Yahoo! News: Iraq

Syria refugees denied cancer treatment, says UNHCR
US honors veterans over Memorial Day weekend
Obama signals US to keep limited Afghanistan role
Whistleblower Says Two Killed Themselves Waiting for Treatment
Obama's Afghanistan trip planned with 'maximum discretion'
Former US Marine Imprisoned in Iran seeks retrial
1,000th day in prison nearing, Marine asks retrial
Lawmakers call for tighter grip on VA hospitals
Obama to outline case for a limited foreign policy
Health law: Embrace, avoid or in between for Dems
World War I's lasting bootprint
Obama slips into Afghanistan to visit US troops
A snapshot of US troop commitment in Afghanistan
Iraqi Kurds slam Baghdad legal action over oil shipment
Report: Imprisoned ex-US Marine seeks Iran retrial
Set to rule divided Egypt, Sisi faces biggest test
Kurds say Iraqi bid to thwart oil exports via Turkey will fail
Private hospitals could take some pressure off VA
Rivals challenge Iraq PM's election success
Journalists take care of the censorship as Sisi poised to rule
Car bomb at liquor store in northern Iraq kills 12
Car bombing at liquor store in north Iraq kill 12
Police say car bomb targeting a liquor store overnight in northern Iraq killed 12 people
Marine whose leg was blasted drives to victory

Syria refugees denied cancer treatment, says UNHCR

Posted: 25 May 2014 04:34 PM PDT

Lack of funds is forcing aid workers to deny Syrian war victims and other refugees with cancer the care they need, the UN refugee agency's top medical expert warned on Monday. With millions of Syrians driven from their homes by three years of conflict, and huge numbers having fled a decade of violence in Iraq, health systems in the region have been overwhelmed. "We can treat everyone with measles, but we can't treat everyone with cancer," said Paul Spiegel, UNHCR's medical chief. Doctors are therefore having to make heart-rending decisions about who gets cancer care and who is left to fend for themselves.

US honors veterans over Memorial Day weekend

Posted: 25 May 2014 04:19 PM PDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Marine Corps' chaplain, speaking Sunday to a congregation that has tied gold ribbons on the church's fence in honor of fallen soldiers since the Iraq War began, lauded the sacrifice of veterans around the world as President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan for Memorial Day.

Obama signals US to keep limited Afghanistan role

Posted: 25 May 2014 03:45 PM PDT

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) — President Barack Obama slipped into Afghanistan for a surprise visit Sunday and made clear that the U.S. will likely maintain a limited role here even after its combat mission ends this year and America's longest war comes to a close.

Whistleblower Says Two Killed Themselves Waiting for Treatment

Posted: 25 May 2014 02:17 PM PDT

Margaret Moxness, a former VA psychiatrist in West Virginia, says she never saw any "secret waiting lists" that hid the fact that mentally troubled patients were being forced to wait an inordinate amount of time for follow-up visits. But Moxness said she saw plenty of evidence that traumatized Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans often had to wait months for follow-up appointments at a Charleston, W.Va., VA medical center where she worked between 2008 and 2010. During an appearance this morning on Fox News Sunday, Moxness said the frequent delays in follow-up appointments for vets suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome was a highly dangerous practice. Moxness said that when her superiors at the VA began ignoring her verbal and written warnings about the delays, she concluded it was better not to see new patients at all than to subject them to partial, episodic treatment.

Obama's Afghanistan trip planned with 'maximum discretion'

Posted: 25 May 2014 01:39 PM PDT

By Steve Holland BAGRAM AIR BASE (Reuters) - It takes a combination of careful planning and cloak-and-dagger secrecy to transport the president of the United States halfway around the world into a danger zone while making sure almost nobody knows about it in advance. Barack Obama's visit on Sunday with U.S. troops at Bagram Air Base - unannounced ahead of time - has been in the works for several weeks as White House officials looked for an opportunity for him to make his fourth and most likely last trip here as president. But again, we've done it several times, so in some respects it gets easier each time," said White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes. Obama's trip was the latest in a string of secretive missions overseas that began when Republican President George W. Bush discreetly left his ranch in Crawford, Texas and popped up in Baghdad to celebrate Thanksgiving with U.S. troops in 2003.

Former US Marine Imprisoned in Iran seeks retrial

Posted: 25 May 2014 12:54 PM PDT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A former U.S. Marine convicted of criminal charges in Iran after being accused of working for the CIA will appeal for a new trial after already seeing his sentence reduced once, his lawyer said Sunday.

1,000th day in prison nearing, Marine asks retrial

Posted: 25 May 2014 12:21 PM PDT

DETROIT (AP) — A former U.S. Marine who has spent almost 1,000 days in an Iranian prison after being accused of working for the CIA will appeal for a new trial after already seeing his sentence reduced once, an Iranian news agency reported Sunday.

