Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Pentagon owes back pay for Syria air operations
• It’s Human Rights Day: 7 Petitions You Can Sign Now to Change the World
• 'War of the Roses' case nets $15.7 million judgment
• Torture scandal unlikely to clip CIA wings: experts
• 'Black site' countries outed in torture report aren't outraged. Why?
• Time names Ebola fighters as 'person' of 2014
• Congress reaches deal for $1.1 trillion U.S. spending bill
• US strategy on IS under attack by lawmakers
• Undocumented migrants to Spain enclave 'top 4,600 in 2014'
• Kerry to Congress: ‘Don’t Hem Us In Against ISIS’
• U.S. lawmakers skeptical of Obama strategy against Islamic State
• US official: Fight against IS in 'earliest phases'
• European stock markets mainly off as oil prices slump
• Bitter Mideast greets US torture report with shrug
• CIA torture report: In Iraq, US abuses, and their consequences, are old news
• CIA torture confronts US with War on Terror demons
• Uzbek president asks Putin to help fight radical Islam in Central Asia
• Israel moots security cooperation with Lebanese military
• Islamic State suicide bombing kills 12 Shi'ite militia fighters
• Saudi King Abdullah Donates $104M to the World Food Program
• UN rights chief slams indifference over migrant deaths at sea
• U.S. launches 20 airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria, Iraq
• Kerry calls for new three-year war powers to fight IS
• Jihadist attack in Iraq kills nine Shiite militiamen
• Shi'ite pilgrims flock to Iraq holy city, government fears attack
• CIA Torture Report Casts New Light on Gitmo Prisoners
• Attacks kill 15 in Iraq as country battles IS
• Hayden: No One Ever Warned Us Against Overreacting to 9/11
• Record numbers trying and dying to reach Europe: UN
• Torture Report: Another Obama Insult to Allies
• Hagel to Iraqis: US firepower is not the answer
• Obama confronts Bush legacy with report's release
• How Yemen's Houthis control Sanaa and alarm the West
• Oil up after five-year low in Brent; traders wary of more downside
• Citing Fear Of Torture, Obama’s Second Cousin Seeks Asylum In US
• Can UN envoy sell cease-fire to Syria rebels? Not so fast.

Pentagon owes back pay for Syria air operations Posted: 10 Dec 2014 03:34 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is giving hundreds of troops thousands of dollars in back pay for flying airstrike and surveillance missions over Syria since mid-September, due to an oversight in danger pay guidelines, defense officials said Wednesday.

It’s Human Rights Day: 7 Petitions You Can Sign Now to Change the World Posted: 10 Dec 2014 02:33 PM PST In honor of Human Rights Day, join TakePart in the global movement to take action and raise awareness by signing the petitions below. The United Nations founded this day in 1948 as a chance to celebrate its declaration that "each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values."

'War of the Roses' case nets $15.7 million judgment Posted: 10 Dec 2014 02:18 PM PST CHARLESTON, W.Va., Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a complex breach of contract case involving the breakup of a lucrative business partnership — which the judge said rivaled Warren Adler's "The War of the Roses" — a federal judge found Thomas W. Charron Jr. had been denied more than $15.7 million owed him when the company was sold months after he left.In 2003, Mr. Charron founded Sallyport Global Holdings, launching the sole proprietorship with a $100,000 home equity loan. Fellow West Point graduate and veteran John P. ...

Torture scandal unlikely to clip CIA wings: experts Posted: 10 Dec 2014 01:43 PM PST Detailed revelations of the torture used by George W. Bush-era operatives against Al-Qaeda suspects are only the latest morale-sapping scandal to envelop the Central Intelligence Agency. Criticism has trailed the CIA for decades, from the Bay of Pigs fiasco of the early 1960s and the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s, to false intelligence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the humiliating expulsion from Germany of a CIA station chief this year.

'Black site' countries outed in torture report aren't outraged. Why? Posted: 10 Dec 2014 12:34 PM PST Before Tuesday's release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA's post-9/11 interrogation practices, Obama administration officials argued for keeping the report under wraps, at least temporarily.

