Tag: Middle East

Kurdish peshmerga fighters clean their weapons at a base on the closet front line with militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. A defiant Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejected calls Wednesday for an interim "national salvation government" intended to undermine the Sunni insurgency by presenting a unified front among Iraq's three main groups, calling it a "coup against the constitution." (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Kerry issues warning after Syria bombs Iraq

HAMZA HENDAWILARA JAKES · June 25, 2014 10:50 pm

FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2010, file photo, an armed Sunni militiaman wearing an Iraqi Army patch, left, and a U.S. Army soldier patrol in Samarra, 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. The man is part of Samarra's Sahwa _ Arabic for Awakening, or commonly known as the Sons of Iraq, who are former Sunni insurgents now allied with U.S. and Iraqi security forces to provide security. The Obama administration is reaching back to an Iraq War program as a guide to keep disgruntled Sunnis from joining a rampant new insurgency. U.S. officials hope to persuade Sunni militiamen known as Sahwa, or Awakening Councils, to fight back against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as they did nearly 10 years ago against al-Qaida. The Awakening Councils sided with U.S. troops and were a pivotal force in defeating al-Qaida during the war. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

National Security

In Iraq, former militia program eyed for new fight

LARA JAKESSAMEER N. YACOUB · June 25, 2014 7:49 pm

Iraqi civilians inspect the aftermath of a car bombing in the southeastern district of New Baghdad, Iraq. (AP/Khalid Mohammed)

10 reasons why Iraq’s bloodbath is not George W. Bush’s fault

Larry Elder · June 25, 2014 7:21 pm

Fire engines work on extinguishing a fire after a suicide bomber blew himself up in his room at a Beirut hotel, Lebanon, Wednesday, June 25, 2014, as Lebanese security forces raided the premises. The bombing is the latest in a string of attacks and security sweeps in Lebanon over the past week that have sparked fears of renewed violence in a country that has been deeply affected by the civil war in neighboring Syria.(AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Explosion rocks Beirut hotel during security raid

Bassem Mroue · June 25, 2014 6:25 pm

National Security

House intel chief: Obama’s blunder in Iraq threatens U.S. security

Paul Bedard · June 25, 2014 4:06 pm

An Iranian supporter holds up a team banner before the group F World Cup soccer match between Argentina and Iran at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 21, 2014. (AP/Fernando Vergara)

Beltway Confidential

Women defy Iranian regime to watch World Cup matches in public

Blake Seitz · June 25, 2014 3:36 pm

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Baghdad, Monday. (AP/Brendan Smialowski)

National Security

Iraq’s Nouri al-Maliki tightens grip on power for now

Susan Crabtree · June 25, 2014 1:22 pm

Palestinian prisoners in Israel end hunger strike

Ian Deitch · June 25, 2014 5:47 am

A member of an Iraqi volunteer force holds a weapon during training in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, June 24, 2014. Iraq's top Kurdish leader warned visiting Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday that a rapid Sunni insurgent advance has already created "a new reality and a new Iraq," signaling that the U.S. faces major difficulties in its efforts to promote unity among the country's divided factions. The U.N., meanwhile, said more than 1,000 people, most civilians, have been killed in Iraq so far this month, the highest death toll since the U.S. military withdrew from the country in December 2011. (AP Photo/Ahmed al-Husseini)

National Security

US forces flow into Baghdad to assess Iraq troops

LOLITA C. BALDORBRADLEY KLAPPER · June 24, 2014 11:09 pm

Iraqi men line up for physical examinations at the main army recruiting center to volunteer for military service in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, June 24, 2014, after authorities urged Iraqis to help battle insurgents. Political leaders have agreed to start the process of seating a new government by July 1. Once a stable government is in place, officials hope Iraqi security forces will be inspired to fight the insurgency instead of fleeing, as they did in several major cities and towns in Sunni-dominated areas since the start of the year.(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Iraqi prime minister’s focus is to defend Baghdad

HAMZA HENDAWIQASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA · June 24, 2014 10:22 pm

President Obama pauses while speaking about the situation in Iraq on Thursday at the White House in Washington. (AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Obama would have to change his entire worldview to save his presidency

Noemie Emery · June 24, 2014 9:00 pm

Growing criticism of Israel’s West Bank operation

KARIN LAUBMOHAMMED DARAGHMEH · June 24, 2014 7:28 pm