Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Libya to UN Security Council: Lift arms embargo to fight IS
• 'I am my own man' on foreign policy, Jeb Bush says – not his father or brother
• Factbox: Jeb Bush seeks tips from wide cast of foreign policy experts
• Jeb Bush addresses family legacy: 'I'm my own man'
• Veteran Holt in unique position at NBC
• Islamic State militants find a foothold in chaotic Libya
• US has screened 1,200 moderate Syrian rebels for training
• Jeb Bush: 'Mistakes' made in Iraq on his brother's watch
• US may train Syrian rebels to guide air raids: Pentagon
• Jeb Bush: US must 'tighten the noose' in fight against IS
• Oil tumbles as huge supplies raise doubts about rally
• Jeb Bush’s Speech: What He Said, What He Really Meant
• Libya urges UN to lift arms embargo
• Sister of 'American Sniper' defendant: He said he killed 2
• Islamic State and America's new war: Some good and not-so-good reading
• Woman accused of supplying terrorists to remain jailed
• 'American Sniper' murder suspect battling 'demons,' sister testifies
• 'I am my own man,' says Jeb Bush
• If Jeb Bush Isn't George W. Bush, Who Is He?
• NEF Offers Scholarships to Veterans for Job Skills Training
• Jeb Bush tiptoes into critique of his brother’s Iraq legacy
• Here’s Why Obama and Congress’ Approval Ratings Are Up
• Arabs to ask UN to ease Libya arms embargo
• Palestinian Christians urge stronger fight against IS
• Western volunteers rally to Iraq Christian militia
• Tunisia 'Qaeda' attack kills four policemen
• US-led coalition against Islamic State meets in Saudi Arabia
• Turkish parliament becomes battleground for Kurdish peace process
• Islamic State lays claim to North African outpost
• Egypt's Sisi tours border with Libya after bombing IS targets
• Four years on, some in Europe support talking to Assad
• Fact v fiction: can doubts torpedo an Oscar movie?
• A trench in Iraq exacerbates Sunni fears of sectarian partition
• If a renowned jihadi cleric can't get through to Islamic State, who can?
• 10 Things to Know for Today
• Italy warns of Libya threat as pressure for action grows
• Jeb Bush Assails President Obama for Poor Leadership
• Brother: Lawyer seeking to represent jailed Post reporter
• Islamic extremism: How Europe is pushing back
• U.S. leads 16 more air strikes against Islamic State: statement

Libya to UN Security Council: Lift arms embargo to fight IS Posted: 18 Feb 2015 04:40 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Libya's foreign minister on Wednesday demanded that the U.N. Security Council lift an arms embargo so his country can fight the Islamic State group as it establishes a presence in north Africa and moves closer to Europe.

'I am my own man' on foreign policy, Jeb Bush says – not his father or brother Posted: 18 Feb 2015 04:02 PM PST Jeb Bush used his first major foreign-policy speech Wednesday to underscore how he would do almost everything differently from the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. In the much-anticipated talk, the not-yet-declared 2016 hopeful was to deliver his worldview and offer a glimpse of how he sees America's role in the world. Mr. Bush said America was the one developed democracy with the prospect of being "young and dynamic" and leading from a state of prosperity and optimism – in large part because it is a nation of immigrants. Immigration is a "catalyst for growth," Bush said, as he described economic prosperity at home as a prerequisite for America leading abroad.

Factbox: Jeb Bush seeks tips from wide cast of foreign policy experts Posted: 18 Feb 2015 03:41 PM PST (Reuters) - Republican Jeb Bush is looking for national security advice from a large cast of experts whose views range from pragmatic to hawkish as he seeks the party's 2016 presidential nomination, according to a list given to Reuters by an aide. Many of the advisers are former members of the administration headed by his brother George W. Bush, who was president from 2001-2009, but Jeb Bush, a front-runner in the race, is stressing that he is "my own man. ...

Jeb Bush addresses family legacy: 'I'm my own man' Posted: 18 Feb 2015 03:41 PM PST By Steve Holland and Emily Stephenson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Jeb Bush staked out a robust vision for U.S. foreign policy in line with party doctrine on Wednesday and sought to ease concerns that he might be influenced by his powerful political family by insisting, "I'm my own man." A frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, Bush said he would back a global strategy against Islamic State that "takes them out." But he offered no specifics on how to do this and avoided military threats that could reawaken memories of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq launched by his older brother, former President George W. Bush, over weapons of mass destruction that were never found. Speaking at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the former Florida governor struck a balance between respecting the service of his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and brother, while suggesting he would make decisions based on circumstances neither of them had to face.