Time names Ebola fighters as 'person' of 2014 Posted: 10 Dec 2014 12:06 PM PST Time magazine on Wednesday named as its "Person of the Year 2014" the healthcare workers treating the Ebola epidemic, which has killed more than 6,300 people worldwide, in a move welcomed by the White House. The hemorrhagic fever mushroomed from an outbreak into an epidemic in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, and there have been scattered cases in Nigeria, Mali, Spain, Germany and the United States. "The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight," wrote Time editor Nancy Gibbs, announcing the prestigious annual title. The worst ever Ebola outbreak has left more than 6,300 people dead worldwide, nearly all in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

Congress reaches deal for $1.1 trillion U.S. spending bill Posted: 10 Dec 2014 11:57 AM PST By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional negotiators unveiled a $1.1 trillion U.S. spending bill that aims to avoid a government shutdown at midnight on Thursday and punts an immigration showdown between Republicans and President Barack Obama until February. As the funding deadline loomed, Republicans successfully negotiated a number of policy provisions into the measure, including easing of regulations ranging from the environment to financial derivatives trading. The measure was expected to be put to a House of Representatives vote on Thursday. ...

US strategy on IS under attack by lawmakers Posted: 10 Dec 2014 11:53 AM PST The US administration was under fire again Wednesday, accused of a "flawed" strategy to help end the war in Syria, as a top official admitted training for moderate rebels will only begin next year. A day after US Secretary of State John Kerry sparred with senators, lawmakers in the House rounded on special envoy to Iraq Brett McGurk for a slow and inadequate response to the threat posed by Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. "After four months of the US-led air campaign in Iraq and in Syria, ISIS still controls essentially the same amount of territory that it did in the summer, and one of the reasons for this, in my opinion, is the limited nature of this effort," said representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee.

Undocumented migrants to Spain enclave 'top 4,600 in 2014' Posted: 10 Dec 2014 11:49 AM PST The number of undocumented migrants entering Spain's north African territory of Melilla has surged to more than 4,600 so far this year, the interior minister said on Wednesday. The government has come under pressure this year over the treatment of migrants at the borders of Melilla and Ceuta, another Spanish territory to the west, which together have Europe's only land borders with Africa. Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz faced questions from opposition lawmakers who accused the authorities of denying migrants who enter the territory the right to asylum by deporting them on the spot. He defended the government's approach, telling parliament that most of the undocumented arrivals who try to enter Ceuta and Melilla were "social and economic immigrants" who do not intend to seek asylum.

Kerry to Congress: ‘Don’t Hem Us In Against ISIS’ Posted: 10 Dec 2014 11:47 AM PST Secretary of State John F. Kerry made it clear on Tuesday that the Obama administration is looking for  maximum  flexibility in any  new war powers authority Congress is likely to grant the administration ...

U.S. lawmakers skeptical of Obama strategy against Islamic State Posted: 10 Dec 2014 11:45 AM PST By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers voiced deep skepticism on Wednesday about President Barack Obama's handling of the war against Islamic State rebels in Iraq and Syria, charging that his response had been slow and "dithering" and warning the strategy did not match the threat. Ambassador Brett McGurk, the deputy presidential envoy for countering Islamic State, told lawmakers the administration was making progress in the effort to destroy Islamic State, defeat al Qaeda and encourage the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. ...

US official: Fight against IS in 'earliest phases' Posted: 10 Dec 2014 11:08 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats on Wednesday complained that the White House's response to the Islamic State has been lackluster and peppered an Obama administration official with questions about why moderate forces were not being trained more quickly to stem the extremist militants' march across Iraq and Syria.

European stock markets mainly off as oil prices slump Posted: 10 Dec 2014 10:10 AM PST London (AFP) - European stock markets mostly retreated Wednesday, pushed lower as oil prices slumped to new five-year lows on renewed signs of slack demand for crude amid ample supplies.

Bitter Mideast greets US torture report with shrug Posted: 10 Dec 2014 10:04 AM PST CAIRO (AP) — This week's revelations about the CIA's harsh treatment of terror suspects in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks have been met with a collective shrug in the broader Middle East, where they merely reinforced a long-held view of American brutality rooted in decades of conflict.

CIA torture report: In Iraq, US abuses, and their consequences, are old news Posted: 10 Dec 2014 09:59 AM PST While many Americans have expressed shock at the details of CIA interrogation methods revealed Tuesday in a Senate report, there is little such surprise being voiced in Iraq, where the price the US has paid for those policies is also well understood.

