McConnell opposes as Senate nears repeal of Iraq war powers
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says he opposes repeal of the 2002 and 1991 authorizations of force against Iraq, arguing that that authority โbears directly on the threats we face today in Iraq and Syria from Iran-backed terrorists.โ.
Albright acted as model, mentor for generations of women
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albrightโs death from cancer this week sparked American women to reflect on the 84-year-old diplomatโs sweeping influence on their lives, 25 years after Bill Clinton made her the United Statesโ representative to the world.
Iran holds mass funeral for '80s war dead amid nuclear talks
Thousands of mourners have poured into the streets of Iranian cities for the mass funeral of 250 victims of the Iran-Iraq war โ remains recently recovered in a testament to the brutal conflictโs scale and enduring legacy after 35 years.
Richardson adds to diplomatic wins with journalist's release
Bill Richardsonโs success in helping secure the release of journalist Danny Fenster from a Myanmar prison is the latest demonstration of the former New Mexico governorโs knack for flying into some the most closed societies on earth and persuading those in charge to do Washington a favor.
Shiite powerhouse al-Sistani helped shape today's Iraq
FILE - This March, 13, 2019 handout file photo from the office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, shows senior Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf. The pontiff and ayatollah will meet in al-Sistanis modest home in the Iraqi city of Najaf. (Office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, via AP, File)One highlight of Pope Francis' historic visit to Iraq is his meeting Saturday with a revered religious leader for Shiite Muslims, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. ___The 90-year-old al-Sistani is the top Shiite cleric in Iraq and a powerhouse in the Shiite world. After the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, al-Sistani emerged as a powerful voice in Iraqโs political process โ a symbol of the ascent of Iraq's Shiite majority after the war.
A timeline of disaster and displacement for Iraqi Christians
Iraq was estimated to have more than 1 million Christians before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Iraq was estimated to have nearly 1.5 million Christians before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. AdHereโs a look at disasters Iraqโs Christians have endured, from Saddam's ouster to the brutal campaign by Islamic State militants:U.S. It was the deadliest single assault ever recorded against Iraqโs Christians. To this day, the memory of the massacre is etched in the minds of Iraqโs Christian community.
EXPLAINER: How US airstrike in Syria sends message to Iran
A U.S. airstrike targeting facilities used by Iran-backed militias in Syria appears to be a message to Tehran delivered by a new American administration still figuring out its approach to the Middle East. Kirby said the operation in Boukamal, Syria, sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel. In the meantime, relations with Iran have been further strained as the country's proxies become more assertive, with Iran-backed militias increasingly targeting U.S. interests and allies. Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said the operation in Boukamal, Syria, sends an unambiguous message: โPresident Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel. By striking Syria, Biden joins every American president from Ronald Reagan onward who has ordered a bombardment of countries in the Middle East.
Iraq's struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit
Iraqi Christians place a cross on a church in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Iraq's Christians are hoping that a historic visit by Pope Francis in March will help boost their community's struggle to survive. Iraqโs Christian communities in the area were dealt a severe blow when they were scattered by the IS onslaught in 2014, further shrinking the country's already dwindling Christian population. Many hope their struggle to endure will get a boost from a historic visit by Pope Francis planned in March. The Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, estimated that 1 million Christians have left Iraq since 2003 and about 500,000 remained.
NATO boosts Iraq mission with thousands of personnel
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference, after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in video format, at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. And training activities will now include more Iraqi security institutions, and areas beyond Baghdad,โ Stoltenberg told reporters after chairing a meeting of NATO defense ministers. NATOโs training mission was launched in 2018 to help the conflict-ravaged country develop new academies and military schools for its armed forces. AdโWe will increase the geographical presence of the NATO training mission, beyond the greater Baghdad area, but again, step by step,โ Stoltenberg said. After the invasion, the temporary U.S.-led administration disbanded the Iraqi army, leaving tens of thousands of trained personnel jobless and bitter.
American university hopes to fill higher-ed gap in Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi speaks during the opening ceremony of the American University in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)BAGHDAD โ From afar, the sprawling complex of the newly inaugurated American University in Baghdad appears like a floating mirage. Government officials maintain that the American University in Baghdad, which opened this week, is critical to shoring up the countryโs flailing state of higher education. Liberal arts is a novel concept in Iraq, Mulnix said. Most of the students have very basic English skills, not enough to meet the rigorous demands of the university, Mulnix said.
American university hopes to fill higher-ed gap in Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi speaks during the opening ceremony of the American University in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)BAGHDAD โ From afar, the sprawling complex of the newly inaugurated American University in Baghdad appears like a floating mirage. Government officials maintain that the American University in Baghdad, which opened this week, is critical to shoring up the countryโs flailing state of higher education. Liberal arts is a novel concept Iraq, Mulnix said. Most of the students have very basic English skills, not enough to meet the rigorous demands of the university, Mulnix said.
