2014年9月9日星期二

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Yahoo! News: Iraq


Obama to seek arms, training for Syrian opposition

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 04:53 PM PDT

FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2014, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at Nordea Concert Hall in Tallinn, Estonia. The first President Bush had one, so did President Bill Clinton, and the second President Bush had two. Now, Obama wants to build a coalition of nations to join the U.S. to combat the threat posed by the Islamic State group in the Middle East and beyond. The diplomacy of coalition building is time-consuming, and questions about who can or should join are often messy. And in this situation it is complicated by the fact that the U.S. and its allies share an interest in defeating the extremists with some governments they otherwise oppose. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)The White House says President Barack Obama has told congressional leaders he has the authority he needs to take the action against the Islamic State militants that he will outline Wednesday night.


U.S. House formally condemns Obama for Guantanamo prisoner swap

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 04:40 PM PDT

House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to condemn President Barack Obama for failing to give Congress a 30-day notice before exchanging prisoner of war Bowe Bergdahl for five members of the Taliban who were being held at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The House voted 249 to 163, with 22 Democrats joining the Republican majority in favor of the resolution. The measure has no legal clout, but it castigates Obama a day before he is due to address the American public to seek support for military action against Islamic State in Iraq and, possibly, Syria. The House debated the measure as Obama met at the White House with congressional leaders, including Republican House Speaker John Boehner, to discuss his plans.

Australia says may raise terrorism threat level over Iraq, Syria

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 04:36 PM PDT

The head of Australia's national security agency said he was "very seriously" considering raising the country's terrorism alert level to "high" due to the involvement of Australians in militant groups and the spiraling conflicts in Iraq and Syria. David Irvine, the outgoing head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), said the number of Australians returning from fighting with Islamic State and other radical groups posed a growing risk. Australia has been at the "medium" alert level since a four-tier system was introduced in 2003.

GOP bill would avert fed shutdown till Dec. 11

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 04:29 PM PDT

GOP bill would avert fed shutdown till Dec. 11Republicans controlling the House unveiled a short-term spending bill Tuesday that would keep the government open into mid-December and provide $88 million to battle the Ebola outbreak. The spending measure ...


Ahead of speech, Obama briefs Congress on Islamic State strategy

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 04:20 PM PDT

Obama meets with Congressional leaders in the Oval Office of the White House in WashingtonBy Steve Holland and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told leaders of Congress on Tuesday that he did not need for them to authorize his strategy to fight Islamic State, ahead of a speech to Americans that may herald expanded operations against the group in Iraq and perhaps Syria. Obama's White House speech at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday (0100 GMT on Thursday) will be his most significant effort to outline a strategy against a group whose savage methods have included the beheading of two American captives. Obama met Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrats in the U.S.


Obama tries to sell plan to defeat Islamic State

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 04:12 PM PDT

US President Barack Obama makes a statement on the situation in Iraq at Martha's Vineyard on August 11, 2014President Barack Obama stepped up his bid to convince Americans he has a plan to defeat the Islamic State, meeting top congressional leaders and scheduling a primetime speech for Wednesday. Obama will summon the symbolic weight of a televised address to the nation at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Thursday), speaking from the ceremonial state floor of the White House. The speech will attempt to redress criticism that he has been slow to respond to the militant group's seizure of a haven in Syria and Iraq, amid fears fighters armed with Western passports could train their sights on the US homeland. "The president will lay out what he clearly sees as American interests in this situation," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in his daily briefing Tuesday.


NYC police: Terror threat more complex than ever

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 03:54 PM PDT

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2013, file photo, the World Trade Center flag is presented as friends and relatives of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks gather at the National September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site, for a ceremony marking the 12th anniversary of the attacks in New York. New York City police plan heavy security for the anniversary ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)NEW YORK (AP) — Air strikes in Iraq, ongoing unrest in Syria and the beheadings of two American journalists are casting a long shadow over the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.


Why Obama is seeking a Sunni coalition to defeat the Islamic State

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 03:34 PM PDT

The last thing the United States wants to see as a result of President Obama's plan to defeat the Islamic State is a spreading suspicion that the US is in a fight with Sunni Islam. So a critical component of the administration's game plan is to enlist Sunni Arab countries as a key part of the international – though so far largely Western – coalition that will aim to roll back and ultimately destroy the extremist Sunni-Islamist militant group in control of a broad swath of Syria and Iraq. The effort to recruit Sunni Arabs to the cause is already under way, with Secretary of State John Kerry in Jordan and Saudi Arabia this week – in part to see what roles the Sunni Arab powers in the region can play, but also to press harder for the spigots of financial support to the militant group to be turned off. Mr. Obama is set to roll out his strategy for defeating IS, also known by the acronyms ISIS or ISIL, in a prime-time address to the nation Wednesday evening (9 p.m. EDT).

