Lara Jakes
Thursday, April 16, 2015 - 07:10
The Obama administration is banking on Abadi to cut through the sectarian-tinged political miasma that for years has surrounded Baghdad, as the only way to defeat the Islamic State. But in his candid remarks Wednesday — perhaps underscoring the urgency of the threat — Abadi sounded far more focused on the battlegrounds in the hinterlands.
Friday, October 10, 2014 - 05:26
A U.S. diplomat on Thursday urged the United Nations to sanction individuals in South Sudan who are accused of blocking peace in the world's newest country.
Thursday, October 9, 2014 - 09:29
Leaders of a global coalition to defeat the Islamic State group were divided Wednesday over creating a buffer zone to protect Syrian refugees and bolster Turkey's borders — a key demand by Ankara as Turkey weighs stepping up action against the extremists.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014 - 11:25
U.S. officials say military planners are weighing the possibility of sending more American forces to Iraq mainly to provide additional security around Baghdad.
Monday, June 30, 2014 - 07:06
Secretary of State John Kerry signaled on Friday that the U.S. hopes to enlist moderate Syrian opposition fighters that the Obama administration has reluctantly decided to arm and train in the battle against militant extremists in neighboring Iraq.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014 - 06:42
The U.S. is urgently deploying several hundred armed troops in and around Iraq and considering sending an additional contingent of Special Forces soldiers as Baghdad struggles to repel a rampant insurgency, even as the White House insists anew that America will not be dragged into another war.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - 09:05
But a senior State Department official told reporters Wednesday that the standoff needs to be resolved within days, or weeks at most, or risk the continued of violent unrest that has gripped Venezuela for months.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013 - 09:18
A resurgence of violence and a renewed threat from al-Qaeda have recently revived flagging US interest in Iraq, officials said Friday as Baghdad asked for new help to fight extremists less than two years after it forced American troops to withdraw.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013 - 11:59
Twenty years after the U.S. military's "Black Hawk Down" disaster, the Obama administration is slowly stepping up relations with Somalia even though security requires American officials to be sheltered behind blast walls and unable to see nearly any of the chaotic country.