Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• French ex-president Chirac briefly hospitalised for suspected gout
• Attorney argues US man's spy sentence too severe
• Attorney argues Ind. man's spy sentence too severe
• Bomb attacks kill at least 24 in Iraq capital
• Syrian rebels name new military commander
• Iraq violence kills at least 22
• Syria army seizes Alawite 'massacre' village
• Bombings in Iraqi capital kill at least 23 people
• Clashes, sniper fire as Iraqi forces fight for town
• Is Al Qaeda about to expand the 'field of jihad' to Lebanon?
• Bombings in Iraqi capital kill at least 19 people
• Free Syrian Army sacks chief, appoints replacement
• Iraq car bombing kills at least 10 people
• Why America Got Mixed Up With Puppet Dictators
• Readers Write: An education on the real Iran
• Syrian opposition appoints new military chief
• Greek Police: Demining NGO in $12 million fraud
• Sadr's political exit may be 'gift' to Iraqi rivals: experts
• Neither U.S. nor EU has strategy for Ukraine

French ex-president Chirac briefly hospitalised for suspected gout Posted: 17 Feb 2014 02:16 PM PST Jacques Chirac, who has been in poor health for several years, was briefly hospitalised Monday near Paris for a suspected flare of gout, sources close to the former French president said. An ambulance under police escort took the 81-year-old from his flat overlooking the Seine to the American Hospital of Paris in the plush suburb of Neuilly. "Jacques Chirac is back home," a member of his inner circle said, explaining that the former French leader had had a suspected "acute episode of gout... very painful but not serious." He is considered one of the most popular politicians in recent French history.

Attorney argues US man's spy sentence too severe Posted: 17 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A lawyer for a former truck driver convicted of trying to sell U.S. secrets to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi government said Monday that the 13-year sentence the man received is too harsh and he shouldn't be serving it in a federal Supermax prison.

Attorney argues Ind. man's spy sentence too severe Posted: 17 Feb 2014 12:25 PM PST INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A lawyer for a former Indiana truck driver convicted of trying to sell U.S. secrets to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi government said Monday that the 13-year sentence the man received is too harsh and he shouldn't be serving it in a federal Supermax prison.

Bomb attacks kill at least 24 in Iraq capital Posted: 17 Feb 2014 11:42 AM PST At least 24 people were killed in bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital late on Monday, including blasts near two Shi'ite Muslim mosques and at a busy bus station, police and medics said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, but Shi'ites are often targeted by Sunni Islamist insurgents who have been regaining ground in Iraq over the past year and overran several towns in recent weeks. In Monday's deadliest attack, a minibus packed with explosives blew up at a bus station in the mainly Shi'ite district of Ur in northern Baghdad, killing at least 11 people, police and medical sources said. A further nine people were killed in car bomb attacks targeting mosques in Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite districts of Amil and Karrada, police and medical sources said.

Syrian rebels name new military commander Posted: 17 Feb 2014 11:11 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — After losing ground to Syrian forces and Islamic extremists for months, the Western-backed rebel movement announced Monday it was replacing its military chief with an experienced, moderate field commander from the south.

Iraq violence kills at least 22 Posted: 17 Feb 2014 10:51 AM PST Attacks in Iraq, including a series of car bombs in Baghdad, killed at least 22 people Monday, officials said, as the country struggles with its worst violence in six years. In the deadliest attack, at least one car bomb exploded in the Urr neighbourhood of north Baghdad, killing at least eight people and wounding at least 27. Another car bomb hit the Karrada district in the centre of the capital, killing at least seven people, wounding at least 29 and sending a cloud of smoke into the sky. And a car bomb detonated in Ghazaliyah in western Baghdad, killing at least one person and wounding at least four.

Syria army seizes Alawite 'massacre' village Posted: 17 Feb 2014 10:47 AM PST The Syrian army recaptured on Monday an Alawite village in central Hama province where rebels "massacred" civilians earlier this month, state news agency SANA said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that at least 25 members of President Bashar Al-Assad's Alawite sect were killed by Islamist fighters in the village of Maan on February 9.

Bombings in Iraqi capital kill at least 23 people Posted: 17 Feb 2014 10:39 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of explosions rocked mainly Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad shortly after sunset on Monday, killing at least 23 people and wounding dozens, officials said.

Clashes, sniper fire as Iraqi forces fight for town Posted: 17 Feb 2014 10:07 AM PST Militants on Thursday took part of Sulaiman Bek and nearby areas in Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad, setting off a cycle of clashes with security forces. Accounts of the death toll vary, but officials say that dozens of people have been killed, including security personnel, militants and civilians. Local official Talib al-Bayati told AFP on Monday that security forces had succeeded in regaining control of Sulaiman Bek and surrounding areas. But another official, Shallal Abdul Baban, said that only about 60 percent of the area was back in government hands.