Veteran Holt in unique position at NBC Posted: 18 Feb 2015 03:07 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Lester Holt's first report card as NBC's choice to fill in for suspended anchor Brian Williams as "Nightly News" anchor found him maintaining the network's ratings lead, although the competition has tightened.

Islamic State militants find a foothold in chaotic Libya Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:58 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Libya, virtually a failed state in recent years, has succeeded in one way: It's providing a perfect opportunity for the Islamic State group to expand from Syria and Iraq to establish a strategic foothold closer to European shores.

US has screened 1,200 moderate Syrian rebels for training Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:46 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has screened about 1,200 moderate Syrian rebels who could participate in a new training program so they eventually can return to the fight against Islamic State insurgents who have taken control of large portions of Syria, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Jeb Bush: 'Mistakes' made in Iraq on his brother's watch Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:46 PM PST CHICAGO (AP) — Republican presidential prospect Jeb Bush said Wednesday that "there were mistakes made in Iraq" during his brother's administration, offering the critique during a wide-ranging speech on foreign policy that comes as part of his run-up to a likely campaign for the White House.

US may train Syrian rebels to guide air raids: Pentagon Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:38 PM PST The United States will provide basic military training and equipment to Syrian rebels and may eventually instruct them on how to call in air strikes against Islamic State jihadists, the Pentagon said Wednesday. "But I really want to walk you away from this notion that we're going to be producing Syrian forward air controllers. About 1,000 US troops are due to deploy to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to start training "moderate" Syrian opposition forces to take on the IS group in Syria.

Jeb Bush: US must 'tighten the noose' in fight against IS Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:36 PM PST CHICAGO (AP) — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday there can be no diplomacy with Islamic State militants, but only a U.S.-led coalition of Middle Eastern countries committed to "tightening the noose and taking them out."

Oil tumbles as huge supplies raise doubts about rally Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:30 PM PST By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - The comeback rally in oil paused on Wednesday, with crude prices falling 5 percent or more after traders and investors were overwhelmed by the latest estimates for U.S. supply builds that came in nearly five times above market expectations. Benchmark Brent oil fell below the psychological $60 support and U.S. crude traded not far above $50 after industry group American Petroleum Institute estimated a supply build of more than 14 million barrels last week. "We have more supply coming from here with the refinery maintenance season, and that's prompting some people at least to ask if the market has overstretched itself with the rebound," said Tariq Zahir, managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors in Laurel Hollow in New York.

Jeb Bush’s Speech: What He Said, What He Really Meant Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:30 PM PST When Jeb Bush spoke Wednesday at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, he made a comment that we took to heart: "Our words and our actions must match – so that the entire world knows we say what we mean ...

Libya urges UN to lift arms embargo Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:19 PM PST Libya's foreign minister urged the UN Security Council on Wednesday to lift an arms embargo to allow the internationally recognized government to fight jihadists, amid growing alarm over the threat from the Islamic State. Mohammed al-Dairi made the appeal to the 15-member council after Islamic State militants beheaded 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians, triggering worldwide revulsion and condemnation. "Libya needs a decisive stance from the international community to help us build our national army's capacity and this would come through a lifting of the embargo on weapons so that our army can receive material and weapons so as to deal with this rampant terrorism," the foreign minister said.

Sister of 'American Sniper' defendant: He said he killed 2 Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:18 PM PST STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) — The sister of the former Marine accused of fatally shooting "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and another man testified Wednesday that when her brother came to her home after the killings, he seemed "almost in a daze."

Islamic State and America's new war: Some good and not-so-good reading Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:14 PM PST The US is now in a war with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and is providing arms to Egypt, which is fighting an IS affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula. The White House's draft of an Authorization for the Use of Military Force against IS makes that apparent.

Woman accused of supplying terrorists to remain jailed Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:02 PM PST ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Bosnian immigrant accused of funneling money and military supplies to terror groups in Iraq and Syria will remain in federal custody, after her lawyer told a judge Wednesday that he wants clarity on her immigration status before seeking bond.

