| As caliphate is declared, Iraqi troops battle for Tikrit Posted: 30 Jun 2014 05:00 PM PDT  By Oliver Holmes and Isra'a al-Rubei'i BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi troops battled to dislodge an al Qaeda splinter group from the city of Tikrit on Monday after its leader was declared caliph of a new Islamic state in lands seized this month across a swath of Iraq and Syria. Underscoring rising tensions in the region, the United States said it had sent about 300 additional troops into Iraq along with a detachment of helicopters and drone aircraft. Alarming regional and world powers, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed universal authority, declaring that its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was now caliph of the Muslim world, a mediaeval title last widely recognized in the Ottoman sultan deposed 90 years ago after World War One.
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| U.S. sends 300 more troops to Iraq over security concerns Posted: 30 Jun 2014 04:33 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart and Missy Ryan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is ramping up its military presence in Iraq, deploying around 300 additional troops as well as helicopters and drone aircraft in response security concerns in Baghdad, officials said on Monday. The decision announced by the Pentagon puts U.S. military personnel in a security role at Baghdad International Airport in the face of advances by an al Qaeda splinter group, three years after America's military withdrawal. As speculation swirls about whether President Barack Obama might authorize U.S. air strikes, a U.S. defense official said the moves were primarily focused protection of American personnel in Iraq, including civilians. The Pentagon said about 200 forces arrived on Sunday in Iraq to reinforce security at the U.S. embassy, its support facilities and Baghdad International Airport.
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| Japan poised to ease constitution's limits on military in landmark shift Posted: 30 Jun 2014 04:21 PM PDT  By Linda Sieg and Kiyoshi Takenaka TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's cabinet is expected on Tuesday to end a ban that has kept the military from fighting abroad since World War Two, a major shift away from post-war pacifism and a political victory for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who has pursued the change despite some public opposition. The move, seen by some as the biggest shift in defense policy since Japan set up its post-war armed forces in 1954, would end a ban on exercising "collective self-defense", or aiding a friendly country under attack. Long constrained by the pacifist post-war constitution, Japan's military would be more closely aligned with other advanced nations' armed forces in terms of its options to act, though the government would likely remain wary of putting boots on the ground in multilateral operations such as the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. "We have lived in the world of the second dimension, now we are entering a third dimension – which is the global standard." Abe has pushed for the change since taking office 18 months ago despite wariness among many Japanese voters worried about entanglement in foreign wars and angry at what some see as a gutting of the constitution's war-renouncing Article 9.
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| TURMOIL IN IRAQ PUTS WORLD'S CULTURAL HERITAGE IN PERIL Posted: 30 Jun 2014 04:06 PM PDT When I first traveled to Baghdad in 1973 as a foreign correspondent for the old Chicago Daily News, my visit was filled with surprises -- and I love surprises. First, in my second week in this "totally closed" country, where journalists would tear their hair and shout "AWRRAH!" at the apparent invisibility of any prominent figures to interview, I had the first interview that underground leader Saddam Hussein ever gave to a foreigner there. Second, the Iraqis told me that I would really love taking a trip around the historic sites of Iraq, upon which are so firmly based the Bible, the Koran and the various religious teachings of Greece and Rome. This all comes back to me now because this morning I opened my Wall Street Journal and there was an exquisite color picture of the great pink-sand-colored walls of Hatra, which stretch four miles around the city center with 160 towers and a Great Temple still standing. |
| Obama lauds former CEO as right choice to fix VA Posted: 30 Jun 2014 04:03 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama sought to turn the page Monday on a humiliating chapter in the history of the Veterans Affairs Department, tapping former Procter & Gamble CEO Robert McDonald to take over the sprawling agency.
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| Ukraine Ends Ceasefire; Promises to 'Attack' Posted: 30 Jun 2014 03:28 PM PDT  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has decided not to an extend a unilateral ceasefire, promising that his country would "attack."
