Tag: Middle East

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

Israel joins Paris Club of rich creditor nations

ANGELA CHARLTONJOSEF FEDERMAN · June 24, 2014 6:57 pm

Lebanese army and citizens gather at the site of a car bombing in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 24, 2014. A powerful car bomb explosion rocked a neighborhood south of the Lebanese capital Tuesday, causing several casualties, a Lebanese security official and witnesses said. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

1 killed, 20 hurt in overnight bombing in Lebanon

Zeina Karam · June 24, 2014 5:53 pm

In this June 23, 2014, photo, mourners chant slogans against the al-Qaida breakaway group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant after they bury 15 bodies in the village of Taza Khormato near the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, Iraq. U.S. teams of special forces going into Iraq after a three-year gap will face an aggressive insurgency, a splintering military and a precarious political situation as they help Iraqi security forces improve their ability to battle Sunni militants. (AP Photo/Emad Matti)

National Security

A challenging job for US special forces in Iraq

Lolita Baldor · June 24, 2014 5:51 pm

FILE - In this Sunday, June 8, 2014 file photo released by the Middle East State News Agency, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, takes his oath of office at the Supreme Constitutional Court in Cairo, Egypt. El-Sissi said Tuesday, June 24, 2014 he will not interfere in court rulings, a day after three Al-Jazeera English journalists, including a Canadian, were sentenced to seven years in prison, sparking an international outcry. Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, Australian Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were found guilty on Monday on terrorism-related charges. (AP Photo/MENA, File)

El-Sissi says he donates half his wealth to Egypt

SARAH EL DEEB · June 24, 2014 5:01 pm