Lawmakers call for tighter grip on VA hospitals

Posted: 25 May 2014 11:45 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairmen of House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees on Sunday decried long waits and backlogs at the nations VA hospitals but stopped short of calling for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.

Obama to outline case for a limited foreign policy

Posted: 25 May 2014 10:54 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronting critics of his foreign policy, President Barack Obama will soon outline a strategy for his final years in office that aims to avoid overreach as the second of the two wars he inherited comes to a close.

Health law: Embrace, avoid or in between for Dems

Posted: 25 May 2014 10:50 AM PDT

ATLANTA (AP) — Democratic candidates are trying to figure out whether to embrace or avoid President Barack Obama's health care overhaul — or land somewhere in between.

World War I's lasting bootprint

Posted: 25 May 2014 10:39 AM PDT

It was the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. The same could be said of the French Army, and the German. Each force on Europe's Western Front was a metropolis requiring not just soldiers, guns, and ammunition, but every necessity of life, from toothbrushes to rubber stamps.

Obama slips into Afghanistan to visit US troops

Posted: 25 May 2014 10:31 AM PDT

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) — President Barack Obama, on a surprise holiday visit to this sprawling military base, said Sunday he was close to a decision about the number of U.S. troops who will remain after year's end in America's longest war.

A snapshot of US troop commitment in Afghanistan

Posted: 25 May 2014 10:21 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and British forces began launching airstrikes into Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks against America. The initial strikes were aimed at Taliban troops, training camps and air defenses. By early November there were about 1,300 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Iraqi Kurds slam Baghdad legal action over oil shipment

Posted: 25 May 2014 09:46 AM PDT

Iraq's Kurdistan region on Sunday slammed legal action filed by the central government against Turkey, saying it was illegitimate and likely to fail, in the latest sign of worsening ties with Baghdad. The Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources statement came just days after Baghdad's Oil Ministry filed a request for arbitration against Ankara at the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce after crude from Kurdistan was exported to international markets via a Turkish port.

Report: Imprisoned ex-US Marine seeks Iran retrial

Posted: 25 May 2014 08:13 AM PDT

Set to rule divided Egypt, Sisi faces biggest test

Posted: 25 May 2014 08:10 AM PDT

By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - Along a busy Cairo roundabout, a poster portrays presidential frontrunner Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as a teacher, engineer, doctor and judge, reassuring supporters who see him as Egypt's savior. But in other neighborhoods, opponents splash red paint on the image of the face of the man who toppled Egypt's first freely-elected president, and who they say has blood on his hands for ordering a violent crackdown. The former army chief is expected to easily win a May 26-27 presidential election, taking over a polarized country with immense challenges: from an energy crisis to an Islamist militant insurgency that has sharply worsened since he overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi last year. Sisi has gained cult-like adulation among backers since removing Mursi.

Kurds say Iraqi bid to thwart oil exports via Turkey will fail

Posted: 25 May 2014 07:20 AM PDT

Iraq's bid to thwart exports of oil from Kurdistan via Turkey by filing for arbitration is a "hollow threat" that will fail, the autonomous region said in a statement on Sunday. The Iraqi Oil Ministry said on Friday it was taking legal action against Turkey and state-owned pipeline operator BOTAS after the first cargo of crude to be piped from Kurdistan was sold without Baghdad's consent. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said it was undeterred by "hollow threats" from Baghdad and accused the Iraqi Oil Ministry of flouting the country's constitution.

Private hospitals could take some pressure off VA

Posted: 25 May 2014 07:08 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration's decision to allow more veterans to get care at private hospitals could take some pressure off backlogged Veterans Affairs facilities struggling to cope with new patients from the wars on terrorism as well as old soldiers from prior conflicts.

Rivals challenge Iraq PM's election success

Posted: 25 May 2014 03:53 AM PDT

Nuri al-Maliki may be in pole position to remain Iraq's prime minister, but allegations of malpractice during last month's polls are clouding the prospect of forming a government anytime soon. Iraq's political parties have already begun meeting and manoeuvring as they seek to build post-election alliances, but forming a new government could still take months.

Journalists take care of the censorship as Sisi poised to rule

Posted: 25 May 2014 01:49 AM PDT

By Asma Alsharif and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - During Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's autocratic rule, the state often shaped media coverage to make him appear flawless, hauling in editors who did not fall into line. After next week's presidential election, which former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win, authorities may not have to impose glowing reviews of his performance. Many journalists now eagerly engage in self-censorship. We feel that Egypt is facing danger and we will perform our duties to protect the country," said Samir El Sayid, an editor at state-run Al-Ahram, Egypt's most well-known newspaper.

Car bomb at liquor store in northern Iraq kills 12

Posted: 25 May 2014 12:38 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (AP) — A car bomb exploded outside a liquor store in northern Iraq overnight, killing at least 12 civilians, a senior police officer said Sunday.