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| U.S. sending 300 more troops to Iraq Posted: 30 Jun 2014 03:24 PM PDT  The U.S. is sending another 300 troops to Iraq to beef up security at the U.S. Embassy and elsewhere in the Baghdad area to protect U.S. citizens and property, officials said Monday.
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| White House defends Obama's pick to lead veterans affairs Posted: 30 Jun 2014 03:18 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Monday defended President Barack Obama's choice to lead the troubled Veterans Administration, stressing that the nominee is a seasoned manager and dismissing concerns that he may lack a understanding of issues facing recent war veterans. Obama announced at the Veterans Administration building that he is nominating Bob McDonald, a former chief executive of Procter & Gamble, to be the next secretary of veterans affairs. Obama called McDonald "one of our nation's most accomplished business leaders and managers." "We've got to regain the trust of our veterans with a VA that is more effective, more efficient and that truly puts veterans first. McDonald, 61, would succeed Eric Shinseki, who resigned amid a scandal over widespread delays in getting healthcare to veterans.
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| US documents:Blackwater guards were out of control Posted: 30 Jun 2014 03:17 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. State Department investigator warned that contractors for Blackwater Worldwide saw themselves as above the law and that the contractors, rather than department officials, were in command, according to a memo disclosed Monday. |
| Syria rebels say IS caliphate 'null and void' Posted: 30 Jun 2014 03:12 PM PDT  Syrian rebels, including the main Islamist factions, said Monday the creation of a caliphate by the Islamic State (IS) was "null and void". "We see that the announcement by the rejectionists of a caliphate is null and void, legally and logically," the groups said in a statement, using a pejorative term to refer to the extremist Islamic State. Among the signatories were the Islamic Front, Syria's biggest rebel coalition, and Majlis Shura Mujahideen al-Sharqiya, an alliance in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor near Iraq, that includes the Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.
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| Documents: Blackwater guards were out of control Posted: 30 Jun 2014 03:11 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A State Department investigator warned that contractors for Blackwater Worldwide saw themselves as above the law and that the contractors, rather than department officials, were in command, according to a memo disclosed Monday. |
| Marine who said he was kidnapped returned to US Posted: 30 Jun 2014 03:04 PM PDT RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun disappeared from his unit in Iraq nearly a decade ago under mysterious circumstances. A week later, a photo of a blindfolded Hassoun with a sword poised above his head turned up on Al-Jazeera television. There was even a claim that he was beheaded. |
| WILL THE NEW YORK TIMES TAKE US TO WAR AGAIN? Posted: 30 Jun 2014 03:01 PM PDT I have never been much of a fan of the journalistic self-examination practiced by folks identified as "ombudsman" or "public editor." I changed my mind last Sunday, and I'll get to that in a minute. |
| Obama to deploy 200 extra troops to Iraq Posted: 30 Jun 2014 02:59 PM PDT President Barack Obama said Monday he had sent up to 200 extra US troops equipped for combat, with surveillance gear and helicopters, to protect the US Embassy in Baghdad. Together with a 275-strong embassy protection force already sent and another 300 US special forces charged with advising the Iraqi army, the deployment will mean nearly 800 US soldiers will be in Iraq, following the sudden advance of Sunni Islamic State radicals. "In light of the security situation in Baghdad, I have ordered up to approximately 200 additional US Armed Forces personnel to Iraq to reinforce security at the US Embassy, its support facilities, and the Baghdad International Airport," Obama said in a letter to Congress. The Pentagon said in a statement that the new detachment had arrived in Iraq on Sunday and was also equipped with aerial drones to protect American personnel traveling away from the embassy -- possibly in an evacuation. |
| Russia asks UN to stop Syrian terrorist oil sales Posted: 30 Jun 2014 02:59 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia is asking the U.N. Security Council to condemn the illegal sale of Syrian oil by terrorist groups and encourage all countries to take "necessary measures" to prevent it. |
| Obama to Deploy 200 Combat-Ready Troops to Iraq Posted: 30 Jun 2014 02:46 PM PDT  President Obama wrote a letter to House Speaker John Boehner announcing that he would send 200 more American troops to Baghdad. Earlier this month, the president pledged a group of 300 military advisers to "train and advise Iraqi forces." The arrival of the military advisers led to the first offensive by Iraqi forces since ISIS began its takeover of northern and western Iraq. At that same press conference, Obama declared, quite forcefully, that "American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq." In his letter to Boehner, President Obama explained that these troops would not only be reinforcing security at the embassy in Baghdad, but would also be "equipped for combat." This would bring the total number of U.S. forces in Iraq to nearly 800.
