Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• UN food agency facing worst challenge since World War II
• Bosnian man accused of financing terrorists remains jailed
• St. Louis man accused of financing terrorists remains jailed
• Three missing girls from London feared to have joined Islamic State
• Concern in Britain over diminished role on world stage
• Iraqis worry they won't be ready for Mosul operation
• Islamic State bombers kill dozens in Libyan suicide attacks
• UN secretary-general picks Kubis to head UN mission in Iraq
• CarePoint Health Offers Additional Healthcare Options to Veterans, Active Duty Service Members and their Families in Hudson and Passaic Counties
• O'Reilly contests 'Mother Jones' article about his reporting
• US outlines mission to retake Mosul from Islamic State. Why so public a plan?
• US Marines on the Ground in Iraq as ISIS Burns 45 Alive
• IS claims deadly Libya bombings as crisis deepens
• Battle-Scarred Vets Ski, Backpack, Mountain Climb Their Way Back to Mental Health
• Exclusive: Lawmaker pushes Obama to aid allies in Islamic State fight
• Islamic State militants claim suicide attacks in Libya that kill 42
• Defense Secretary Taps an Ad Hoc Board of Advisors
• UK police launch appeal to find Syria-bound schoolgirls
• European jihadis unable to join Islamic State, locked at home
• Obama, Qatari emir to discuss Mideast stability
• Moroccan court sentences 18 to prison on terror charges
• Islamic State not just a Western problem, says top Russian spy
• War, extremism, Islam, and America's language police
• U.S.-led forces target Islamic State in Iraq with 10 air strikes: U.S
• Why do blockbusters rarely win top honors at Oscars?
• Sweden ends job-seeker program accused of recruiting militants
• Bombs kill 40 in Libya in apparent revenge for Egyptian air strikes
• Bill O’Reilly’s 1982 Falklands War stories called into question
• Boko Haram: changing media strategy for a wider conflict?
• US wants Mosul offensive on IS in April-May
• $100 Billion Cost of Fighting ISIS Is Just the Beginning
• US summit to fight jihadists ends with little concrete action
• Bill O'Reilly Plans Scathing Retort Over Mother Jones Reporter That "Smeared Me"
• Bill O'Reilly Plans Scathing Retort Over Mother Jones Reporter Who "Smeared Me"

UN food agency facing worst challenge since World War II Posted: 20 Feb 2015 04:51 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The World Food Program is confronting its worst challenge since World War II in trying to tackle five top-level humanitarian crises at the same time, the head of the U.N. agency said Friday.

Bosnian man accused of financing terrorists remains jailed Posted: 20 Feb 2015 03:48 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 a brief court hearing Friday.

St. Louis man accused of financing terrorists remains jailed Posted: 20 Feb 2015 03:30 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 a brief court hearing Friday.

Three missing girls from London feared to have joined Islamic State Posted: 20 Feb 2015 02:58 PM PST Three teenage girls from London are missing, and Scotland Yard fears they have made their way to Syria to join Islamic State militants. Fifteen-year-old Shamima Begum (possibly traveling under the name of Aklima Begum), Kadiza Sultana, 16, and another 15-year-old whose family wishes to withhold her name, left their homes on Tuesday at 8 a.m. and met at Gatwick Airport, where they boarded a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul. The three girls are students at Bethnal Green Academy in London. The girls are friends with another girl who reportedly ran away to Syria in December.

Concern in Britain over diminished role on world stage Posted: 20 Feb 2015 02:54 PM PST British lawmakers accused the government of failing to show leadership over Ukraine on Friday in what the opposition Labour party said was "a growing chorus of concern" about Britain's foreign policy. The report from a parliamentary committee said that Europe as a whole was guilty of "sleepwalking" into the crisis and Britain "has not been as active or as visible on this issue as it could have been". The accusation resonates in Britain, where analysts said the last few years have seen a diminishing role for the second strongest NATO power and the third largest economy in the European Union. The memory of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan has made the public and the government particularly risk averse in foreign affairs, and budget cuts and electoral worries have played their part too.

Iraqis worry they won't be ready for Mosul operation Posted: 20 Feb 2015 02:50 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Questions persist about whether the struggling Iraqi military will be ready for the operation to retake the country's second largest city from Islamic State militants in just a few months.

Islamic State bombers kill dozens in Libyan suicide attacks Posted: 20 Feb 2015 02:18 PM PST TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Islamic State militants unleashed suicide bombings Friday in eastern Libya, killing at least 40 people in what the group said was retaliation for Egyptian airstrikes against the extremists' aggressive new branch in North Africa.

