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Obama seeks end to perpetual U.S. 'war on terror'

Fri, 24 May 2013 01:13:49 -0400

By Matt Spetalnick and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twelve years after the "war on terror" began, President Barack Obama wants to pull the United States back from some of the most controversial aspects of its global fight against Islamist militants. In a major policy speech on Thursday, Obama narrowed the scope of the targeted-killing drone campaign against al Qaeda and its allies and took steps toward closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba. He acknowledged the past use of "torture" in U.S. ...

Obama talks drones: Will it increase transparency for Pentagon to take lead?

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:16:07 -0400

In his widely anticipated foreign-policy speech Thursday, President Obama rejected the wisdom of a global “war on terror” and warned, in the words of President James Madison, that “No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”

US-INDUSTRY Summary

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:44:27 -0400

Obama in heated exchanges with Code Pink anti-war protester WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The woman who interrupted President Barack Obama's speech on counterterrorism policy on Thursday is well-known around Washington as a perennial protester on national security issues. Medea Benjamin, a founder of anti-war women's group Code Pink, began demonstrating years ago on Capitol Hill, becoming an almost routine presence at hearings where high-ranking officials of the Bush administration appeared to talk about the Iraq war. ...

Obama in heated exchanges with Code Pink anti-war protester

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:43:20 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The woman who interrupted President Barack Obama's speech on counterterrorism policy on Thursday is well-known around Washington as a perennial protester on national security issues. Medea Benjamin, a founder of anti-war women's group Code Pink, began demonstrating years ago on Capitol Hill, becoming an almost routine presence at hearings where high-ranking officials of the Bush administration appeared to talk about the Iraq war. ...

Obama shifts U.S. from 'perpetual war-footing,' limits drone strikes

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:35:21 -0400

By Matt Spetalnick and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday shifted the United States away from a "boundless global war on terror," restricting deadly drone strikes abroad and signaling that America's long struggle against al Qaeda will one day end. In a major policy speech, Obama narrowed the scope of the U.S. targeted-killing campaign against al Qaeda and its allies and took new steps toward closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison - controversial elements of the U.S. counterterrorism fight that have drawn condemnation at home and abroad. ...

Obama sees narrower terror threat, defends drones

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:20:16 -0400

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama sought Thursday to advance the U.S. beyond the unrelenting war effort of the past dozen years, defining a narrower terror threat from smaller networks and homegrown extremists rather than the grandiose plots of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida.

Full transcript of President Obama’s speech on counterterrorism policy

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:25:59 -0400

Read the text for President Obama’s speech on U.S. counterterrorism policy at the National Defense University, as provided by the White House.

The Drone Speech and the Hyperexcited Return of Intellectual Obama

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:10:29 -0400

President Obama's speech on counterterrorism on Thursday won rave reviews among some who seemed to see it as a return of the liberal constitutional law professor who ran for president in 2008. MSNBC's Chris Matthews, who had soured on Obama earlier in the week, said Obama was at "the top of his form — speaking logically and authentically." On how to balance security with liberty, The Washington Post's Greg Sargent writes, "The speech was the most ambitious and detailed effort to answer this question that he has yet attempted. ...

Syrian opposition scrambles to save credibility ahead of peace talks

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:15:31 -0400

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Ece Toksabay ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Syrian opposition in exile met on Thursday to decide whether to attend a peace conference that the United States and Russia see as a crucial path to ending two years of civil war. Under international pressure to swiftly resolve internal divisions, the Syrian National Coalition began talks in Istanbul to elect a coherent leadership and decide on the conference which could take place in Geneva in the coming weeks. ...

The Bachelorette: Meet 5 Of Desiree's Men

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:59:59 -0400

Desiree Hartsock's season of "The Bachelorette" premieres on ABC on Monday night and AccessHollywood.com's Laura Saltman got to know five of the men vying for the single lady's heart.

