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Petraeus: Seems Iraq doing well taking reins on security

The transition of security duties in Iraq from coalition to Iraqi troops appears to be going well, Gen. David Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, told CNN on Friday

Iraq FM: U.N. sanctions need to end

Nearly two decades after the first Gulf war and six years after Saddam Hussein was removed from power, Iraq still is subject to 73 United Nations resolutions. Now Iraq’s foreign minister says his country “will not regain full sovereignty and independence without getting rid of these resolutions.” Speaking to reporters in Washington, Hoshyar Zebari said Monday that Iraq has paid “billions” of dollars under Chapter 7 of the U.N. sanctions placed on Iraq as a result of the 1990 Iraq invasion of Kuwait and subsequent war

Elizabeth Taylor tweets about sadness of losing Jackson

Elizabeth Taylor checked out of a Los Angeles hospital "sore, but intact," the actress said in an online message posted Friday evening. Taylor, 77, used her Twitter handle, @DameElizabeth, to tell fans that she was home, just as she did last week to announce she would go into a hospital to “to complete a test I was in the middle of.” Her publicist this week denied tabloid rumors that her hospitalization was brought on by her grief over the sudden death of her close friend Michael Jackson in June

Swine flu threatens Muslim Hajj season

Two Hajj pilgrims from Iran have contracted the H1N1 virus, according to reports from the country’s official news agency. Iran’s official Fars news agency Wednesday reported that a 57-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man who had recently returned from a pilgrimage tested positive for the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu. This brings Iran’s tally to three cases.

U.S.-Iran Relations: Is Diplomacy in Closer Reach?

Since the earliest days of his Administration, President Barack Obama has sought to engage Iran’s leaders in the search for diplomatic solutions to the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program and other points of conflict. But in the days since protests exploded in the streets following the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, many U.S

Iran’s Crisis Posing a Problem for Its Mideast Allies

If the street protests roiling Iran since its disputed election have created a problem for the leadership in Tehran, imagine the dilemma it raises for Iran’s allies elsewhere in the Middle East. Hizballah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah was quick out of the blocks to congratulate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when the authorities announced his re-election, calling the result “a great hope to all the Mujahedeen and Resistance who are fighting against the forces of oppression and occupation.” But since supporters of defeated candidate Mir-Hussein Mousavi have taken to the streets to decry the election as rigged, Nasrallah has become more circumspect. And he specifically refuted suggestions that either candidate might be more pro-Hizballah than the other, and merely said “Iran is under the authority of the Wali Al Faqih and will pass through this crisis.” As a longtime client of Iran, Nasrallah is wise to hedge his bets, for he’ll need patronage and weapons from whomever emerges victorious in the post-election battle.

Independent Intel: High Stakes in a New CIA Turf War

There’s a growing dread at the CIA these days that the vultures are circling, waiting to pick off the agency’s best parts. The latest move causing concern is a play by Admiral Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence, to name the next intelligence chief in Kabul. CIA Director Leon Panetta, who has already named his own chief from the CIA’s ranks, is reportedly fighting back, much to his boss’s consternation.

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