UN secretary-general picks Kubis to head UN mission in Iraq Posted: 20 Feb 2015 02:15 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. secretary-general has nominated Jan Kubis to head the United Nations mission in Iraq.

CarePoint Health Offers Additional Healthcare Options to Veterans, Active Duty Service Members and their Families in Hudson and Passaic Counties Posted: 20 Feb 2015 02:15 PM PST "Providing access to quality healthcare in the communities where they live is a step in the right direction towards improving services for veterans, current members of the armed forces and their families," said Mayor Fulop, an Iraq war veteran whose administration made ending veteran homelessness in Jersey City a priority.  "With this program, CarePoint will be making a huge impact in the lives of thousands of veterans and military families who have selflessly put our nation ahead of their own lives and well-being. "We are honored to be an additional source of quality medical care for veterans and TRICARE beneficiaries, and are proud to be the first authorized medical system for the Patient-Centered Community Care in Hudson County," said Dennis Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of CarePoint Health.

O'Reilly contests 'Mother Jones' article about his reporting Posted: 20 Feb 2015 01:08 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News Channel host Bill O'Reilly is contesting allegations that he embellished his past as a war correspondent.

US outlines mission to retake Mosul from Islamic State. Why so public a plan? Posted: 20 Feb 2015 12:47 PM PST The operation could be pushed back to May if US forces do not feel Iraqi troops are quite up to the job before then. Mosul is among the wave of Iraqi cities that fell last June to IS.

US Marines on the Ground in Iraq as ISIS Burns 45 Alive Posted: 20 Feb 2015 12:45 PM PST Iraqi local officials in Iraq's town of al-Baghdadi have warned of another ISIS mass burning massacre.

IS claims deadly Libya bombings as crisis deepens Posted: 20 Feb 2015 12:24 PM PST The Islamic State group claimed deadly suicide car bombings in Libya Friday as the international community struggles to find ways to end the chaos in the North African nation. The United States and United Nations denounced the "terrorist" attacks, echoing Libya's beleaguered internationally recognised government, which declared seven days of mourning. Washington and the UN also called for the resumption of talks between Libya's rival factions for a political solution to the deepening crisis. Security sources said simultaneous attacks targeted a petrol station packed with motorists, a police headquarters and the area around the home of parliament speaker Aquila Salah Issa, who was away at the time.

Battle-Scarred Vets Ski, Backpack, Mountain Climb Their Way Back to Mental Health Posted: 20 Feb 2015 12:18 PM PST Dan Shoemaker served 10 months in Iraq as an infantry platoon leader, but he says his most vivid and lasting memories come from his last day there, June 11, 2010. "Am I going to die?" Shoemaker asked. On the flight to Germany, Shoemaker replayed the day's events, the carnage he had seen, the men he had lost, and he wept. Still dealing with the deaths of his friends and the bleak health prognosis, Shoemaker was despondent.

Exclusive: Lawmaker pushes Obama to aid allies in Islamic State fight Posted: 20 Feb 2015 11:33 AM PST By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Republican lawmaker has told President Barack Obama she was prepared to block foreign aid money if the administration did not provide fighter jets and tanks to Egypt and arms to other regional allies fighting Islamic State militants. In a letter to Obama, Kay Granger, chairwoman of the House of Representatives State and Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee, said Egypt needs F-16 aircraft, M1A1 Abrams tanks and other weapons that have been held up since 2013. Granger urged the administration to give Iraqi Kurds tools and training to fight Islamic State and to make providing weapons to Jordan a priority, according to the letter, seen by Reuters on Friday.

Islamic State militants claim suicide attacks in Libya that kill 42 Posted: 20 Feb 2015 11:17 AM PST By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State killed 42 people in suicide car bombings in eastern Libya on Friday, in apparent retaliation for Egyptian air strikes. The three car bombs exploded in Qubbah, a small town near the seat of the official government in what appeared to be another high profile attack by the group after the storming of a Tripoli hotel and the killing of 21 captive Egyptian Copts. On Monday, Egyptian air force jets bombed Islamic State targets in Derna in far eastern Libya, after the ultra-radical group released a video showing the Coptic Christian migrant workers being decapitated on a beach.

