Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Go, Inspector, Go: Why Independent Reviews Matter to American Government
• Army: Fort Hood suspect had requested leave
• Fort Hood base shooting rampage lasted eight minutes: investigators
• Iraq forces kill 19 as unrest spikes ahead of polls
• Pace of presidential prep picks up
• Egypt arrests a top aide to al-Qaida chief
• Syria's latest battle: The PR fight over sanctuary for Christians
• Christopher Ryan Rodriguez Selected For "Top 250 Latino Real Estate Agents"
• 2016 campaign checklist: O'Malley
• GSK launches probe into Iraq bribery claims
• TV journalist Barbara Walters announces retirement date
• Wife of slain Iraq journalist breaks down in court
• Iraq signs preliminary deal for Czech planes
• Why the CIA won't break its drone addiction anytime soon
• 2016 campaign checklist: Biden
• 'Game of Thrones': Tywin Lannister's New Dark Age
• Iran Guards say dismantle foreign-linked spy ring
• Saudi Prince Bandar to resume intelligence post
• Officials: Suicide attack kills 5 people in Iraq
• After Crimea, West's spies, armies to raise Russia focus
• U.S. to send F-16 jets to Romania for exercises
• 2016 campaign checklist: Ryan
• Drugmaker GSK investigates alleged bribery in Iraq
• Bahrain sees bright future for night race
• Motor racing-Bahrain sees bright future for night race
• Britain's GSK reveals new bribery probe in Iraq

Go, Inspector, Go: Why Independent Reviews Matter to American Government Posted: 07 Apr 2014 03:53 PM PDT Two weeks ago, the man charged with providing independent and objective oversight of more than $96 billion in reconstruction funds in Afghanistan warned an audience in Washington that the considerable blood and money expended in the America's longest overseas military commitment could go to waste if there isn't a shift in how we deal with the country. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John F. Sopko's blunt speech to the Atlantic Council received significant media coverage, but none of the sobering information would have been possible without Congress's power to create autonomous inspectors general, like Sopko, to review government spending and issue public reports about their findings.

Army: Fort Hood suspect had requested leave Posted: 07 Apr 2014 03:49 PM PDT FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Investigators say the rampage that left three dead and 16 wounded last week at Fort Hood was related to the shooter's request for leave from the Army post.

Fort Hood base shooting rampage lasted eight minutes: investigators Posted: 07 Apr 2014 03:05 PM PDT By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The shooting rampage at Fort Hood U.S. Army base last week started with an argument over leave and lasted eight minutes, with the suspected shooter getting in and out of his car as he fired on soldiers he worked with and others who happened onto his path, investigators said on Monday. Specialist Ivan Lopez, 34, drove his car slowly through the central Texas base as he carried out the rampage. He got out at two facilities, including the place he was assigned, fatally shooting three people and wounding 16 more before turning the gun on himself, Christopher Grey, spokesman for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, told a news conference. The shooting in which three people were killed and 16 wounded was the second deadly rampage at the base, one of the largest U.S. Army posts in the country, in five years.

Iraq forces kill 19 as unrest spikes ahead of polls Posted: 07 Apr 2014 02:38 PM PDT Iraqi security forces said they killed 19 militants while attacks elsewhere in the country left three people dead on Monday, as violence spikes ahead of parliamentary elections. The April 30 polls, Iraq's first since 2010, come as the authorities battle the worst sustained period of bloodletting since 2008, when Iraq was just emerging from a brutal Sunni-Shiite sectarian war that left tens of thousands dead. The unrest, which has already killed more than 2,400 people this year, has been principally driven by anger in the Sunni Arab minority over alleged mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces, as well as spillover from the civil war in neighbouring Syria. In clashes south of Baghdad, as well as in and around the conflict-hit cities of Ramadi and Fallujah to the west, Iraqi police and soldiers killed 19 militants, according to interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan.

Pace of presidential prep picks up Posted: 07 Apr 2014 12:19 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Just about everyone thinking about running for president is kicking it into gear now, slowpokes included.

Egypt arrests a top aide to al-Qaida chief Posted: 07 Apr 2014 12:13 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities arrested a top aide to al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri in a Nile Delta city on Monday and are interrogating him in an undisclosed location, officials said.

