Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Obama vows fix to veterans' health care troubles
• Obama says he will get to the bottom of Veterans mess
• After wars, US struggles to provide care for vets
• Syria army presses bid to break prison siege
• Pelosi names Democrats to House panel on Benghazi
• Entrenched Syrian Crisis Prompts Calls for Review of U.S. Funding Priorities
• Obama Sticks to Scandal Playbook in VA Mess
• Jihadists seek Islamic state on Syria-Iraq border
• Obama: Any misconduct at VA will be punished
• The Washington Times Honors Veterans, Veterans in Congress At Memorial Day Celebration
• Spies' Secret Revolt Against Obama
• Christian exodus shadows papal visit to Holy Land
• Bombings kill at least 118 in central Nigerian city of Jos
• Marine to get medal of honor for blocking grenade

Obama vows fix to veterans' health care troubles Posted: 21 May 2014 04:17 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — With outrage mounting over veterans' health care, President Barack Obama declared Wednesday that allegations of misconduct at VA hospitals will not be tolerated, and he left open the possibility that Secretary Eric Shinseki, a disabled war veteran, could be held to account.

Obama says he will get to the bottom of Veterans mess Posted: 21 May 2014 04:09 PM PDT By Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama vowed on Wednesday to get to the bottom of allegations that veterans suffered long delays in getting healthcare and made clear Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki's job may be on the line, as he scrambled to contain a spreading controversy. "If these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful, and I will not tolerate it, period," an angry Obama said. The president appeared in the White House press briefing room moments after meeting Shinseki and Rob Nabors, the top Obama aide who is leading a review into allegations that long wait times for veterans seeking medical treatment could have led to some deaths. He said he expects to get the preliminary results of a review about the scope of the problem at the Veterans Administration next week, and that anyone found to have manipulated or falsified records at the VA must be held accountable.

After wars, US struggles to provide care for vets Posted: 21 May 2014 02:57 PM PDT The scandal over delays in medical care for US veterans has put the spotlight on a sprawling bureaucracy struggling to cope with an influx of patients with new ailments after a decade of war. The Veteran Affairs Department (VA) was already under scrutiny over its slow-moving health service, but allegations that a Phoenix hospital maintained a secret waiting list and that up to 40 veterans may have died as a result have sparked a furious reaction. The disturbing claims have placed President Barack Obama on the defensive, but he has cited the strain of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as an aggravating factor. Out of 22 million veterans in the country, including those who served in World War II, nine million are enrolled in the VA's vast health care system.

Syria army presses bid to break prison siege Posted: 21 May 2014 12:25 PM PDT Syria's army has launched a fierce assault on rebel fighters in a bid to break their year-long siege on Aleppo's central prison, a monitor, state media and activists reported Wednesday. The rebels and their allies from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front have been trying to overrun the jail, which remains in government control, to release political prisoners reportedly held in very poor conditions. "The army, the (pro-regime) National Defence Forces militia, Arab fighters and Lebanon's Hezbollah are in fierce combat against jihadists from Al-Nusra Front and Islamist rebels in the Sheikh Najjar industrial area, one kilometre (0.6 miles) from Aleppo's central prison," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. State news agency SANA said, meanwhile, that "the army has taken over the village of Hilan, and is advancing towards other areas that surround Aleppo prison."

Pelosi names Democrats to House panel on Benghazi Posted: 21 May 2014 12:22 PM PDT By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday named the five members of her party who will serve on a special panel investigating the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. After weeks of deliberating over whether to participate in a Republican-led panel that Democrats predict will be partisan, Pelosi announced the members who will round out the committee. House Speaker John Boehner already has appointed the seven Republican members. Referring to the special investigating committee, which will look into the September 11, 2012, Benghazi attack that has been probed by other House panels, Pelosi said, "It is not necessary to put the families (of those killed) or our country through this partisan exercise once again." In remarks to reporters, she said Democrats will participate "to try to bring some openness and transparency" to the panel's work.