Relative of Blackwater victim in Iraq says pardons 'unfair'
FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2007 file photo, an Iraqi traffic policeman inspects a car destroyed by a Blackwater security detail in al-Nisoor Square in Baghdad, Iraq. On Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, the Trump administration pardoned four military contractors convicted of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in a public square 13 years ago. At the time, the Blackwater firm had been contracted to provide security for U.S. diplomats in Iraq. Five years after Abbas' death, Fadel took over the role of family breadwinner. Asked what would bring him peace of mind over a decade since his brother's killing, Fadel said only a death sentence for the contractors could bring solace.
Pardons in killings of Iraqi civilians stir angry response
FILE - This combination made from file photo shows Blackwater guards, from left, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nicholas Slatten and Paul Slough. โThe infamous Blackwater company killed Iraqi citizens at Nisoor Square. The 2007 killings in the Baghdad traffic circle were among many attacks, large and small, hitting civilians that served to turn even some initial Iraqi supporters of Saddam Hussein's overthrow against Americans. The case against the Blackwater guards ping-ponged across courts in Washington, with a federal appeals court at one point overturning the first-degree murder conviction of one defendant, Nicholas Slatten, and sharply reducing the prison sentences of the three others. In Iraq, said Ford, the former diplomat, the pardons will โnecessarily give some ammunition to those who say get the Americans out now."
EXPLAINER: How could US drawdown in Iraq aid IS, Iran?
FILE - In this March 27, 2020 file photo, U.S. soldiers stand guard during the hand over ceremony of Qayyarah Airfield, Iraqi Security Forces, in the south of Mosul, Iraq. A U.S.-led coalition provided crucial air support as Iraqi forces, including Iran-backed militias, regrouped and drove IS out in a costly three-year campaign. Senior Iraqi military officials in Baghdad say the withdrawal of 500 American troops will have little, if any, impact. โItโs true we have a stronger army, stronger security forces,โ said Najm Jibouri, the governor and former head of provincial operations in Nineveh, which includes Mosul. A significant drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq โ while popular at home โ could reduce his leverage.
In ruins, Syria marks 50 years of Assad family rule
For fifty years, the Assad family has controlled Syria, overseeing transformations, modernization, uprisings and upheaval while becoming among the most divisive figures of their time. Yet 50 years later, Hafez Assadโs family still rules Syria. But Hafezโs son, Bashar Assad, has an unquestioned grip on what remains. Like his father, Bashar Assad elevated family to insulate his power โ a younger, more modern generation, but one seen by many Syrians as more rapacious in amassing wealth. The Assad familyโs gravest challenge came with the Arab Spring uprisings that swept the region, reaching Syria in March 2011.
Iran's supreme leader, quoting Trump, mocks US election
In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses the nation in a televised speech marking the birthday of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. Irans supreme leader mocked Americas presidential election in a televised address. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)TEHRAN โ Iran's supreme leader mocked America's presidential election Tuesday in a televised address, quoting President Donald Trump's own baseless claims about voter fraud to criticize the vote as Tehran marked the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis. Our policy is clear and well-calculated and people coming and going will have no impact on it.โKhamenei, 81, as supreme leader has final say on all matters of state in Iran. The supreme leader accused France of harboring โterroristโ groups targeting the Islamic Republic after earlier supporting Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during his 1980s war against Iran.
Robert Fisk, veteran foreign correspondent, dies at 74
FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2005 file photo, veteran British Middle East news journalist, Robert Fisk, gestures during a press conference for the launch of the French version of his book "The Great War for Civilisation: the Conquest of the Middle East," in Paris, France. Born in Kent, in the United Kingdom, Fisk began his career on Fleet Street at the Sunday Express. He went on to work for The Times, and was based in Northern Ireland, Portugal and the Middle East. And yet it cannot run its currency, supply its electric power, cure its sick or protect its people,โ Fisk wrote. Fisk wrote several books, including โPity the Nation: Lebanon at Warโ and โThe Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East."
Crown prince becomes oil-rich Kuwait's new ruling emir
DUBAI โ Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah became the oil-rich nation's new ruling emir Tuesday night, reaching the highest post in the country after decades in its security services. Sheikh Nawaf, 83, had served as the crown prince since 2006, jumping a traditional order of alternating rule between the Al Jaber and the Al Salim branches of the country's ruling family. State television carried an address by Anas Khalid al-Saleh, Kuwait's interior minister and deputy prime minister, announcing Sheikh Nawaf had taken the position just hours after Sheikh Sabah's death. He became the crown prince under Sheikh Sabah in February 2006. He hasn't been known for making any major political decisions while serving as crown prince.