Defense Secretary Taps an Ad Hoc Board of Advisors Posted: 20 Feb 2015 10:45 AM PST Carter, 60, a former deputy defense secretary, is an expert on nuclear weapons and a whiz at military budgeting. He apparently spoke by phone with Bloomberg, the multi-billionaire businessman and innovative government leader who ran New York City for three consecutive terms, and Cantor, who joined the Wall Street investment bank of Moelis & Co. as managing director after losing his seat in an upset GOP primary election last summer.

UK police launch appeal to find Syria-bound schoolgirls Posted: 20 Feb 2015 10:36 AM PST British anti-terror police on Friday made an unprecedented appeal to find three girls who they believe are travelling to join militants in Syria as part of what officers said was a "growing trend". Richard Walton, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said he was "extremely concerned" for the wellbeing of the girls. Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 17, and a third 15-year-old girl who is not being named at the request of her family, left their London homes on Tuesday and boarded a flight for Istanbul. Police believe the three close friends, who all attend Bethnal Green Academy in east London, are following the example of one of their friends, who fled to join the Islamic State group in December.

European jihadis unable to join Islamic State, locked at home Posted: 20 Feb 2015 10:13 AM PST By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT(Reuters) - The flow of European fighters from Europe to territory held by the ultra-hardline Islamic State is drying up due to tighter restrictions imposed by European states that have prevented would-be jihadis from traveling, fighters from the group said. Fighters in Syria and Iraq contacted by Reuters said the impact was limited on the battlefield since European fighters make up only a fraction of the forces of Islamic State. They are tough fighters," an Islamic State militant who fought with the group in both Syria and Iraq, told Reuters via the internet.

Obama, Qatari emir to discuss Mideast stability Posted: 20 Feb 2015 09:57 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will discuss Mideast security next week with the leader of Qatar, a partner in the U.S. coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Moroccan court sentences 18 to prison on terror charges Posted: 20 Feb 2015 09:35 AM PST RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A Moroccan court has convicted 18 men for being part of a criminal band aiming to carry out terror attacks, including a former member of the Spanish military.

Islamic State not just a Western problem, says top Russian spy Posted: 20 Feb 2015 09:29 AM PST Mr. Bortnikov, who was part of the Russian delegation to the Obama administration's Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, said it's time to create a special antiterrorism center under UN auspices and for intelligence services of all countries to pool their efforts. Bortnikov has frequently brought up the likelihood that members of Russia's 17 million strong Muslim minority might have volunteered to join the swelling war against IS in the Middle East. His main point, as it has been in the past, is to stress that when it comes to the war on terrorism, Russia is in the same boat as Western countries, most of whom also have citizens who have gone off to join the jihad. The problem is arguably more worrisome for Russia than for much of the West, however.

War, extremism, Islam, and America's language police Posted: 20 Feb 2015 09:09 AM PST In the process of making his case, Mr. Giuliani joined a rising chorus of language police on the American right, spearheaded by Fox News, who are furious (they say) that the Obama White House tries to avoid smearing all Muslims with the same brush when talking about Islamist jihadis like the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. This complaint was directed at Mr. Obama during an international summit in Washington on what his administration calls "countering violent extremism." In his remarks, Obama stressed a White House refrain – carried over from the Bush administration – that the US is "not at war with Islam." And this is what apparently infuriates his right-wing opponents. Fox went full-bore on this topic. "President Obama criticized for not calling terrorists 'Islamic,'" was a frequent chyron, usually as Republicans like Karl Rove attacked the administration's language choices, as if semantics hold the key to defeating the likes of Islamic State, known as IS or ISIS. "There is only one leader with the cache to lead the fight – that reluctant warrior, Barack Obama.

U.S.-led forces target Islamic State in Iraq with 10 air strikes: U.S Posted: 20 Feb 2015 08:44 AM PST U.S. and partner nations conducted 10 air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq since Thursday, five of them near the militant-controlled city of Mosul, the Combined Joint Task Force said. The air strikes near Mosul destroyed three fighting positions, an armored vehicle, a building and an excavator, the task force said. Three Islamic State boats were destroyed near Haditha and other strikes in Iraq hit near Kirkuk, Sinjar and Tal Afar, it added. An Iraqi and Kurdish military force of 20,000 to 25,000 troops is being prepared to recapture Mosul from Islamic State fighters, probably in the April-May time frame, an official at the U.S. Central Command said on Thursday.

Why do blockbusters rarely win top honors at Oscars? Posted: 20 Feb 2015 08:23 AM PST So who has actually seen the top Oscar movies? Take the two frontrunners: "Birdman" was written, produced and directed by Mexican Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for some $18 million, while "Boyhood" cost only $4 million to make -- over 12 years. Each of them made at least $200 million at the North American box office alone. Other best picture Oscar nominees like "Whiplash" and "Selma" made even less.