'American Sniper' murder suspect battling 'demons,' sister testifies Posted: 18 Feb 2015 01:59 PM PST The man accused of murdering former U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle went through debilitating bouts of paranoia and had a hair-trigger temper, his relatives and girlfriend told a court on Wednesday, according to media reports. Eddie Ray Routh, 27, has been charged with killing Kyle, whose autobiography was turned into the acclaimed movie "American Sniper," and Kyle's friend Chad Littlefield at a gun range about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Fort Worth in February 2013 and then stealing Kyle's pickup truck. Lawyers for Routh said he was battling psychosis and are seeking to have him declared innocent by reason of insanity. Routh's sister Laura Blevins, called by the defense, told the court in Stephenville that Routh went to her after the killings and confessed, saying he traded his soul for the stolen pickup truck, Dallas TV broadcaster WFAA reported from the court.

'I am my own man,' says Jeb Bush Posted: 18 Feb 2015 01:34 PM PST Republican Jeb Bush insisted Wednesday that he is his "own man," further indication he is distinguishing himself from his presidential father and brother as he mulls a 2016 White House bid. In a broad-ranging foreign policy speech in which he called for resurgent American leadership from the Middle East to Asia to confronting Russian aggression, the former Florida governor acknowledged his brother George W. Bush committed "mistakes" in the Iraq War.

If Jeb Bush Isn't George W. Bush, Who Is He? Posted: 18 Feb 2015 01:30 PM PST When people say that Jeb Bush has a name problem, they often mean that he has a foreign-policy problem—his association with his older brother's much-maligned stewardship of global affairs. Speaking at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Bush asked to be judged on his own merits. If Jeb Bush isn't George W. Bush, however, it's tough to tell who he is. His speech was a mix of obligatory platitudes about leadership, general statements of principles, and a stinging critique of the Obama administration—all the more stinging because it was delivered in Chicago, Obama's home.

NEF Offers Scholarships to Veterans for Job Skills Training Posted: 18 Feb 2015 12:55 PM PST WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Many of our veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq are finding it difficult to get jobs due to lack of job skills training, which can be expensive and unaffordable. ...

Jeb Bush tiptoes into critique of his brother’s Iraq legacy Posted: 18 Feb 2015 12:21 PM PST Jeb Bush continued his introductory tour of the American political scene Wednesday, giving his third major speech in less than a month and dealing for the first time publicly with his brother's legacy in Iraq.

Here’s Why Obama and Congress’ Approval Ratings Are Up Posted: 18 Feb 2015 12:00 PM PST President Obama and Congress are slowly climbing their way out of record-low approval ratings, despite ongoing political showdowns, relentless partisan gridlock and political hackery in Washington that has previously earned the lawmakers a reputation less likeable than cockroaches and Nickleback. Congress's approval rating tends to be quite low: its long-term average hovers in the 30 percent range, with the exception of an 84 percent rating right after the September 11 attack. Last year, when Gallup asked respondents to rank the reasons they disapprove of Congress, partisan gridlock came out on top.

Arabs to ask UN to ease Libya arms embargo Posted: 18 Feb 2015 10:55 AM PST Arab states will ask the UN Security Council Wednesday to lift an arms embargo on weapons sales to Libya's internationally recognised government for its fight against jihadists, Egypt said. Cairo, which is pushing for tough measures against the Islamic State group in Libya after jihadists there beheaded Egyptian Christians, had called for international military action against IS but dropped the request after Western hesitation. It also said Arab states would propose a resolution that requests the lifting of an arms embargo to allow "the legitimate government (of Libya) to enable it to fight against terrorism". "There is no call for foreign military intervention," Egypt's foreign ministry said hours before a Security Council session on Libya.

Palestinian Christians urge stronger fight against IS Posted: 18 Feb 2015 10:21 AM PST Some 200 Palestinian Christians staged a candlelit march in Jerusalem Wednesday to mourn Egyptian Copts killed by the Islamic State group in Libya, calling for stronger international action against the jihadists. The demonstrators carried four cardboard coffins decorated with gold crosses, and held up banners showing pictures of the 21 Coptic Christians who were beheaded by IS militants in a graphic video released Sunday. "We call on the international community to respond to the killing of innocents," one banner read, as an Orthodox priest read out a eulogy for the dead. The sombre march made its way to Jerusalem's Coptic monastery, where banners were displayed featuring stills from the IS video and passages from the Bible.

Western volunteers rally to Iraq Christian militia Posted: 18 Feb 2015 10:00 AM PST Al-Qosh (Iraq) (AFP) - Decked out in his US army-issued fatigues and a lip stud shining from his mouth, the young American fighter cuts an unusual figure in the northern Iraqi town of Al-Qosh. He served in the US army in Baghdad in 2006-2007 and has now returned to fight the Islamic State jihadist group with Dwekh Nawsha, a Christian militia whose name is an Assyrian-language phrase conveying self-sacrifice. The 28-year-old, who goes by the pseudonym Brett, has become the figurehead of an emerging movement of foreigners coming to Iraq to support Christian groups.

