Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Nigeria Requested US Intel And Military Gear to Fight Terror, Docs Show
• Marine Corps to review raid on law offices
• U.S. FDA approves 'Star Wars' robotic arm for amputees
• Ex-Blackwater guard indicted on murder charge
• 2016 campaign checklist: Biden
• Analysis: How Syria's Assad seized momentum in war
• Man confesses to killing US soldier in Iraq
• FIFA threatens Iraq suspension over election delays
• Visas for Afghan Interpreters Reveal Failing Security
• Ex-Blackwater guard indicted on murder charge for Iraq shooting
• The Daily Fix: Ugandans Face Life Sentences for Homosexuality, Iraq Wants Drones, and Yousafzai Slams Boko Haram
• Iraq forces launch assault near Fallujah, 11 killed
• Boko Haram exploits Nigeria's slow military decline
• Ukraine's security forces struggle to meet rebellion in east
• Beirut Barracks vs. Benghazi
• Is Rand Paul a Closet Hawk?
• Walter Jones Repels a War Party Attack
• Obama nominates ambassadors for key Egypt and Iraq posts
• A risky counterterrorism mission in Nigeria

Nigeria Requested US Intel And Military Gear to Fight Terror, Docs Show Posted: 09 May 2014 04:32 PM PDT High-Powered D.C. Lobbying Firm Pushed Obama Administration for Nigeria to Little Avail

Marine Corps to review raid on law offices Posted: 09 May 2014 03:59 PM PDT SAN DIEGO (AP) — Military criminal investigators raided Marine Corps defense counsel offices at Camp Pendleton, opening files during a 2½-hour search and potentially compromising scores of cases, the attorney who oversees Marine defense lawyers in the region said Friday.

U.S. FDA approves 'Star Wars' robotic arm for amputees Posted: 09 May 2014 03:37 PM PDT By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a robotic arm for amputees that is named for the \"Star Wars\" character Luke Skywalker and can perform multiple, simultaneous movements, a huge advance over the metal hook currently in use. The FDA said on Friday it allowed the sale of the DEKA Arm System after reviewing data, including a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs study in which 90 percent of people who used the device were able to perform complex tasks. The prosthetic arm was developed by New Hampshire-based DEKA Research and Development Corp, founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway and other devices. The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said it provided more than $40 million in funding to DEKA to develop the robotic arm as part of a $100 million project to improve prosthetics.

Ex-Blackwater guard indicted on murder charge Posted: 09 May 2014 03:28 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors have obtained a new indictment against a former Blackwater security guard accused of taking part in a shooting of Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad traffic circle.

2016 campaign checklist: Biden Posted: 09 May 2014 02:53 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A look at Vice President Joe Biden's preparations for a potential 2016 presidential campaign:

Analysis: How Syria's Assad seized momentum in war Posted: 09 May 2014 11:56 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Two years ago, it seemed almost inevitable that Syrian President Bashar Assad would be toppled. Despite a fierce military crackdown, people were still taking to the streets in exuberant anti-government protests and rebels were pressing their fight deeper into the capital, even placing a bomb inside a high-level security meeting that killed top regime officials including Assad's brother-in-law.

Man confesses to killing US soldier in Iraq Posted: 09 May 2014 11:33 AM PDT CINCINNATI (AP) — A man in Iraqi custody has confessed to killing a U.S. soldier whose remains were found in 2008, four years after he was kidnapped by insurgents and a video showed him surrounded by armed captors, an Army spokeswoman told The Associated Press on Friday.

FIFA threatens Iraq suspension over election delays Posted: 09 May 2014 11:29 AM PDT World football's governing body FIFA has threatened to suspend Iraq over persistent delays to elections for its football federation's leadership, according to a copy of a letter obtained by AFP on Friday. The letter, signed by FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) chief Dato Alex Soosay, warns that if Baghdad does not hold the elections as planned at the end of the month, the governing bodies may decide to impose a suspension. \"Please be informed that should IFA (Iraqi Football Association) not complete its election process by 31 May 2014 (sic) then this matter will be referred to the relevant body to take appropriate measure against IFA, which may include immediate and indefinite suspension,\" the letter dated May 7 read.

Visas for Afghan Interpreters Reveal Failing Security Posted: 09 May 2014 11:09 AM PDT A new bill in Congress raises the prospect that more Afghan interpreters who worked alongside American troops will be able to move to the U.S., fulfilling a promise made to thousands who risked their lives and that of their families. But the legislation also underscores the kind of security situation U.S. troops are leaving behind in Afghanistan after a dozen years there, one in which civilians are intimidated or even killed for working with coalition forces, aid organizations and journalists. The four-page bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and introduced this week, would expand for one year a special immigrant visa program for interpreters and their immediate family members. It also would expand the initiative to those who worked with U.S. development organizations and American media outlets, as well as authorize an additional 3,000 visas, raising the cap to 10,500.