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| Obama sending 200 more US troops to Iraq Posted: 30 Jun 2014 02:43 PM PDT  President Barack Obama says he's sending about 200 more U.S. troops to Iraq to protect Americans and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
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| Obama sending 200 more U.S. troops to Iraq Posted: 30 Jun 2014 02:31 PM PDT President Barack Obama says he's sending about 200 more U.S. troops to Iraq to protect Americans and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. |
| Stocks end mixed; S&P closes near all-time high Posted: 30 Jun 2014 02:22 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market got back on track in the second quarter.
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| Oil slips on hopes of stabilizing Iraq Posted: 30 Jun 2014 02:11 PM PDT The price of oil declined for the third straight day Monday on signs that the insurgency in Iraq has been slowed and may be turned back. |
| Islamic state declaration could lead to schism Posted: 30 Jun 2014 01:58 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — A militant extremist group's unilateral declaration of an Islamic state is threatening to undermine its already-tenuous alliance with other Sunnis who helped it overrun much of northern and western Iraq.
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| Iraq: Mortar shells hit near gate of Shiite shrine Posted: 30 Jun 2014 01:44 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say three mortars have landed near the gate of a much-revered Shiite shrine in the city of Samarra, wounding at least nine people. |
| Blackwater threatened to kill US official in Iraq: report Posted: 30 Jun 2014 01:31 PM PDT  The top manager in Iraq of the notorious private security firm Blackwater threatened to kill a US State Department investigator for probing the company's performance, The New York Times reported Monday. The Times, citing an internal State Department memorandum, said the threat came just weeks before Blackwater guards shot and killed 17 civilians on September 16, 2007 in Baghdad's Nisour Square. In an August 2007 memo detailing the threat made to her, lead State Department investigator, Jean Richter, said it "sent a clear message that the Blackwater contractors saw themselves as 'above the law' and actually believed that 'they ran the place.' The killings, seen as an example of the impunity enjoyed by private security firms on the US payroll in Iraq, exacerbated Iraqi resentment toward Americans and was part of the reason the Iraqi government refused to reach a treaty allowing US troops to stay beyond 2011.
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| Iraq says death toll in June highest since May 2007 Posted: 30 Jun 2014 01:07 PM PDT  Nearly 2,000 people were killed in Iraq this month, the highest figure since May 2007, according to government figures released on Monday. Figures compiled by the ministries of health, interior and defence showed that a total of 1,922 people died in June -- 1,393 civilians, 380 soldiers and 149 policemen. A further 2,610 people were wounded, the figures showed, including 1,745 civilians, 644 soldiers and 221 policemen. Iraqi forces wilted in the face of the initial assault, which saw major cities such as Mosul and Tikrit fall out of government control, but soldiers, police and allied fighters have since performed more capably.
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| Sex video new twist in GSK China bribery scandal Posted: 30 Jun 2014 12:47 PM PDT  By John Ruwitch, Adam Jourdan and Ben Hirschler SHANGHAI/LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc's tangled web of problems in China, including a sex video of its former China chief and anonymous emails alleging corruption, are highlighted in a lengthy draft report prepared for the British drugs firm and seen by Reuters. The report into the origin of the video and emails was compiled at the request of GSK by ChinaWhys, a Shanghai-based company founded by British investigator Peter Humphrey and his American wife Yu Yingzeng. Five days after their detention, police accused GSK of funneling up to 3 billion yuan ($482 million) through travel agencies to bribe doctors and officials in China. He also said GSK, Britain's biggest pharmaceutical firm, had hired ChinaWhys to investigate the video.
