Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Fort Hood shooter selected 'personal kill zone:' prosecutor
• Staff Sgt. Bales apologizes for Afghan massacre
• No verdict yet in Fort Hood shooting trial
• 5 questions about Manning's future
• U.N. presses Syria to allow gas attack inspection
• US sanctions 4 Hezbollah militants across Mideast
• Syrian official blames rebels for deadly attack
• Vatican urges caution over Syria chemical arms claims
• U.S. soldier behind Afghan massacre apologizes for 'act of cowardice'
• WikiLeaks source Manning: 'I am female'
• Alleged gas attack exposes West's limits on Syria action
• Jury handed Fort Hood shooting rampage case
• Insurgent attacks across Iraq kill at least 24
• No closing argument from Fort Hood rampage suspect
• Analysis: Clock ticks while experts kept away from Syria gassing site
• U.S. imposes financial sanctions on four Hezbollah leaders
• Syrian forces bomb area of alleged chemical attack
• Prosecutor: No question Hasan was Fort Hood gunman
• Did the Arab Spring fail? Three views from Monitor readers
• A moment of truth in Damascus and Washington
• Bomber hits Iraq military headquarters, killing 14
• Former NFL player takes stand in massacre case
• Manning wants to live as a woman named Chelsea
• Timeline: Chemical weapons attacks
• Explosions shut down oil pipeline in Iraq
• Bradley Manning says he wants to live as a woman
• Britain is a more modest military power, new defence chief says
• Britain is a more modest military power, new defense chief says
• Jury in Fort Hood rampage trial set to deliberate
• PetroChina 1H profit rises on increased production
• New tactics emerge in fight for Manning's freedom
• Doctors to take stand for U.S. soldier's defense in Afghan massacre case
• Bradley Manning and leaks to news media: Is US pursuit too hot?

Fort Hood shooter selected 'personal kill zone:' prosecutor Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:52 PM PDT By Karen Brooks and Jana J. Pruet FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - The U.S. Army psychiatrist who has admitted shooting dead 13 people in 2009 chose one station at a Fort Hood medical facility as his "personal kill zone" because he knew it would be packed with soldiers, a prosecutor said on Thursday in closing arguments of a court-martial. Major Nidal Hasan, acting as his own defense lawyer, declined to make a closing argument after prosecutors finished making theirs, putting the case in the hands of the jury. ...

Staff Sgt. Bales apologizes for Afghan massacre Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:44 PM PDT JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) — The U.S. soldier who massacred 16 Afghan civilians during pre-dawn raids last year apologized for the first time for his "act of cowardice," but could not explain the atrocities to a military jury considering whether he should one day have a shot at freedom.

No verdict yet in Fort Hood shooting trial Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:43 PM PDT FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — The Army psychiatrist on trial for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood passed on his final chance to address jurors before they started deliberating Thursday, even after prosecutors insisted they hand down a verdict that would allow the death penalty.

5 questions about Manning's future Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:39 PM PDT The Army private sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking reams of classified information to WikiLeaks issued a statement Thursday as a transgender woman. The soldier asked to be called Chelsea Manning instead of Bradley Manning and stated a desire for hormone therapy. Here are some questions and answers about this change:

U.N. presses Syria to allow gas attack inspection Posted: 22 Aug 2013 03:53 PM PDT By Erika Solomon and John Irish BEIRUT/PARIS (Reuters) - The United Nations demanded Syria give its chemical weapons experts immediate access on Thursday to rebel-held Damascus suburbs where poison gas appears to have killed hundreds just a few miles from the U.N. team's hotel. There was no sign, however, that scientists would soon be taking samples at the scene of horrors that have drawn comparison with the gassing of thousands of Iraqi Kurds at Halabja in 1988. The administration of President Barack Obama said it was "appalled" by the death reports. A U.S. ...

US sanctions 4 Hezbollah militants across Mideast Posted: 22 Aug 2013 02:15 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. slapped sanctions Thursday on four members of the Shiite-based militancy Hezbollah, whose operations throughout the Mideast and beyond show how far the Lebanon-based group's reach has spread.

Syrian official blames rebels for deadly attack Posted: 22 Aug 2013 02:09 PM PDT DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria's deputy prime minister told The Associated Press that foreign fighters and their international backers are to blame for a purported chemical weapons attack near Damascus that the opposition says killed at least 100 people, the deadliest such attack in Syria's civil war.