Ex-Blackwater guard indicted on murder charge for Iraq shooting Posted: 09 May 2014 10:29 AM PDT By Aruna Viswanatha WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A grand jury has charged a former Blackwater Worldwide security guard with murder for his alleged role in a 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Baghdad, according to an indictment made public on Friday. A federal appeals court last month effectively ended a manslaughter case against the guard, Nicholas Slatten, but prosecutors had signaled they might seek a new indictment against him. The indictment comes just weeks before three other former Blackwater guards are scheduled to face trial on manslaughter charges over the deaths of 14 Iraqis killed as the guards accompanied a State Department convoy through Baghdad's Nisur Square. The indictment, which was returned on Thursday but not made public until Friday, charges Slatten with the murder of one person, the driver of a white Kia sedan, which was the first shooting in the square.

The Daily Fix: Ugandans Face Life Sentences for Homosexuality, Iraq Wants Drones, and Yousafzai Slams Boko Haram Posted: 09 May 2014 10:10 AM PDT In Uganda, two men are awaiting a criminal trial that could result in a maximum sentence of life in prison. BuzzFeed reports Jackson Mukasa, 19, and Kim Mukisa, 24, were arrested in January, and their trial would mark the first time in Uganda's history that a trial was held under the country's colonial anti-homosexuality laws from 1890. While Uganda passed fresh anti-homosexuality laws this year, the ratification of that freshly homophobic statute came after the arrests of Mukasa and Mukisa. Adrian Jjuuko, who leads the group organizing the men's criminal defense, says the trial is significant because it's going to court;

Iraq forces launch assault near Fallujah, 11 killed Posted: 09 May 2014 08:05 AM PDT Iraqi forces launched an operation Friday to retake areas near the militant-held city of Fallujah in preparation for an eventual assault, a senior officer said, as violence killed 11 people. Anti-government fighters have held Fallujah, just a short drive from Baghdad, and shifting parts of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi, farther west, since early January. \"A military operation was launched... to eliminate the ISIL organisation and liberate Fallujah,\" a senior army officer said, referring to powerful jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. \"The operation will continue until an assault on Fallujah,\" the officer said.

Boko Haram exploits Nigeria's slow military decline Posted: 09 May 2014 05:41 AM PDT By Tim Cocks ABUJA (Reuters) - Two decades ago Nigeria's military was seen as a force for stability across West Africa. Now it struggles to keep security within its own borders as an Islamist insurgency in the northeast kills thousands. A lack of investment in training, failure to maintain equipment and dwindling cooperation with Western forces has damaged Nigeria's armed services, while in Boko Haram they face an increasingly well-armed, determined foe. The military still appears to have no idea exactly where they are, but denies it lacks the capacity to get them back.

Ukraine's security forces struggle to meet rebellion in east Posted: 09 May 2014 05:20 AM PDT Deputy defense minister Ihor Kabanenko deplored the rebels' \"dirty tactics\"; Weeks of fighting have exposed 20 years of neglect of Ukraine's security forces since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Eastern rebels that Kiev and the West say are backed by Russian special forces benefit from political vacillation, disarray among the generals and field commanders unsure of their orders. While an outright invasion by Russia, which would trigger a tense NATO-Russia standoff across Europe, seems less likely for now, President Vladimir Putin leaves open the option.

Beirut Barracks vs. Benghazi Posted: 09 May 2014 02:45 AM PDT Republicans are trying to criminalize a tragedy—wholly unprecedented, even after 241 Marines died because of a massive U.S. intelligence failure.

Is Rand Paul a Closet Hawk? Posted: 09 May 2014 02:45 AM PDT The Republicans' most visible isolationist is now being advised by a life-long interventionist. What gives?

Walter Jones Repels a War Party Attack Posted: 09 May 2014 12:00 AM PDT The GOP Beltway establishment is celebrating the victory of Thom Tillis, Speaker of the North Carolina House, over his Tea Party and Evangelical rivals in Tuesday's primary for the U.S. Senate. There, the planned purge of Rep. Walter Jones was repulsed by his loyal Republican base. Reportedly, a million dollars of super PAC money poured into the 3rd, from Republicans, in support of a brazen Big Lie campaign to paint Walter Jones as a liberal. A national organization opposing illegal immigration gives Jones an A+ for battling to secure America's borders and block amnesty.

Obama nominates ambassadors for key Egypt and Iraq posts Posted: 08 May 2014 11:24 PM PDT President Barack Obama said on Thursday he would nominate two career diplomats with extensive experience in the Middle East as ambassadors to Egypt and Iraq. Robert Stephen Beecroft, who has been U.S. ambassador in Baghdad since 2012, was nominated for the Cairo post, the White House said. U.S. ties with Egypt, a key Middle East ally, have been strained since the Egyptian army's ouster of an elected president last year. Stuart Jones, who has been ambassador to Jordan since 2011, was picked as the new envoy to Iraq.

A risky counterterrorism mission in Nigeria Posted: 08 May 2014 04:05 PM PDT The Obama administration's response to the spread of al-Qaida-linked terrorist groups in Africa and the Middle East has been quiet partnerships with local governments and regional actors to enable them to counter the Islamic extremist groups in their own neighborhoods.

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