Salem-News.com Military articles Page 25

UN Says Over 1,000 Killed in Iraq in June

Abductions continue to be reported in the northern provinces and in Baghdad.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - More than 1,000 people, mainly civilians, have been killed and roughly the same number injured in fighting and other violence in Iraq in June as Sunni militants swept through the north, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Victims include a number of confirmed summary executions committed by forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant -- ISIL -- and prisoners killed by retreating Iraqi forces.

Kerry: Iraq Will Only Survive if Leaders Come Together

Jordanian army sources said Jordan's troops had been put in a state of alert in recent days along the 112-mile border with Iraq, redeploying in some areas as part of steps to ward off "any potential or perceived security threats".

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday promised "intense and sustained" U.S. support for Iraq, but said the divided country would only survive if its leaders took urgent steps to bring it together.

Hours before Kerry arrived in Baghdad, Sunni tribes who have joined a militant takeover of northern Iraq seized the only legal crossing point with Jordan, security sources said.

Former POW Bowe Bergdahl Now in Outpatient Care

Bergdahl's next phase of recovery will be treatment tailored for soldiers who have spent time in captivity.

(SAN ANTONIO, Texas) - U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who spent five years as a Taliban prisoner of war before being released last month, has been discharged from a military hospital in Texas and will continue treatment as an outpatient, the Army said Sunday.

Bergdahl was transferred from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, to the nearby Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, said Army spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Carol McClelland.

Sources: Militants Capture 3 Western Iraqi Towns

On Sunday, Sunni militants led by ISIL expanded their grip to the towns of Rawa and Ana along the Euphrates River east of al-Qaim.

(ANBAR Iraq) - An al Qaeda splinter group thrust east from a newly-captured Iraqi-Syrian border post on Sunday, taking three towns in the western Anbar province in a push to evict Iraqi security forces from Sunni Muslim areas.

Militants Kill 30 Iraqi Troops; Seize Iraq-Syria Border Crossing

The capture of the Qaim border crossing deals a further blow to prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Sunni militants have seized an Iraqi crossing on the border with Syria after a daylong battle in which they killed some 30 Iraqi troops, security officials said on Saturday.

Police and army officials said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and allied militants seized the crossing near the border town of Qaim, about 200 miles west of Baghdad, after battling Iraqi troops all day Friday.

U.S. Should Places Clear Limits on Sale and Use of Armed Drones

Although only five countries have developed armed drones - the United States, Britain, Israel, China, and Iran - several other countries have announced their own programs.

(Salem-News.com) - The Obama administration should pursue a strategy that places clear limits on its own sale and use of armed drones lest these weapons proliferate and their use becomes widespread.

These are the central findings of a new report by CFR Douglas Dillon Fellow Micah Zenko and Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow Sarah Kreps.

Plumlee`s Thoughts for Today... A friendly note to our elected officials

"We the People of the United States want our country back. We demand changes in the White House."

(LAS CRUCES, NM) - I am sorry to say that the President of the United States and his Administration has demonstrated to the American people, on more than one occasion, that they are incapable of running the affairs of this Nation.

Collectively, they have demonstrated to the American people that they are not leaders. They have shown the people they can’t think on their feet.

VA: 70,000 Veterans Now Off Waiting Lists and Into Clinics

VHA to immediately begin developing a new patient satisfaction measurement program to provide real-time, robust, location-by-location information on patient satisfaction.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - On Thursday, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced the second in a series of bi-monthly data updates showing progress on its efforts to accelerate access to quality health care for Veterans who have been waiting for appointments.

Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan D. Gibson announced that VA has now contacted approximately 70,000 Veterans across the country to get them off of wait lists and into clinics for medical appointments.

President Obama to Send 300 Troops to Iraq

The military personnel would be sent to Iraq to examine how to train and equip Iraqi forces.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Firmly ruling out the possibility of American boots on the ground in Iraq in the face of escalating sectarian violence there, U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he would nevertheless be sending 300 “military advisers” to Baghdad.

The President explained that the military personnel would be sent to Iraq to examine how to train and equip Iraqi forces, and this would come on the heels of Washington’s steps to increase its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations to better understand the threats to Baghdad.

Yet Obama appeared determined to hold firm to the view that U.S. combat troops would not return to Iraq as that could not resolve the core issues the country is currently facing.

Iraqi Forces, ISIS Battle for Control of Baiji Oil Refinery

If the Baiji refinery falls, ISIL and its allies will have access to a large supply of fuel to add to the weaponry.

(TIKRIT, Iraq) - Iraqi government forces battled Sunni rebels for control of the country's biggest refinery on Thursday as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki waited for a U.S. response to an appeal for air strikes.