Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Obama offers solace to nation at Fort Hood
• At Fort Hood memorial, Obama promises help for war-weary troops
• Judge slaps State Department over Blackwater
• Afghan probe begins in attack on AP journalists
• Obama returns to Fort Hood for second memorial service in five years
• Hezbollah confident in Assad, West resigned to Syria stalemate
• Car bombs in Baghdad, Iraqi town kill 34 people
• Reprising grim role, Obama grieves at Fort Hood
• Reprising grim role, Obama to grieve at Fort Hood
• Lebanese patriarch suggests housing Syrian refugees in Syria
• Iraq attacks kill 18 on anniversary of Baghdad fall
• Iran Opposition Leader Urges EU to Put Human Rights Front and Center in Dealing with Tehran
• Car bombs in Baghdad, Iraqi town kill 24 people
• Car bombs in Baghdad, Iraqi town kill 21 people
• Troubled Mideast peace effort compounds U.S. policy woes in region
• Assad's forces recapture rebel border town
• Vatican Bank Rises From the Dead
• Telling My Kids I'm Going to War
• The Greatest Polio Threat Ever
• Rand vs. The (Republican) World
• Series of car bombs in Baghdad kills 16 people
• Series of car bombs in Baghdad kills 13 people
• Judge criticizes State Department over Blackwater shooting case

Obama offers solace to nation at Fort Hood Posted: 09 Apr 2014 04:42 PM PDT FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — President Barack Obama returned to the grieving Army post Wednesday where he first took on the job as the nation's comforter five years ago, mourning with families and uniformed comrades of those killed during last week's Fort Hood shooting spree. "We somehow bear what seems unbearable," he declared.

At Fort Hood memorial, Obama promises help for war-weary troops Posted: 09 Apr 2014 03:16 PM PDT After losing 576 Fort Hood soldiers in a dozen years of war, the president, along with top US military leaders, gathered at the Texas Army base to remember the three who were gunned down by Sgt. Ivan Lopez. The job of military leaders "is to prepare our soldiers for the chaos of war," the Army's top officer, Gen. Raymond Odierno, said in remarks at the memorial service. But that the soldiers were lost "on American soil, at the hands of one of their own, makes this tragedy inexplicable," added General Odierno, whose lived with his family on the base for more than seven years when he wasn't commanding troops in Iraq. Two Fort Hood soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ferguson and Staff Sgt. Carlos Lazeney-Rodriguez, joined the military two decades ago, prior to the 9/11 attacks "and stayed as the nation went to war," Mr. Obama said.

Judge slaps State Department over Blackwater Posted: 09 Apr 2014 01:18 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is calling for an investigation of the State Department over years of delays in prosecuting Blackwater security guards in the shootings of dozens of Iraqi citizens in 2007.

Afghan probe begins in attack on AP journalists Posted: 09 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan central government authorities on Wednesday began questioning the police commander who killed an Associated Press photographer and wounded an AP reporter, a day after he was transferred by helicopter to the capital — a rare case in which an Afghan officer or soldier who shot a foreigner was captured alive.

Obama returns to Fort Hood for second memorial service in five years Posted: 09 Apr 2014 12:53 PM PDT By Steve Holland and Lisa Maria Garza FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - As the U.S. flag snapped at half-staff in a stiff breeze, President Barack Obama for the second time in five years attended a solemn memorial service on Wednesday for victims of a tragic shooting at Fort Hood Army base. Standing before an estimated 3,000 people, including family members of the fallen and soldiers dressed in Army fatigues, Obama spoke at a podium where the combat helmet, rifle, boots and photos of each of the three victims of last week's attack were on display. We are here on behalf of the American people to honor your loved ones and offer whatever comfort we can," Obama said. "But know this, we also draw strength from you." Obama was accompanied at the service by his wife, Michelle, who has made caring for U.S. troops returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan a central theme of her White House tenure.

