Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Three years before the vote, Clinton machine gears up
• Hagel 'deeply concerned' about health of U.S. nuclear forces
• Hagel says 'something is wrong' with nuke force
• Iraq politician warns elections may further alienate Sunnis
• Syria foes to meet at peace talks after rocky start
• Both sides in Syrian talks to meet in 'same room'
• Accused North Dakota 'white supremacist' makes plea bargain
• The Unknown Story of Egypt: Dead Journalists Tell No Tales
• Israel warns of growing jihadi threat from Syria
• Robert Gates: US should give Iraq 'wide range of military assistance'
• British Museum: Prototype for Noah's Ark was round
• UN: More than 140,000 Iraqis flee Anbar violence
• Syrian govt, opposition to meet in 'same room'
• Sochi Games: Security jitters evident among Olympic athletes, US officials
• Kerry defends US Mideast policy
• 63 dead from hunger, medical shortages in Damascus camp: NGO
• Toll of Syria's devastation: The war, in numbers
• Clashes and shelling as 140,000 flee Iraq conflict
• Syrian govt threatens to walk out of peace talks
• Clash or compromise near on Iraqi-Kurdish-Turkish oil dispute
• Wanted Saudi al Qaeda militant killed in Syria: SITE
• Senate Briefing: Can Iran Deal In Good Faith?
• Divisions, fear of turmoil dampen Jordanian dissent
• Today in History
• Syria reporters flee jihadists after kidnappings and killings

Three years before the vote, Clinton machine gears up Posted: 24 Jan 2014 03:06 PM PST With the news that America's largest liberal fundraising group is to back a Hillary Clinton presidential bid in 2016, a growing sense of inevitability is building around her prospective candidacy. The former secretary of state who once occupied the White House as first lady and narrowly lost the Democratic nomination in 2008, has been coy about whether she plans to run again. But she has said that she will decide this year and, with a full 24 months before even the first party primaries, the "draft Clinton" movement is not waiting for its heroine to formally announce. She swamps other potential Democratic contenders in the polls, including Vice President Joe Biden, another 2008 Democratic challenger defeated by Barack Obama's victorious campaign.

Hagel 'deeply concerned' about health of U.S. nuclear forces Posted: 24 Jan 2014 03:06 PM PST By David Alexander and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Friday he was "deeply concerned," over the health of U.S. nuclear forces after the drug and cheating scandals this month, and that some nuclear officers felt their mission was taken for granted during 13 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Hagel, who ordered a high-level review of nuclear forces on Thursday, told a news conference that the problems affecting missile launch officers were caused by a range of factors. Over the past three weeks, an investigation has uncovered illegal drug possession among some missile launch officers as well as cheating on a proficiency exam that resulted in the suspension of 34 people and the retesting of the entire force.

Hagel says 'something is wrong' with nuke force Posted: 24 Jan 2014 02:53 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Vowing to look hard at problems inside the Air Force's nuclear missile corps, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday it's clear "something is wrong" and he is determined to restore public confidence in the nuclear force.

Iraq politician warns elections may further alienate Sunnis Posted: 24 Jan 2014 02:48 PM PST By Missy Ryan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The speaker of Iraq's parliament warned on Friday that upcoming elections might be used to further marginalize already-frustrated Sunni Muslims, who have chafed against what they call unfair treatment from the country's Shi'ite prime minister. Usama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni, said in an interview during a visit to Washington that he feared attempts to discourage voting or "provoke the situation" in Sunni areas, or to sideline certain would-be candidates, were designed "to weaken Sunni representation in parliament." He also warned that poor security could pose problems for the parliamentary polls, scheduled for April 30. Nujaifi held talks this week with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other senior U.S. officials, as violence appears to be spilling into Iraq from the war in neighboring Syria, and as tensions grow between Iraq's Sunnis and Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. While U.S. officials say they are encouraged by Maliki's cooperation with some Sunni tribesmen there, the conflict in Anbar - once a symbol of the U.S. military success in Iraq - has heightened fears about Iraq's trajectory two years after the United States completed its military drawdown.

Syria foes to meet at peace talks after rocky start Posted: 24 Jan 2014 01:47 PM PST By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Mariam Karouny GENEVA (Reuters) - The Syrian government and its opponents will hold their first joint meeting on Saturday to launch peace talks aimed at resolving nearly three years of civil war, after negotiations almost collapsed before they began. They will spend the first two days discussing a plan to provide humanitarian access for the city of Homs, where rebels are surrounded in central districts by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, diplomatic sources said. Even with the talks back on track and expected to last a week, deep mutual mistrust and the absence from Geneva of powerful Islamist opposition groups and President Bashar al-Assad's ally Iran make substantial progress very difficult. The face-to-face meeting had been planned for Friday, but the opposition said early on it would not meet the government side unless it first agreed to sign up to a 2012 statement by world powers calling for a transitional government in Syria.

