Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Foundation to Cover Sequester Cuts to Iraq, Afghanistan Scholarships
• Marines killed in training were young, lives ahead
• 24 Guantanamo Detainees on 'Hunger Strike-Lite'
• Kurdish rebel to call ceasefire in Turkey's best peace hope
• Asylum seekers file most claims in decade: UNHCR
• U.S. officials unsure whether chemical weapons used in Syria
• Guantanamo hunger strike stems from frustration: U.S. general
• Obama skeptical of Assad claim on chemical weapons
• Senate approves huge 2013 spending bill
• First Person: Three Deployments to Iraq, and Nothing Changed
• First Person: I Never Saw the Enemy's Face in Iraq
• First Person: I Left for Iraq Married, but Came Back to an Empty House
• War from a Son's Perspective
• First Person: A Single Mom in Iraq
• First Person: Serving as a Woman in Combat Long Before it was 'Authorized'
• First Person: Finding Love in War
• First Person: After Iraq, We Still Fight the Battles Within
• First Person: From Marriage Proposal to War in Iraq
• Senate set to approve huge 2013 spending bill
• Insight: Desperate for bailout, Cyprus plays risky geopolitical game
• Dr. Ben Carson: Can rising conservative star really fulfill GOP dreams?
• U.S. Army officer accused of Fort Hood massacre back in court
• Soccer-Brazil's Kaka gets his turn to impress Scolari
• Al-Qaida in Iraq claims wave of attacks
• Nuclear states divided on India joining export control group
• Report: Jobs Picture for Veterans Improved in 2012
• AMVETS Receives $250,000 C.O.D.E. Grant
• Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials
• US diplomatic presence in Iraq shrinking fast
• How to Write an Iraq War Apologia
• Behind Obama’s Big 'No!' on Syria
• Ambassador: No evidence of chemical use in Syria
• Amid civil war, Syrian port prospers under Assad's protection
• What Obama can accomplish in Israel
• As a Republican and Iraq war veteran, I support an assault weapons ban
• Five Best Wednesday Columns
• Iraqi tells inquiry of ill-treatment by British troops
• Give an Hour Volunteer Mental Health Professionals Give over 82,000 Hours in No-Cost Mental Health Services to Military, Veterans, and their Families
• WATCH: President Obama arrives in Israel, disses Congress
• Divides on Iraq and Immigration, Energy Drink Loopholes, and Women's Hoops

Foundation to Cover Sequester Cuts to Iraq, Afghanistan Scholarships Posted: 20 Mar 2013 04:40 PM PDT A Florida-based charity announced today that it will cover the funding cut from scholarships for children of military members who died fighting in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars because of sequestration. ABC News reported Tuesday that scholarships were being cut by as much as $2,133.81 per...

Marines killed in training were young, lives ahead Posted: 20 Mar 2013 04:55 PM PDT CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — They're called "leathernecks" or "Devil Dogs," but some of the Marines killed in a desert training accident this week were just a year or so out of high school, their boyish faces not yet weathered by life's hardships

24 Guantanamo Detainees on 'Hunger Strike-Lite' Posted: 20 Mar 2013 04:24 PM PDT Twenty-four of the 166 detainees at the Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba are said to be on a hunger strike, but maybe not in the truest definition of the phrase. In a briefing with Pentagon reporters today, Gen. John Kelly, the commander of U.S. Southern...

Kurdish rebel to call ceasefire in Turkey's best peace hope Posted: 20 Mar 2013 04:17 PM PDT By Ayla Jean Yackley DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan is set to call on his fighters to halt hostilities with Turkey on Thursday in a peace process which marks the best hope yet of ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 and handicapped the country for decades. In the mainly Kurdish southeastern city of Diyarbakir, hundreds of thousands will gather at Newroz celebrations marking the Kurdish new year to hear what Ocalan has said will be a "historic call". ...

Asylum seekers file most claims in decade: UNHCR Posted: 20 Mar 2013 04:07 PM PDT By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Nearly half a million people sought asylum in the developed world last year, a 10-year high, with the sharpest rise in requests from Syrians fleeing war and persecution, the United Nations said on Thursday. In all, 479,300 asylum applications were lodged in 44 industrialized countries, a rise of 8 percent on the previous year, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its annual report, entitled Asylum Trends 2012. "This is the highest annual total since 2003, continuing a trend of increases in every year but one since 2006," it said. ...

U.S. officials unsure whether chemical weapons used in Syria Posted: 20 Mar 2013 03:49 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle and Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to Syria said on Wednesday there is no evidence so far to back reports that chemical weapons were used in Syria on Tuesday, but the United States has a large team investigating the issue. "So far, we have no evidence to substantiate the reports that chemical weapons were used yesterday. But I want to underline that we are looking very carefully at these reports," Robert Ford, who was recalled from Damascus in February 2012, told a hearing of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. ...