Vatican urges caution over Syria chemical arms claims Posted: 22 Aug 2013 02:01 PM PDT The Vatican on Thursday called for caution over opposition allegations that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons in an attack in the suburbs of Damascus -- a charge denied by the authorities.

U.S. soldier behind Afghan massacre apologizes for 'act of cowardice' Posted: 22 Aug 2013 01:59 PM PDT By Jonathan Kaminsky TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - A decorated U.S. soldier who gunned down 16 unarmed Afghan civilians in a nighttime rampage last year apologized on Thursday at a sentencing hearing to determine his fate, calling the killings "an act of cowardice." Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has admitted to shooting the villagers, mostly women and children, in attacks on their family compounds in Kandahar province in March 2012. "I am truly, truly sorry to all the people whose family members I have taken away. ...

WikiLeaks source Manning: 'I am female' Posted: 22 Aug 2013 01:40 PM PDT The American soldier sentenced to 35 years in jail for passing secret documents to WikiLeaks asked to be considered a woman on Thursday and requested sex change therapy.

Alleged gas attack exposes West's limits on Syria action Posted: 22 Aug 2013 01:17 PM PDT A year after Washington said using chemical weapons would cross a "red line," the alleged gas attack outside Damascus has exposed how few options the West has to try to end Syria's violence.

Jury handed Fort Hood shooting rampage case Posted: 22 Aug 2013 12:54 PM PDT FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — The Army psychiatrist on trial for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood passed on his final chance to address jurors before they started deliberating Thursday, even after prosecutors insisted they hand down a verdict that would allow the death penalty.

Insurgent attacks across Iraq kill at least 24 Posted: 22 Aug 2013 12:32 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Insurgent attacks across Iraq, including a suicide bombing targeting a Shiite wedding party, killed at least 24 people Thursday, authorities said.

No closing argument from Fort Hood rampage suspect Posted: 22 Aug 2013 12:31 PM PDT FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — The Army psychiatrist on trial for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood passed on his final chance to address jurors before they started deliberating Thursday, even after prosecutors insisted they hand down a verdict that would allow the death penalty.

Analysis: Clock ticks while experts kept away from Syria gassing site Posted: 22 Aug 2013 12:05 PM PDT By Anthony Deutsch and Peter Apps AMSTERDAM/LONDON (Reuters) - The longer chemical weapons inspectors wait in a Damascus luxury hotel for permission to drive up the road to the site of what appears to be the worst poison gas attack in a quarter century, the less likely they will be able to get to the bottom of it. The poisoning deaths of many hundreds of people took place only three days after a team of U.N. chemical weapons experts arrived in Syria. But their limited mandate means the inspectors have so far been powerless to go to the scene, a short drive from where they are staying. ...

U.S. imposes financial sanctions on four Hezbollah leaders Posted: 22 Aug 2013 11:28 AM PDT By Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday imposed financial sanctions on four men it said were leaders of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, accusing them of trying to spread terrorism in the Middle East, including Syria, Egypt and Yemen. The United States considers Hezbollah a terrorist group and has sought to convince allies to adopt the same label, in part by highlighting what it says are illegal or destabilizing actions carried out by the group beyond Lebanon's borders. ...

Syrian forces bomb area of alleged chemical attack Posted: 22 Aug 2013 10:23 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government forces pressed their offensive in eastern Damascus on Thursday, bombing rebel-held suburbs where the opposition said the regime had killed more than 100 people the day before in a chemical weapons attack.

Prosecutor: No question Hasan was Fort Hood gunman Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:56 AM PDT FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Military prosecutors asked jurors on Thursday to unanimously convict the soldier accused in the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, insisting that evidence left "no doubt" that he planned and carried out the deadliest mass shooting ever on a U.S. military base.

Did the Arab Spring fail? Three views from Monitor readers Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:54 AM PDT On Aug. 20, the Monitor published a commentary from writer and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali. "So much for the Arab Spring," she begins, and then takes a hard look at the turmoil in Egypt, which is "back to a 'temporary' martial law that will probably last for years."

A moment of truth in Damascus and Washington Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:45 AM PDT By David Rohde The harrowing images emerging from Syria — from this hysterical young girl to these rows of corpses — should be a turning point in a conflict that has killed 100,000 people. The deaths, if proven, demonstrate either the depravity of Bashar al-Assad — or the rebels fighting him. But the Obama administration has spent so much time distancing itself and Americans from acting in Syria that a serious U.S. reaction is politically impossible in Washington. ...