Both sides in Syrian talks to meet in 'same room' Posted: 24 Jan 2014 01:28 PM PST GENEVA (AP) — Bending to intense international pressure, Syria's government and the Western-backed opposition agreed Friday to face each other for the first time since the start of the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

Accused North Dakota 'white supremacist' makes plea bargain Posted: 24 Jan 2014 01:07 PM PST A man charged with threatening residents of a small North Dakota town pleaded guilty on Friday to lesser offenses and agreed to testify against a white supremacist who had been working to establish an all-white enclave there, his attorney said. Kynan Dutton, 29, pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanors and agreed to testify against co-defendant Craig Cobb in a deal with prosecutors that reduced his charges from seven terrorizing felonies, Dutton's attorney, Robert Quick, said. Dutton had moved to Leith, North Dakota, a town of about 20 people, to help out Cobb, Quick said. When you start bringing guns and threats into it, it's beyond the First Amendment or anybody's rational interpretation of it." Cobb spent months buying properties in Leith, according to the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center.

The Unknown Story of Egypt: Dead Journalists Tell No Tales Posted: 24 Jan 2014 12:45 PM PST Millions of Egyptians went to the polls last week and supported a constitution sponsored by a military government in a referendum that was covered by a largely compliant national press—even as seven journalists languished in jails across the country for alleged crimes against that same government. One could be forgiven for thinking reporters working in Egypt might be in a tight spot.  When it comes to press freedoms, Egypt has joined the ranks of the world's most dangerous and decrepit countries—Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Somalia, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The New York City–based group ranked Egypt as the world's second-most-dangerous country for reporters in 2013, surpassed only by Syria.

Israel warns of growing jihadi threat from Syria Posted: 24 Jan 2014 12:12 PM PST TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A sharp increase in the number of al-Qaida linked fighters joining the fight against President Bashar Assad in Syria is threatening to spill over the borders and prompting the Jewish state to re-evaluate its policy of neutrality in the civil war next door, a senior Israeli intelligence official warned on Friday.

Robert Gates: US should give Iraq 'wide range of military assistance' Posted: 24 Jan 2014 12:09 PM PST Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's request for weapons and training to deal with Al Qaeda-linked insurgents: "If I were sitting in the situation room today, I would recommend that we offer the Maliki government a wide range of military assistance ... conditioning it on his outreach to the Sunnis."

British Museum: Prototype for Noah's Ark was round Posted: 24 Jan 2014 11:58 AM PST LONDON (AP) — It was a vast boat that saved two of each animal and a handful of humans from a catastrophic flood.

UN: More than 140,000 Iraqis flee Anbar violence Posted: 24 Jan 2014 10:35 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — More than 140,000 Iraqis have fled parts of Anbar province over clashes between security forces and al-Qaida militants, the worst displacement of civilians in years, a United Nations official said Friday.

Syrian govt, opposition to meet in 'same room' Posted: 24 Jan 2014 09:41 AM PST GENEVA (AP) — Delegations from Syria's government and the Western-backed opposition hoping to overthrow it will face each other "in the same room" Saturday for the first time ever, a U.N. mediator said.

Sochi Games: Security jitters evident among Olympic athletes, US officials Posted: 24 Jan 2014 09:27 AM PST Normally, Olympic athletes encourage family and friends to attend the Games to cheer them on. But this year, as concerns mount over the threats that militants from Russian hot spots – such as the Caucasus region where Sochi sits – may pose to the Winter Olympics, more athletes from the US and other countries are asking loved ones to stay home. Russia insists that the Games, set to kick off Feb. 7, will be safe – and it has deployed an unprecedented number of security forces of all stripes to back up that vow. On Friday, Mitt Romney, former Republican presidential nominee, told NBC's "Today" that he would feel confident sending his family to the Sochi Games.

Kerry defends US Mideast policy Posted: 24 Jan 2014 09:17 AM PST DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hit Friday at criticism that the Obama administration's Middle East policy is in disarray, maintaining that the U.S. is actively engaged in multiple ambitious diplomatic initiatives in the region and elsewhere.

63 dead from hunger, medical shortages in Damascus camp: NGO Posted: 24 Jan 2014 08:32 AM PST A shortage of food and medical supplies has left dead at least 63 people, including women and children, in a besieged Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, a Syrian monitor said Friday. The Yarmuk camp in southern Damascus has been choked by the army since June, along with other opposition-held areas across Syria, mostly around the capital and in the central city of Homs. "The number of people who have died in Yarmuk camp as a result of their poor health and living conditions, and the severe lack of food and medicine has risen to 63," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Toll of Syria's devastation: The war, in numbers Posted: 24 Jan 2014 07:29 AM PST GENEVA (AP) — DEAD: More than 130,000 people have been killed in Syria, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The U.N. has given up counting, saying it could no longer do so with any accuracy.