Guantanamo hunger strike stems from frustration: U.S. general Posted: 20 Mar 2013 03:03 PM PDT By Jane Sutton and David Alexander MIAMI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 24 Guantanamo prisoners involved in a hunger strike that began six weeks ago are upset by the U.S. government's failure to close the detention camp and hope to gain publicity for their plight, a Marine Corps general said on Wednesday. General John Kelly, the head of U.S. military forces in the Latin America region, flatly rejected allegations from some prisoners that copies of the Koran had been mishandled, calling the claims "nonsense. ...

Obama skeptical of Assad claim on chemical weapons Posted: 20 Mar 2013 02:22 PM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the United States is investigating whether chemical weapons have been deployed in Syria, but he's "deeply skeptical" of claims by Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime that rebel forces were behind such an attack.

Senate approves huge 2013 spending bill Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:48 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a huge spending bill to keep the government open through the end of September, preventing a government shutdown but leaving in place automatic spending cuts that will mean job furloughs for hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

First Person: Three Deployments to Iraq, and Nothing Changed Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:27 PM PDT As we near the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Yahoo News asked U.S. servicemen and women who served to share their perspectives and discuss how it changed them. Here's one story.

First Person: I Never Saw the Enemy's Face in Iraq Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:27 PM PDT As we near the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Yahoo News asked U.S. servicemen and women who served to share their perspectives and discuss how it changed them. Here's one story.

First Person: I Left for Iraq Married, but Came Back to an Empty House Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:27 PM PDT As we near the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Yahoo News asked U.S. servicemen and women who served to share their perspectives and discuss how it changed them. Here's one story.

War from a Son's Perspective Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:27 PM PDT As we near the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Yahoo News asked U.S. servicemen and women who served to share their perspectives and discuss how it changed them. Here's one story.

First Person: A Single Mom in Iraq Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:27 PM PDT As we near the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Yahoo News asked U.S. servicemen and women who served to share their perspectives and discuss how it changed them. Here's one story.

First Person: Serving as a Woman in Combat Long Before it was 'Authorized' Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:27 PM PDT As we near the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Yahoo News asked U.S. servicemen and women who served to share their perspectives and discuss how it changed them. Here's one story.

First Person: Finding Love in War Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:27 PM PDT As we near the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Yahoo News asked U.S. servicemen and women who served to share their perspectives and discuss how it changed them. Here's one story.

First Person: After Iraq, We Still Fight the Battles Within Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:27 PM PDT As we near the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Yahoo News asked U.S. servicemen and women who served to share their perspectives and discuss how it changed them. Here's one story.

First Person: From Marriage Proposal to War in Iraq Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:27 PM PDT As we near the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Yahoo News asked U.S. servicemen and women who served to share their perspectives and discuss how it changed them. Here's one story.

Senate set to approve huge 2013 spending bill Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:20 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate moved toward a vote Wednesday on a huge, bipartisan spending bill aimed at keeping the government running through September and ruling out the chance of a shutdown later this month.

Insight: Desperate for bailout, Cyprus plays risky geopolitical game Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:12 PM PDT By Peter Apps and Henning Gloystein LONDON (Reuters) - As it tries to play Russia off against Europe to salvage its economy, Cyprus has embarked on a high-stakes poker game that could see almost everyone lose. Its banks shattered by exposure to Greek debt, the island state urgently needs a way of bailing out its financial system. Cypriot policymakers hope they can begin to monetise as yet undeveloped offshore gas fields and position themselves as a vital source of energy for Europe. ...

Dr. Ben Carson: Can rising conservative star really fulfill GOP dreams? Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:05 PM PDT Ben Carson, a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins University, is conservatives' newest darling. He is smart, successful, affable – and African American.

U.S. Army officer accused of Fort Hood massacre back in court Posted: 20 Mar 2013 12:47 PM PDT By Don Bolding FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan, charged with killing 13 people during a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, will face a court martial trial at the base, a military judge ruled on Wednesday, rejecting his request to change the venue. Judge Tara Osborn, a U.S. Army colonel, last month set July 1 for the start of the court martial for Hasan, who has been in custody since the shooting rampage that also wounded 32 people. Hasan could face the death penalty if convicted. ...

Soccer-Brazil's Kaka gets his turn to impress Scolari Posted: 20 Mar 2013 12:44 PM PDT By Brian Homewood NYON, Switzerland, March 20 (Reuters) - Brazil's matches against Italy and Russia are billed as friendlies but could be an acid test for midfielder Kaka's hopes of playing in his fourth World Cup next year. Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, taking charge of his second match since being re-appointed in November, said on Wednesday that Kaka will be under the microscope as he continues to look for his ideal team for the Confederations Cup in June and next year's World Cup. ...

Al-Qaida in Iraq claims wave of attacks Posted: 20 Mar 2013 12:17 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — An al-Qaida in Iraq front group claimed responsibility Wednesday for bloody attacks that killed 65 people across the country a day earlier, underscoring the terror group's potency a decade after the U.S.-led invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.

Nuclear states divided on India joining export control group Posted: 20 Mar 2013 11:35 AM PDT By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States and three other big powers this week argued for allowing nuclear-armed India into an atomic export control group, but China and several European states appeared doubtful about the move, diplomats said on Wednesday. They said the divisions were in evidence during closed-door talks of the 46-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group on the sensitive issue of whether India could join and become the NSG's only member that is outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). ...

