Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Syrian raids kill eighteen Islamic State foreign jihadists
• Mistaken US bombing blamed on miscommunication
• British Army damaged by spending cuts - lawmakers' report
• 'A dozen' Americans fighting with IS: Pentagon
• Al-Qaeda faces uphill battle with new India wing
• Ukraine's leader: Careful optimism on peace talks
• Obama administration sets briefings for Congress on Islamic State
• A Brief History of Rand Paul's Evolving 'I'm Not An Isolationist' Op-Eds
• CAN OBAMA COME UP WITH AN ISIS STRATEGY?
• U.N. cites concerns over possible gaps in Syria's declared chemical arms
• US Believes a Dozen Americans Are Fighting With ISIS in Syria
• US: Terrorist could get Syria chemical weapons
• Turkey arrests 19 jihadists in border province
• NATO leaders accuse Russia, aid Ukraine
• US and UK seek partners to go after Islamic State
• Israel says it gagged reports captive Sotloff was its citizen
• NATO, wary of ceasefire talk, blasts Russia over Ukraine
• Some Wyoming lawyers upset about Cheney speech
• US fears Syrian chemical weapons falling to extremists: Power
• Iraq strikes kill IS chief's aide: general
• Baghdad car bombs kills at least 17
• Sunni militants kidnap dozens of men in Iraq
• As Obama Stumps for Cash, National Guard Goes Broke
• Jittery Israel gears up for war crimes battle
• Experts Examine Future of Airspace Domain
• Obama’s Approval Rating Drops To All-Time Low … Again
• New Al Qaeda Franchise Also Sets Sights on US
• Congress Makes a Pit Stop Back at the Office
• Indian states on alert after al Qaeda announces local wing
• NATO leaders keep up pressure on Russia despite Ukraine hopes
• NATO blasts Russia over Ukraine as summit starts
• Zawahiri's Al Qaeda in India declaration. Dangerous or desperate?
• Greece says in 'danger zone' from influx of Syrian, Iraqi refugees
• Children face 'education emergency' in north Iraq
• Texas retail gasoline prices down 3 cents
• India on alert as Al-Qaeda opens South Asia front
• Review: 'Last Days of Vietnam' shows Saigon's fall
• Britain actively considering arming Kurds: Cameron
• Hundreds flee Nigerian city as Islamist militants gain ground
• Don’t Expect NATO to Ante Up the Money for Ukraine

Syrian raids kill eighteen Islamic State foreign jihadists Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:49 PM PDT By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Eighteen foreign fighters from the Islamic State, including an American jihadist, were killed in a Syrian air raid on a town near the militant group's main stronghold city of Raqqa in eastern Syria, a human rights monitoring group said on Thursday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has tracked violence on all sides of the three-year-old conflict, said reliable sources reported that top Islamic State leaders who happened to be in the municipal building of Gharbiya at the time of the raid were among the foreign fighters killed. Another air raid on Thursday that hit a former intelligence headquarters in the city of Abu Kamal near the border with Iraq that was used by the Islamic State also killed an undisclosed number of their members, the monitoring group said. Reuters cannot independently verify reports from Syria due to security conditions and reporting restrictions.

Mistaken US bombing blamed on miscommunication Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:35 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A "friendly fire" incident in Afghanistan that killed five U.S. soldiers and one Afghan in June was caused by a series of avoidable miscommunications among air and ground forces, according to a military investigation report released Thursday.

British Army damaged by spending cuts - lawmakers' report Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:13 PM PDT By Sarah Young LONDON (Reuters) - The British Army has been damaged by spending cuts and by 2020 it will be even more "vulnerable" from a lack of manpower, a panel of lawmakers said on Friday, in a warning to the government at a time of heightened geo-political tensions. Britain joining U.S. "Shortfalls in Army recruitment are increasing the risk of capability gaps emerging in some parts of the Army's structure," said a report by parliament's Public Accounts Committee on Britain's Army 2020 plan. "Our Army 2020 plans are on track and will deliver by 2020 the army we need to counter the wide range of threats we face," Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said.

'A dozen' Americans fighting with IS: Pentagon Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:31 PM PDT The United States believes about "a dozen" Americans are fighting with Islamic State (IS) extremists in Iraq and Syria, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday. There are about 100 US nationals "operating inside of Syria" but it was unclear which rebel groups they were associated with, spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said. Senior US officials have voiced concern at the presence of foreign fighters among the Sunni extremists who hold Western passports, potentially enabling them to return from the battlefield prepared to carry out terror attacks in Europe or the United States. US intelligence officers have estimated that there are roughly 1,000 European volunteers among rebel forces in Syria, but it remains unclear how many were linked to the IS jihadists.

