Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• McCain-Clinton bond crosses partisan waters
• Americans killed in Kabul: what it may signal about Afghanistan’s future
• Bombers kill 31 at Iraq campaign rally for Shiites
• As Iraq violence grows, U.S. sends more intelligence officers
• An Afghanistan Drawdown Would Still Cost Billions
• Election 2014: the most competitive Senate races
• 28 killed in attack on Shi'ite political rally in Iraq
• Number of suicides in US military drops in 2013
• Attack on Shiite campaign rally kills 31 in Iraq
• Officials raise death toll in Baghdad blasts to 31
• Military suicide: Often young, white men with guns
• Active duty military suicides drop; Reserves go up
• The Daily Fix: Two Released From Guantanamo, NCAA's Union Vote, and New Campus Rape Reports
• 25 killed at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group
• Suicide Is Now Killing More Army Reservists Than Active Duty Soliders
• Suicide Is Now Killing More Army Reservists Than Active Duty Soldiers
• 15 killed at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group
• 11 killed at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group
• 8 killed at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group
• 5 killed at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group
• Explosions at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group
• Mercy Corps: Engaged Civil Society Organizations in Iraq Can Boost Trust in Government
• Germans wary of Merkel's tough line on Russia
• Number of military suicides dropped last year
• In US urban decay, ex-drug dealer is glimmer of hope
• Witnesses in U.S. Army hearing call 2007 Iraq shootings unjustified

McCain-Clinton bond crosses partisan waters Posted: 25 Apr 2014 03:27 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton share a friendship forged in the Senate and on fact-finding trips around the globe. And then there were those vodka shots in Estonia.

Americans killed in Kabul: what it may signal about Afghanistan’s future Posted: 25 Apr 2014 03:09 PM PDT Even after a relatively peaceful first round of presidential elections in Afghanistan, the US military transition out of the turbulent country is promising to be exceedingly complex, defense analysts say. But while lawmakers begin debate next week on just how much money to give the Pentagon for its combat operations, a war-weary American public has yet to have any sort of national discussion about whether US troops should stay or go. "We haven't actually debated whether we should stay in Afghanistan, and why we should stay," says Anthony Cordesman, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. In today's era of competing demands of big-budget security concerns, "That's a critical problem," Dr. Cordesman says, even as the Pentagon has sent Congress a "placeholder" request of nearly $80 billion for war operations in 2015.

Bombers kill 31 at Iraq campaign rally for Shiites Posted: 25 Apr 2014 01:50 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Suicide bombers killed 31 people Friday at a sports stadium hosting a campaign rally for thousands of supporters of a militant Shiite group before parliamentary elections, authorities said — an attack that could unleash more sectarian violence.

As Iraq violence grows, U.S. sends more intelligence officers Posted: 25 Apr 2014 01:35 PM PDT By Mark Hosenball and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is quietly expanding the number of intelligence officers in Iraq and holding urgent meetings in Washington and Baghdad to find ways to counter growing violence by Islamic militants, U.S. government sources said. A high-level Pentagon team is now in Iraq to assess possible assistance for Iraqi forces in their fight against radical jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a group reconstituted from an earlier incarnation of al Qaeda, said two current government officials and one former U.S. official familiar with the matter.

An Afghanistan Drawdown Would Still Cost Billions Posted: 25 Apr 2014 12:53 PM PDT The only problem is that the Pentagon hasn't said how many U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan, and how much it will cost to keep them there. The Obama administration has yet to submit its war funding request to Congress, even though the rest of the budget proposal was announced in early March. For now, the White House has said lawmakers should use $79.4 billion as a placeholder, the same amount as this year's overseas funding amount, and presumably one that will change depending on how many U.S. service members stay in Afghanistan after 2014. While the Pentagon has yet to announce its preferred force level, defense officials are considering three troop scenarios – 10,000 or 5,000 or zero – according to Bloomberg News.

Election 2014: the most competitive Senate races Posted: 25 Apr 2014 12:50 PM PDT The Democrats face some challenging math in their quest to hold onto the US Senate. To take control of the Senate, the Republicans need a net gain of six seats. One already looks set to flip: the seat held by retiring Sen. Tim Johnson (D) of South Dakota. Senator Landrieu comes from a famous Louisiana political family and chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee – an important post for a state whose economy centers on oil and gas.

