Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• New conditions appear to push U.S., Afghanistan farther from striking security deal
• Obama takes on critics of Iran deal, praises diplomacy
• Analysis: Iran deal bears Obama's personal stamp
• US warns Karzai it may leave no troops in Afghanistan
• Does Iran nuclear deal pave way for Syria compromise? Not so fast
• Obama takes on critics of Iran nuclear deal
• US, Russia throw weight behind Syria peace talks set for Jan 22
• U.S. Families of Camp Liberty Residents to Join the Worldwide Hunger Strikes Demanding Release of Seven Iranian Dissidents Taken Hostage by Iraq, Says USCCAR
• In 'Shadow Walk,' a valley of death made real
• 35 dead in Iraq attacks as France offers help
• Lawmakers Want More Info on Terrorists Possibly Posing as Refugees in US
• Two bombs outside Baghdad cafe kill 17 people
• Separate attacks in Iraq kill 27
• 34 dead in Iraq attacks as France offers help
• Separate attacks in Iraq kill 24
• Saudis say Iran deal can lead to wider nuclear solution
• Separate attacks in Iraq kill 11
• Abercorn International School approaches Thanksgiving with local reflection on a global scale
• Five Best Monday Columns
• Syria rebels 'press advance around Damascus, Aleppo'
• India says ready to start Iran oil cash transfer after deal
• Bomb attacks in Iraq kill 5 troops near Baghdad
• Why Hamid Karzai won't sign a popular U.S.-Afghanistan security pact
• Insight: Weak at home, France seeks grandeur abroad
• Qatar, Kuwait welcome Iran's nuclear deal with world powers
• U.S. Influence Fades As Islamist Rebels Unite in Syria
• Iran deal could affect talks on Syria, Palestine

New conditions appear to push U.S., Afghanistan farther from striking security deal Posted: 25 Nov 2013 04:56 PM PST By Jessica Donati and Mark Felsenthal KABUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Afghanistan and the United States appeared even farther from a deal on Tuesday that would allow U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014 as a meeting between President Hamid Karzai and a senior U.S. official revealed new differences over the controversial agreement. Afghan President Hamid Karzai told U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice, who met with the Afghan leader on Monday during a visit to Kabul, that the United States must put an immediate end to military raids on Afghan homes and demonstrate its commitment to peace talks before the Afghan leader would sign a bilateral security pact, Karzai's spokesman said.

Obama takes on critics of Iran deal, praises diplomacy Posted: 25 Nov 2013 04:50 PM PST By Jeff Mason SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama took on critics of a newly brokered nuclear deal with Iran on Monday by saying their tough talk was good for politics but not for U.S. security. Top Republicans - as well as U.S. ally Israel - have criticized Obama for agreeing to the deal, which the United States and its partners say may ultimately prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear bomb. Under the interim deal, Iran will accept restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for limited relief from economic sanctions that have gradually crippled its economy and slashed its oil exports. Sunday's agreement, hammered out in marathon talks between six major powers and Iran in Geneva, aims to buy time to negotiate a comprehensive deal that the Obama administration hopes will lay to rest international concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

Analysis: Iran deal bears Obama's personal stamp Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:28 PM PST By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When push came to shove in the closing hours of marathon negotiations in Geneva on Iran's nuclear program, it was President Barack Obama, back at the White House, who approved the final language on the U.S. side before the historic deal was clinched. It was perhaps only fitting that Obama had the last say. His push for a thaw with Tehran, a longtime U.S. foe, dates back to before his presidency, and no other foreign policy issue bears his personal stamp more since he took office in early 2009. Behind the risky diplomatic opening is a desire for a big legacy-shaping achievement and a deep aversion to getting America entangled in another Middle East conflict - motives that override misgivings to the Iran deal expressed by close allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.

US warns Karzai it may leave no troops in Afghanistan Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:12 PM PST US national security advisor Susan Rice told Afghan President Hamid Karzai Monday that a delay in signing a troubled security deal risked the US pulling troops out of the country completely next year. The US said that Karzai had called for "new conditions" for signing the bilateral security agreement (BSA) to allow US forces to remain in the country after 2014. "Ambassador Rice stressed... that deferring the signature of the agreement until after next year's elections is not viable" when she met with Karzai at the end of a three-day trip to Kabul, it added. But "in response, President Karzai outlined new conditions for signing the agreement and indicated he is not prepared to sign the BSA promptly".

