Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Boehner's aboard: Obama gains Syria-strike support
• Obama launches push for support on Syria, calls for quick action in Congress
• War vote on Syria looms for White House hopefuls
• Texas Guard refuses to process same-sex benefits
• Kerry opens door to U.S. ground troops in Syria
• Baghdad cracks down on protests as Iraq democracy falters
• Wanted WikiLeaks founder joins UK film festival jury
• Car bombs across Iraqi capital kill nearly 60 people
• Obama gains Boehner's support for Syria strike
• How to win the vote -- and the war -- on Syria
• U.N.'s Ban casts doubt on legality of U.S. plans to punish Syria
• Obama's flawed case for a Syria strike
• Wave of bombings, attacks in Iraq kill at least 67
• US public opposed to Syria strike: polls
• 50 dead in wave of Iraq attacks centred on Baghdad
• UN urges safety for Iranian exiles after 52 killed
• WATCH: John Kerry tells the Senate that Syria isn't like Iraq
• Obama has bipartisan support for Syria strike
• A Russian peace mission to Washington over Syria?
• With eye on Syria, Israel tests missiles with US
• Syria neighbours brace for refugees fleeing US strike
• Wave of bombings, attacks in Iraq kill at least 47
• U.N. counts 52 corpses after violence at Iranian dissident camp in Iraq
• Syrian chemical weapons claims: How strong is the evidence?
• Obama Confident Congress Will Approve Syria Strike
• UN urges impartial Iraq probe into Iran camp dead
• Deaths, refugees and damage: Syria's crisis in figures
• Officials say wave of evening bombs hits Baghdad
• Obama confident Congress will approve Syria action
• America – and Obama – must be ready to act alone in strike against Assad, Syria
• Syrian refugees top 2 million – and Zaatari camp prepares for long haul
• Obama: Assad must be held to account
• Cabinet officials to talk to Congress about Syria
• Obama cites strategy to help Syrian opposition
• Syria, emerging market turmoil put U.S. in G20 hot seat
• In Mideast, view of U.S. as hesitant superpower sharpens
• Obama: 'I'm confident' of getting Syria resolution
• UN: Iran exile camp in Iraq unsafe after 52 killed
• 14 killed in shootings and car bombing in Iraq

Boehner's aboard: Obama gains Syria-strike support Posted: 03 Sep 2013 04:38 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama gained ground Tuesday in his drive for congressional backing of a military strike against Syria, winning critical support from House Speaker John Boehner while administration officials agreed to explicitly rule out the use of U.S. combat troops in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack.

Obama launches push for support on Syria, calls for quick action in Congress Posted: 03 Sep 2013 04:14 PM PDT By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Congress on Tuesday to act quickly on a resolution authorizing use of military force against Syria, as he ramped up a lobbying effort to win support for limited strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's forces. During a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House, Obama said he was confident Congress would vote in favor of military action and said the United States had a broad plan to help the rebels defeat Syrian government forces. "What we are envisioning is something limited. It is something proportional. ...

War vote on Syria looms for White House hopefuls Posted: 03 Sep 2013 04:05 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Backing President Barack Obama's plea for military action against Syria could haunt Senate Republicans thinking hard about a White House bid in 2016.

Texas Guard refuses to process same-sex benefits Posted: 03 Sep 2013 03:14 PM PDT AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas National Guard refused to process requests from same-sex couples for benefits on Tuesday despite a Pentagon directive to do so, while Mississippi won't issue applications from state-owned offices. Both states cited their respective bans on gay marriage.

Kerry opens door to U.S. ground troops in Syria Posted: 03 Sep 2013 02:48 PM PDT Then he tries to slam it shut: They wouldn't fight in 'civil war.'

Baghdad cracks down on protests as Iraq democracy falters Posted: 03 Sep 2013 02:41 PM PDT Many Iraqis are worried that democracy, never firmly rooted here, is sliding away from their country. On Saturday, Iraq's security forces stopped demonstrators from protesting against the parliament's pension program, which activists say is excessive. In Baghdad, police closed off several main roads and bridges to stop protesters from reaching designated gathering places.

Wanted WikiLeaks founder joins UK film festival jury Posted: 03 Sep 2013 02:27 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Fugitive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been named as a juror in London's Raindance Film Festival, though he will have to watch the entries more than a mile from the venue, on a DVD player in his sanctuary in the Ecuadorean embassy. Festival organizers said Assange, 42, had been chosen because of his impact on the way information was received and transmitted. "He is a subtle political thinker, a radical democrat, and an audacious dissident of the digital age," festival director Elliot Grove said in a statement. ...