Is Al Qaeda about to expand the 'field of jihad' to Lebanon? Posted: 17 Feb 2014 10:01 AM PST A slew of car bombings, suicide attacks, and cross-border rocket barrages of Shiite areas of Lebanon over the past nine months by groups allied to the goals of Al Qaeda is raising concerns that the organization could formally expand its operations into Lebanon. So far the attacks on Shiite areas appear less of a strategic push by Al Qaeda-linked militants to establish a base in Lebanon and more of a tactical backlash to the armed support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad provided by Lebanon's Hezbollah, a Shiite militia and political party. And Al Qaeda's leadership has made no explicit announcement designating Lebanon a legitimate "theater of jihad."

Bombings in Iraqi capital kill at least 19 people Posted: 17 Feb 2014 09:56 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of explosions rocked Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad shortly after sunset on Monday, killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens, officials said.

Free Syrian Army sacks chief, appoints replacement Posted: 17 Feb 2014 09:19 AM PST By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - The Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) has sacked its leader after he fell out with the Saudi-supported head of the moderate opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, opposition sources said on Monday. General Selim Idriss, whose relations with Saudi Arabia deteriorated after he opened channels with Qatar, was replaced by Brigadier General Abdelilah al-Bashir, head of FSA operations in Qunaitera province bordering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the sources said. A statement signed by 22 of the FSA's 30-member Supreme Military Council said the decision was prompted by "the ineffectiveness of the command in the past few months... and to provide leadership for military operations against the criminal regime and its allies from terrorist organizations." A statement by the opposition National Coalition, which includes 15 members of the FSA, said news of Bashir's appointment came as a "relief".

Iraq car bombing kills at least 10 people Posted: 17 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi police say a car bomb in eastern Baghdad has killed at least 10 people.

Why America Got Mixed Up With Puppet Dictators Posted: 17 Feb 2014 08:58 AM PST The 1953 marriage between the United States and Iran was a classic love story of global affairs. Iran, Iraq, the Dominican Republic, the country formerly known as Zaire—all have had some of their worst periods defined by U.S. involvement. "Americans are not very interested in history," said Piero Gleijeses, a professor of U.S. foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University. Take the Dominican Republic, where Rafael Trujillo and his supporters brutalized the people for three decades as the United States helped the regime thrive.

Readers Write: An education on the real Iran Posted: 17 Feb 2014 08:04 AM PST Thank you for the Dec. 23 cover story, "7 days in Iran." I visited Iran with a small group of Americans in 2010, led by an Iranian American. I enjoyed coming home to tell people that Iran was the friendliest country I have ever been in. They remember (not all Americans do) that our Central Intelligence Agency staged a coup in 1953 that ousted their legally elected prime minister and returned to power an increasingly despotic shah. They remember that the United States supported Iraq in its brutal war against Iran.

Syrian opposition appoints new military chief Posted: 17 Feb 2014 07:28 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — The Western-backed Free Syrian Army has appointed a new military chief, opposition groups announced Monday as they try to restructure a rebel movement that has fallen into disarray as it faces rampant infighting and declining international support for its fight to topple President Bashar Assad.

Greek Police: Demining NGO in $12 million fraud Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:48 AM PST ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities say they have charged the head of a demining charity, his wife and seven other people with fraud and money laundering involving 9 million euros ($12 million) in public funding.

Sadr's political exit may be 'gift' to Iraqi rivals: experts Posted: 17 Feb 2014 03:50 AM PST Powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's announced exit from politics two months before elections may be a "gift" to rivals but could also be another temporary withdrawal, experts say. Sadr's political career began with his fierce opposition to the presence of foreign troops in Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion, and has spanned more than a decade. His rise, aided by the reputations of two famed relatives -- including his father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr -- who were killed during Saddam Hussein's rule, eventually translated into political clout. At the time of his weekend announcement, Sadr's movement held six cabinet posts, the deputy speakership of parliament and 40 seats in the legislature.

Neither U.S. nor EU has strategy for Ukraine Posted: 17 Feb 2014 03:10 AM PST But when U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland was caught using the "F-word" on an unsecure telephone line to disparage European Union policy on Ukraine, it highlighted the fact that neither Washington nor Brussels has much of a strategy for handling the crisis in the former Soviet republic. Since Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich pulled out of a major trade pact with the EU in November under Russian pressure, provoking mass protests, the United States and Europe have struggled to gain any influence over the outcome. Nuland's outburst in late January, which leaked onto the Internet, was apparently directed at the EU's reluctance to impose targeted financial and travel sanctions on Yanukovich and his aides over a crackdown on the pro-European demonstrations. In another part of the conversation with the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, she discussed which opposition leaders Washington wanted to join or stay out of a proposed transitional government.

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