CIA torture confronts US with War on Terror demons Posted: 10 Dec 2014 08:50 AM PST More than a decade after the September 11 attacks, a bruised and divided United States is still grappling with their dark legacy, as the squalid details of CIA torture dominate front pages. America's drone assassins still criss-cross the skies over Middle East battlefields, US military advisers are returning to Iraq and scores of prisoners languish in Guantanamo Bay's military jail. It's about how we represent ourselves to the world," said Senator John McCain. The United States, he said, must face up to the questions raised by its conduct after the September 2001 attacks on its cities.

Uzbek president asks Putin to help fight radical Islam in Central Asia Posted: 10 Dec 2014 08:42 AM PST By Denis Dyomkin TASHKENT (Reuters) - Uzbekistan urged Russia on Wednesday to help protect Central Asia against what it said would be a rising threat from militant Islam as U.S. forces draw down their numbers in Afghanistan. President Islam Karimov said Central Asia, a resource-rich and mainly Muslim region nestled between Russia, China and Afghanistan, could face a fate similar to that of Iraq, swathes of which have been taken over by Islamic State insurgents. "Various elements among the representatives of Islamic State are already slipping into Afghanistan from Iraq and Syria. ...

Israel moots security cooperation with Lebanese military Posted: 10 Dec 2014 08:14 AM PST By Dan Williams TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's military said on Wednesday it was exploring the possibility of cooperating with the Lebanese army to counter Sunni Islamist militants, even though the two countries remain technically at war. Any public coordination was almost certain to be rejected in Beirut, where dealing with neighboring Israel is considered a crime. But a senior Israeli military officer noted that the U.S. ...

Islamic State suicide bombing kills 12 Shi'ite militia fighters Posted: 10 Dec 2014 07:50 AM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomb and mortar attack by Islamic State militants killed 12 Shi'ite militia fighters north of Baghdad on Wednesday and a series of bombings in the Iraqi capital killed six people, military and medical sources said. The militia fighters were killed when Islamic State militants commandeered an armored Humvee, rigged it with explosives and drove it into a school where the fighters were based near Dijla district, 20 km (15 miles) south of the city of Samarra. ...

Saudi King Abdullah Donates $104M to the World Food Program Posted: 10 Dec 2014 07:30 AM PST WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz contributed $104 million to the World Food Program (WFP) to help meet an urgent need for funding to continue food distribution to millions of refugees sheltering in countries neighboring Syria, in Ethiopia and in Kenya."The contribution to the World Food Program reflects King Abdullah's desire to help those in need, regardless of religion, sect or ethnicity," said Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir. ...

UN rights chief slams indifference over migrant deaths at sea Posted: 10 Dec 2014 07:18 AM PST Geneva (AFP) - The UN's human rights chief on Wednesday condemned rich nations for their indifference to waves of global migration, after new figures showed more than 3,400 people died in the Mediterranean this year trying to reach Europe.

U.S. launches 20 airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria, Iraq Posted: 10 Dec 2014 06:31 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States launched 20 airstrikes against Islamic State militants in recent days, military officials said in a statement on Wednesday. Since Monday, U.S. forces conducted seven strikes against the militant group in Syria and led 13 strikes in Iraq with its partner nations, according to the statement from the Combined Joint Task Force for the coalition overseeing the operation. ...

Kerry calls for new three-year war powers to fight IS Posted: 10 Dec 2014 05:28 AM PST US Secretary of State John Kerry Tuesday urged lawmakers to adopt a new legal authorization to underpin military action against Islamic State militants for at least three years. The US-led coalition has already carried out some 1,100 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq since September targeting IS extremists in a bid to defeat the group which has seized a large territory and imposed harsh Islamic law. So far, the Obama administration has used the existing authorization for use of military force against Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and their branches approved in the days after the September 11, 2001 attacks as the legal justification for going after IS. He asked the committee to help draw up a new authorization which "provides a clear signal of support for our ongoing military operations against ISIL," referring to the group by another acronym.

Jihadist attack in Iraq kills nine Shiite militiamen Posted: 10 Dec 2014 05:27 AM PST A suicide car bomb killed nine Shiite militiamen in an attack near the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday, army and hospital sources said. The suicide attacker rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a gathering of Shiite fighters around 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Tikrit. An army lieutenant colonel said nine of the Shiite volunteers were killed and 13 other people were wounded, including five civilians. The past few days have seen a surge in violence south of Tikrit and around Samarra between pro-government forces and the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

Shi'ite pilgrims flock to Iraq holy city, government fears attack Posted: 10 Dec 2014 05:19 AM PST By Mushtaq Mohammad KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - From across Iraq and neighboring states, millions of Shi'ite pilgrims are heading this week to the city of Kerbala for a religious ceremony that authorities say radical Sunni fighters are targeting for attack. Already hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite faithful, many from adjacent Iran, have visited Kerbala for rituals which culminate in Saturday's Arbain holy day -- the last of 40 days' mourning for the death in battle of Imam Hussein 13 centuries ago. ...