Insight - In attacker's argot, Londoners shocked to hear one of their own

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:05:06 -0400

By Michael Holden and Peter Graff LONDON (Reuters) - In the lurid scene of the red-handed knifeman describing his motives for hacking to death a British soldier in broad daylight, perhaps the most chilling aspect for many Londoners was the man's unmistakably familiar accent. Michael Adebolajo, 28, who was filmed wielding a bloody meat cleaver and butcher's knife as the soldier lay dead on the road behind him, was not a maladjusted immigrant like Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but a true Londoner born and bred. ...

Sweden's riots raise questions about inequality

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:34:52 -0400

HUSBY, Sweden (AP) — Sweden has long been a bastion of generous social welfare and an egalitarian political culture. So many people were shocked when scores of youths hurled rocks at police and set cars ablaze during rioting in several largely immigrant areas near Stockholm this week.

A Global War on Terror by Another Name Doesn't Tell Us How to Succeed

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:09:45 -0400

President Obama rejected the Bush-era term Global War on Terrorism in a major speech justifying and announcing changes to his counterterrorism policies at the National Defense University on Thursday. "Beyond Afghanistan, we must define our effort not as a boundless 'global war on terror' – but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America," Obama said. Never mind that the Obama administration stopped using the term in early 2009. ...

Obama defends drone strikes but says no cure-all

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:01:19 -0400

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday defended America's controversial drone attacks as legal, effective and a necessary linchpin in an evolving U.S. counterterrorism policy. But he acknowledged the targeted strikes are no "cure-all" and said he is haunted by the civilians unintentionally killed.

U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno to Speak at National Press Club, June 4

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:48:00 -0400

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- General Ray Odierno, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, will discuss issues facing the army at a National Press Club Speakers Luncheon, June 4. As the Army's most senior officer, Odierno is the top advisor to the Secretary of the Army.(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080917/NPCLOGO)Odierno has been grappling in recent weeks with several challenges facing the U.S. military, including a Defense Department report that tens of thousands of women were sexually assaulted last year. ...

Obama: Congress briefed on every drone strike

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:34:37 -0400

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says his administration informs Congress about every drone strike America orders.

West Point video allegations add to Pentagon plague of sexual misconduct cases

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:30:07 -0400

An Army sergeant who served as a staff adviser for cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point has been accused of secretly videotaping female students as they showered, the latest in a string of sexual-assault or harassment cases plaguing the Department of Defense.

Did similar detours bring terrorism to streets of Boston and London?

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:21:00 -0400

The gruesome murder of a British soldier on the streets of Woolwich, London yesterday appears to have been carried out by men of Nigerian decent who converted from Christianity to Islam.

UK attack spurs Muslim community soul-searching, backlash fear

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:09:23 -0400

By Mohammed Abbas LONDON (Reuters) - Strapping his baby into a car seat, Abu Khaled said it was unfortunate that a British soldier was hacked to death in an apparent Islamist attack a day earlier in London, but it was not the only misfortune on his mind. "A 75-year-old man was stabbed to death earlier this month on his way back from the mosque in Birmingham. You didn't hear about that, did you?" said the bearded 36-year-old personal trainer, speaking near East London Mosque, one of the capital's oldest and largest. "Eleven children died in Afghanistan in a U.S. ...

Obama to address drones, Gitmo in security speech

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:06:06 -0400

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is set to at least partially bring out into the open some of the U.S.-directed drone program, a key component of counterterrorism strategy, as he outlines the contours of the continuing threat to American security.

Obama’s 20 Steps to Counterterrorism

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:56:50 -0400

In his first major counterterrorism address of his second term, President Obama outlined several steps that his administration will take to fight terrorism both at home and abroad.

Killing of British soldier stirs tension in poor corner of London

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:33:24 -0400

By Andrew Osborn and Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - The gory killing of a British soldier at the hands of two suspected Islamist militants has shone a spotlight on Woolwich, the London district where it happened, stirring racial tensions in one of the most ethnically diverse parts of Britain. Tucked away inside a bend of the River Thames to the southeast of central London, Woolwich has changed as quickly as the British capital itself in the last 20 years as successive waves of immigrants attracted by the area's cheaper housing have made it their home. ...

