2013年9月4日星期三

Yahoo! News: Iraq

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Iraq


Obama clears first hurdle towards Syria strike

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 04:50 PM PDT

Vladimir PutinUS President Barack Obama cleared the first hurdle Wednesday in his race to win domestic congressional backing for strikes to punish Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons.


Has Pentagon chief reversed his position on striking Syria?

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 04:43 PM PDT

The nation's top military officer warned repeatedly in recent months that getting US military involved with Syria is a dangerous proposition that runs the risk of quick escalation.

20 questions about 20 big Toronto movies

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 04:11 PM PDT

By Steve Pond LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - This year's Toronto International Film Festival will screen 288 feature films, so singling out just 20 is an impossible task. But here, with the caveat that for every film on this list there are several deserving omissions, are 20 movies that will come to the fest bearing questions that need to be answered. GRAVITY Alfonso Cuaron's drama that maroons Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in space has drawn such a rapturous response in Venice and Telluride that there's only one question surrounding the film. ...

Red-stained hands wave in protest at U.S. hearing on Syria

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 04:00 PM PDT

U.S. Secretary of State Kerry faces protesters against a military strike in Syria, as he arrives at a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in WashingtonBy Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Red-stained hands of anti-war protesters waved sporadically for hours on Wednesday behind Obama administration officials urging lawmakers to authorize military strikes against Syria. The silent demonstration, led by the anti-war group Code Pink, involved about 10 activists. But an untold number of people worldwide saw it because the protest took place during a televised congressional hearing. ...


Obama grapples for majority on Syria action

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 03:33 PM PDT

US President Barack Obama speaks at the Great Synagogue and Holocaust Memorial of Stockholm on September 4, 2013President Barack Obama has signed up power brokers in Congress for strikes on Syria but, in an era of insurgent politics haunted by Iraq, there is no guarantee the rank and file will follow.


COMMUNITY ORGANIZER GOES TO WAR

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 03:30 PM PDT

Oh, how I long for the days when liberals wailed that "the rest of the world" hated America, rather than now, when the rest of the world laughs at us.With the vast majority of Americans opposing a strike against Syria, President Obama has requested that Congress vote on his powers as commander in chief under the Constitution. The president doesn't need congressional approval to shoot a few missiles into Syria, nor -- amazingly -- has he said he'll abide by such a vote, anyway. ...

2016 contenders: Why Syria is tough for GOP's Marco Rubio

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 03:23 PM PDT

Of all the presumed contenders for president in 2016, both Republican and Democratic, none is in a tougher spot over Syria than Sen. Marco Rubio.

Many vets' caregivers cut out from federal benefit

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 03:17 PM PDT

Chris Ott, right, helps her son, former Marine John Thomas Doody. J.T., who was shot while serving in Fallujah, Iraq., subsequently suffering an infection and a series of strokes that left him in a coma and relying on a ventilator to survive, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2103, in Riverview, Fla. The Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday it supports expanding an enhanced caregivers benefit for grievously wounded veterans but only if Congress comes up with the billions needed to fund it. Congress created the program in 2010, giving caregivers of seriously wounded veterans a stipend, health care and at least 30 days of respite care each year. But it was limited to veterans who served after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Lawmakers told the VA to study the feasibility of expansion after some veterans groups raised questions about fairness. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)WASHINGTON (AP) — John Thomas Doody was in a coma and on a ventilator, but his mom refused to follow a doctor's advice and put the Iraq war veteran in a nursing home.


Obama wins Senate panel's backing on Syria strike

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 03:00 PM PDT

President Barack Obama gestures as he answers questions during a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, at the Rosenbad Building in Stockholm, Sweden. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's request for speedy congressional backing of a military strike in Syria advanced Wednesday toward a showdown Senate vote, while the commander in chief left open the possibility he would order retaliation for a deadly chemical weapons attack even if Congress withheld its approval.


US Senate panel approves use of force against Syria

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 02:56 PM PDT

US Senate panel approves use of force against SyriaPresident Barack Obama's plan to conduct military strikes on Syria passed its first congressional hurdle Wednesday, paving the way for a full Senate debate on the use of force.