Clashes and shelling as 140,000 flee Iraq conflict Posted: 24 Jan 2014 06:56 AM PST Violence in parts of Anbar province held by anti-government fighters killed three people as the United Nations warned Friday of Iraq's worst displacement since its brutal 2006-08 sectarian conflict. More than 140,000 people have fled their homes in the mostly-desert province since unrest erupted in late December, as security forces and their tribal allies have been locked in a deadly standoff with militants, including those affiliated with the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Foreign leaders including US President Barack Obama have urged Baghdad to pursue political measures to undercut support for militants, but with an election looming in April, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has taken a hard line.

Syrian govt threatens to walk out of peace talks Posted: 24 Jan 2014 06:33 AM PST GENEVA (AP) — Syria's government handed an ultimatum to a U.N. mediator hoping to broker peace in the country's civil war, vowing to leave if "serious talks" do not begin by Saturday.

Clash or compromise near on Iraqi-Kurdish-Turkish oil dispute Posted: 24 Jan 2014 05:01 AM PST By Isabel Coles, Ahmed Rasheed and Humeyra Pamuk ARBIL/BAGHDAD/ANKARA (Reuters) - A headlong collision across Middle East fault lines is drawing close as Turkey, Iraq and ethnic Kurds who run their own region in between wrangle over oil exports. Time is running out as more oil flows through a new pipeline from Iraqi Kurdistan for export from Turkey, in defiance of Baghdad, which has threatened to punish both Ankara and Arbil for "smuggling" oil out of Iraq. Talks have borne little fruit and, with the Kurds seeking buyers for the oil from their autonomous territory thanks to an agreement with Turkey signed in November, Ankara will soon be forced to take sides. "Turkey must now choose either to turn its back on Baghdad and go ahead with its deal with the Kurds, or suspend direct exports from the region until an agreement is reached between the central government and Arbil," said a senior Iraqi official who asked not to be named.

Wanted Saudi al Qaeda militant killed in Syria: SITE Posted: 24 Jan 2014 02:27 AM PST A suspected al Qaeda insurgent who is on Saudi Arabia's wanted list of 47 militants abroad, has been killed in Syria, the SITE monitoring group said on Friday. Saudi national Abdullah Suleiman Salih al-Dhabah, known as Abu Ali al-Qasimi, waged jihad (holy war) in Pakistan and Afghanistan before going to Syria, where he was killed in the city of al-Bab in Aleppo by a rocket from a MiG plane, SITE said, citing online messages posted by Islamists on January 18. Riyadh broadly backs the Sunni rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad. But with the rise of Islamist militant factions in Syria, it is concerned that Saudis who joined the rebellion might one day return to wage an insurgency at home.

Senate Briefing: Can Iran Deal In Good Faith? Posted: 23 Jan 2014 10:54 PM PST WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Wednesday, January 29, 201411:00 am – 1:00 pmG-11 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingThe Joint Plan of Action may offer some hope but the internal political and structural limitations intrinsic to Iran's theocratic form of government present roadblocks for a regime where public executions and fomenting armed conflicts in Iraq and Syria remain a strategic imperative. ...

Divisions, fear of turmoil dampen Jordanian dissent Posted: 23 Jan 2014 10:23 PM PST By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - The shouts of street traders drown out the timid chants of the handful of activists outside the mosque in the heart of Amman where hundreds of people used to protest against Jordan's King Abdullah. Nowadays even such small protests are rare at the Husseini mosque, once a weekly flashpoint of demonstrations inspired by revolts across the Arab world. Protests in the kingdom, where a Hashemite monarchy styles itself as a unifying force for a diverse population, have involved Islamists among Jordanians of Palestinian origin and "Herak" activists from tribes that traditionally back the king. But they have not taken off like those which overthrew Egypt's Hosni Mubarak or shook President Bashar al-Assad's grip over neighboring Syria.

Today in History Posted: 23 Jan 2014 09:01 PM PST Today is Friday, Jan. 24, the 24th day of 2014. There are 341 days left in the year.

Syria reporters flee jihadists after kidnappings and killings Posted: 23 Jan 2014 04:05 PM PST Gaziantep (Turkey) (AFP) - Syrian journalists who braved snipers and shelling to cover the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad are now on the run from jihadists who have kidnapped and killed their colleagues. Reporters say the kidnapping, torture and murder of journalists and media workers by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in rebel-held parts of northern Syria mirror the oppression they faced under Assad's police state. The danger has sent several journalists fleeing across the border into Turkey, making it difficult to report on the fighting in much of Syria or to verify alleged atrocities, such as the weeks-long aerial bombardment of the country's second city Aleppo last month. "They started by kidnapping foreign journalists who came to cover the revolution," said a Syrian journalist in Turkey who asked to be referred to as "Abid" because he is wanted by ISIL, which has sentenced him to death.

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