Entrenched Syrian Crisis Prompts Calls for Review of U.S. Funding Priorities Posted: 21 May 2014 11:00 AM PDT WASHINGTON, May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States and international community must expedite shifting their response to the protracted Syrian crisis toward long-term strategies instead of short-term fixes, according to global humanitarian organization Mercy Corps. In testimony to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Mercy Corps called on Congress to fund more integrated relief and development programs in Syria's neighboring countries, while also urging unfettered humanitarian access inside Syria. For nearly two years, Mercy Corps has been delivering humanitarian aid inside Syria, reaching more than 1.7 million civilians, as well as almost 700,000 refugees and host communities in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Mercy Corps is among the largest providers of food and baking flour inside Syria.

Obama Sticks to Scandal Playbook in VA Mess Posted: 21 May 2014 10:20 AM PDT When it comes to scandal, the Obama White House is like a corner man in a boxing match who refuses to throw in the towel. As the dreadful rollout of Obamacare dragged on for months late last year, the president ignored calls to fire Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and instead kept sending her out into the ring to take more punishment from Congress and the press. Now, the president appears to be doing the same with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the former four-star Army General who has been the focus of mounting anger from lawmakers and the general public. "We're going to work with him to solve the problem," Obama said.

Jihadists seek Islamic state on Syria-Iraq border Posted: 21 May 2014 10:05 AM PDT "Their name is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Their goal is to link together the two areas (Syria, Iraq) to set up their state and then to continue spreading," said activist and citizen journalist Abdel Salam Hussein. Speaking from Albu Kamal on the Iraq border, Hussein said ISIL seeks to crush Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate, and control the eastern, energy-rich province of Deir Ezzor bordering Iraq.

Obama: Any misconduct at VA will be punished Posted: 21 May 2014 10:04 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to head off a growing furor over veterans' health care, President Barack Obama declared Wednesday that allegations of misconduct at VA hospitals are "dishonorable" and will be not be tolerated by his administration.

The Washington Times Honors Veterans, Veterans in Congress At Memorial Day Celebration Posted: 21 May 2014 07:30 AM PDT WASHINGTON, May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Washington Times will honor America's veterans, with an emphasis on the dozens of veterans serving in Congress, in a gala celebration just before Memorial Day. The ticketed event takes place tonight at the Capitol Hill Club from 6 to 8 p.m. The evening's entertainment will be provided by renowned tenor Anthony Kearns, who will also perform with the National Symphony Orchestra during the 2014 Memorial Day Concert on PBS. "I'm honored to be a part of this year's Memorial Day remembrances," said Mr. Kearns. "Anthony Kearns is one of the world's great tenors – and I know his performances will be a dramatic and poignant part of this year's momentous Memorial Day," said Kirsten Fedewa, Kearns' publicist and agent. One of the evening's featured guests will be Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas), a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy as an aircraft carrier pilot.

Spies' Secret Revolt Against Obama Posted: 21 May 2014 02:45 AM PDT The Obama administration concluded in 2012 that al Qaeda posed no direct threat to the U.S.—and has sought to scale back the fight ever since, over intel officials' rising objections.

Christian exodus shadows papal visit to Holy Land Posted: 21 May 2014 02:40 AM PDT BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Pope Francis will arrive this weekend in the land where Christianity was born — and where Christians are disappearing.

Bombings kill at least 118 in central Nigerian city of Jos Posted: 20 May 2014 11:36 PM PDT By Adamu Jonah and Anamesere Igboeroteonwu JOS (Reuters) - Back-to-back bomb blasts killed at least 118 people and wounded 45 in the crowded business district of the central Nigerian city of Jos on Tuesday, emergency services said, in an attack that appeared to bear the hallmarks of the Boko Haram insurgents. But the militant group Boko Haram, which has set off bombs across the north and centre of Nigeria in an increasingly bloody campaign for an Islamic state, was likely to be the prime suspect in what would rank among their deadliest single attacks in five years of insurrection. Boko Haram grabbed world headlines by abducting more than 200 schoolgirls on April 14 from the northeastern village of Chibok. If the Jos attack was the handiwork of Boko Haram, it would show their growing reach in Africa's top oil producing and most populous country, striking out beyond their heartland in Nigeria's semi-arid and weakly governed northeast.

Marine to get medal of honor for blocking grenade Posted: 20 May 2014 01:26 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Cpl. Kyle Carpenter remembers lying on his back on a rooftop in Marjah, Afghanistan, crammed up against sandbags alongside his friend and fellow Marine, Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio.

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