Syria's latest battle: The PR fight over sanctuary for Christians Posted: 07 Apr 2014 11:55 AM PDT When the Syrian opposition took over the Armenian-Christian town of Kessab in coastal Syria last month, its 2,000 residents fled. Instead, rebels appear to be using Kessab as an opportunity to try to undo their reputation for extreme brutality towards Syria's Christians and Shiites. But the Assad regime, which considers itself the protector of minorities, has launched a media campaign to demonstrate how Islamists are terrorizing Christians in Kessab, turning the town into a public relations battlefield in Syria's civil war.  Christians' fears of the armed opposition have been stoked by events such as the Hatla massacre, in which at least 30 Shiite villagers were killed, and by snapshots of life under the control of extremist groups: strict Islamist doctrine, public beheadings of "infidels," and the alleged levying of a jizya, or protection tax, on some Christian communities by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an Al Qaeda-linked militant group.

Christopher Ryan Rodriguez Selected For "Top 250 Latino Real Estate Agents" Posted: 07 Apr 2014 11:44 AM PDT OCEANSIDE, Calif., April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Announcing a special recognition appearing in the October, 2013 issue of nahrep.com published by The National Association Of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. Christopher Ryan Rodriguez was selected for the following honor:"Top 250 Latino Real Estate Agents" Christopher Ryan Rodriguez commented on the recognition: "This is quite an honor for me. The fact that nahrep.com included me in its selection of "Top 250 Latino Real Estate Agents," signals that my constant effort to deliver excellent work has paid off. ...

2016 campaign checklist: O'Malley Posted: 07 Apr 2014 10:23 AM PDT ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A look at preparations by Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md., for a potential 2016 presidential campaign:

GSK launches probe into Iraq bribery claims Posted: 07 Apr 2014 09:50 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — GlaxoSmithKline said Monday it has launched an investigation into allegations it bribed doctors in Iraq, as the pharmaceuticals giant remains embroiled in a major corruption scandal in China.

TV journalist Barbara Walters announces retirement date Posted: 07 Apr 2014 09:35 AM PDT Pioneering American TV journalist Barbara Walters, who was the first woman to co-anchor an evening news program, will make her final television appearance on the morning talk show "The View" next month, the network ABC said on Monday. Walters' last day as a co-host on the all-women talk show she created in 1997 will be on May 16. The network, a unit of Walt Disney Co., will also air a two-hour evening special focusing on her career and her life on the same day. "In this business there are legends, there are icons, and then there is Barbara Walters," Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement.

Wife of slain Iraq journalist breaks down in court Posted: 07 Apr 2014 08:52 AM PDT The wife of an Iraqi journalist shot dead at a Baghdad checkpoint for a "trivial reason" burst into tears when faced with his alleged killer in court on Monday. Rafaa Jaafar demanded his killer receive a "fair punishment", speaking at the opening of the trial of an Iraqi Kurdish officer charged with murdering her husband Mohammed Bidaiwi. Other witnesses recounted how an argument at the checkpoint had quickly escalated before the accused, Lieutenant Ahmed Braiyim, allegedly opened fire. Bidaiwi, Baghdad bureau chief of Radio Free Iraq, was on his way to work on March 22 near the presidential complex on the edge of the heavily-fortified Green Zone when he was shot dead during a heated argument.

Iraq signs preliminary deal for Czech planes Posted: 07 Apr 2014 08:25 AM PDT PRAGUE (AP) — Iraq has signed a preliminary agreement to buy 12 Czech-made light combat planes as it works to restore combat capability decimated in the U.S.-led invasion.

Why the CIA won't break its drone addiction anytime soon Posted: 07 Apr 2014 08:23 AM PDT Even though President Obama ordered his national security cabinet to shift the locus of the drone wars from the Central Intelligence Agency to the military's special operations command, the New York Times reported Sunday that, while the number of strikes has slowed to a trickle, the CIA plans to be in the drone business in Pakistan and Africa for quite a while. Also, Pakistan wants the CIA to run its drone program, despite saying the opposite in public. The CIA did not establish its counter-terrorism center, now the dominant force in the agency, until 1986. Arguably, the U.S. did not adopt a real counter-terrorism strategy until after September 2001.

2016 campaign checklist: Biden Posted: 07 Apr 2014 08:02 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A look at Vice President Joe Biden's preparations for a potential 2016 presidential campaign:

'Game of Thrones': Tywin Lannister's New Dark Age Posted: 07 Apr 2014 07:41 AM PDT For three years we've been watching him set the pieces up on the board, and with the opening scene of this season, Game of Thrones is making it clear: get ready for the age of Tywin Lannister. As the episode begins, we see him triumphantly preside over the melting down of Ned Stark's giant ancestral sword and toss a direwolf into the fire, the ominous Lannister score bleeding into the booming opening theme. With grandson Joffrey on the throne, his children by his side (and under this thumb), and his greatest threats crushed by his armies, Tywin should finally have it made. The rest of the episode serves to remind us that for all of Tywin's tactical genius, he's built a new empire on a terribly weak foundation and utterly failed to guarantee that his heirs can properly run the kingdom he's leaving them.