28 killed in attack on Shi'ite political rally in Iraq Posted: 25 Apr 2014 12:48 PM PDT By Raheem Salman BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A series of explosions killed 28 people and wounded more than 40 at a Shi'ite political organization's rally in Iraq on Friday, police and medical sources said. The militant group Asaib Ahl Haq (League of the Righteous) was presenting its candidates for elections on April 30 at the rally in eastern Baghdad. Al Qaeda offshoot the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on the Internet. The attack came as tensions ran high in Iraq in the runup to a national election on April 30 and as the Iraqi security forces are locked in a four-month battle with ISIL in western Anbar province.

Number of suicides in US military drops in 2013 Posted: 25 Apr 2014 12:04 PM PDT Suicide levels, however, have not dramatically changed even though large numbers of US forces are no longer engaged in combat in Afghanistan and have withdrawn from Iraq. Although the overall number had declined for 2013, suicides increased five percent among those in the US Army National Guard and Reserves, the report said. The relentless pace of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade has often been cited as a likely trigger for the suicide problem in the armed forces, but the latest figures failed to support that hypothesis. When fighting peaked for American troops in Iraq, the number of suicides reached 268 in 2008 and 309 in 2009, figures that are similar to the past two years.

Attack on Shiite campaign rally kills 31 in Iraq Posted: 25 Apr 2014 11:56 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — At least three explosions tore through a campaign rally Friday for a militant Shiite group in Iraq's capital ahead of next week's parliamentary election, killing at least 31 people, authorities said.

Officials raise death toll in Baghdad blasts to 31 Posted: 25 Apr 2014 11:28 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Security and hospital officials say the death toll from a series of explosions at a campaign rally for a militant Shiite group in Iraq's capital has risen to at least 31.

Military suicide: Often young, white men with guns Posted: 25 Apr 2014 11:11 AM PDT The Pentagon released final data on military suicides during 2012, painting a general picture of those more likely to take their own lives: Young, white men who used a gun and often had some history of mental health issues.

Active duty military suicides drop; Reserves go up Posted: 25 Apr 2014 11:06 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Suicides among Army National Guard and Reserve members increased last year, even as the number of active-duty troops across the military who took their own lives dropped by more than 15 percent, according to new data.

The Daily Fix: Two Released From Guantanamo, NCAA's Union Vote, and New Campus Rape Reports Posted: 25 Apr 2014 10:43 AM PDT A 33-year-old Guantanamo Bay inmate who was once suspected of being Osama bin Laden's body guard may be leaving the military prison. Ali Ahmad al-Razihi and one other inmate were recommended for release back to their native Yemen by the Periodic Review Board, in its review of whether inmates should continue to be held without charge in the American facility in Cuba, Reuters reported. Of the 154 prisoners that remain at Guantanamo, about 70 cannot be prosecuted but are considered too dangerous to set free. In other news... This Land Is My Land: Cattleman Cliven Bundy, 67, seems to be enjoying his 15 minutes of infamy after spewing racist comments and wingnut politics on talk shows.

25 killed at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group Posted: 25 Apr 2014 10:16 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — At least three explosions, including one by a suicide bomber, struck a campaign rally Friday for a militant Shiite group in Iraq's capital ahead of next week's parliamentary election, killing at least 25 people and wounding 28, authorities said.

Suicide Is Now Killing More Army Reservists Than Active Duty Soliders Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:38 AM PDT The military suicide rate has dropped among active duty service members, but the deaths of Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers increased, new figures from the Defense Department reveal. Reservist suicides increased from 140 in 2012 to 152 in 2013, slightly higher than the number of active duty suicides, at 151. Because members of the Army National Guard and Reserve often live in remote communities, getting quick access to military health services is often more difficult, the Associated Press's Lolita C. Baldor reports. More than half of reservists who committed suicide over the past two years had links to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army said. Most suicides were from the Army, while the Navy saw a 25 percent decline.

Suicide Is Now Killing More Army Reservists Than Active Duty Soldiers Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:38 AM PDT The military suicide rate has dropped among active duty service members, but the deaths of Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers increased, new figures from the Defense Department reveal. Reservist suicides increased from 140 in 2012 to 152 in 2013, slightly higher than the number of active duty suicides, at 151. Because many members of the Army National Guard and Reserve live in remote communities, getting quick access to military health services is often more difficult, the Associated Press's Lolita C. Baldor reports. More than half of reservists who committed suicide over the past two years had links to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army said. Overall active duty suicides dropped by 18 percent from 2012 to 2013, according to the Pentagon. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps reported 289 suicides last year, down from 343 in 2012.