Does Iran nuclear deal pave way for Syria compromise? Not so fast Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:25 PM PST Peace talks between the Syrian regime and rebels have been announced for Jan. 22 in Geneva, the same city that the nuclear talks were held in. But the key to understanding progress on Iran's nuclear program is this: There was a middle ground available that allowed everybody to get something that they wanted. For Iran and its new centrist President Hassan Rouhani, who took office a little over three months ago with a pledge of more openness to the world and a stronger economy, there is relief from sanctions that have taken a huge bite out of the Iranian economy. For the US, there is a chance of reassurance that an Iranian nuclear bomb isn't looming, and at the cheap price of diplomacy, rather than the dear and uncertain one of war.

Obama takes on critics of Iran nuclear deal Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:04 PM PST By Jeff Mason SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama took on critics of a newly brokered nuclear deal with Iran on Monday by saying tough talk was good for politics but not good for U.S. security. Top Republicans - as well as U.S. ally Israel - have criticized Obama for agreeing to the deal, which the United States and its partners say will prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear bomb. Obama has long been criticized for his desire to engage with U.S. foes. As a presidential candidate in 2008, the former Illinois senator took heat for saying he would talk to Iran, which has not had diplomatic relations with Washington for decades.

US, Russia throw weight behind Syria peace talks set for Jan 22 Posted: 25 Nov 2013 12:44 PM PST The United States and Russia on Monday threw their full weight behind long-delayed Syria peace talks that the UN said finally would be held January 22, though it was not yet clear whether key sponsors of the warring sides would attend. "We haven't established a list yet," UN and Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said. That left open the participation of Saudi Arabia, seen as a major sponsor the majority Sunni Muslim rebels, and Iran, which steadfastly back the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which is dominated by Alawites derived from Islam's Shiite current. "These two countries will certainly be among the possible participants," Brahimi said after closed-door talks in Geneva with US and Russian officials.

U.S. Families of Camp Liberty Residents to Join the Worldwide Hunger Strikes Demanding Release of Seven Iranian Dissidents Taken Hostage by Iraq, Says USCCAR Posted: 25 Nov 2013 11:49 AM PST WASHINGTON, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. families of thousands of Iranian dissidents, members of Iran's principal opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), who reside in Camp Liberty, Iraq, have volunteered to join an indefinite hunger strike outside the White House beginning today. The DC hunger strikers will be joining hundreds of others at Camp Liberty, in London, Berlin, Rome, Geneva, Stockholm, Ottawa and Melbourne, who have been on a hunger strike since September 2, 2013, demanding action to secure the release of seven residents of Camp Ashraf, including six women, taken hostage by the Iraqi security forces during the September 1 massacre at the Camp. The deadly assault left 52 of the 101 residents murdered, execution-style, by security forces under the command of the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The report released by the National Council of Resistance of Iran on November 24 states that information obtained from inside the Iranian regime reveal that the seven hostages continue to be held in Iraq in the safe houses affiliated with al-Maliki in the Green Zone area of Baghdad.

In 'Shadow Walk,' a valley of death made real Posted: 25 Nov 2013 11:33 AM PST Walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and there is no reason to fear evil, but Max Brooks and Mark Waid have taken the 23rd Psalm and made it real: A nexus where hell and earth meet and evil is poised to explode into the world of man.

35 dead in Iraq attacks as France offers help Posted: 25 Nov 2013 10:48 AM PST Iraq attacks, including a market bombing and the assassination of a former MP, killed 35 people Monday as France offered to help combat a surge in bloodshed ahead of elections. The protracted rise in violence, which has seen at least 500 people killed already this month, has fuelled fears Iraq is on the brink of plunging back into the brutal Sunni-Shiite sectarian war that plagued it years ago. Officials have also voiced concern over a resurgent Al-Qaeda emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has provided jihadist fighters in Iraq with rear bases to plan operations. Monday's attacks struck the capital and predominantly Sunni Arab areas north of Baghdad that have borne the brunt of the worsening unrest, which has killed more than 5,900 people this year.