Al-Qaeda faces uphill battle with new India wing Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:21 PM PDT As he set up shop in Kashmir's main city Thursday, Saleem Ahmed had little truck with Al-Qaeda's call to turn India's only Muslim-majority state a key battlefield of a new jihad across South Asia. In a video message Wednesday by its leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda vowed to "raise the flag of jihad" across the sub-continent as it sought to exploit the disillusionment felt by tens of millions of Muslims. India, Bangladesh and even Sri Lanka have a long history of communal violence, and have spawned several radical Islamist movements such as Indian Mujahedin and the Kashmir-based Hizbul Mujahedin.

Ukraine's leader: Careful optimism on peace talks Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:41 PM PDT NEWPORT, Wales (AP) — Ukraine's president expressed "careful optimism" Thursday that a peace deal could be reached with Russian-backed separatists at their upcoming talks, even as he and NATO leaders agreed that Moscow should be punished for its role in the insurgency.

Obama administration sets briefings for Congress on Islamic State Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:29 PM PDT President Barack Obama's administration is dispatching senior intelligence officials and Secretary of State John Kerry to brief members of Congress and staff about the Islamic State militant group in the coming weeks, congressional aides said on Thursday. Kerry will testify to members of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee during the week of Sept. 15, an aide said.

A Brief History of Rand Paul's Evolving 'I'm Not An Isolationist' Op-Eds Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:16 PM PDT Sen. Rand Paul continued his tradition of weighing in on the world's analysis of his foreign policy with another op-ed Thursday for Time magazine. After weeks of chastising more hawkish politicians (on the left and on the right) and cautioning against another invasion in Iraq, Paul told the Associated Press in an email:

CAN OBAMA COME UP WITH AN ISIS STRATEGY? Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:00 PM PDT If we are going to have a meaningful, productive, national debate on what our foreign policy and reactions should be to ISIS, we need to have unbiased information. ISIS stands roughly for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. President Obama and most foreign leaders still call it ISIL, or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It has no borders, no national government, no international recognition as a state, and it most emphatically has no recognition as an agent of the Islamic faith.

U.N. cites concerns over possible gaps in Syria's declared chemical arms Posted: 04 Sep 2014 01:46 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday that discrepancies and questions still surround Syria's chemical weapons declaration as the United States expressed concern that any omitted toxins could fall into the hands of the Islamic State extremist militants. Sigrid Kaag, head of a joint U.N. and Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) mission overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, said that since President Bashar al-Assad's government submitted its original declaration late last year, Damascus had made four amendments.

US Believes a Dozen Americans Are Fighting With ISIS in Syria Posted: 04 Sep 2014 01:40 PM PDT The U.S. believes that about a dozen Americans are fighting with ISIS in Syria, part of a larger group of more than 100 Americans who have joined various rebel groups in the country. The new estimate was provided  by the Pentagon in a clarification of comments made...

US: Terrorist could get Syria chemical weapons Posted: 04 Sep 2014 01:37 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States is concerned that the Islamic State group and other terrorists could get a hold of chemical weapons if Syria is hiding any stockpiles, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday.

Turkey arrests 19 jihadists in border province Posted: 04 Sep 2014 01:17 PM PDT Turkey has arrested 19 militants affiliated with the Islamic State in its southern province of Gaziantep bordering Syria, its governor said on Thursday. Gaziantep province governor Erdal Ata vehemently denied claims that the region was being used as a rear base for IS militants, saying Turkey was doing all it can to arrest or deport suspected IS members. The governor also said police had caught suspected IS-linked jihadists coming from Europe or Caucasus, carrying backpacks, at the Gaziantep airport or at the border. He however strongly denied the claims that Gaziantep province hosted a camp of IS militants after some pictures purporting to show such a facility circulated in media outlets last week.

NATO leaders accuse Russia, aid Ukraine Posted: 04 Sep 2014 01:12 PM PDT NATO leaders on Thursday accused Russia of failing to take "a single step towards peace" in Ukraine even as President Petro Poroshenko voiced "careful optimism" about forging a ceasefire with pro-Moscow rebels. The leaders gathered at a summit of the Western military alliance in Newport, Wales agreed to set up new funds to help Ukraine's military effort and treat wounded soldiers in a five-month conflict in which more than 2,600 people have been killed. European and US officials at the talks also said they were ready to approve fresh economic sanctions on Russia on Friday, although implementation could be delayed pending ceasefire talks scheduled for the same day. NATO leaders on Friday are also expected to approve plans to position troops and military equipment in Eastern Europe to reassure ex-Soviet bloc member states unnerved by Russia's actions.