Tunisia 'Qaeda' attack kills four policemen Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:43 AM PST Four Tunisian police were killed in a pre-dawn Wednesday attack by suspected Al-Qaeda-linked militants near the Algerian border, with the prime minister vowing to "exterminate" the perpetrators. The attack was the first deadly assault this year on government forces in Tunisia, where the police and the army have been hunting down jihadists blamed for a string of attacks on security forces. "A group of 20 terrorists attacked a patrol of the National Guard," two kilometres (1.2 miles) from Kasserine, which lies at the foot of Mount Chaambi, said interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui. The gunmen opened fire at a police car, killing the four policemen, and fled with their weapons, said Aroui.

US-led coalition against Islamic State meets in Saudi Arabia Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:17 AM PST RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Military chiefs from 26 nations involved in the U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State group began a two-day meeting in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Turkish parliament becomes battleground for Kurdish peace process Posted: 18 Feb 2015 08:18 AM PST By Daren Butler and Gulsen Solaker ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - A warning from Kurdish militants that negotiations with Turkey could be on the verge of collapse has turned parliament into the key battleground in a peace process meant to end a three-decade insurgency. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) warned from their base in northern Iraq's Qandil mountains on Tuesday that Turkey must take concrete steps to advance the process, piling on the pressure ahead of a general election in June. Punches flew as deputies debated controversial legislation to boost police powers, legislation which the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) - a key player in the peace negotiations - said would legitimize what it called "state terror".

Islamic State lays claim to North African outpost Posted: 18 Feb 2015 08:10 AM PST By Patrick Markey and Michael Georgy ALGIERS/CAIRO (Reuters) - The images match the worst of Islamic State's atrocities: black-clad fighters and an English-speaking jihadist taunt the West before slaughtering their victims in orange jumpsuits on a Libyan beach. Their masked leader turns to the Mediterranean and points a bloodied knife towards Europe, declaring, "We will conquer Rome, God willing." The execution of 21 Egyptian Christians by militants in Libya proclaiming allegiance to Islamic State was an announcement that the group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has spread from Syria and Iraq to Libya. Egyptian jets pounded suspected militant sites in Libya, and Paris joined Cairo in calling for U.N. action to halt the militants' spread. Libya appears to be Islamic State's most successful move yet beyond its Middle East heartland, likely attracting more recruits and increasing Western fears of a new North African base for jihadist fighters.

Egypt's Sisi tours border with Libya after bombing IS targets Posted: 18 Feb 2015 08:04 AM PST By Mahmoud Mourad CAIRO (Reuters) - President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned Egypt would strike back at any militant threats to its security as he toured the border area with Libya on Wednesday, two days after Cairo bombed Islamic State targets there. Sisi, accompanied by Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi, toured an air base near the borders with Libya to oversee measures aimed at securing his country's western frontier. Egypt directly intervened for the first time in the conflict in neighboring Libya on Monday after Islamic State released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians. "He (Sisi) stressed that Egypt will continue to confront firmly any attempts aimed at compromising its national security," army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Samir said in a statement posted on his official Facebook page.

Four years on, some in Europe support talking to Assad Posted: 18 Feb 2015 08:03 AM PST By Sylvia Westall and John Irish BEIRUT/PARIS (Reuters) - Some European Union countries which withdrew their ambassadors from Syria are saying privately it is time for more communication with Damascus even though Britain and France oppose it, diplomats said. Those states have become more vocal in internal meetings about the need to talk to the Syrian government and have a presence in the capital. London and Paris reject this, saying President Bashar al-Assad has lost all legitimacy. This makes a change in EU policy unlikely, but the debate underlines a predicament for Western states which ostracized the government at the start of the crisis, imposed sanctions, and four years on still find Assad in power.

Fact v fiction: can doubts torpedo an Oscar movie? Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:53 AM PST Director Ava DuVernay's Martin Luther King Jr movie "Selma" is accused of misrepresenting president Lyndon Johnson as an enemy of the civil rights icon. Some critics have slammed "American Sniper," Clint Eastwood's movie about elite US sharpshooter Chris Kyle -- credited with killing at least 160 people in Iraq -- for allegedly glorifying a mass murderer. The film, directed by Ben Affleck, was accused of playing fast and loose with the facts, notably failing to give credit for the major role Canada had in securing the US diplomats' freedom. "It doesn't help a movie to have controversy over it," said Tom Nunan, who produced the Oscar Best Picture "Crash" and who teaches at the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television.