Lawmakers Want More Info on Terrorists Possibly Posing as Refugees in US Posted: 25 Nov 2013 10:36 AM PST ABC News Reported Possibly 'Dozens' of Terrorists May Have Slipped Into US

Two bombs outside Baghdad cafe kill 17 people Posted: 25 Nov 2013 10:12 AM PST Two bombs exploded outside a cafe in Baghdad on Monday, killing 17 people and wounding 37, police and medical sources said, the latest in a series of attacks on the few social meeting places left open in the Iraqi capital. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast in the mainly Shi'ite Muslim eastern district of Sadriya. But Sunni Muslim insurgents, some linked to al Qaeda, have regularly bombed cafes, restaurants and sports matches since the start of 2013, amid the country's worst spate of violence in five years. It was the third attack reported around Baghdad on Monday.

Separate attacks in Iraq kill 27 Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:42 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — A double bombing at a market and other attacks across Iraq killed at least 27 on Monday, officials said.

34 dead in Iraq attacks as France offers help Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:39 AM PST Iraq attacks, including a market bombing and the assassination of a former MP, killed 34 people Monday as France offered to help combat a surge in bloodshed ahead of elections. The protracted rise in violence, which has seen at least 500 people killed already this month, has fuelled fears Iraq is on the brink of plunging back into the brutal Sunni-Shiite sectarian war that plagued it years ago. Officials have also voiced concern over a resurgent Al-Qaeda emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has provided jihadist fighters in Iraq with rear bases to plan operations. Monday's attacks struck the capital and predominantly Sunni Arab areas north of Baghdad that have borne the brunt of the worsening unrest, which has killed more than 5,900 people this year.

Separate attacks in Iraq kill 24 Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:18 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — A double bombing at a market and other attacks across Iraq killed at least 24 on Monday, officials said.

Saudis say Iran deal can lead to wider nuclear solution Posted: 25 Nov 2013 08:08 AM PST By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states, despite their mistrust of Iran, gave a qualified welcome on Monday to Tehran's interim deal with world powers over its disputed nuclear program. U.S.-allied Saudi Arabia, locked in a struggle with Iran for influence across the Middle East, is worried that its adversary is secretly seeking atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies. "If there was goodwill, this agreement could represent a preliminary step towards a comprehensive solution to the Iranian nuclear program," Saudi Arabia's cabinet said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA. Israel condemned the agreement between Iran and world powers as a historic mistake that left the production of atomic weapons within Tehran's reach, and said it would not be bound by it.

Separate attacks in Iraq kill 11 Posted: 25 Nov 2013 07:59 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — A bomb at a market and other attacks killed at least 11 in and around Baghdad on Monday, Iraqi officials said.

Abercorn International School approaches Thanksgiving with local reflection on a global scale Posted: 25 Nov 2013 07:00 AM PST AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The students of Abercorn International School are learning how to build a community. The last few weeks have offered the opportunity for Abercorn students to learn, honor and give.  The students and staff at Abercorn were honored to celebrate Veterans Day with three members of the community who are veterans; a parent who served in Korea, a faculty member who served in Iraq, and a Lakeway police officer who trained with the Air Force Special Operations.

Five Best Monday Columns Posted: 25 Nov 2013 06:59 AM PST Ben Smith and Miriam Alder at BuzzFeed on Obama's Iran deal. President "Obama was elected as an anti-war figure, but his legacy has been split between winding down two wars and escalating America's campaign of drone strikes and paramilitary raids in a region ranging from Pakistan to Somalia," Smith and Alder argue. Obama "came of political age in the campus anti-nuclear movement of the 1980s, and made his political career with a then-meaningless decision in 2002 to oppose the Iraq war, has always seen issues of war, peace, and diplomacy differently than most of his peers." With his Iran nuclear deal, "he's earned the foreign policy legacy he campaigned on." The Week columnist Bill Scher tweets, "If this @BuzzFeedBen/@MiriamElder take is correct then the 80s nuclear freeze movement finally accomplished something."