Bomber hits Iraq military headquarters, killing 14 Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:44 AM PDT RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide bomber drove a vehicle packed with explosives to a military headquarters in western Iraq and blew himself up outside it on Thursday, killing at least 14 people, police said. The attack, which appeared to be the latest incident in a wave of violence by Sunni insurgents against the Shi'ite-led government, took place near the city of Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad. Most of the victims were soldiers. ...

Former NFL player takes stand in massacre case Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:40 AM PDT JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) — Former pro football player Marc Edwards took the witness stand Thursday at the sentencing of the U.S. soldier who massacred 16 Afghan villagers last year, telling jurors he remembered him as a great leader from their high school days.

Manning wants to live as a woman named Chelsea Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:11 AM PDT FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Bradley Manning wants to live as a woman named Chelsea and begin hormone treatment as soon as possible, the soldier said a day after being sentenced to 35 years in prison for giving government secrets to WikiLeaks.

Timeline: Chemical weapons attacks Posted: 22 Aug 2013 08:10 AM PDT (Reuters) - Syria's opposition has demanded U.N. inspectors immediately investigate a besieged rebel-held region hit by an alleged chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people. Following is a timeline of some of the major chemical attacks over the past century: * WORLD WAR ONE - In April 1915, Germany mounted the first large-scale chemical attack in warfare when it opened canisters of chlorine upwind of French, Canadian and Algerian troops at Ypres in Belgium, allowing prevailing winds to spread the gas. ...

Explosions shut down oil pipeline in Iraq Posted: 22 Aug 2013 07:42 AM PDT Officials say bomb attacks in northern Iraq have damaged part of a pipeline exporting oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan. A police officer and an oil official said Thursday that three bombs went off ...

Bradley Manning says he wants to live as a woman Posted: 22 Aug 2013 05:42 AM PDT FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Bradley Manning plans to live as a woman named Chelsea and wants to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible, the soldier said Thursday, a day after being sentenced to 35 years in prison for sending classified material to WikiLeaks.

Britain is a more modest military power, new defence chief says Posted: 22 Aug 2013 05:04 AM PDT By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should have lower expectations of its military power because government spending cuts mean it will not be able to fight every potential war it faces, the new head of its armed forces said. The European Union's biggest military spender is grappling with cuts which some of its top brass, as well as allies such as the United States, fear will make it difficult for it to fight another war on the scale of those in Afghanistan or Iraq. ...

Britain is a more modest military power, new defense chief says Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:47 AM PDT By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should have lower expectations of its military power because government spending cuts mean it will not be able to fight every potential war it faces, the new head of its armed forces said. The European Union's biggest military spender is grappling with cuts which some of its top brass, as well as allies such as the United States, fear will make it difficult for it to fight another war on the scale of those in Afghanistan or Iraq. ...

Jury in Fort Hood rampage trial set to deliberate Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:41 AM PDT FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Army Maj. Nidal Hasan is sending only a single piece of evidence to the jury room when deliberations likely start Thursday about whether he is guilty of the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood: an evaluation from his boss that called him a good soldier.

PetroChina 1H profit rises on increased production Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:31 AM PDT State-owned PetroChina's half-year profit rose to nearly $11 billion as Asia's biggest oil producer increased output of crude and natural gas. The company said Thursday its results were also helped by ...

New tactics emerge in fight for Manning's freedom Posted: 22 Aug 2013 01:16 AM PDT FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — The fight to free Pfc. Bradley Manning takes a new turn as he returns to prison to serve a 35-year sentence for leaking classified information and his lawyer says he will ask the Army for leniency — and the White House for a pardon.

Doctors to take stand for U.S. soldier's defense in Afghan massacre case Posted: 22 Aug 2013 12:21 AM PDT By Jonathan Kaminsky TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - Attorneys for the U.S. soldier who massacred 16 unarmed Afghan civilians last year will call witnesses on Thursday as they try to show he suffered a breakdown under the pressure of his final deployment to Afghanistan. The first witnesses to be called by the defense in the sentencing phase of Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales' trial will be a number of medical doctors flown in from across the United States, his attorney John Henry Browne told reporters. ...

Bradley Manning and leaks to news media: Is US pursuit too hot? Posted: 21 Aug 2013 04:42 PM PDT The Obama administration's zealous prosecution of those who leak classified information to news media is triggering a hot debate in America over where to draw the line between tight-lipped national security and the need for government transparency in a free society.

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