US office overseeing fight against IS gets reprieve
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Thursday, May 17, 2018.
Category Archives: Baghdad, Iraq
Elections in Iraq: The third incarnation of Sadr
In 2007, Muqtada al-Sadr saw the walls closing in around him. His fellow Shi'ite leaders in Iraq were opposing his militia, Iran was turning against him and the Americans were hunting him.
US anti-IS office gets reprieve as Syria pullout accelerates
The Trump administration will keep open the Stat... WASHINGTON - The State Department unit overseeing the fight against the Islamic State group will stay in business for at least six more months, reversing an administration plan for the unit's imminent downgrade even as President Donald Trump presses ahead with a speedy U.S. exit from Syria. A plan initiated by Rex Tillerson before he was fired as secretary of state in March would have folded the office of the special envoy to the global coalition into the department's counterterrorism bureau as early as spring, officials said.
Polls close across Iraq in first vote since victory over IS
Four years in office, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has racked up a list of achievements t... . In this Monday, April 23, 2018 photo, campaign poster of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is displayed in Baghdad, Iraq.
Benefits cheat caught trotting up stairs at work in Birmingham
Devastating moment Israeli missile obliterates Iranian rocket launcher and nearby soldiers in Syria as Netanyahu tells Tehran they 'crossed a red line' when they shelled the Golan Heights 'Lying, negligent' nurse is charged in death of ex-national security adviser H.R. McMaster's father at Philadelphia senior care facility in shocking abuse case Mother, 43, admits letting her blind, autistic son die in a field in his underwear, but could serve just 120 days behind bars after murder charge was dropped 'I think it's time to wrap it up': Pence tells Mueller he's had a year to run his Russia probe but won't say it's a 'hoax' Now Avenatti obtains Michael Cohen's EMAILS and posts one showing how he still identified as Trump's lawyer in April - despite Giuliani saying he no longer represented the President Rudy Giuliani leaves his law firm permanently to fight for Trump - the day after ... (more)
Will Bolton and MEK pull an Iraq War-like Chalabi-type Scam on Iran?
On the fifteenth year anniversary of the Iraq war, several things are evident. One is the carnage that the war inflicted, with over 500,000 and by some estimates 1 million Iraqis and 4,486 US service members killed.
Years after son was beheaded in Iraq, dad still seeks peace
In this May 7, 2005 file photo, Michael Berg is hugged by a supporter at a gathering in memory of his son, Nicholas Berg, in West Chester, Pa. On what would have been Nick Berg's 40th birthday next week, his father will be where he's been nearly every April 2 since his son was beheaded in Iraq: Lake Drummond.
Saudi Prince: War with Iran in 10-15 Years w/out new Sanctions
The Arabic press is reacting to remarks of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Wal Street Journal warning of war with Iran unless more severe economic and military sanctions are applied to that country. He is licking his wounds after having been outmaneuvered by Iran in Syria ; Iraq, where Iranian forces were key to defeating ISIL while the Saudis offered almost no help; Qatar, where the illegal Saudi blockade gave Iran the opportunity to strengthen ties with Doha; and Lebanon, where Bin Salman's brazen kidnapping of the sitting prime minister late last year failed to dislodge him or to weaken the political clout of Iran-Allied Hizbullah.
Iraq: Al-Sadr & Communist Party ally against Corruption, Iranian Hegemony
Nativist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr , 44, is encouraging members of his Sadr Movement to vote in the upcoming national elections for parliament. "Vote," he said, "and save our country from corruption."
BAE, GDLS enter Army’s MPF vehicle competition | DSCA…
Qatar and Jordan are the latest customers for the DB-110 reconnaissance pod with a US Department of Defense contract post welcoming the Gulf nations to the program. Valued at $51.2 million, the sale falls under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract awarded by the US Air Force on March 5 and expects to run until March 1, 2021.
Iraq Sentences Turkish ISIS Brides To Death By Hanging
An Iraqi court sentenced 16 Turkish women to death by hanging for joining the Islamic State, an Iraq judiciary official confirmed Sunday. It is the latest round of harsh punishment handed down in connection with ongoing trials of hundreds of foreign women detained since August.
Islamic State fighters fleeing Syria await orders for renewed battle
Washington : Thousands of Islamic State foreign fighters and family members have escaped the US-led military campaign in eastern Syria, according to new classified US and other Western military and intelligence assessments, a flow that threatens to tarnish US declarations that the militant group has been largely defeated. As many of the fighters flee unfettered to the south and west through Syrian army lines, some have gone into hiding near Damascus, the Syrian capital, and in the country's north-west, awaiting orders sent by insurgent leaders on encrypted communications channels.
U.S. sets sights on last of ISIS
Secretive drones and surveillance jets are boring down on an estimated 3,000 remaining Islamic State fighters, who are hiding in Syria along a short stretch of the Euphrates River and surrounding deserts, as the U.S. military campaign against the extremist group enters its final phase. But the focus on a 15-square-mile enclave near the Iraqi border is complicated by skies congested with Russian, Syrian and Iranian aircraft as rival forces converge on that last main pocket of Islamic State militants in Syria.
Islamic State: is the war over?
Late last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin met the leaders of Iran, Turkey and Syria, allegedly to discuss a final peace settlement in the Syrian civil war. On Monday he was in Syria to announce a partial withdrawal of Russian troops from the country because they had inflicted a "total rout" on the jihadist militants of Islamic State.
The Podesta creeps
Hope you caught this: Oops! Podesta brothers are getting attention they don't like. Don't forget that they remain friends with convicted child molestor Dennis Hastert and that may tell you all you need to know.
Libya: The Forgotten Reason North Korea Desperately Wants Nuclear Weapons
The United States and its allies continue to cajole and threaten North Korea to negotiate an agreement that would relinquish its growing nuclear and ballistic-missile programs. The latest verbal prodding came from President Trump during his joint press conference with South Korean president Moon Jae-in.
Iraqi Kurdistan defiant in face of Baghdad sanctions, threats
The Kurdistan Regional Government on Thursday rejected the decisions of the Iraqi parliament and government. It nevertheless expressed a willingness to conduct a dialogue in order to resolve the problems.
US commander: IS leader al-Baghdadi probably still alive
This file image made from video posted on a militant website July 5, 2014, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq during his first public appearance. Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears to be still alive, a top U.S. military commander said Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, contradicting Russia's claims that it probably killed the top counterterror target months ago.
Islamic State leader al-Baghdadi believed to still be alive: U.S. commander
Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears to be still alive, a top U.S. military commander said Thursday, contradicting Russia's claims that it probably killed the top counterterror target months ago. "Do I believe he's alive? Yes," said Army Lt.
No Two Sides About It, Confederate Statues Must Come Down
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