Four years before working to boost participation in Iraq’s first democratic elections in generations – and nearly two decades before his lobbying for foreign clients drew scrutiny from special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigators – Sam Patten was helping lead a political ground game in Maine. “Pulling in some kind of a big-league speaker at this […]
Iraq
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Golden has my vote
First and foremost, we need to elect a person for the 2nd U.S. Congressional District who will always vote in the best interest of all the people and not just for the corporations. We need someone who has the experience and knowledge to understand how laws impact veterans, senior citizens, low and middle-income families. We […]
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Posted inNation / World
Powerful earthquake on Iran-Iraq border kills over 350
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake near the Iraq-Iran border killed over 350 people across both countries, sent residents fleeing their homes into the night and was felt as far away as the Mediterranean coast, authorities said Monday. Iran’s western Kermanshah province bore the brunt of the temblor Sunday night, with authorities […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
New Trump travel ban removes Iraq from list
President Donald Trump leaves after speech to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool Image via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s new immigration order will remove Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens face a temporary U.S. travel ban, U.S. officials say, […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis tells Iraqis that U.S. will stay a while
U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, center, arrives at Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, on an unannounced trip Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. Mattis said Monday the United States does not intend to seize Iraqi oil, shifting away from an idea proposed by President Donald Trump that has rattled Iraq’s leaders. U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine teen back home after travel ban left her stranded in Iraq
PORTLAND — A teen separated from her family and stranded in Iraq after President Donald Trump’s immigrant ban is back in America Friday night, thanks in part to help from Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. Bananh Alalhanfy’s family and friends gathered in Boston Friday as she arrived back in the U.S. Her father, Labed Alalhanfy, worked […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Islamic State may look to Afghanistan
On November 21, an Islamist terrorist entered the Shia Muslim Baqir ul-Uloom mosque in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. He detonated his explosive-laden suicide vest, killing 30 people and wounding more than 70. Afghanistan’s Taliban militant organization denied responsibility for the attack. However, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria claimed credit for the slaughter, touting it […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Iraqis discover more ISIS war crimes
At one time ISIS made videos extolling its grotesque executions. ISIS commanders used these YouTube horrors as recruiting advertisements. In their sick minds, the executions demonstrated that ISIS had God’s divine sanction. YouTube still runs clips from these videos. Each one documents premeditated crime, like the one where masked ISIS executioners march Christian men to […]
Posted inOp-Eds
The slow build to the battle of Mosul
On October 16, the Iraqi government officially declared that offensive operations to retake the city of Mosul have officially begun. The announcement was a political statement signaling moral determination, akin to saying “the die is cast.” Since the official government announcement, several Iraqi military leaders have attempted to curb expectations of quick victory. One Iraqi […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
France calls for global meeting on Mosul
Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Tuesday that he and his Iraqi counterpart, Ibrahim a-Jaafari, would gather more than 20 countries and international organizations to come up with a plan to protect civilians, distribute aid and address questions about governing areas newly liberated by the Islamic State group. The meeting is expected on Thursday in Paris. […]