WASHINGTON– Some of the manned and unmanned aircraft that the United States is flying over Iraq are armed to protect newly arrived American military advisers on the ground, Pentagon press secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said Friday. The aircraft are being flown with the Iraqi government’s permission, the admiral said during a regular Pentagon […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin is pushing back against Western opposition to his country’s planned South Stream pipeline that would allow Moscow to ship natural gas to European countries without going through Ukraine. The Russian president spent six hours earlier this week in Vienna where he signed an agreement for the pipeline’s construction in that country. […]
IRBIL — Any American assistance to the beleaguered government of Nouri al-Maliki to push back a jihadist-led Sunni Muslim insurgency needs to take into account the widespread suspicion of U.S. motives across Iraq’s sectarian divide, caution analysts.They say that almost whatever the Obama administration does to bolster Iraq’s Shia Muslim-dominated government, encourage a more inclusive replacement […]
U.S. officials are signalling that they are willing to work with Iran to solve the crisis taking place in Iraq, but say they will await information from Iran as to what they are willing to do to tamp down the escalating violence as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria continue to take territory in […]