Senate candidates in Colo. clash on foreign policy

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 03:34 PM PDT

DENVER (AP) — Turning more to foreign policy in a Senate race that has centered on domestic concerns, Republican Rep. Cory Gardner on Tuesday blamed Democratic Sen. Mark Udall for not doing more to stop the rise of the terrorist organization that now controls much of Iraq and has beheaded two American reporters.

Obama Tells Congress He Has All the Authority He Needs to Go After ISIS

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 03:15 PM PDT

Obama Tells Congress He Has All the Authority He Needs to Go After ISISPresident Obama on Tuesday told congressional leaders he doesn't need legislative approval to pursue the military strategy against the Islamic State that he plans to outline to the nation on Wednesday night. The biggest question entering the meeting was whether Obama would seek a formal vote of authorization for his military campaign, as he did last year – unsuccessfully – when he wanted to launch missile strikes against the Bashar Assad regime in Syria. This time around, Obama told lawmakers he doesn't need them to sign off, according to a White House readout of the meeting. The leaders in attendance were House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).


White House says beheaded U.S. journalist not 'sold' to Islamic State

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 03:13 PM PDT

SYRIA-IRAQ-US-CONFLICT-MEDIAThe United States has no information indicating beheaded American journalist Steven Sotloff was "sold" to Islamic State militants by moderate Syrian opposition rebels, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday. Sotloff family spokesman Barak Barfi told CNN on Monday night the family believed Islamic State paid up to $50,000 to rebels who told the militant group the 31-year-old journalist had entered Syria.


Obama says he has authority for militant campaign

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 03:08 PM PDT

FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2014, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at Nordea Concert Hall in Tallinn, Estonia. The first President Bush had one, so did President Bill Clinton, and the second President Bush had two. Now, Obama wants to build a coalition of nations to join the U.S. to combat the threat posed by the Islamic State group in the Middle East and beyond. The diplomacy of coalition building is time-consuming, and questions about who can or should join are often messy. And in this situation it is complicated by the fact that the U.S. and its allies share an interest in defeating the extremists with some governments they otherwise oppose. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama told congressional leaders Tuesday that he has the authority he needs to carry out a broader campaign to root out the violent extremists in Iraq and Syria, a day before outlining his plans to the American people in a prime-time address.


The strange saga of Jose Padilla: Judge adds four years

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 03:03 PM PDT

Convicted Al Qaeda supporter Jose Padilla received a new prison sentence on Tuesday, adding four years to his existing 17-year sentence in response to a federal appeals court ruling that his initial sentence was too lenient. Mr. Padilla was convicted in 2007 of involvement in a terror conspiracy and has been serving his sentence in a solitary confinement cell at the US government's supermax prison in Florence, Colo. His case has attracted international attention because prior to entering the criminal justice system, Padilla was designated an enemy combatant and held incommunicado without charge at a naval prison in Charleston, S.C. During his three years and eight months in military detention, Padilla was subjected to harsh interrogation techniques and prolonged isolation that mental health experts said may have caused permanent psychological injury.

House condemns Obama for prisoner swap

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 02:39 PM PDT

FILE - This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. House Republicans are pushing a resolution condemning President Barack Obama for failing to give 30-day notice to Congress about the exchange in May of American prisoner Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban leaders. The House was expected to vote late Tuesday afternoon. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled House voted Tuesday to condemn President Barack Obama for failing to give 30-day notice to Congress about the exchange in May of American prisoner Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban leaders held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.


Northeast primaries: Cuomo cruising now, but it hasn't been smooth sailing

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 02:24 PM PDT

In New York, which ranked dead last in turnout in the 2010 midterms, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is expected to cruise to victory over Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout, whose quixotic challenge from the progressive left could nevertheless damage the moderate Democratic incumbent. A champion of gay marriage and gun control in New York, Governor Cuomo has also carefully cultivated a fiscally conservative record in the state – not only to appeal to upstate conservatives to secure a sweeping margin of victory for a second term this fall, but also to build a moderate image for what many believe are longer-range national ambitions. So even a 30 percent showing by Ms. Teachout, a Vermont native and former director of Internet organizing for the 2004 Howard Dean presidential campaign, could embarrass the ambitious New York governor, some Democrats say, exposing his weakness among the party's liberal stalwarts.

Al Qaeda's shadowy new 'emir' in South Asia handed tough job

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 02:21 PM PDT

By Asim Tanveer and Maria Golovnina MULTAN Pakistan/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani militant Asim Umar has been handed a very tough job. Thrust into the limelight after being named leader of al Qaeda's newly created South Asian wing, he has been entrusted with reviving the network's fortunes at a time when Islamic State is generating grisly headlines and luring recruits. Little is known about the man whose thinking was shaped in radicalized seminaries and madrassas of Pakistan and who will now spearhead al Qaeda's activities from Afghanistan to Myanmar. In a video address aired last week, the group's chief, Ayman al-Zawahri, named him as the "emir" of a new branch of the network that masterminded the 2001 attacks on the United States.