US warns Iraq of Baghdad embassy closure if attacks continue
FILE - The U.S. Embassy is seen from across the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq Jan. 3, 2020. The Trump administration has signaled it could close its diplomatic mission in Baghdad if measures are not taken to control rogue armed elements responsible for a recent spate of attacks against U.S. and other interests in the country, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)
US warns Iraq of Baghdad embassy closure if attacks continue
FILE - The U.S. Embassy is seen from across the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq Jan. 3, 2020. The warning came as Iraqi security officials said a Katyusha rocket hit near Baghdad airport, killing three Iraqi civilians and severely wounding two others. โAmerica will observe what measures the government of Iraq takes within two months,โ one senior Iraqi official said. On Monday, three Iraqi civilians were killed and two severely wounded after a katyusha rocket hit near Baghdad airport, two Iraqi security officials said. Also on Monday, a roadside bomb targeted a convoy carrying materials destined for U.S. forces southwest of Baghdad, two Iraqi security officials said.
New US citizen refugees excited for first presidential vote
UK was a small child when his parents fled Myanmar, leaving him and his siblings to be cared for by their maternal grandmother. Through its citizenship classes, the International Rescue Committee has helped around 6,000 refugees and other newcomers become Americans each of the last few years. Born in Iraq and now a U.S. citizen living in Jacksonville, Florida, Alawee said she also plans to cast her first presidential ballot Nov. 3. โI can't wait.โ___BAWI UK was a small child when his parents fled Myanmar, leaving him and his siblings to be cared for by their maternal grandmother. The family resettled in Phoenix, where they all became U.S. citizens.
Ford, Bush presidential adviser Brent Scowcroft dies at 95
WASHINGTON Brent Scowcroft, who played a prominent role in American foreign policy as national security adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Scowcroft was the only person to serve as national security adviser to two different administrations. He advised Bush, by then a close friend, during the four years of the Bush administration, 1989-93. A year later he became deputy assistant for national security under Henry Kissinger, Nixons national security adviser. With Bushs election in 1988, Scowcroft was interested in leading the Pentagon as defense secretary during the Bush administration.
Scowcroft, national security adviser to 2 presidents, dies
Playing a prominent role in American foreign policy, Scowcroft served as national security adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, the only national security adviser to two different administrations. He served as national security adviser to Bush, by then a close friend, during the four years of the Bush administration, 1989-93. A year later he became deputy assistant for national security under Henry Kissinger, Nixons national security adviser. He accepted a return engagement as national security adviser when he realized he would be at the presidents side instead of running the massive bureaucracy at the Defense Department.
Virus adds to deep despair felt by war-weary young Arabs
In the Mideast, wave after wave of war, disease and economic collapse leaves this generation feeling hopeless. She was preparing to leave to England, where she would spend a year working on her masters degree in pharmacy. Even before the pandemic, in 2019 youth employment in the Arab region was estimated at 26.4%, compared to a global rate of 13.6%, according to estimates by the International Labor Organization. A U.N. report this week expected some Arab economies to shrink by up to 13% this year, compounding the suffering of those affected by armed conflict. Working at the pharmacy in Baghdads Karrada district, al-Diwani encounters people suspected of being infected with the virus every day.
Kuwait emir, 91, flies to US for medical care after surgery
DUBAI Kuwait's 91-year-old ruling emir left Thursday morning for the United States to seek further medical care after recently undergoing surgery, its state-run news agency reported. Kuwait has yet to elaborate on what required Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah to seek a previously unannounced medical treatment beginning Saturday and a surgery Sunday. However, Sheikh Sabahs sudden surgery could inspire a renewed power struggle within Kuwaits ruling family. That same Airbus had flown to Rochester, Minnesota, and New York City before returning to Kuwait just days before Sheikh Sabah's surgery. Sheikh Sabah, a widely beloved ruler in this OPEC-member nation, took power in 2006 just nine days into the rule of the ailing Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah.
Kuwait's ruler, 91, undergoes surgery as prince empowered
DUBAI Kuwait's 91-year-old ruler underwent a surgery that required the oil-rich nation's crown prince to be temporarily empowered to serve in his place, according to a ministerial decree seen Sunday. Kuwait has yet to elaborate what required Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah to seek a previously unannounced medical treatment on Saturday. However, Sheikh Sabah's sudden surgery could inspire a renewed power struggle within Kuwait's ruling family. The state-run KUNA news agency had described Sheikh Sabah's hospitalization Saturday as medical checks, citing a statement from the country's royal court. Sheikh Sabah, a widely beloved ruler in this OPEC-member nation, took power in 2006 just nine days into the rule of the ailing Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah.