Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Manning says gender ID dispute could go to court
• Al-Qaeda front group releases execution video
• Iraqi leader blames regional unrest for revival of al Qaeda in Iraq
• LAX ATTENTION TO WORLD EVENTS IS DANGEROUS POLICY
• Senators: What's the strategy in Syria?
• Iraq PM urges global fight on Al-Qaeda
• Iraqi PM: Terror 'found a second chance' in Iraq
• Key U.S. senators strongly criticize Obama's Syria policy
• Why spy on allies? Even good friends keep secrets
• Bomb attacks across Iraq kill at least 16
• Iraq attacks, including car bombs, kill 26
• On massacre anniversary Muslims urge Christians to stay in Iraq
• Syria Could Turn Into Somalia if Peace Talks Fail, Says U.N.
• Iraqi PM: Terror 'got a second chance' in Iraq
• Car dealer bombing, other Iraq attacks kill 12
• LIRS Helps U.S. Reach Refugee Admissions Target for First Time Since 1980
• Maliki asks US to help arrest Iraq's slide into war
• Officials: Attacks in Iraq kill at least 7 people
• Iraqi PM: US aid needed to battle al-Qaida
• 10 things you need to know today: October 31, 2013
• How to save Iraq
• World urged to help Jordan end restrictions on Syria refugees
• Iraqi tribes say Lukoil project must fuel better life
• 10 Things to Know for Thursday

Manning says gender ID dispute could go to court Posted: 31 Oct 2013 04:25 PM PDT HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — Imprisoned documents leaker Chelsea Manning says she'll go to court, if necessary, to get treatment for gender identity disorder, also called gender dysphoria.

Al-Qaeda front group releases execution video Posted: 31 Oct 2013 03:53 PM PDT An Al-Qaeda affiliated group has released a video purportedly showing escapees from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison carrying out executions, the US-based SITE Monitoring Service said Thursday. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility. The newly released 13-minute video contains, among other things, scenes from the July 21 jail break and the execution of an Iraqi army officer and two other men with gunshots to the back of their heads, according to SITE. SITE said the video was produced by the group's Al-Furqan Media Foundation and posted on jihadi forums and Twitter on Wednesday.

Iraqi leader blames regional unrest for revival of al Qaeda in Iraq Posted: 31 Oct 2013 03:08 PM PDT By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Thursday he was seeking U.S. help to counter a resurgent al Qaeda in his country and blamed the revival of the extremist group on power vacuums in the region rather than divisive Iraqi policies. On his first visit to Washington in two years, Maliki met with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army General Martin Dempsey before speaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He is due to meet President Barack Obama on Friday. Speaking to an audience of about 200, Maliki highlighted the extremist violence in his country while stressing U.S.-Iraqi relations and the suffering as a result of violence following the 2003 war to topple Saddam Hussein.

LAX ATTENTION TO WORLD EVENTS IS DANGEROUS POLICY Posted: 31 Oct 2013 02:30 PM PDT WASHINGTON -- I'm writing this on Halloween and know I should be writing about ghosts and goblins, but we've had too many articles already about the tea party Republicans. I could be tweaking the serious, older Republicans, asking whether they still have a party left, but I hate to see grown men and women cry. Moving over to the Democrats, two weeks ago you would have had to bang a few pots together to get them to stop bragging about getting the Republicans to shut up over the government shutdown. Roy Gutman, who has served as foreign editor for McClatchy newspapers and as senior editor of the U.S. Institute of Peace, is one of our most heroic foreign correspondents.

Senators: What's the strategy in Syria? Posted: 31 Oct 2013 02:24 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Obama administration officials defended U.S. efforts in Syria Thursday against blistering criticism from Republicans who claim Washington has goals, but no strategy to find a solution that would end the bloody conflict affecting nations throughout the Mideast.

Iraq PM urges global fight on Al-Qaeda Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:31 PM PDT Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Thursday pleaded for a major global effort to combat the "virus" of Al-Qaeda and terror networks, likening the fight to a third world war. In Washington for a series of meetings hoping to drum up more support for Iraq, Maliki said that with US help his country had defeated Al-Qaeda. His visit to the US comes as Iraq witnesses its worst violence since 2008, a surge in bloodshed that has killed more than 5,400 people this year despite several operations and tightened security measures. "We want an international war against terrorism," Maliki said in a speech to the United States Institute of Peace, calling Al-Qaeda and its ilk "a virus" which was trying to spread "a dirty wind" around the region.

Iraqi PM: Terror 'found a second chance' in Iraq Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:14 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Terrorists "found a second chance" to thrive in Iraq, the nation's prime minister said Thursday in asking for new U.S. aid to beat back a bloody insurgency that has been fueled by the neighboring Syrian civil war and the departure of American troops from Iraq two years ago.

Key U.S. senators strongly criticize Obama's Syria policy Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:32 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee strongly criticized the Obama administration on Thursday for lacking a plan to resolve the war in Syria. "I just don't get a sense that we have a strategy," said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, the panel's chairman, during a contentious hearing on Syria policy. Noting the war's human cost and recent gains by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, several senators made clear their disappointment at the administration's failure to carry through with promises of military aid for the rebels. "I think our help to the opposition has been an embarrassment and I find it appalling you would sit here and act as if we're doing the things we said we'd do three months ago, six months ago, nine months ago," said Senator Bob Corker, the panel's top Republican.

Why spy on allies? Even good friends keep secrets Posted: 31 Oct 2013 11:45 AM PDT In geopolitics, just as on the playground, even best friends don't tell each other everything. And everybody's dying to know what the other guy knows.

Bomb attacks across Iraq kill at least 16 Posted: 31 Oct 2013 11:39 AM PDT Bombs exploded across Iraq on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people, police and medical sources said. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks, but Sunni Islamist militants including al Qaeda, have been regaining ground in Iraq, seeking to undermine the Shi'ite-led government. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki flew to the United States this week seeking military supplies to counter insurgents who have pushed the civilian death toll above 3,000 so far this year. In the latest violence, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a group of people who had gathered to assess the damage from two earlier blasts in the town of Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad, killing four people, police and medics said.

Iraq attacks, including car bombs, kill 26 Posted: 31 Oct 2013 10:21 AM PDT Five car bombs north of Baghdad killed 19 people Thursday, while attacks elsewhere in Iraq left seven more dead, officials said, the latest casualties in a nationwide spike in unrest. The attacks, which wounded dozens, come as Iraq witnesses its worst violence since 2008, a surge in bloodshed that has killed more than 5,400 people this year despite authorities having carried out a swathe of operations and implemented tightened security measures. They struck as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visits Washington to press for military equipment and greater cooperation with the United States in fighting militants. In Thursday's deadliest attack, twin car bombs in a residential area in Tuz Khurmatu, a disputed town north of Baghdad, killed seven people and wounded 42 others.

On massacre anniversary Muslims urge Christians to stay in Iraq Posted: 31 Oct 2013 10:09 AM PDT Dozens of Muslims gathered Thursday outside a Baghdad church where an Islamist assault killed 44 worshippers and two priests three years ago, appealing for Christians to stay in Iraq. There was a heavy security presence outside, and people were barred from entering unless they could produce documents showing they were Christian. The attack, the single bloodiest one against Christians since the 2003 US-led invasion, shocked Iraq and the international community and sparked a massive flight of Iraqi Christians from the country.

Syria Could Turn Into Somalia if Peace Talks Fail, Says U.N. Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:42 AM PDT As long as foreign backers supported armed members of the opposition, Assad told former Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi in Damascus, his regime would not play a part. Never mind that his own forces are equipped with Russian weaponry and funded and assisted in part by Iranian cash, military advisers from Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Hizballah militants. If the talks do not take place the risk is that Syria spirals out of control, sucking an already volatile region down with it. Brahimi, a veteran peace negotiator, said in an interview on Monday that the Syrian situation had the potential to be more dramatic, devastating and difficult than Afghanistan, Iraq and even the 15-year-long Lebanese civil war, all of which he knows first-hand.

Iraqi PM: Terror 'got a second chance' in Iraq Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:23 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Terrorists "found a second chance" to thrive in Iraq, the nation's prime minister said Thursday in asking for new U.S. aid to beat back a bloody insurgency that has been fueled by the neighboring Syrian civil war and the departure of American troops from Iraq two years ago.

Car dealer bombing, other Iraq attacks kill 12 Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:12 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Back-to-back bombings at a car dealership in Iraq and other attacks killed at least 12 people Thursday, officials said, the latest militant assaults to strike the country.

