


Rice: Defections On The Left?

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 06:15 AM PST

ANALYSIS: Can Susan Rice Deal With Defections?By MICHAEL FALCONE (@michaelpfalcone) and AMY WALTER (@amyewalter) NOTABLES: HILLARY CLINTON HEADS TO THE MIDDLE EAST: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hastily departed Cambodia and is headed to the Middle East to deal with the escalating violence that has gripped the region for the last...


Give an Hour, PayPal, and Zoove Unveil **GAH Mobile Giving Platform

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 06:06 AM PST

**GAH is a mobile giving platform that will make donating securely from mobile phones to Give an Hour easyWashington, DC (PRWEB) November 20, 2012 Give an Hour™, a national nonprofit organization providing free mental health services to members of the military, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, their loved ones, and their communities, along with PayPal and Zoove, unveil **GAH, a mobile giving platform that will make donating securely from your mobile phone to Give an Hour easy. ...

Obama Asia tour doesn't go exactly according to plan

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 05:25 AM PST

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reacts as she arrives last for a meeting between President Barack Obama and Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda at the East Asia Summit in Phnom PenhPHNOM PENH (Reuters) - It may have sounded good on paper: Win re-election, fly to Asia, soak up the adulation of fellow world leaders, then go home with at least a few tangible rewards to show for a legacy-shaping U.S. strategic shift eastwards. But U.S. President Barack Obama's first post-election trip abroad did not work out exactly according to plan. To be sure, he had a chance to tout a foreign policy success with a landmark visit to the former pariah state of Myanmar, demonstrate he was serious about improved U.S. ...


Obama's second term: The case for pivoting to Asia

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 05:00 AM PST

President Obama with Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra: The president's choice of Southeast Asia as his first post-election trip was no accident.After more than a decade spending American blood and treasure in the Mideast and South Asia, the U.S. is upping its bet on the Pacific


Kurdish commander warns of battle against Iraq

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:56 AM PST

The commander of Kurdish Peshmerga forces warned Tuesday that his troops might attack Iraqi government soldiers at "any minute" after the central government sent tanks and armored vehicles toward the disputed city of Kirkuk.

General's wife speaks out on his misconduct probe

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 03:58 AM PST

This still frame made from video provided by CBS "This Morning" on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012, shows Rebecca Sinclair, wife of Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, during an interview with the television show. As Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair faces a string of sexual misconduct charges involving female officers, Rebecca Sinclair is seeking to stir a broader look at often taboo subjects in military marriages: adultery, the strain of separation and the stress of war. (AP Photo/CBS "This Morning") MANDATORY CREDITAs an Army general faces a string of sexual misconduct charges involving female officers, his wife is seeking to stir a broader look at often taboo subjects in military marriages: adultery, the strain of separation and the stress of war.


RuckPack Nutrition Shot Gets $150,000 Boost on ABC’s “Shark Tank”

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 03:04 AM PST

TV show investors double up with funds for caffeine-free beverage company; Marine Corps officer's start-up to expand production and distributionLos Angeles, Calif. (PRWEB) November 20, 2012 RuckPack, the caffeine-free nutritional supplement beverage developed by a Marine combat veteran, announced today it received $150,000 in venture funding – double the amount sought – from two investors on ABC-TV's popular entrepreneur reality show, "Shark Tank."Major Rob Dyer, the founder of RuckPack and a professor of economics at the U.S. ...

Social Media Marketing Agency, fishbat, Inc., Comments on the Launch of Military-Only Social Media Networking Site

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 03:02 AM PST

Social media agency, fishbat, Inc., weighs in on the launch of RallyPoint, a military-only Social Media Networking Site.Bohemia, NY (PRWEB) November 20, 2012 On November 20, 2012, social media marketing agency fishbat, Inc., comments on an article published by Hispanic Business that discusses the launch of a military-only social media networking site.According to [Hispanic Business, RallyPoint, having fully launched on Veteran's Day of this year, is a social networking site in the same vein as LinkedIn that can help military personal with their career advancement. ...

Turkey to soon request Patriots from NATO

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:58 AM PST

Turkey's foreign minister says his country will soon make a formal request to NATO for Patriot missiles to bolster anti-aircraft defenses along its border with Syria.