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| Appeals court revives Abu Ghraib torture lawsuit Posted: 30 Jun 2014 12:44 PM PDT RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — A lawsuit by four former Iraqi detainees who said they were tortured at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq may go forward, a U.S. appeals court said Monday. |
| Iraq crisis: Republicans see ISIS as threat to America, Dems not as much Posted: 30 Jun 2014 12:35 PM PDT Who's to blame for the vast land grab this month in Iraq by the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), which over the weekend declared an Islamic state or caliphate from Aleppo in Syria to Diyala province north of Baghdad in Iraq? Here, too, Americans point a finger at Mr. Obama, saying his failure to address extremist gains in Syria paved the way for the ISIS march through Iraq. The news is grim for a president who came into office in 2009 vowing to be done with Iraq and move America's international focus to a booming Asia. Some 69 percent of Americans say the US does not have a clear policy on Iraq. |
| Russia warns U.S. against more support for Syria's opposition Posted: 30 Jun 2014 12:27 PM PDT Russia warned the United States on Monday against stepping up support for Syria's opposition, saying it would only bolster a caliphate declared by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in part of Iraq and Syria. Baghdad called for international help as it is struggling to contain an offensive by the ISIL, an al Qaeda splinter group, which overran Iraq's Mosul earlier in June. It also captured territory in the north and east of Syria. |
| U.S. Trails Belgium in Ranking of Global Good. Seriously? Posted: 30 Jun 2014 12:10 PM PDT  This is where the United States and Ireland fall out on something called the Good Country Index, a creation of Simon Anholt and Robert Govers — self-described independent policy advisors and professional repairers/improvers of national and local place reputations. The Good Country Index ranks 125 countries across 35 data sets broken into seven areas of performance: health and well being; In the overall rankings, the U.S. also falls behind nations including Finland, Switzerland, New Zealand, the U.K., and even Iceland and Cyprus — and just two spots ahead of Malta. The U.S. ranking suffers because it places near the bottom in "International Peace and Security" and a weak 53rd when it comes to prosperity and equality.
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| Militants' declaration of 'caliphate' in Iraq, Syria has 'no meaning': US Posted: 30 Jun 2014 11:41 AM PDT  The United States said Monday the declaration by Sunni militants of an "Islamic caliphate" on territory they have seized in Iraq and Syria has "no meaning." "We have seen these types of words from ISIL before," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, referring to militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. "This declaration has no meaning for the people in Iraq and Syria," she said, adding that the militants -- who have now renamed their group the Islamic State -- were just trying "to control people by fear." The White House said the jihadists spearheading the offensive in Iraq had waged "a campaign of terror of gross acts of violence and repressive ideology that pose a grave threat to Iraq's future."
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| Unrest in Iraq could delay delivery of US F-16s Posted: 30 Jun 2014 11:41 AM PDT  Violence in Iraq could delay the delivery of American F-16 fighter jets to the Baghdad government after contractors had to be evacuated from a key air base, the Pentagon said Monday. Although the United States is moving to expedite the delivery of weapons and ammunition to the Iraqi government as it battles Sunni extremists, volatile conditions on the ground threaten to disrupt preparations for the F-16 jets, spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters. Private contractors working on the F-16 program at Balad airbase were recently moved to a safer location in Baghdad because of the threat posed by advancing Sunni militants. His comments came as Iraq took delivery of a first batch of Sukhoi Su-25 fighter aircraft from Russia, but the Pentagon insisted Moscow's move would not derail Washington's arms sales to Baghdad.