Iran Guards say dismantle foreign-linked spy ring Posted: 07 Apr 2014 07:40 AM PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard says its agents have dismantled an alleged espionage network with links to foreign intelligence agencies seeking to sabotage key industrial and military sites in the country.

Saudi Prince Bandar to resume intelligence post Posted: 07 Apr 2014 07:37 AM PDT RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan will return to the kingdom within days after spending around two months abroad for surgery and retake his position as intelligence chief, including control of the Syrian dossier, said Saudi security officials late Sunday.

Officials: Suicide attack kills 5 people in Iraq Posted: 07 Apr 2014 05:41 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say a suicide car bomb attack on a police checkpoint north of Baghdad has killed five people, including three policemen.

After Crimea, West's spies, armies to raise Russia focus Posted: 07 Apr 2014 05:36 AM PDT By Peter Apps LONDON (Reuters) - As Western states enter a new era of potential confrontation with Moscow, they face an awkward reality. A quarter-century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the level of expertise on Russia in intelligence agencies, armed forces and governments has diminished drastically. But the way Washington and its allies were so blindsided by President Vladimir Putin's military seizure and annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, is seen demonstrating a dramatic need for renewed focus. "There is a good supply of Russia experts out there - people who have lived there with lots of good experience - but the demand has just not been there from government," says Fiona Hill, U.S. national intelligence officer for Russia in 2006-9 and now director for the Centre for the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution.

U.S. to send F-16 jets to Romania for exercises Posted: 07 Apr 2014 03:50 AM PDT The United States will deploy F-16 fighter jets to Romania this month as part of planned joint exercises, the NATO member's defense minister was quoted as saying, amid rising tensions in neighboring Ukraine after Russia's annexation of Crimea. Last month, a U.S. guided-missile destroyer conducted naval exercises with Romania and Bulgaria in the Black Sea, just a few hundreds miles (km) from Crimea, in a show of Washington's military reach. "American F-16 jets will be in Romania ... because we have planned joint exercises in Romania's air space during this time, and they will stay for a pretty long period," Romania's Defense Minister Mircea Dusa was quoted by Mediafax news agency late on Sunday as saying.

2016 campaign checklist: Ryan Posted: 07 Apr 2014 12:29 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A look at preparations by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., for a potential 2016 presidential campaign:

Drugmaker GSK investigates alleged bribery in Iraq Posted: 07 Apr 2014 12:14 AM PDT By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, already facing corruption accusations in China, is now investigating allegations of bribery in Iraq, the British company said on Sunday. The latest controversy centers on claims that the company hired government-employed physicians and pharmacists in Iraq as paid sales representatives to improperly boost use of its products. "We are investigating allegations of improper conduct in our Iraq business. We have zero tolerance for unethical or illegal behavior," a company spokesman said.

Bahrain sees bright future for night race Posted: 06 Apr 2014 09:57 PM PDT By Alan Baldwin MANAMA (Reuters) - Bahrain believes its Formula One circuit has a bright future after the country's first floodlit grand prix turned out a thriller on Sunday. Sakhir Circuit chairman Zayed Alzayani told Reuters the decision to turn the 10th anniversary event into a night race was a statement of intent for the future of motorsport in the Gulf kingdom.

Motor racing-Bahrain sees bright future for night race Posted: 06 Apr 2014 09:54 PM PDT By Alan Baldwin MANAMA, April 7 (Reuters) - Bahrain believes its Formula One circuit has a bright future after the country's first floodlit grand prix turned out a thriller on Sunday. Sakhir Circuit chairman Zayed Alzayani told Reuters the decision to turn the 10th anniversary event into a night race was a statement of intent for the future of motorsport in the Gulf kingdom.

Britain's GSK reveals new bribery probe in Iraq Posted: 06 Apr 2014 05:45 PM PDT British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is investigating alleged corruption by staff at its pharmaceuticals division in Iraq, the group announced on Monday. GSK, which already faces a bribery probe in China, stressed that it would not tolerate illegal behaviour by staff. "We are investigating allegations of improper conduct in our Iraq business. We have zero tolerance for unethical or illegal behaviour," a spokesman told AFP.

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