British PM warns danger of fresh Syria attack if no US strike

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 02:30 PM PDT

David Cameron is seen in 10 Downing Street in central London on August 30, 2013Blocked by his own parliament from taking military action against Syria, British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday urged the United States to act or risk further chemical weapons attacks by the regime.


Syria strike: Is loss of strategic surprise costing the US?

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 02:25 PM PDT

If the US launches cruise missiles against Syria it won't come as a surprise to Bashar al-Assad's regime. Delay and debate in the US have given the Syrian government lots of warning time to hide weapons and equipment and otherwise attempt to harden itself against possible air strikes.

Al-Qaida-linked Syria rebels hit Christian village

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 02:19 PM PDT

In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, smoke rises from buildings due to heavy clashes between Free Syrian army fighters and government forces in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)BEIRUT (AP) — Al-Qaida-linked rebels launched an assault Wednesday on a regime-held Christian village in the densely populated west of Syria and new clashes erupted near the capital, Damascus — part of a brutal battle of attrition each side believes it can win despite more than two years of deadlock.


Putin warns West on Syria action

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 02:14 PM PDT

AP Interview: Putin warns West on Syria actionPresident Vladimir Putin warned the West against taking one-sided action in Syria but also said Russia "doesn't exclude" supporting a U.N. resolution on punitive military strikes if it is proved ...


AP Interview: Putin warns West on Syria action

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 02:13 PM PDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to John Daniszewski, the Associated Press's Senior Managing Editor for International News, during an AP interview at Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013. Putin sought to downplay the current chill in the U.S.-Russian relations and said that the two countries need to cooperate on a range of issues in the interests of global stability, (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin warned the West against taking one-sided action in Syria but also said Russia "doesn't exclude" supporting a U.N. resolution on punitive military strikes if it is proved that Damascus used poison gas on its own people.


Vote puts Republicans mulling 2016 run on the spot

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 01:22 PM PDT

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., left, joined by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., right, questions Secretary of State John Kerry at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on President Barack Obama's request for congressional authorization for military intervention in Syria, a response to last month's alleged sarin gas attack in the Syrian civil war, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's plea to Congress for the go-ahead for military strikes against Syria is forcing ambitious Republicans weighing a White House bid to choose sides, as the party is bitterly divided over the U.S. role in foreign policy.


Rumsfeld docu director puzzled by ex-defense chief

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 01:19 PM PDT

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld speaks at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/The Grand Rapids Press, Emily Zoladz) ALL LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL TV INTERNET OUTVENICE, Italy (AP) — Director Errol Morris spent 33 hours interviewing Donald Rumsfeld for his new documentary "The Unknown Known." But Morris says the former U.S. defense secretary proved hard to fathom.


Iraqi Kurdistan gets three hours to build for 5,000 refugees

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 01:07 PM PDT

Trucks cut through the dry makeshift streets, spreading dust over the tops of the tents stretching through Kawergosk Refugee Camp near Arbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish province. Three weeks ago, this was empty land on the edge of a tiny town.

As Syria looms large, Rumsfeld squirms on Iraq in new film

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 01:06 PM PDT

Errol Morris arrives for the screening of "The Unknown Known" presented at the Venice Film Festival on September 4, 2013As the US mulls intervening in the Middle East again, former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld wriggles out of straight answers on the Iraq war in Errol Morris's new documentary, screening in Venice Wednesday.


Weapon of choice against al Qaeda, drones marginal in Syria

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 01:05 PM PDT

X-47B Unmanned CombatBy Tabassum Zakaria and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prowling the skies of Pakistan and Yemen, armed drones are America's weapon of choice in its war against al Qaeda, but they are unlikely to play a major role in any U.S. strike against Syria, underscoring the limitations of unmanned aircraft. Drones do not have the capability for air-to-air combat and would be vulnerable to Syria's defense system of surface-to-air missiles and radar which can track and shoot down warplanes, never mind slower-moving drones. ...


Syria forces possible GOP candidates to pick sides

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 12:59 PM PDT

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., left, joined by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., right, questions Secretary of State John Kerry at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on President Barack Obama's request for congressional authorization for military intervention in Syria, a response to last month's alleged sarin gas attack in the Syrian civil war, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's plea to Congress for the go-ahead for military strikes against Syria is forcing ambitious Republicans weighing a White House bid to choose sides, as the party is bitterly divided over the U.S. role in foreign policy.


