Tag: Iraq War

The Story: Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, visited in a London prison by a UN human rights lawyer and two medical experts, is reportedly...

The Story: Valerie Plame, the former CIA spy who first came to broad public attention in 2003 when the George W. Bush administration was trying...

Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran, currently serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision. "There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace," Gabbard added. Rania Batrice, who was a deputy campaign manager for Bernie Sanders in 2016 and is now a top aide to Gabbard, will be the campaign manager, Batrice says. Gabbard has staked out anti-interventionist foreign policy positions in Congress. "Initially, I hadn't planned on meeting him," Gabbard told CNN's Jake Tapper in January of 2017. "When the opportunity arose to meet with him, I did so because I felt it's important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we've got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we could achieve peace, and that's exactly what we talked about." Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced on New Year's Eve that she was forming an exploratory committee for a presidential run. A number of other potential Democratic candidates, including heavyweights like former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, are currently weighing whether to run for president and are expected to announce their decision soon. CNN's Eric Bradner and Gregory Krieg contributed to this report.

While applying for a job at the CIA, former Major Mathew Golsteyn acknowledged that he had killed an alleged Taliban member suspected of planting a bomb that killed two Marines; national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports from the Pentagon. #SpecialReport…

BEIRUT, Lebanon — For nearly five months, Iraqi politicians have wrangled over the shape of their new government. He had rebranded himself as an “Iraq First” populist, vowing to fight corruption, opposing both American and Iranian intervention, and promising a new nonsectarian politics. “People who want reform or major change, they’ll be unhappy. This is a vote for continuity.” The new leadership appeared to be acceptable to both the United States and Iran, analysts said. Mr. Salih was elected in a landslide by the Iraqi Parliament on Tuesday. He designated Mr. Abdul Mahdi, the consensus candidate of the major blocs in Parliament, to form a government. But the selection of Mr. Abdul Mahdi and Mr. Salih suggest a more conciliatory approach. Mr. Salih, too, is seen as a uniter. Mr. Salih, 58, has a doctorate in engineering from Britain and has previously served as Prime Minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan region and as planning minister in the Iraqi government. The selection of president went to Parliament, where Mr. Salih won 220 out of 273 votes, largely because he is seen as more conciliatory on the issue of Kurdish independence.

Despite that experience, he believes America is the best country in the world. As far as her opinion on Trump, El-Masri says he should not be the leader to represent what this country stands for. Arnett believes millennials disapprove of Trump’s job performance because of a generational difference. “America is not and has never been the best country in the world,” she said. Wheaton, though, believes the best part of the millennial generation is that they’ve continued to speak up. “The decisions made now affect our whole futures, so I personally never let anyone tell me to sit down on these issues.” Attleboro resident Courtney Houseman said she was raised to respect her elders and considers most of the millennial generation to have a lack of respect for older leaders in the country, including Trump. At age 18, she registered as a Republican, and now 25, she works, has two children, is married and has purchased her own home. Growing up, Salgueiro and his parents were independent, but he registered as a Democrat to run for political office. King echoes Salgueiro’s views, saying he hopes other millennials can respect his opinions about the president. No matter what, Salgueiro said he believes there are great opportunities in America that allow almost every citizen the chance of success.

Image For 10 terms, Representative Michael Capuano of Massachusetts — whose district includes much of Boston and liberal bastions like Cambridge — has been a stalwart progressive in the House Democratic caucus. Somebody who’s experienced and knows how to fight in Congress. One of the places there has been daylight between you and Ms. Pressley is the so-called “Blue Lives Matter” bill, which creates harsher penalties for crimes against law enforcement officers. The bill that was in front of me was a fair bill, and that’s why the entire Massachusetts delegation voted for it, and that’s why I think it was two-thirds of the Congressional Black Caucus voted for it. And I believe almost all of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus voted for the bill. But the statement was fair: I just don’t think that you should be able to target police officers and correctional officers. Is there something that you’ve gleaned during this campaign that will change or inform the way you represent the Seventh Congressional District, should you be re-elected? We’ve always stayed close to the people in this district. I have twice as many staff assigned to the Massachusetts offices as I do to the D.C. office because I prize the fact that we stay close to our constituents — and I think that a lot of this election will be based on that. Quite simply, I would hope that people vote in their own best interest.