US and UK seek partners to go after Islamic State Posted: 04 Sep 2014 01:11 PM PDT NEWPORT, Wales (AP) — President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron pressed fellow NATO leaders Thursday to confront the "brutal and poisonous" Islamic State militant group that is wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria — and urged regional partners like Jordan and Turkey to join the effort as well.

Israel says it gagged reports captive Sotloff was its citizen Posted: 04 Sep 2014 01:01 PM PDT By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Thursday it had prevented local media from reporting that slain U.S. Islamic State, a militant group which has overrun large areas of Syria and Iraq, released a video this week of Sotloff being beheaded, calling the execution retaliation for U.S. Sotloff, who was Jewish, immigrated in 2005 to Israel. Its government became aware "at an early stage" of his captivity that he was Israeli, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.

NATO, wary of ceasefire talk, blasts Russia over Ukraine Posted: 04 Sep 2014 12:58 PM PDT By Adrian Croft and Guy Faulconbridge NEWPORT Wales (Reuters) - NATO demanded on Thursday that Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine as U.S. President Barack Obama and his Western allies vowed to support Kiev and buttress their own defenses against Russia in the biggest strategic shift since the Cold War. NATO leaders made clear at a summit in Wales that their military alliance would not use force to defend Ukraine, which is not a member, but planned tougher economic sanctions to try to change Russian behavior in the former Soviet republic. Western officials voiced deep caution about Kremlin talk of an imminent ceasefire in a five-month-old armed revolt by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, timed just as NATO was meeting and the European Union was preparing new sanctions.

Some Wyoming lawyers upset about Cheney speech Posted: 04 Sep 2014 12:52 PM PDT CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Former Vice President Dick Cheney can be a polarizing figure even six years out of office.

US fears Syrian chemical weapons falling to extremists: Power Posted: 04 Sep 2014 12:47 PM PDT The United States expressed concern Thursday that undeclared Syrian chemical weapons could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists. US Ambassador Samantha Power raised the concerns as a joint UN and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons mission winds up an drive to eliminate Syria's chemical arsenal. The mission is supposed to formally conclude its work by September 30, but its chief Sigrid Kaag said there were still "discrepancies and questions" related to Syria's weapons declarations.

Iraq strikes kill IS chief's aide: general Posted: 04 Sep 2014 12:41 PM PDT Air strikes in northern Iraq on Thursday killed the top aide of jihadist Islamic State (IS) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the country's ranking army officer said. "Iraqi warplanes carried out a security operation today, resulting in the killing of... Abu Hajr al-Suri," General Babaker Zebari told AFP. IS-led militants launched a major offensive in June, overrunning Iraq's second city Mosul and then sweeping through much of the country's Sunni Arab heartland. IS launched a renewed push in Iraq last month that drove Kurdish forces back toward the capital of their autonomous northern region, sparking a campaign of US air strikes that have helped them regain some ground.

Baghdad car bombs kills at least 17 Posted: 04 Sep 2014 12:10 PM PDT Two car bombs exploded in Shiite-majority areas of the Iraqi capital Thursday, killing at least 17 people, security and medical officials said. The first blast struck an area of shops, restaurants and cafes in the Kadhimiyah area of northern Baghdad, killing at least 11 people and wounding 32. Another car bomb exploded later near alcohol shops in the central district of Karrada, killing at least six people and wounding 17, officials said. At the site of that blast, security forces gathered around the mangled remains of a car that apparently carried the explosives, which sat in a narrow median.

Sunni militants kidnap dozens of men in Iraq Posted: 04 Sep 2014 12:08 PM PDT Residents say militants affiliated with the extremist Islamic State group have kidnapped dozens of men from a Sunni village north of Baghdad.

As Obama Stumps for Cash, National Guard Goes Broke Posted: 04 Sep 2014 12:00 PM PDT As President Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron try to drum up cash from European allies to bolster NATO in the face of an invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, American soldiers back here at home are sitting out training exercises because of a lack of cash.  Multiple reports claim the National Guard has a budget shortfall of $101 million, forcing units in Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio, Delaware, Hawaii and Guam to postpone training exercises. "This year, some unusual and unforeseen circumstances contributed to higher-than-normal expenditure rates across the Guard," Guard spokesman Capt. John D. Fesler told the Milwaukee Sun Sentinel. To fill the funding shortfall, Congress would have to act to allocate new funds to the National Guard.

Jittery Israel gears up for war crimes battle Posted: 04 Sep 2014 11:52 AM PDT TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A jittery Israeli military is gearing up for what could become its next big battle: dealing with U.N. investigations that could result in war-crimes allegations.