CIA Torture Report Casts New Light on Gitmo Prisoners Posted: 10 Dec 2014 05:00 AM PST A long-anticipated and highly controversial Senate Intelligence Committee repor t issued Tuesday documents the CIA's secret system of imprisonment and torture of terrorism suspects around the world in ...

Attacks kill 15 in Iraq as country battles IS Posted: 10 Dec 2014 04:43 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of attacks in and near Baghdad on Wednesday, including one involving a suicide bomber driving a tanker truck, killed at least 15 people, Iraqi officials said.

Hayden: No One Ever Warned Us Against Overreacting to 9/11 Posted: 10 Dec 2014 03:00 AM PST After the Senate released its torture report, Michael Hayden, who formerly led both the CIA and the NSA, granted an interview to NBC News. Under questioning by Brian Williams, he provided no persuasive rebuttal to the report's findings. But he did offer a defense of America's intelligence community that doubles as an unwitting indictment of the country's leadership in the post-9/11 era. Here's what Hayden said as if it reflects well on the people who were in charge:

Record numbers trying and dying to reach Europe: UN Posted: 10 Dec 2014 02:50 AM PST More than 3,400 people have died in the Mediterranean this year trying to reach Europe, the UN refugee agency said Wednesday, urging governments to take more action to save lives. More than 207,000 people have made the risky sea crossing since January, almost three times the previous high of 70,000 during the Libyan civil war in 2011, the UNHCR said. Most set off from Libya bound for Italy and Malta, looking for work or, increasingly, asylum -- the numbers include 60,051 Syrians and 34,561 Eritreans. The figures were released at the start of a two-day meeting in Geneva hosted by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres on how to protect people who take to the sea to escape persecution, war, instability and poverty.

Torture Report: Another Obama Insult to Allies Posted: 10 Dec 2014 02:15 AM PST It's not enough that the Obama administration has offended nearly every ally of the United States. Now, the Democratic Party with the full approval of the White House has endangered them as well. That ...

Hagel to Iraqis: US firepower is not the answer Posted: 10 Dec 2014 12:27 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — As the first American defense secretary to visit Iraq since the U.S. officially ended its long war three years ago, Chuck Hagel's message to Iraqi leaders was plain: U.S. military power didn't solve Iraq's problems last time, nor will it now.

Obama confronts Bush legacy with report's release Posted: 10 Dec 2014 12:09 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — For President Barack Obama, the long-delayed release of a scathing Senate report on harsh CIA interrogations underscores the degree to which the legacy of George W. Bush's national security policies has shadowed the man elected to change or end them.

How Yemen's Houthis control Sanaa and alarm the West Posted: 09 Dec 2014 09:33 PM PST By Yara Bayoumy and Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - It was Waddah al-Hitari's beard that killed him. Militiamen on the streets of Yemen's capital shot him dead one Friday because he looked like a terrorist, colleagues of the young doctor said.     Hitari was killed by a member of the Houthis, an armed Shi'ite faction whose fighters had swept down from the north and stunningly captured Sanaa from the army about a month earlier. ...

Oil up after five-year low in Brent; traders wary of more downside Posted: 09 Dec 2014 06:26 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brent oil prices ended higher on Tuesday after touching a 5-year low and following five straight days of losses, while U.S. crude also rose as players looked for a sustainable price in a market haunted by oversupply concerns.

Citing Fear Of Torture, Obama’s Second Cousin Seeks Asylum In US Posted: 09 Dec 2014 05:31 PM PST It is unclear whether George Were Obama is President Barack Obama's second cousin once removed or second cousin twice removed.

Can UN envoy sell cease-fire to Syria rebels? Not so fast. Posted: 09 Dec 2014 05:00 PM PST UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura's bid to establish a "freeze zone" in the embattled northern Syria city of Aleppo came face to face this week with one of its main obstacles: fractured and pressured rebel leaders who fear that a cease-fire under current conditions would constitute surrender.

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