France to host conference on Iraq security crisis on September 15

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 02:08 PM PDT

France will host an international conference on Iraq's security crisis on Sept. 15, French President Hollande's office said on Tuesday, as a multi-national coalition tries to marshal an offensive against Islamic State insurgents. On Friday, Hollande will travel to Iraq to prepare the meeting and offer support to leaders combating the insurgents, becoming the first Western head of state to visit Iraq since Islamic State seized swathes of Iraqi territory this year. Iraqi President Fuad Masum and leaders of regional and global powers will attend the conference in Paris, which comes days after the United States announced the creation of a 'core coalition' to combat Islamic State militants in Iraq.

Congress considers review of police military gear

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 01:53 PM PDT

FILE - In this Aug, 16, 2014 file photo, Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson walks among people protesting the police shooting death of Michael Brown a week ago in Ferguson, Mo. The Ferguson City Council, set to meet Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014, for the first time since the fatal shooting of Brown, said it plans to establish a review board to help guide the police department and make other changes aimed at improving community relations. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. government programs to help local police agencies obtain military-grade equipment evolved in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but more than a decade later lawmakers are questioning why smalltown police departments need armored vehicles, automatic weapons and camouflage uniforms.


Why Muslims from US, Europe join Islamic State

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 01:51 PM PDT

For both Europe and the United States, the war also has a home front. Hundreds of IS jihadists have come from the West. The US State Department tries to do that by running videos on social media depicting the worst aspects of IS, such as the practice of beheading its enemies. Rather, says John Esposito of Georgetown University, many jihadists are religious novices, driven instead by "moral outrage, disaffection, peer pressure, search for new identity, for sense of meaning, purpose and belonging."

Bombing kills head, leaders of Syrian rebel group

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 01:44 PM PDT

Syrian state media and activists say that the head of one of Syria's largest rebel groups has been killed in a suicide bombing.

Blast kills leader of Syrian Islamist group, other top figures

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 01:39 PM PDT

Islamist fighters carry weapons as they march during their graduation ceremony at a camp in eastern al-Ghouta, near Damascus NAn explosion killed the leader of one of Syria's most powerful Islamist insurgent groups Ahrar al-Sham on Tuesday, the group said, and an organization that monitors violence in the civil war said at least 28 of its commanders had died. Ahrar al-Sham is a hardline Islamist group and part of the Islamic Front alliance that has been in armed conflict with the Islamic State group which has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq. A statement posted on Ahrar al-Sham's official Twitter feed said the blast had hit a meeting in Idlib province in northwest Syria and confirmed Hassan Aboud, the group's leader, among at least 12 dead. "We don't know the cause of the explosion yet," Abu Mustafa al-Absi, a member of Ahrar al-Sham's politburo told Al-Jazeera TV in an interview.


Gulf urged to fund 'Arab Marshall Plan' to contain unrest

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 01:35 PM PDT

"We need a pan-Arab Marshall development plan financed by rich Arab countries" in the Gulf, Ibrahim Dabdoub, deputy chairman of the International Bank of Qatar saysExperts have urged wealthy Gulf states to pump billions of dollars into their Arab neighbours to fend off the kind of unrest that has engulfed Syria and Iraq. Meeting at a conference in Bahrain, bankers, regional analysts and economists said massive development was needed to fight the poverty and lack of opportunities that are fuelling unrest. "We need a pan-Arab Marshall development plan financed by rich Arab countries" in the Gulf, Ibrahim Dabdoub, deputy chairman of the International Bank of Qatar, told a conference in Manama organised by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) that ended on Monday. Fighting across the region, mainly in Syria and Iraq, has left thousands dead in the years since the mass demonstrations of the Arab Spring led to violent uprisings.


How the US has justified overseas military action

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 01:21 PM PDT

A look at the legal justifications the U.S. has used for military action around the world:

Iraq needs more than new government to address woes

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 01:13 PM PDT

New members of the Iraqi government attend a swearing-in ceremony in Baghdad on September 8, 2014Iraq's new cabinet lineup is not a major change and much more is needed to address grievances that contributed to the rise of brutal jihadists who seized swathes of the country, experts say. Having the support of Iraq's various religious and ethnic communities, especially members of its alienated Sunni Arab minority, is essential to the government's fight to regain ground lost to a sweeping offensive led by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group. The proportion of posts given to members of the Shiite majority and the Sunni Arab and Kurdish minorities is largely the same as the previous government, and almost a third of the new ministers and deputy premiers held such posts before. "In terms of the sectarian division of the government, it's actually, if you're going to take it strictly by numbers, less inclusive," said Fanar Haddad, a research fellow at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore.