US Families of Camp Ashraf Residents Demand US Protection for Their Loved Ones, Not More Hollow Promises

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 12:58 PM PDT

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR), on behalf of Iranian-Americans whose loved ones in Camp Ashraf in Iraq were executed one-by-one on September 1 by the Iraqi forces acting on orders from the Iranian regime, calls on the US President Barak Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to take immediate measures to provide the US-promised protection for our loved ones in camps Ashraf and Liberty. ...

Senate panel votes to authorize force in Syria

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 12:27 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel has voted to give President Barack Obama the authority to use military force against Syria in response to a deadly chemical weapons attack.

Al-Qaida-linked rebels attack village in Syria

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 12:26 PM PDT

In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian army fighters fire their weapons during clashes with government forces, unseen, in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)BEIRUT (AP) — Al-Qaida-linked rebels launched an assault on a regime-held Christian mountain village in the densely populated west of Syria and new clashes erupted near the capital, Damascus, on Wednesday — part of a brutal battle of attrition each side believes it can win despite more than two years of deadlock.


End Syria 'cycle of horror', swamped neighbours and UN say

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 12:17 PM PDT

Syrian refugees arrive in Turkey at the Cilvegozu crossing gate of Reyhanli, in Hatay, on August 31, 2013The UN refugee agency and Syria's overburdened neighbours Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq on Wednesday urged the international community to put differences aside and find a common solution to end the "cycle of horror".


Syria clashes in Christian village, near capital

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 12:12 PM PDT

In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian army fighters fire their weapons during clashes with government forces, unseen, in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)BEIRUT (AP) — Al-Qaida-linked rebels launched an assault on a regime-held Christian mountain village in the densely populated west of Syria and new clashes erupted near the capital, Damascus, on Wednesday — part of a brutal battle of attrition each side believes it can win despite more than two years of deadlock.


Director Morris defends his 'smiling Rumsfeld' film

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 11:58 AM PDT

Director Morris arrives for a photocall for the movie "The Unknown Known" during the 70th Venice Film Festival in VeniceBy Michael Roddy VENICE (Reuters) - American filmmaker Errol Morris defended "The Unknown Known" on Wednesday from criticism he failed to ask tough questions in his documentary profile of former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who oversaw the Iraq War. Rumsfeld, famous for his statement that "stuff happens" in response to the looting of Baghdad after the American-led invasion, is shown smiling almost obsessively throughout the film which had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. ...


US aims for psychological effect with strikes on Syria: experts

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 11:45 AM PDT

A United Nations arms expert collects samples on August 29, 2013, near DamascusLimited military strikes against Syria favored by President Barack Obama may have a psychological effect but little practical impact on the Damascus regime's firepower, experts said Wednesday.


Mayo Clinic Physician Answers Call to Army Service

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 10:00 AM PDT

FORT KNOX, Ky., Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the late '60s, when thousands of American troops were fighting in Vietnam, Dr. Walter Franz, now a family doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and a colonel in the Army Reserve, was beginning to pursue his college education which he hoped would lead to a degree in medicine.(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire. ...

Caucasus Islamists in Syria split with Qaeda-linked rebels: video

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 09:57 AM PDT

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A group of Islamist militants from Russia's volatile North Caucasus region fighting in Syria have split with a major al Qaeda-linked rebel unit to form an independent battalion, according to a video posted online. Militants who have travelled from Russia's North Caucasus region, where the Kremlin is fighting an Islamist insurgency, have emerged as some of the most effective fighters waging battle against President Bashar al-Assad. ...

French PM: Assad could strike again if no one acts

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 09:55 AM PDT

France's Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault delivers a speech at the National Assembly in Paris, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. Ayrault addressed parliament during a debate to rally support for a military strike again Syria. The U.S. and France accuse Assad's Syrian government of using chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack on rebel-held suburbs of Damascus that killed hundreds.(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)PARIS (AP) — France's prime minister made a passionate appeal Wednesday for intervention in Syria, placing the blame for a chemical attack on Syrian President Bashar Assad and warning that inaction could let him carry out more atrocities.