Syria rebels 'press advance around Damascus, Aleppo' Posted: 25 Nov 2013 06:14 AM PST Syrian rebels pressed an offensive in the Damascus and Aleppo provinces, in an escalation that has killed 194 fighters on both sides in the past three days, a monitoring group said Monday. Rebels in Eastern Ghouta, east of Damascus, are trying to break the army siege on opposition areas there, taking over several small villages and checkpoints, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "In the past three days, the rebels have taken over small villages and checkpoints east of Damascus and southeast of Aleppo, after launching counter-offensives on those fronts," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. Southeast of Aleppo, rebels also battled to turn back recent advances by the army, which has gained the upper hand against the rebels at key battle fronts in recent weeks.

India says ready to start Iran oil cash transfer after deal Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:03 AM PST By Nidhi Verma NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian refiners are ready to start transferring cash owed for Iranian oil as early as next week following a landmark deal to curb Tehran's nuclear program that allows importers to shift billions of dollars back to Iran. World powers agreed on Sunday to ease some of the sanctions they had imposed to force Iran to halt its nuclear program. Since February, sanctions have prevented Iran from repatriating cash earned from the oil it has been able to export, crippling its economy by choking off its biggest revenue stream. The new agreement would allow Iran to receive about $4.2 billion in oil money from accounts held abroad if it fulfils commitments under the deal over the next six months.

Bomb attacks in Iraq kill 5 troops near Baghdad Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:44 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say a suicide car bomb and another bombing near Baghdad have killed five members of the country's security forces.

Why Hamid Karzai won't sign a popular U.S.-Afghanistan security pact Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:37 AM PST In the 1980s, the Soviet Union learned that it's much easier to invade Afghanistan than to leave on your own terms. And nearly 25 years after the Russians left the country defeated, the U.S. is learning the same lesson under very different circumstances. The 12-year-old NATO-led war in Afghanistan will officially end in late 2014, but the U.S. has negotiated a bilateral security agreement that will allow it to keep 10,000 troops in the country for another decade. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he won't sign it.

Insight: Weak at home, France seeks grandeur abroad Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:21 AM PST By Mark John and John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - The hero of France's top movie comedy of the moment is a French foreign minister who complains about American isolationism and says the Germans must be humored - but above all kept off the U.N. Security Council. One reason for the box-office success of "Quai d'Orsay" - named after the 19th century palace by the River Seine where France conducts its world affairs - is how closely it flirts with real-life policy. November has been a torrid month for France, rapped by the European Commission for failing to reform its economy and hit by a new sovereign debt downgrade. Yet abroad, it has exuded self-confidence and strength: it played hard ball in major-power nuclear talks with Iran that brought a landmark deal on Sunday;

Qatar, Kuwait welcome Iran's nuclear deal with world powers Posted: 25 Nov 2013 12:06 AM PST Gulf Arab countries Qatar and Kuwait have came out in favor of Iran's agreement with world powers over its nuclear program, saying they hoped it would help to preserve stability and security in the region. Iran's Arab neighbors are deeply uneasy about Tehran's diplomatic rehabilitation and have done little to hide their skepticism as talks progressed on the nuclear deal in recent weeks, but at least in public many have now given their support. Iran's only two Arab friends - Iraq and Syria - were quick to praise the deal on Sunday, as was the Palestinian Authority which welcomed it for putting pressure on Israel. Qatar said the agreement was "an important step towards safeguarding peace and stability in the region", according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry posted on its website late on Sunday.

U.S. Influence Fades As Islamist Rebels Unite in Syria Posted: 25 Nov 2013 12:00 AM PST For those, including the Obama Administration, exasperated with the fragmented, increasingly fratricidal rebel forces pitted against Syria's strongman Bashar Assad, any consolidation within the insurgents' ranks would have once come as a welcome development. In yet another sign that the Syrian insurgency has come under the sway of radicals unwilling to answer to the Western-backed secular opposition, seven Islamist groups united on Friday as the Islamic Front, forming what is said to be the largest rebel alliance in Syria. In e-mailed comments, Charles Lister, an analyst with IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, estimated that the new alliance, which also includes the Tawhid Brigade, Ahrar al-Sham and the Islamic Army, counts at least 45,000 fighters. The Islamic Front does not include al-Qaeda affiliates like the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra, which have made major inroads in Syria in recent months.

Iran deal could affect talks on Syria, Palestine Posted: 24 Nov 2013 11:33 PM PST The nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers could pave the way for normalization of ties between Tehran and the West.

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