15 killed at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:05 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of bombs struck a campaign rally Friday for a militant Shiite group in Iraq's capital ahead of next week's parliamentary election, killing at least 15 people and wounding 25, authorities said.

11 killed at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group Posted: 25 Apr 2014 08:21 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of bombs exploded Friday at a campaign rally for a Shiite group in Iraq's capital ahead of the country's parliamentary election, killing at least 11 people and wounding 21, authorities said.

8 killed at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group Posted: 25 Apr 2014 08:11 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of bombs exploded Friday at a campaign rally for a Shiite group in Iraq's capital, killing at least eight people and wounding 21, authorities said.

5 killed at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group Posted: 25 Apr 2014 07:57 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of bombs have exploded at a campaign rally for a Shiite group in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, killing at least five people.

Explosions at Iraq campaign rally for Shiite group Posted: 25 Apr 2014 07:41 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — There have been a series of explosions at a campaign rally for a Shiite group in Iraq's capital, Baghdad.

Mercy Corps: Engaged Civil Society Organizations in Iraq Can Boost Trust in Government Posted: 25 Apr 2014 04:21 AM PDT WASHINGTON, April 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Effective and engaged civil society organizations can help mend the bond between citizens and government, potentially supporting the desire for long-term political stability in Iraq, according to new research from the global humanitarian agency Mercy Corps. The study aimed to identify the factors that influence attitudes related to three key good-governance outcomes:  political efficacy, perceptions of government responsiveness and legitimacy.  Based on findings from a survey of 5,000 people in all 18 Iraqi governorates, the research points to the continued need for democracy and governance programs in Iraq, such as the Broadening Participation through Civil Society (BPCS) program funded by USAID. "Our research found that people who believe civil society can effectively address issues related to service delivery, corruption and rights are more likely to view government positively.  For Iraqi citizens in particular, there appears to be a connection between the ability of civil society organizations to improve communities and the government's willingness to respond to community concerns," says Steve Claborne, Iraq country director for Mercy Corps.

Germans wary of Merkel's tough line on Russia Posted: 25 Apr 2014 02:39 AM PDT By Christopher Alessi and Monica Raymunt BERLIN (Reuters) - In Berlin's immaculate Treptow Park, a towering statue of a Soviet soldier holding a German child on his arm and stamping on a Nazi swastika reminds Germans of the debt they owe Russians. Willie Kern, a pensioner visiting the poignant memorial to the 80,000 Red Army soldiers killed in the battle of Berlin in 1945, looks at the well-tended gardens there and says he views Russian President Vladimir Putin as a dictator. Yet Germany should hold back in punishing Russia too harshly for its annexation of Crimea and for the increasingly violent crisis in eastern Ukraine, he says. "The aggression against Russia always comes from the West, Germany should exercise restraint," said Kern, adding Germany's place is between the United States and Russia.

Number of military suicides dropped last year Posted: 25 Apr 2014 12:45 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Suicides across the military dropped by more than 15 percent last year, but new detailed data reveals an increase in the number of Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers who took their own lives.

In US urban decay, ex-drug dealer is glimmer of hope Posted: 24 Apr 2014 09:35 PM PDT Camden (United States) (AFP) - Amid the urban decay of Camden, New Jersey -- one of the poorest and most dangerous of US cities -- a former drug dealer who did prison time is pushing to give his community a new lease on life. "I was not supposed to be on this side of statistics -- to be alive, free, to take care of my kids," Anthony Dillard, now an entrepreneur and artist, told AFP. Together with his partner AJ Riggs, he created a fashion label last year -- "Made in Camden" -- in the aim of "restoring the morale and pride of our community." Dillard is hoping that his creations -- from baby onesies to bright T-shirts -- can help put the city back on the map for reasons other than ruin and rampant crime.

Witnesses in U.S. Army hearing call 2007 Iraq shootings unjustified Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:37 PM PDT Sergeant First Class Michael Barbera, 31, faces two counts of premeditated murder in the evidentiary Article 32 hearing being held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. "I thought, 'What the heck is he doing?'" former soldier Kenneth Katter said of Barbera, his former supervisor. The Army investigated the case after some of Barbera's team members came forward two years after the shooting. Barbera was found to have committed the killings, but was given a reprimand that carried no prison time or loss of rank, the Army said.

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