A trench in Iraq exacerbates Sunni fears of sectarian partition Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:24 AM PST By Stephen Kalin HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) - The local official drew a line on a map slicing through farmland and desert southwest of Baghdad whose Sunni Muslim residents have been displaced by fighting, and then pointed just south to the site of the most revered Shi'ite shrine. The line marks the course of a 45 km (30 mile) trench designed to safeguard the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala from Islamic State's radical Sunni militants who seek its annihilation, said Babel provincial councilman Hassan Fadaam. "As long as Daesh is in Anbar, this trench will be used to protect the residents of both Babel and Kerbala, which will become a launching point to liberate (Anbar)," he said, using a pejorative Arabic acronym for Islamic State, the Sunni militant group also sometimes known as ISIL or ISIS. Many Sunnis, however, fear the trench is not a temporary security measure but just one more example of how they are being expelled from sensitive areas in central Iraq, which they say the Shi'ite majority wants to control.

If a renowned jihadi cleric can't get through to Islamic State, who can? Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:01 AM PST Iraqi police Col. Qasim al-Obeidi said that the Islamic State burned 45 captives alive in the Anbar Province town of Baghdadi yesterday, according to the BBC. Baghdadi fell to the Islamic State last Thursday, the first major town the group had seized in Iraq and Syria for months. It was repelled, but served as a reminder of the US troops now in harm's way in Iraq, and of how much IS would like to get hold of some of them. Islamic State's obsession with extreme brutality is by now well established.

10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:44 AM PST Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

Italy warns of Libya threat as pressure for action grows Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:33 AM PST By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italy called on Wednesday for urgent international action to halt Libya's slide into chaos and said it was ready to help monitor a ceasefire and train local armed forces. The U.N. Security Council is due to meet later on Wednesday to discuss Libya, where two rival governments, each backed by former rebels who toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, are battling for power. The growing danger became apparent on Sunday when Islamic State released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya. Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told parliament that possible alliances between local militias and IS militants, inspired by their counterparts in Syria and Iraq, risked destabilising neighbouring countries.

Jeb Bush Assails President Obama for Poor Leadership Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:30 AM PST Former Florida governor Jeb Bush declared Wednesday that he is his own man when it comes to formulating his views on foreign policy. In prepared remarks for a speech this morning at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Bush wasted little time in distancing himself from the record of his father and brother, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. As he begins to assemble a campaign organization and massive fundraising network, Jeb Bush must walk a fine line between trading on the notoriety of his famous political family and asserting his independence from the views and record of his father and brother. Many critics today blame the policies of George W. Bush for the chaos and terrorism besetting Iraq and neighboring countries, and many GOP leaders long ago began distancing themselves from the former president.

Brother: Lawyer seeking to represent jailed Post reporter Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:19 AM PST A lawyer chosen to represent a Washington Post correspondent detained in Iran has been unable to complete formalities to defend him, the reporter's brother said Wednesday as he appealed to the judiciary ...

Islamic extremism: How Europe is pushing back Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:03 AM PST It is the third in a series of talks that the youthful imam has given to the group of faithful, sitting on a red carpet in front of him, since Islamic extremists slaughtered 12 people at the offices of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. Through sermons and online advertising, from TV studios to family kitchens to psychiatrists' couches, Muslims and non-Muslims alike are scrambling to stem the tide of young Europeans volunteering to fight with Islamic State (known as both IS and ISIS) in Syria and Iraq, or to wreak havoc at home. "Our task is to make Islamic extremism as unappealing to young Muslims today as communism is now to Western teens," says Maajid Nawaz, who runs the Quilliam Foundation, a London-based group seeking to counter radicalization. Young European Muslims can be tempted by or trapped into violent extremism in many ways, say those trying to steer them in a different direction.

U.S. leads 16 more air strikes against Islamic State: statement Posted: 18 Feb 2015 05:12 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition has staged 16 air strikes against Islamic State, including 14 in Iraq and two in Syria, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement. The air strikes, launched during a 24-hour period since early Tuesday, struck several units of Islamic State fighters as well as staging areas, fighting positions, buildings and equipment, according to the statement released on Wednesday. (Reporting by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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