Hezbollah confident in Assad, West resigned to Syria stalemate Posted: 09 Apr 2014 12:11 PM PDT By Samia Nakhoul and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Bashar al-Assad's Lebanese ally Hezbollah said his Western foes must now accept he will go on ruling Syria after fighting rebels to a standstill - a "reality" to which his foreign enemies seem increasingly resigned. Echoing recent bullish talk coming out of Damascus, Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia which is supporting Assad in combat, told Reuters that the president retained popular support among many of Syria's diverse religious communities and would shortly be re-elected. He said the United States and its Western allies were in disarray and lacked a coherent policy on Syria - reflecting the quandary that Western officials acknowledge they face since the pro-democracy protests they supported in 2011 became a war that has drawn al Qaeda and other militants to the rebel cause. Syria's fractious opposition - made up of guerrillas inside the country and a largely impotent political coalition in exile - had, he said, proved incapable of providing an alternative to four decades of rule by Assad and his late father before him.

Car bombs in Baghdad, Iraqi town kill 34 people Posted: 09 Apr 2014 12:07 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Car bombs hit several mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and a town south of the Iraqi capital on Wednesday, killing at least 34 people and wounding dozens, officials said, the latest bout of violence ahead of the country's first parliamentary elections since the 2011 U.S. troop withdrawal.

Reprising grim role, Obama grieves at Fort Hood Posted: 09 Apr 2014 11:06 AM PDT FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Returning again to a grief-stricken corner of America, President Barack Obama is reprising his role as chief comforter, mourning with families of those killed last week at Fort Hood and offering solace to the nation.

Reprising grim role, Obama to grieve at Fort Hood Posted: 09 Apr 2014 10:33 AM PDT FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Returning again to a grief-stricken corner of America, President Barack Obama is reprising his role as chief comforter, mourning with families of those killed last week at Fort Hood and offering solace to the nation.

Lebanese patriarch suggests housing Syrian refugees in Syria Posted: 09 Apr 2014 08:52 AM PDT The head of Lebanon's Maronite Christian Church suggested on Wednesday that Syrian refugees should be housed in camps inside Syria, reflecting growing frustration among Lebanese over the burden imposed on their country by their neighbors' war. The United Nations has registered 1 million refugees in Lebanon since the conflict began three years ago, the highest concentration of refugees worldwide. They are housed in homes and local communities rather than refugee camps. Cardinal Beshara al-Rai, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, told a news conference in Geneva that the presence of so many Syrians represented a huge economic, social, political and security burden for Lebanon.

Iraq attacks kill 18 on anniversary of Baghdad fall Posted: 09 Apr 2014 07:38 AM PDT Attacks, including 13 car bombs in mainly Shiite-populated areas of Iraq, killed at least 18 people Wednesday, highlighting the persistent danger from militants 11 years after American forces took Baghdad. The latest violence is part of a protracted surge in nationwide bloodshed that has killed more than 2,400 people so far this year and sparked fears Iraq is slipping back into the all-out sectarian fighting of 2006-7. The unrest has been driven principally by complaints among the Sunni Arab minority of mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces, as well as spillover from the civil war in neighbouring Syria. Eight car bombs struck seven separate areas of Baghdad around 10:00 am (0700 GMT), killing at least 11 people and wounding at least 49, security and medical officials said.

Iran Opposition Leader Urges EU to Put Human Rights Front and Center in Dealing with Tehran Posted: 09 Apr 2014 07:31 AM PDT BRUSSELS, April 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi urged the international community and the EU to put human rights front and center in their dealings with the Tehran regime. Rajavi, who heads the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran made the call during a meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday. Scores of senior members of the European Parliament from different political groups including Alejo Vidal -Quadras, a Vice President of the Parliament, Struan Stevenson, President of European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Iraq, and Michelle Alliot-Marie, France's former defense and foreign minister addressed the meeting. The meeting in Brussels coincided with another round of nuclear talks between Iran and P5+1 held in Vienna.