Experts Examine Future of Airspace Domain Posted: 04 Sep 2014 11:41 AM PDT FAIRFAX, Va., Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Air operations over Northern Iraq, Afghanistan and other world trouble spots demonstrate the complexity of delivering humanitarian aid while combating terrorism. Equally challenging is the integration of evolving air capabilities to support domestic security and relief needs in the crowded U.S. airspace. ...

Obama’s Approval Rating Drops To All-Time Low … Again Posted: 04 Sep 2014 11:34 AM PDT President Obama's approval rating returned to his record low Thursday, following his admission last week that the White House "has no strategy" to deal with the growing threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The president has not yet reached Jimmy Carter's record low approval rating of 28 percent.

New Al Qaeda Franchise Also Sets Sights on US Posted: 04 Sep 2014 11:19 AM PDT Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) may be a new branch of the global terror group, but at least one of its primary aims is the same as the rest: to target the United States. Following words from al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, a...

Congress Makes a Pit Stop Back at the Office Posted: 04 Sep 2014 10:52 AM PDT Congress will return to the Capitol next week after its leisurely summer vacation. "September is going to be brief, but busy," House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told Republican members on a conference call Wednesday, according to a person on the call. The House is slated to be in session for just nine full days over three weeks before the election, and the Senate – which pretty much just wings it when it comes to a schedule – probably won't be in D.C. much longer than that. The most important thing the House and Senate have to do in September is to pass legislation to prevent a government shutdown after federal funding expires at the end of the month.

Indian states on alert after al Qaeda announces local wing Posted: 04 Sep 2014 10:36 AM PDT By Rupam Jain Nair NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India put several provinces on heightened alert on Thursday after al Qaeda announced the formation of a wing of the militant group in India and its neighborhood, a senior government official said. In a video posted online, al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri promised to spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the "Indian subcontinent". "An alert has been sounded." Indian security forces are usually on a state of alert for attacks by home-grown Islamist militants and by anti-India groups based in Pakistan. Until now there has been no evidence that al Qaeda, the group responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 airliner attacks on New York's World Trade Center, has a presence in India.

NATO leaders keep up pressure on Russia despite Ukraine hopes Posted: 04 Sep 2014 10:32 AM PDT Ukraine on Thursday raised hopes of a ceasefire with pro-Moscow rebels during a NATO summit where Britain and the United States urged the international community to stand up to Russia and counter the threat from Islamic State. President Petro Poroshenko briefed leaders, including US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and said he expected a deal to be signed on Friday "for the gradual introduction of the Ukrainian peace plan". The separatist administrations in the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine also said they were ready to issue a ceasefire order if the Kremlin-backed peace plan is signed, but the reaction in Newport in Wales was cautious. President Francois Hollande called for a "real ceasefire" that would lead to a broader political agreement and said France would only deliver warships worth 1.2 billion euros to Russia if these conditions were in place.

NATO blasts Russia over Ukraine as summit starts Posted: 04 Sep 2014 10:25 AM PDT By Adrian Croft and Kylie MacLellan NEWPORT Wales (Reuters) - NATO demanded on Thursday that Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine as U.S. President Barack Obama and his Western allies held a summit intended to buttress defenses against Russia in the biggest strategic shift since the Cold War. While Western leaders discussed tougher sanctions against Russia over continued fighting in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin dangled the prospect of an imminent ceasefire in the five-month-old armed revolt by pro-Russian separatists. "We call on Russia to end its illegal and self-declared annexation of Crimea," Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared as the 28 NATO leaders met Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko at a golf resort near the Welsh city of Newport.

Zawahiri's Al Qaeda in India declaration. Dangerous or desperate? Posted: 04 Sep 2014 10:13 AM PDT Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda, has had a rough few years. His old boss and friend Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces in a May 2011 raid in Pakistan. Zawahiri, who is also presumed to be in Pakistan, hoped that the Arab uprisings that started that spring would somehow bring him and the group he now leads back to relevance in the heart of the Islamic world.  The self-declared Islamic State (ISIS) has clearly challenged Al Qaeda in seeking to take up the mantle of leadership of what these men imagine is a global jihad. This summer, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared himself the caliph of the world's Muslims. He has an army, territorial reach, and financial resources behind him that Al Qaeda, even in its heyday, could not have imagined.