Arab foreign ministers on way to Gaza for solidarity visit

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:37 AM PST

CAIRO (Reuters) - Foreign ministers from a group of Arab states and Turkey are on their way to Gaza to show their solidarity with the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave which is locked in a fresh round of hostilities with Israel, an Arab League source said on Tuesday. The visit was planned at an emergency Arab League meeting in Cairo last Saturday, at which Arab ministers gave their backing to Egyptian efforts to try to secure a truce between the Israelis and the Palestinians. ...

Clinton heads to Middle East for Gaza crisis talks

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:22 AM PST

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Middle East for urgent talks with Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian leaders in his most decisive move yet to try to halt the Gaza crisis. Clinton left an Asian summit in Cambodia's capital, which she was attending with Obama, and headed for Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first round of a new U.S. diplomatic initiative. "We want to ... send a clear message that it's in nobody's interest to see an escalation of the military conflict," U.S. ...

Disabled Veterans National Foundation Offers Veterans Thanksgiving Message

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 12:26 AM PST

Thousands of soldiers will celebrate Thanksgiving in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Japan, South Korea or on a ship deployed at sea or port. ...

The Note's Must-Reads for Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 12:25 AM PST

The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com Compiled by ABC News' Jayce Henderson, Amanda VanAllen, Carrie Halperin, and Danielle Genet GAZA: The Hill's Julian...

Wife of accused Army general talks of taboo subjects: adultery, war's toll on military couples

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 12:12 AM PST

NEW YORK, N.Y. - As a U.S. Army general faces a string of sexual misconduct charges involving female officers, his wife is seeking to stir a broader look at often taboo subjects in military marriages: adultery, the strain of separation and the stress of war.

How Hamas' long-range rockets changed Israel and the Mideast

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 11:00 PM PST

An Israeli missile from the Iron Dome defense system is launched to intercept and destroy incoming rocket fire from Gaza on Nov. 17 in Tel Aviv.Missiles that can reach once-safe Tel Aviv have made the war real in a whole new way for Israelis


U.S. soldier enters no plea in 2009 Iraq shootings

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 10:33 PM PST

Sgt. Russell, Army sergeant accused of killing five fellow soldiers in Iraq, is seen in military photo provided by his father, Wilburn in ShermanTACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier accused of killing five fellow servicemen at a military combat stress center in Baghdad in 2009 entered no plea at an arraignment on Monday at a military base in Washington state. Sergeant John Russell, 48, is accused of going on a shooting spree at Camp Liberty, near the Baghdad airport, in an assault the military said at the time could have been triggered by combat stress. ...


Tuareg rebels battle Islamists for north Mali town

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 09:17 PM PST

Fighters from the Al Qaeda-linked Islamist group MUJWA stand guard in GaoBAMAKO (Reuters) - Islamist gunmen fought Tuareg separatist rebels on Monday in a battle for control of the town of Menaka in Mali's northern desert, close to the border with Niger, both sides said. The renewed fighting came as African leaders put the finishing touches to an international intervention plan to retake Mali's north from a patchwork of armed groups who the West suspects of providing a platform for militant attacks. "The fighting started early this morning and it is ongoing," said Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, a France-based spokesman for the independence-seeking MNLA Tuareg group. ...


U.S. says KBR boosted cost of trailers for troops in Iraq

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 06:25 PM PST

(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Monday that it had sued KBR Inc, accusing the company and a Kuwaiti subcontractor of improperly charging the federal government for the costs of delivering and installing trailers for troops in Iraq. The filing of the lawsuit came days after the Justice Department dropped a similar but unrelated case over KBR's costs for private armed security in Iraq. Filed in the U.S. ...

Veteran wounded in West Texas train crash plans lawsuit

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 05:33 PM PST

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Reuters) - Attorneys representing one of the U.S. military veterans injured last week when a freight train collided with a parade float in West Texas said on Monday they are preparing to file a lawsuit, probably against Union Pacific, the operator of the train. Lawyers Kevin Glasheen and Bob Pottroff said they are representing the family of 31-year-old Army Sergeant Richard Sanchez, one of 16 people injured in the crash on Thursday at the parade in Midland, Texas that was part of planned events saluting U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. ...
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