Car bombs across Iraqi capital kill nearly 60 people Posted: 03 Sep 2013 02:27 PM PDT By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A series of car bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, killing nearly 60 people in predominantly Shi'ite districts, police and medics said. It was not immediately clear who had carried out the attacks, which appeared coordinated, but Sunni Islamist militants, including an al Qaeda affiliate, have been striking with a ferocity not seen in years. More than two years of civil war in neighboring Syria have aggravated deep-rooted sectarian divisions in Iraq, fraying an uneasy government coalition of Shi'ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish factions. ...

Obama gains Boehner's support for Syria strike Posted: 03 Sep 2013 02:17 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama gained ground Tuesday in his drive for congressional backing of a military strike against Syria, winning critical support from House Speaker John Boehner while administration officials agreed to explicitly rule out the use of U.S. combat troops in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack.

How to win the vote -- and the war -- on Syria Posted: 03 Sep 2013 02:13 PM PDT By Nader Mousavizadeh President Barack Obama's surprise decision to seek congressional authorization for punitive cruise missile strikes against Syrian government targets presents the West with a perhaps final opportunity to align rhetoric with reality, and policy with purpose, in its response to the Syrian civil war. ...

U.N.'s Ban casts doubt on legality of U.S. plans to punish Syria Posted: 03 Sep 2013 02:03 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that the use of force is only legal when it is in self-defense or with Security Council authorization, remarks that appear to question the legality of U.S. plans to strike Syria without U.N. backing. He also suggested that a U.S. attack could lead to further turmoil in conflict-ravaged Syria, where the United Nations says over 100,000 people have been killed in the country's 2-1/2-year civil war. ...

Obama's flawed case for a Syria strike Posted: 03 Sep 2013 02:01 PM PDT By Ari Melber We should not bomb Syria without a vital national security interest and a precise foreign policy objective. Right now, the Obama administration has not established either. Under the United States' legal and historical precedents, a president faces the highest burden for justifying military attacks that are essentially optional: actions not required for self-defense and which are not in response to an attack on the United States — or imminent threat of such attack. Intervening in the Syrian civil war fits that difficult category. ...

Wave of bombings, attacks in Iraq kill at least 67 Posted: 03 Sep 2013 12:12 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of coordinated evening blasts in Baghdad and other violence killed at least 67 people in Iraq on Tuesday, officials said, the latest in a months-long surge of bloodshed that Iraqi security forces are struggling to contain.

US public opposed to Syria strike: polls Posted: 03 Sep 2013 12:07 PM PDT Two new polls out Tuesday have found strong opposition to US military intervention in Syria among a war-weary American public despite increasing support in Washington for punitive strikes.

50 dead in wave of Iraq attacks centred on Baghdad Posted: 03 Sep 2013 11:45 AM PDT A wave of coordinated car bombs ripped through Shiite areas of Baghdad on Tuesday, the deadliest attacks in nationwide violence that killed 50 people, as Iraq grapples with surging unrest.

UN urges safety for Iranian exiles after 52 killed Posted: 03 Sep 2013 11:37 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The United Nations called on the Iraqi government Tuesday to do all it can to protect the dozens of Iranian exiles left in a camp north of Baghdad after confirming that 52 people were killed there earlier this week.

WATCH: John Kerry tells the Senate that Syria isn't like Iraq Posted: 03 Sep 2013 11:00 AM PDT A week after he made a forceful case for launching an attack on the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Secretary of State John Kerry testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he would not rule out deploying soldiers in Syria if the conflict escalated.

Obama has bipartisan support for Syria strike Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:58 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's call for a military strike in Syria won significant momentum Tuesday, with leaders of both parties in Congress announcing they are convinced that Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons against his own people and that the United States should respond.

A Russian peace mission to Washington over Syria? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:25 AM PDT Russia may send a parliamentary delegation to Washington to dissuade members of Congress from authorizing the use of force in Syria, and instead press for a return to the now stalled Geneva-2 negotiating process that is jointly sponsored by the US and Russia.

With eye on Syria, Israel tests missiles with US Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:06 AM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and the U.S. conducted a joint missile test over the Mediterranean on Tuesday, in a display of military prowess as the Obama administration seeks congressional support for strikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Syria neighbours brace for refugees fleeing US strike Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:59 AM PDT Syria's neighbours are bracing for an influx of refugees fleeing their country in fear of US-led military action, compounding what the UN has branded a "disgraceful humanitarian calamity."

Wave of bombings, attacks in Iraq kill at least 47 Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:50 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of coordinated evening blasts in Baghdad and other violence killed at least 47 people in Iraq on Tuesday, officials said, the latest in a surge of bloodshed roiling the country this year.

U.N. counts 52 corpses after violence at Iranian dissident camp in Iraq Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:45 AM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.N. team said on Tuesday it had counted 52 bodies in a makeshift morgue at an Iranian dissident camp, most with gunshot wounds and some with their hands tied, two days after violence that it decried as an "atrocious crime". The dissident Mujahadin-e-Khalq (MEK) group blamed the Iraqi army for Sunday's bloodshed, but an adviser to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose government is close to Iran, dismissed the accusation as baseless. Following a visit to Camp Ashraf on Monday, the U.N. team said most of the corpses had gunshot wounds to the head and upper body. ...