18 Shiite family members killed as Iraq unrest surges

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 09:54 AM PDT

Iraqi men inspect the site of an explosion on September 4, 2013 that took place the previous day in BaghdadAttacks around Baghdad and north Iraq left 33 people dead on Wednesday, including 18 members of a Shiite family killed by militants, the latest in a nationwide surge of violence.


German spy agency sees Assad behind gas attack, cites phone call

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 09:26 AM PDT

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad heads the plenary meeting of the central committee of the ruling al-Baath party, in DamascusBy Alexandra Hudson BERLIN (Reuters) - A Hezbollah official has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ordered a poison gas attack last month and that it considered the move a mistake which showed he was losing his grip, according to German intelligence. Participants at a confidential meeting of German lawmakers on Monday said the head of the BND foreign intelligence agency told them it had intercepted a phone call believed to be between a high-ranking member of the Lebanese Shi'ite militant group and the Iranian Embassy in Damascus. ...


France asks: Should Hollande be able to OK Syrian action unilaterally?

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 09:24 AM PDT

The French parliament has been convened today for a special debate on Syria, as the west considers whether or not it will strike the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Exclusive: Former Syria defense minister defects in break with Assad

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 09:05 AM PDT

File photo of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad arriving for 65th army foundation anniversary dinner in DamascusBy Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Amena Bakr AMMAN/DOHA (Reuters) - Former Syrian Defence Minister General Ali Habib, a prominent member of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect, has defected and is now in Turkey, a senior member of the opposition Syrian National Coalition told Reuters on Wednesday. If his defection is confirmed, Habib would be the highest ranking figure from the Alawite minority to break with Assad since the uprising against him began in 2011. It comes at a time when forces loyal to Assad have made progress against the rebels on the battlefield but face the possibility of a U.S. ...


Syrian exodus to go on if chemical attack ignored: Turkey

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 08:57 AM PDT

Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu addresses the media in AnkaraGENEVA (Reuters) - The Syrian refugee crisis may worsen if there is no international reaction in response to last month's alleged chemical weapons attack, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday. "If the same trend continues... and there is no international reaction to it, we are scared neighboring countries face much bigger numbers of refugees," he said at a news conference in Geneva hosted by the U.N. refugee agency. ...


Column: The politics of Syria

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 08:55 AM PDT

By Bill Schneider Congressional Democrats are in a bind. If they vote to authorize a military strike on Syria, they could be putting the country on a slippery slope to war. But if they vote no, they will deliver a crushing defeat to their president. What President Barack Obama did was call their bluff. Last week, more than 50 House Democrats signed a letter urging the president to "seek an affirmative decision of Congress" before committing to any military engagement. That was the Democrats' way of going on record to express reservations about what Obama sounded like he was going to do anyway. ...

Why democracy is an insufficient force against WMD

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 08:43 AM PDT

A protester waves signs during a case for U.S. military action against Syria in WashingtonBy John Lloyd The British parliament's refusal to countenance military intervention in Syria, and President Barack Obama's decision to delay a strike until Congress approves it, point to a larger, even more dangerous contradiction of the mass destruction age. That is, parliamentary democracy and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) sit ill together. Each confounds the other's natural working. This is for two reasons. ...


Analysis: U.S. strike on Syria could derail Iran president's master plan

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 08:42 AM PDT

Iranian President-elect Hassan Rohani speaks with the media during a news conference in TehranBy Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - If one thing could scuttle Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's big plan - to fix Iran's economy by winning some relief from Western sanctions - a U.S. strike on Tehran's ally Syria is it. Rouhani's June election landslide won him the cautious backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to pursue his pledge to engage with Western countries and attempt to ease Iran's isolation over Tehran's nuclear program. ...


How potential presidential contenders for 2016 are approaching Syria

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 08:27 AM PDT

Let the positioning begin!The potential presidential candidates for 2016 only have to look at Secretary of State John Kerry, the man making President Obama's case for military action against Syria, to be reminded of the perils of voting for a war.


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