LIRS Helps U.S. Reach Refugee Admissions Target for First Time Since 1980 Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:11 AM PDT WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) resettled over 10,000 refugees in fiscal year 2013, thereby contributing, as America's second-largest resettlement agency, to the United States reaching its refugee admissions target for the first time since 1980. "LIRS has resettled 10,095 refugees in 2013, including many refugee kids who arrived without a parent or guardian and in desperate need of protection and human care," said Terry Abeles, LIRS Director for Refugee Resettlement. "LIRS is proud to have worked with our outstanding affiliates to play a key role in the nationwide effort that brought 69,930 refugees to safety and new lives in the United States in fiscal year 2013," said Abeles. "Research shows that refugees become successfully employed, tax-paying citizens and contribute in a relatively short period of time to the well-being of the United States."

Maliki asks US to help arrest Iraq's slide into war Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:06 AM PDT Cities such as Fallujah and Tel Afar, painfully wrested back from Al Qaeda by US forces during the war, are now in Al Qaeda affiliates' hands, leaving Iraqi army soldiers largely confined to their barracks. Mr. Maliki told reporters as he left for the US Tuesday that Iraq urgently needed weapons to "combat terrorism and hunt armed groups." In an op-ed in The New York Times, Maliki said he would propose "a deeper security relationship between the United States and Iraq to combat terrorism and address broader regional concerns," among them Syria, when he meets President Barack Obama tomorrow. The senior official, who asked to remain anonymous, said Iraq's request would include armed drones for use against fighters in areas bordering Syria.

Officials: Attacks in Iraq kill at least 7 people Posted: 31 Oct 2013 05:39 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities say attacks in different parts of the country have killed at least seven people and wounded dozens.

Iraqi PM: US aid needed to battle al-Qaida Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:46 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A bloody resurgence of al-Qaida in Iraq is prompting Baghdad to ask the U.S. for more weapons, training and manpower, two years after pushing American troops out of the country.

10 things you need to know today: October 31, 2013 Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:30 AM PDT 1. Red Sox win the World Series at home The Boston Red Sox won the World Series with a 6-1 victory in game six over the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday night. "It was just an unbelievable feeling to do this in front of our fans," second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. The Red Sox, led by MVP David Ortiz, are the first team since the 1991 Twins to go from last in their division to a Series crown in one year.

How to save Iraq Posted: 30 Oct 2013 11:58 PM PDT Iraq's democracy is on the verge of collapse. As President Obama prepares to host Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's this week in Washington, it is a crucial moment for the U.S. to change course with its Iraq policy. As is, the U.S. is only contributing to Iraq's woes by clinging to an outdated "one Iraq" policy that emboldens Iraq's divisive central government. Washington must rapidly change course and partner with a key NATO ally, Turkey, to empower Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region and large Sunni minority.

World urged to help Jordan end restrictions on Syria refugees Posted: 30 Oct 2013 11:18 PM PDT Amnesty International on Thursday urged world support to help Jordan and other countries hosting Syrian refugees end border restrictions on those fleeing the conflict, saying hundreds are being turned back. In a new report, Amnesty highlights the difficulties faced by people who are trying to escape the conflict in Syria to neighbouring countries, mainly Jordan. "It is unacceptable that scores of people from Syria, including families with small children seeking refuge from the fighting, are being denied admission by neighbouring countries," Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa director, said in a statement. More than 115,000 people have been killed and over 2.1 million forced to flee -- mostly to Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt -- since the conflict erupted after a crackdown on protests that began in March 2011 against President Bashar al-Assad.

Iraqi tribes say Lukoil project must fuel better life Posted: 30 Oct 2013 10:56 PM PDT By Peg Mackey and Aref Mohammed Al-Toraba, BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Sheikh Mansour Hamid al-Imara clutches his prayer beads and watches a huge new oil facility nearing completion across the road from his village, hoping that Russian operator Lukoil will offer his poor tribesmen a better way of life. "When the lights are on at the Lukoil plant, it's a victory for us," he said, sipping tea with tribal elders in their reed meeting house, 65 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the southern oil hub of Basra. Their sheer number leaves Lukoil with a far tougher challenge than rival firms operating the huge but sparsely populated fields nearby. It has been an uneasy co-existence since Lukoil's arrival here two years ago sparked tribal disputes that set back the start of the $30 billion project - crucial to Iraq's oil expansion - by more than a year to early 2014.

10 Things to Know for Thursday Posted: 30 Oct 2013 09:10 PM PDT Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:

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