Brent crude price slides further

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 01:08 PM PDT

Oil prices in London fall on Tuesday one day after hitting a intra-day 16-month low on the back of ample suppliesOil prices in London continued their steady slide Tuesday amid a flush market and little upside to the current demand picture. London's main contract, Brent North Sea crude for October delivery, lost $1.04 to end at $99.16 a barrel, its lowest since April 2013. In New York, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October edged up nine cents to $92.75 a barrel. The easing of threats to supply in Iraq and Libya, and slightly alleviated tensions in Ukraine, removed some buying pressure from the market.


Top Asian News at 8:00 p.m. GMT

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 01:06 PM PDT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was likely struck by multiple "high-energy objects from outside the aircraft," causing it to break up over eastern Ukraine, a preliminary report into the deadly aviation disaster concluded Tuesday. The report by the Dutch Safety Board stopped short of saying the Boeing 777 was shot down by a missile but its findings point to that conclusion. It also did not say who might have been responsible.

Attack on meeting kills 28 Syria rebel leaders

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 12:43 PM PDT

Opposition fighters from the Ahrar Al-Sham brigade walk in Aleppo during ongoing clashes with government forces on January 27, 2014"Twenty-eight heads of the Ahrar al-Sham group were killed in an explosion that targeted a meeting tonight... in Idlib province," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. The death toll was expected to mount as around 50 military and religious leaders attended the meeting in the basement of a house at Ram Hamdan, northeast of Idlib city. Among those who died was Ahrar al-Sham leader Hassan Abbud, said the Islamic Front, the country's biggest rebel alliance, in a statement on Twitter. Neither the Islamic Front and Abdel Rahman were able to say who may have been behind the attack.


Top Asian News at 7:30 p.m. GMT

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 12:32 PM PDT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was likely struck by multiple "high-energy objects from outside the aircraft," causing it to break up over eastern Ukraine, a preliminary report into the deadly aviation disaster concluded Tuesday. The report by the Dutch Safety Board stopped short of saying the Boeing 777 was shot down by a missile but its findings point to that conclusion. It also did not say who might have been responsible.

EU must keep up pressure on Russia over Ukraine, Britain says

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 12:25 PM PDT

By Adrian Croft MILAN (Reuters) - The European Union must keep up pressure on Russia over its involvement in the Ukrainian war because sanctions are having an effect, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said on Tuesday. EU ambassadors delayed implementation of a new package of sanctions on Russia on Monday to allow time to see if a ceasefire in Ukraine will hold. The unexpected decision laid bare divisions within the 28-nation EU over how energetically to pursue sanctions against Russia, which has already taken trade reprisals and threatened more if the EU tightens sanctions further. Fallon, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a European Union defense ministers' meeting in Italy that discussed the crises in Ukraine, Iraq and Libya, said the EU must remain determined over sanctions.

U.S. bombs IS in Iraq as Obama looks to present strategy

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 12:05 PM PDT

In this Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014, file photo, a fighter jet coming from Iraq lands on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, in the Persian Gulf. As the United States looks to stitch together a coalition to tackle the extremist Islamic State group, the Obama administration will have to overcome the reluctance of Mideast allies who are deeply frustrated with a White House that they believe has been naive, fickle and weak on Syria's civil war. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)U.S. warplanes carried out more airstrikes against jihadists in western Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday, as President Barack Obama prepared to present his plan to defeat the Sunni extremists. American fighter jets, attack and drone aircraft conducted five bombing raids on Monday and Tuesday near the massive Haditha Dam in Anbar province, said the US Central Command, which oversees forces in the region. The US military said the strikes were in "support of Iraqi Security Forces and Sunni tribes protecting the Haditha Dam" against militants from the so-called Islamic State (IS). The bombing "destroyed or damaged" eight IS armed vehicles, including two that were "transporting anti-aircraft artillery," five other vehicles and one transport vehicle, Central Command said.


GOP leader wants Obama to seek Hill OK for strike

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 12:04 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Senate Republican says President Barack Obama should seek congressional approval for whatever he decides to do against Islamic State militants.

Top Asian News at 7:00 p.m. GMT

Posted: 09 Sep 2014 12:02 PM PDT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was likely struck by multiple "high-energy objects from outside the aircraft," causing it to break up over eastern Ukraine, a preliminary report into the deadly aviation disaster concluded Tuesday. The report by the Dutch Safety Board stopped short of saying the Boeing 777 was shot down by a missile but its findings point to that conclusion. It also did not say who might have been responsible.

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