Greece says in 'danger zone' from influx of Syrian, Iraqi refugees Posted: 04 Sep 2014 10:07 AM PDT By Renee Maltezou and Deborah Kyvrikosaios ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece is slipping into a "danger zone" without the funds or resources to handle a fast-growing wave of refugees trying to enter the European Union from war-torn countries like Syria and Iraq, the government warned on Thursday. A surge in people fleeing violence in Africa and the Middle East has increased the pressure on the euro zone's most indebted country, a major gateway into the EU for migrants who attempt risky boat crossings through porous sea borders. The latest influx was driven mainly by wars in Syria, the Gaza Strip, Libya and northern Iraq, Shipping and Maritime Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis told reporters. "Definitely due to the budget limitations we are having, the limited resources and the lack of great support from the European Union, I think that we are getting into a danger zone." Greece's worst post-World War Two economic slump has forced many thousands out of work and catapulted the far-right, anti-immigrant Golden Dawn party to prominence as the country's third largest political force.

Children face 'education emergency' in north Iraq Posted: 04 Sep 2014 09:49 AM PDT Hundreds of thousands of children in Iraq's northern Kurdish region are facing an "education emergency" after being forced from their homes, with hundreds of schools used to shelter displaced families. "It is a major disaster for children," said Brenda Haiplik, an education expert from the UN children's agency, UNICEF. The United Nations says up to 1.8 million Iraqis have been displaced since January, with around 850,000 seeking refuge in autonomous, three-province Kurdistan. Swathes of Iraq have been seized by militants since the beginning of the year, especially in a major jihadist-led offensive launched in June, causing widespread displacement of people desperate to escape the unrest.

Texas retail gasoline prices down 3 cents Posted: 04 Sep 2014 09:38 AM PDT Retail gasoline prices across Texas have dropped 3 cents this week to settle at $3.23 per gallon. AAA Texas on Thursday reported the statewide decline compares to nationwide gas prices that held steady ...

India on alert as Al-Qaeda opens South Asia front Posted: 04 Sep 2014 09:19 AM PDT India placed several states on high alert on Thursday after Al-Qaeda launched a new branch to "wage jihad" in South Asia, seeking to invigorate its waning Islamist extremist movement. Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri said the new operation would take the fight to Myanmar, Bangladesh and India, which has a large but traditionally moderate Muslim population. Such threats can't be ignored," an Indian intelligence source told AFP after Wednesday's video announcement. "We have asked the states to be on alert (especially) Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar." Experts said the group, which has seen its global influence overtaken by the Islamic State jihadist group fighting in Iraq and Syria, would struggle to gain traction in India.

Review: 'Last Days of Vietnam' shows Saigon's fall Posted: 04 Sep 2014 09:17 AM PDT There are many differences between America's troubled exit from Iraq and its ramshackle retreat from Vietnam. But the U.S. flight from Saigon as seen in Rory Kennedy's documentary "Last Days in Vietnam" has incredible, unmistakable resonance on the political, ethical and military confusion that occurs when, after years of war, a far-away nation pulls up stakes.

Britain actively considering arming Kurds: Cameron Posted: 04 Sep 2014 08:59 AM PDT Britain is considering providing arms directly to Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State in northern Iraq, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday after jihadists threatened to kill a British hostage. "Britain has been helping get arms to the Kurds and we are prepared to do more. The Royal Air Force (RAF) has been transporting ammunition supplied by allies and British non-lethal equipment to the regional government in Irbil, including 10 tonnes of British body armour overnight Wednesday. Asked if Britain would join the US in air strikes on IS forces, Cameron said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Newport: "I'm certainly not ruling anything out and I will always act in the British national interest."

Hundreds flee Nigerian city as Islamist militants gain ground Posted: 04 Sep 2014 08:32 AM PDT By Lanre Ola MAIDUGURI Nigeria (Reuters) - Hundreds of civilians are fleeing Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri as fears grow that Islamist Boko Haram militants may try to assault the Borno state capital after seizing towns and territory around it, residents said on Thursday. Heavily-armed Boko Haram fighters using captured military vehicles and weapons have taken towns and villages to the north, east and south of Maiduguri in the last few weeks and days in an apparent strategy to encircle the city and hold territory. Apprehension among Maiduguri residents grew after fierce fighting since Monday between Nigeria's military and attacking Boko Haram fighters over the town of Bama, 70 km (45 miles) southeast of Maiduguri.

Don’t Expect NATO to Ante Up the Money for Ukraine Posted: 04 Sep 2014 08:12 AM PDT As NATO leaders meet in Wales today to coordinate response to Russia's incursion of Ukraine, and amid calls to strengthen the alliance, U.S. These pleas, expected to be made by President Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron, are among countless others made by British and American officials since the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the last five years, in the wake of Europe's sovereign debt crisis and as the threat from Russia decreased, European defense budgets have declined 20 percent.  "Russia's actions in Ukraine shatter that myth and usher in bracing new realities," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a June speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington.

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