Sweden ends job-seeker program accused of recruiting militants Posted: 20 Feb 2015 08:14 AM PST The Swedish government is shutting down a job coaching program for new immigrants after complaints that it was being used to recruit people for militant groups, a state official said on Friday. "We have been alerted by participants that coaches have tried to recruit them to terrorist organizations," said Patrik Svensson, spokesman for the National Labor Agency that runs the scheme, adding that the government had passed on the information to the Swedish security service to investigate.

Bombs kill 40 in Libya in apparent revenge for Egyptian air strikes Posted: 20 Feb 2015 06:43 AM PST On Monday, Egyptian air force jets bombed suspected Islamic State targets in Derna in far eastern Libya, a day after the ultra-radical group released a video showing 21 captive Egyptian Coptic Christian workers being decapitated on a beach. Four years after rebels overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, the oil-producing North African state is in chaos, with two governments and parliaments allied to armed factions fighting for control, while Islamist groups exploit a power vacuum.

Bill O’Reilly’s 1982 Falklands War stories called into question Posted: 20 Feb 2015 06:33 AM PST Bill O'Reilly's claim to have reported from a war zone during the Falklands War has come under fire — but the Fox News host is sticking to his guns

Boko Haram: changing media strategy for a wider conflict? Posted: 20 Feb 2015 05:48 AM PST From grainy, amateurish footage and rambling, almost inaudible speeches to slick, expertly edited productions, Boko Haram's media strategy has undergone a transformation in recent months. "The core leadership of Boko Haram and ISIS don't really have contact but a lot of their affiliates do for business purposes," said Yan St-Pierre, from the Modern Security Consulting Group. Boko Haram's control of the Lake Chad area -- on an established arms trafficking and smuggling route -- had forced foreign militants to enter talks with them, he told AFP. As a result, Boko Haram, an essentially home-grown rebel group with local aims at its inception, was increasingly open to international influence, he added.

US wants Mosul offensive on IS in April-May Posted: 20 Feb 2015 03:08 AM PST The US wants Iraq to launch its offensive to retake the strategic northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State group in April or May, military officials said. Mosul is believed to be held by 1,000-2,000 IS fighters and 20,000-25,000 Iraqi troops are needed to carry out the offensive, an official with US Central Command said on Thursday. US-led coalition aircraft have recently focused air strikes in the area of Mosul and Kurdish forces have made inroads on the ground nearby. Kurdish peshmerga forces have also launched successful offensives against IS-held roads near Mosul, which is in the north of the country.

$100 Billion Cost of Fighting ISIS Is Just the Beginning Posted: 20 Feb 2015 02:15 AM PST The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) typically scores congressional actions, but Authorizations to Use Military Force (AUMFs) are anything but typical. CBO may well take the same stance with the ISIS AUMF the president offered last week, since the proposed legislation does not outline a specific set of military actions whose costs can be estimated. This is unfortunate, as wars can be costly and administration experts have been known to grossly underestimate the expense. In 2003, President George W. Bush fired economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey after Lindsey suggested that the Iraq War might cost as much as $200 billion – a number others in the administration thought to be greatly exaggerated but that ultimately ended up being an order of magnitude too low.

US summit to fight jihadists ends with little concrete action Posted: 19 Feb 2015 11:30 PM PST The United States sought to unite nations around a common vision for combating violent jihadist groups in three days of talks which ended Thursday long on words but short on concrete steps. In the wake of shocking beheadings and murders by the Islamic State (IS) group, as well as a series of lone attacks in European cities, governments must remain "unwavering in our fight against terrorist organizations," President Barack Obama said. On the final day of his high-profile summit, Obama laid out some priorities to neutralize the "warped ideologies" espoused by extremist groups like IS, which has captured a swathe of territory in Iraq and Syria, by tackling the root causes driving recruitment to their ranks. -- Governments must deepen cooperation against foreign fighters.

Bill O'Reilly Plans Scathing Retort Over Mother Jones Reporter That "Smeared Me" Posted: 19 Feb 2015 09:00 PM PST The host also plans on showing his Fox News audience an internal memo from 33 years ago praising his war coverage.

Bill O'Reilly Plans Scathing Retort Over Mother Jones Reporter Who "Smeared Me" Posted: 19 Feb 2015 09:00 PM PST The host also plans on showing his Fox News audience an internal memo from 33 years ago praising his war coverage.

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