Report: Jobs Picture for Veterans Improved in 2012 Posted: 20 Mar 2013 11:30 AM PDT Report indicates that unemployment rate for new generation of veterans fell nearly 20 percent

AMVETS Receives $250,000 C.O.D.E. Grant Posted: 20 Mar 2013 10:59 AM PDT Cmdr. Cleve Geer announces 20 new AMVETS Career Centers to open nationwide in 2013 with funding from Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty Endowment WASHINGTON, March 20, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, March 20, AMVETS National Commander Cleve Geer announced plans to expand the AMVETS Career Center Program with 20 new locations nationwide with the assistance of a $250,000 grant from Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty Endowment. ...

Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials Posted: 20 Mar 2013 10:49 AM PDT Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

US diplomatic presence in Iraq shrinking fast Posted: 20 Mar 2013 10:48 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A decade after the start of the war in Iraq, the American diplomatic footprint here is shrinking fast.

How to Write an Iraq War Apologia Posted: 20 Mar 2013 10:22 AM PDT The Iraq war contributed many things to our culture, like enhanced interrogation techniques, axis of evil, zip-cuffs, YouTubes of soldiers dancing to Ke$ha, and the anniversary ritual of the Iraq War Apology. On the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, it's important to remember that one of the most prominent critics of the war at the time was Janeane Garofalo. Yes, Janeane Garofalo, the second most successful alum of The Ben Stiller Show. It means a lot of other people have some explaining to do. The Iraq War Apology generally follows a formula. ...

Behind Obama’s Big 'No!' on Syria Posted: 20 Mar 2013 10:09 AM PDT It's too generous to say President Obama is "leading from behind" on Syria. A better description might be that he's getting dragged in by the ear. Yet bit by bit, pressured mainly by France but also by shifting opinion in Washington, the administration is sending signals that it knows it can't avoid involvement in the Syrian civil war forever.

Ambassador: No evidence of chemical use in Syria Posted: 20 Mar 2013 10:07 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Syria said Wednesday the Obama administration has no evidence to support President Bashar Assad's claims that U.S.-backed rebels used chemical weapons in northern Syria, but is looking carefully at the conflicting reports.

Amid civil war, Syrian port prospers under Assad's protection Posted: 20 Mar 2013 09:56 AM PDT TARTOUS, Syria (Reuters) - This once sleepy Syrian port now buzzes with shoppers milling about crowded market places. Lines of cars wait patiently at traffic lights - a rare mark of order in a country where most cities have erupted into street wars. Tartous remains an island of calm - for now. And with a ring of army checkpoints carefully guarding its outskirts, it is flourishing amid Syria's destruction. ...

What Obama can accomplish in Israel Posted: 20 Mar 2013 08:00 AM PDT Despite low expectations, Obama has a long to-do list

As a Republican and Iraq war veteran, I support an assault weapons ban Posted: 20 Mar 2013 07:52 AM PDT Like many Americans, I am disappointed that the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban will not be included in the Senate bill on gun control. It is my hope that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) of California, who introduced the legislation, will bring the assault weapons ban provision to the floor as a separate measure in the form of an amendment.

Five Best Wednesday Columns Posted: 20 Mar 2013 07:42 AM PDT Matt Yglesias at Slate on the new news media To study the media industry is to hear, loudly and repeatedly, that the sky is falling, with foreign bureaus shuttering and entire newsrooms being laid off. But to the news consumer, writes Matt Yglesias, things have never been better. ...

Iraqi tells inquiry of ill-treatment by British troops Posted: 20 Mar 2013 07:23 AM PDT By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - An Iraqi man told a public inquiry in London on Wednesday that he was beaten, threatened with a metal tent pole and subjected to sleep deprivation by occupying British troops. Madhi Jasim Abdullah Al-Behadili, 26, is the first of nine Iraqi former detainees who will give evidence at the Al-Sweady inquiry into alleged crimes by British troops after the battle of Danny Boy on May 14, 2004. "I felt they were out to kill us," Al-Behadili told the inquiry on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. ...

Give an Hour Volunteer Mental Health Professionals Give over 82,000 Hours in No-Cost Mental Health Services to Military, Veterans, and their Families Posted: 20 Mar 2013 07:12 AM PDT Nonprofit provides 82,000 hours of no-cost mental health services to members of the military, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, their loved ones, and their communities.Washington, DC (PRWEB) March 20, 2013 Give an Hour™ (http://www.giveanhour.org), a national nonprofit organization providing mental health services, at no charge, to members of the military, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, their loved ones, and their communities, reports that volunteer mental health professionals in their network have given more than 82,000 hours of mental health services. ...

WATCH: President Obama arrives in Israel, disses Congress Posted: 20 Mar 2013 06:32 AM PDT Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu share a good laugh at Congress' expense

Divides on Iraq and Immigration, Energy Drink Loopholes, and Women's Hoops Posted: 20 Mar 2013 06:21 AM PDT Behind the New York Times pay wall, you only get 10 free clicks a month. For those worried about hitting their limit, we're taking a look through the paper each morning to find the stories that can make your clicks count.

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