Car bombs in Baghdad, Iraqi town kill 24 people Posted: 09 Apr 2014 05:40 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Car bombs hit several mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and a town south of the Iraqi capital on Wednesday, killing at least 24 people and wounding dozens, officials said, the latest bout of violence ahead of the country's first parliament elections since the 2011 U.S. troop withdrawal.

Car bombs in Baghdad, Iraqi town kill 21 people Posted: 09 Apr 2014 05:27 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Car bombs hit several mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and a town south of the Iraqi capital on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens, officials said, the latest bout of violence ahead of the country's first parliament elections since the 2011 U.S. troop withdrawal.

Troubled Mideast peace effort compounds U.S. policy woes in region Posted: 09 Apr 2014 05:26 AM PDT By Matt Spetalnick and William Maclean WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September, U.S. President Barack Obama declared the pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace one of the two main U.S. foreign policy priorities for his second term. Fast-forward to today, the Obama administration faces a stark choice: expend more energy on a faltering peace process or absorb the hit to an already-troubled record in the Middle East and walk away from negotiations. Secretary of State John Kerry, who met Obama on Tuesday for a "reality check," says he hopes both sides will work with U.S. mediators to "find a way back." But as optimism fades, many inside and outside the Middle East warn now is not the time for a U.S. diplomatic failure in the region.

Assad's forces recapture rebel border town Posted: 09 Apr 2014 03:36 AM PDT Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad recaptured the rebel-held Syrian border town of Rankous on Wednesday, military sources and state television said, consolidating their control over a former rebel supply line from neighboring Lebanon. The capture of Rankous was the latest stage of an offensive by the army and Hezbollah fighters to seal off the border region and secure the main highway leading north from Damascus towards central Syria, Homs and the Mediterranean coast. "Army units completed their operations in Rankous and restored security and stability to the town after killing a large number of terrorists," state television said. Wednesday's advance took place less than a month after Hezbollah and the Syrian army recaptured the rebel stronghold of Yabroud, choking off the vital supply line into central Syria.

Vatican Bank Rises From the Dead Posted: 09 Apr 2014 02:45 AM PDT After accusations of money laundering and corruption, Pope Francis was ready to close the institution. So why is he giving it a second chance?

Telling My Kids I'm Going to War Posted: 09 Apr 2014 02:45 AM PDT Before he leaves on another deployment to Afghanistan, a military officer has to break the news to his family.

The Greatest Polio Threat Ever Posted: 09 Apr 2014 02:45 AM PDT First Syria, now Iraq—polio is spreading through these war-torn countries, and the challenges to get the spread under control are great.

Rand vs. The (Republican) World Posted: 09 Apr 2014 02:45 AM PDT Libertarianism may be en vogue but isolationism isn't. Yet there may be room on the left of the party for him to win.

Series of car bombs in Baghdad kills 16 people Posted: 09 Apr 2014 02:37 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of car bombings hit several, mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad on Wednesday morning, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens, officials said, the latest bout of violence as Iraq prepares to hold the country's first parliament elections since the 2011 U.S. troop withdrawal.

Series of car bombs in Baghdad kills 13 people Posted: 09 Apr 2014 01:03 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say a series of car bombs has hit several mostly Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing at least 13 people.

Judge criticizes State Department over Blackwater shooting case Posted: 08 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT By Aruna Viswanatha WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday harshly criticized the U.S. State Department over its handling of a 2007 shooting in Baghdad involving Blackwater Worldwide security guards and asked the agency's watchdog to investigate problems that helped delay a related criminal case. "If the Department of State and Diplomatic Security Service had tried deliberately to sabotage this prosecution, they could hardly have done a better job," U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who is overseeing the criminal case against the former guards, said in an opinion dated March 26 but made public on Tuesday. He asked the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, which is prosecuting the case, to ask the inspector general of the State Department to fully investigate the problems.

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