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| Jihadists lock down Syria's Raqa, send in arms Posted: 30 Jun 2014 11:24 AM PDT  Activists in Raqa, a stronghold of the Islamic State (IS), said Monday the jihadists have locked down the Syrian city and are shipping in new weapons, including missiles from Iraq. "All roads leading in and out of Raqa city have been closed. Nobody can enter or leave Raqa at all right now," said Hadi Salameh, speaking to AFP via the Internet. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the influx of arms.
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| GOP target Pryor surviving TV attacks in Arkansas Posted: 30 Jun 2014 11:18 AM PDT  WARREN, Arkansas (AP) — Television ads have relentlessly attacked Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor for more than a year, and not even his famous name is off limits. Says a little girl in a spot set at a spelling bee, it's spelled "O-B-A-M-A."
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| Abu Ghraib torture lawsuit revived by U.S. appeals court Posted: 30 Jun 2014 11:10 AM PDT  A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit against CACI International Inc by four former Iraqi detainees who claimed the U.S. defense contractor's employees directed their torture at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said the claims had sufficient ties to the United States to be heard in U.S. courts. Writing for a unanimous three-judge 4th Circuit panel, Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan also said Congress has a "distinct interest" in not turning the United States into a "safe harbor" for torturers. The lawsuit accused CACI employees who conducted interrogation and other services at Abu Ghraib of directing or encouraging torture, in part to "soften up" detainees for questioning, while managers were accused of covering it up.
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| Turkey does not want 'tattered and divided' Iraq Posted: 30 Jun 2014 10:56 AM PDT ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's deputy prime minister says his country does not want to see a "tattered and divided" Iraq. |
| Jihadis in Iraq and Syria declare a caliphate? Why that's good. Posted: 30 Jun 2014 10:44 AM PDT Yesterday's declaration of a caliphate by the leading jihadi army in Iraq and Syria – and its demand that Muslims swear oaths of fealty to its leader – could prove the most disastrous piece of jihadi overreach since Al Qaeda in Iraq's routine use of torture and beheadings spurred a Sunni Arab backlash in 2006. The formerly Al Qaeda-linked jihadis are generally reported as going from strength to strength in Iraq, taking and holding cities like Mosul and Tikrit from the central government. The almost comic extent of the ISIS caliphate claim was made clear by its latest name change to simply "Islamic State." Not an Islamic State in Iraq, as it once called itself, or an Islamic State for Iraq and the Levant, as it more recently styled itself. |
| Jordan urges world help to face regional turmoil Posted: 30 Jun 2014 10:37 AM PDT  Jordan's King Abdullah II on Monday appealed for international support to help his country deal with regional turmoil after jihadists in neighbouring Iraq and Syria declared an "Islamic caliphate". "It is important that the international community continue to support Jordan to deal challenges and developments in the region," a palace statement quoted the king as telling a Japanese parliamentarily delegation. A Sunni militant offensive spearheaded by the Sunni jihadists in Iraq has sparked fears in Amman that they will take their fight to the kingdom. The militants, previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), on Sunday declared a "caliphate", or Islamist state, straddling parts of Iraq and Syria.
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| Iraq jihadists 'selling oil to Assad', says France Posted: 30 Jun 2014 09:53 AM PDT  French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday that jihadists spearheading a militant offensive in Iraq have sold oil from captured areas to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Fabius said the sale was evidence of the "confusing" nature of the escalating conflict in the Middle East in which Assad and the jihadists are in theory on opposing sides. The rebels, previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), declared a "caliphate", or Islamist state, straddling Iraq and Syria at the weekend.
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| Successors to the prophet: Islam's caliphates Posted: 30 Jun 2014 09:48 AM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — By declaring the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, the extremist group that controls large swaths of Syria and Iraq is claiming to be the successor of the political and religious community established by the Prophet Muhammad.
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| Marine accused of desertion returned to US unit Posted: 30 Jun 2014 09:47 AM PDT RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Marine corporal who was declared a deserter nearly 10 years ago after disappearing in Iraq under mysterious circumstances was held Monday at a North Carolina brig after being apprehended in the Middle East, a spokesman said. |