Syrian chemical weapons claims: How strong is the evidence? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:41 AM PDT The US "knows" that the Syrian government used a chemical weapon near Damascus on Aug. 21. France "knows" that happened too. The problem is that what France knows is different than what the US knows, and both can't be right.

Obama Confident Congress Will Approve Syria Strike Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:17 AM PDT President Obama said this morning that he's confident Congress will pass a resolution to intervene in Syria and that he's willing to be flexible and work with lawmakers on the specifics. "I would not be going to Congress if I wasn't serious about consultations and...

UN urges impartial Iraq probe into Iran camp dead Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:16 AM PDT The UN mission to Iraq called Tuesday for an impartial probe into the deaths of 52 Iranian exiles as the group they belonged to warned of an imminent troop offensive.

Deaths, refugees and damage: Syria's crisis in figures Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:16 AM PDT More than 110,000 people have been killed, more than six million uprooted and Syria's economy devastated in the two and a half years since its bloody conflict began.

Officials say wave of evening bombs hits Baghdad Posted: 03 Sep 2013 08:58 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say multiple car bombs have exploded within minutes of each other in Baghdad, raising the day's death toll to at least 33.

Obama confident Congress will approve Syria action Posted: 03 Sep 2013 08:39 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Tuesday he's confident Congress will authorize a military strike in Syria, and he won the support of House Speaker John Boehner, who said acting against Syria was something "the United States as a country needs to do."

America – and Obama – must be ready to act alone in strike against Assad, Syria Posted: 03 Sep 2013 08:37 AM PDT In the late 1980s, Saddam Hussein's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid explained how he was going to put down a Kurdish rebellion in northern Iraq. "I will kill all of them with chemical weapons," boasted "Chemical Ali," as he was later called. "Who is going to say anything? The international community?"

Syrian refugees top 2 million – and Zaatari camp prepares for long haul Posted: 03 Sep 2013 07:54 AM PDT They call the simple lane running through Zaatari refugee camp the Champs Elysées, though the camp is a far cry from Paris or any of its comforts.

Obama: Assad must be held to account Posted: 03 Sep 2013 07:48 AM PDT US President Barack Obama told congressional leaders Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must be held to account for using chemical weapons as he pressed for an endorsement of US military strikes.

Cabinet officials to talk to Congress about Syria Posted: 03 Sep 2013 07:41 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Tuesday he's confident Congress will authorize a military strike in Syria, as lawmakers were holding their first public hearing about how to respond to respond to last month's alleged sarin gas attack outside Damascus.

Obama cites strategy to help Syrian opposition Posted: 03 Sep 2013 07:39 AM PDT By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he was confident that Congress would vote in favor of U.S. military action in Syria and said the United States had a broader plan to help rebels defeat President Bashar al-Assad's forces. During a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House, Obama called for a prompt vote on Capitol Hill and reiterated that the U.S. plan would be limited in scope and not repeat the long U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "What we are envisioning is something limited. It is something proportional. ...

Syria, emerging market turmoil put U.S. in G20 hot seat Posted: 03 Sep 2013 07:33 AM PDT By Douglas Busvine MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Group of 20 cut its teeth in the global financial crisis of 2009, achieving unprecedented cooperation between developed and emerging nations to stave off economic collapse which has not been matched since. Four years on, shifts of power and money - led by capital flight from emerging markets - and gaping divisions over Syria will test the resolve of the G20 leaders when they meet in Russia's second city of St Petersburg this week. ...

In Mideast, view of U.S. as hesitant superpower sharpens Posted: 03 Sep 2013 07:21 AM PDT By William Maclean BEIRUT (Reuters) - The world's most powerful man decides to threaten Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "We will strike with all our might," says U.S. President Barack Obama, depicted in a cartoon in Saudi newspaper Alsharq. But when? Wearing a dreamy smile, Obama replies: "In a day, a week, a month, a year, 10 years - or however many years you can count. ...

Obama: 'I'm confident' of getting Syria resolution Posted: 03 Sep 2013 07:10 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he's confident he'll be able to work with Congress to pass a resolution authorizing military intervention in Syria.

UN: Iran exile camp in Iraq unsafe after 52 killed Posted: 03 Sep 2013 06:50 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The United Nations mission to Iraq says a camp north of Baghdad where 52 Iranian dissidents were killed this week is unsafe and is urging Iraqi officials to do more to protect dozens of remaining residents.

14 killed in shootings and car bombing in Iraq Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:17 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Shootings and a car bombing in and south of Baghdad killed 14 people Tuesday, the latest deaths in a surge of sectarian killings and other violence this year, Iraqi officials said.

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