Washington, D.C., will also see a different kind of political activity at the end of the week; white nationalist protesters and counterprotesters will head to the District of Columbia this weekend to mark the one-year anniversary of the deadly Charlottesville, Virginia, “Unite the Right” rally. Elections: Voters in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington will head to the polls for primary elections Tuesday ahead of the November midterms, while Hawaiians will vote Saturday. Trump has weighed in on the Michigan Republican election for U.S. Senate, calling candidate John James “SPECTACULAR!” in a tweet endorsing the Iraq War veteran. More recently, Kobach’s claims of voter fraud were disproven when a federal judge struck down Kansas’ “proof of citizenship” voting law — and ordered Kobach to undergo legal education based on his conduct as the lawyer defending the law. In addition to this week’s primary elections, voters in Ohio will head to the polls Tuesday for a special U.S. House of Representatives election for Ohio’s 12th Congressional District. The matchup between Democrat Danny O’Connor and Republican state Sen. Trump campaigned for Balderson at a rally in Ohio Saturday, where he praised the candidate as “really smart” and a “really hard worker.” Manafort trial: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s trial will continue this week in Virginia. The former campaign manager’s legal team has alleged that Gates was the true perpetrator of the financial crimes and Manafort was simply a “victim” — a strategy that former federal prosecutor Patrick Cotter told Mic has a “very low likelihood of success.” Rand Paul heads to Russia: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul will spend his recess in Russia, where he’s expected to meet with Russian officials during a trip aimed at “supporting President Donald Trump engaging around the world.” Paul has been a supporter of Trump’s controversial relationship with Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin, describing those critical of Trump’s dealings with Putin as simply “people who hate the president.” “In just a few weeks, I will take my own trip to Russia in an attempt to discuss common ground with their leaders and help prevent further, unnecessary escalation of tensions,” Paul wrote in an op-ed for Politico praising Trump’s Putin meeting July 16. Far-left counterprotesters, including anti-fascist groups and Black Lives Matter, are planning to hold a separate protest Sunday as part of a broader weekend of events dubbed “Shut it Down D.C.” The protest will take place in Freedom Plaza, blocks away from the white nationalist rally. Students and activists at the University of Virginia are also planning to mark the anniversary with a Rally for Justice on Saturday night at the campus’ Rotunda, where last year’s white nationalist rally took place.

NEW YORK (AP) — Charles Krauthammer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and pundit who helped shape and occasionally dissented from the conservative movement as he evolved from "Great Society" Democrat to Iraq War cheerleader to denouncer of Donald Trump, has died at age 68. His death Thursday was announced by his longtime employers The Washington Post and Fox News. "I leave this life with no regrets," Krauthammer wrote in the Post, where his column had run since 1984. I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended." He was most associated with Brit Hume's nightly newscast and stayed with it when Bret Baier took over in 2009. Krauthammer is credited with coining the term "The Reagan Doctrine" for President Reagan's policy of aiding anti-Communist movements worldwide. He was a leading advocate for the Iraq War and a prominent critic of President Barack Obama, whom he praised for his "first-class intellect and first-class temperament" and denounced for having a "highly suspect" character. He was attacked for his politics, and for his predictions. He was so confident of quick success in Iraq he initially labeled the 2003 invasion "The Three Week War" and defended the conflict for years. But he prided himself on his rejection of orthodoxy and took on Republicans, too, observing during a Fox special in 2013 that "If you're going to leave the medical profession because you think you have something to say, you betray your whole life if you don't say what you think and if you don't say it honestly and bluntly."