Gunmen kill 7 Iraqi soldiers in central Iraq

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:53:36 -0400

BAGHDAD (AP) — Gunmen killed at least seven soldiers in central Iraq on Thursday, officials said, in the latest episode of violence to hit the country in a particularly bloody month.

Review: 'We Steal Secrets' juicy look at WikiLeaks

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:39:41 -0400

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prolific documentary-maker Alex Gibney delivers a gripping account of the wins and losses of hard-charging idealism on the front lines of the information wars in "We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks." Exhaustively researched and balanced in its view of the controversial key player, the film slips in ahead of DreamWorks' dramatic take on the exploits of Julian Assange, "The Fifth Estate," which is currently shooting.

What we know about the gruesome London attack suspects

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:52:00 -0400

Details are emerging about the two men suspected of hacking an off-duty soldier to death on a London street

Gunmen kill seven Iraqi soldiers in worsening conflict

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:23:26 -0400

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed in clashes with gunmen on Thursday, police and hospital sources said, as fears mount that Iraq might slide back into bloody sectarian strife. Ten years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Sunni, Shi'ite and ethnic Kurdish factions have yet to find a stable power-sharing deal and security is deteriorating. More than 300 people have been killed in violence over the past week. More than 700 died in April, according to the United Nations, the highest monthly toll in almost five years. ...

London street slayer references British wars, not Nigerian insurgency

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:08:03 -0400

Anti-terrorist police are preparing to interview two hospitalized suspects arrested after a brutal attack on an off-duty soldier in southeast London who was butchered in the street with knives and a meat cleaver.

Man shot by FBI had ties to Boston bombing suspect

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:04:38 -0400

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Chechen immigrant shot to death in Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent implicated himself in a triple slaying that officials believe may have been connected to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, authorities said.

Brave woman tried to reason with London attackers

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:57:11 -0400

LONDON (AP) — A brave scout leader who may have prevented further violence has emerged as an unlikely hero in the apparent terror attack that left one man dead on the streets of London.

Huawei's Middle East revenue rose 18 percent in 2012: executive

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:43:06 -0400

By Matt Smith DUBAI (Reuters) - China's Huawei Technologies Co's Middle East revenue rose 18 percent to $2.08 billion in 2012 and the roll-out of 4G mobile networks and IT outsourcing will be among its main regional growth drivers, the firm said. The world's second-largest telecom equipment maker also expects Middle East telecom operators to prioritize improving network efficiency, Shi Yaohong, president of Huawei Middle East, told Reuters in an email. "Operators' shift toward software-defined networks, IT outsourcing and adoption of 4G ... ...

London attacker British, of Nigerian origin: source

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:58:03 -0400

By Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - British authorities have established that one and possibly both of the men who hacked a soldier to death on a London street was born in Britain of Nigerian descent, a source with knowledge of the investigation said on Thursday. Local media named the man who was definitely born in the country as 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo and said police raided the home of his Nigerian family in a village near the eastern English city of Lincoln. Both men appeared to have converted to Islam from Christian immigrant backgrounds, British media said. ...

UK emergency committee meets after attack

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:17:11 -0400

LONDON (AP) — The British government's emergency committee met Thursday after two attackers butchered a British soldier in a daylight attack in London that raised fears terrorism had returned to the capital.

Man shot by FBI had had ties to bombing suspect

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:13:45 -0400

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Chechen immigrant shot to death in central Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent had several ties to that of one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects who authorities were questioning him about at the time.

John Kerry in the Middle East: Eclipse of a Superpower?

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:54:50 -0400

Doha, Qatar – Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in the Middle East today with two of the most vexing problems in international affairs at the top of his agenda: a downward spiraling Syrian civil war that continues to draw neighbors into to its bloody vortex and destabilize the entire region; and the slow-rolling death of the two-state solution to an Israeli-Palestinian conflict that remains an open wound in Western-Arab relations.

Barred from poll, Rafsanjani calls Iranian leaders ignorant

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:45:54 -0400

By Marcus George and Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has accused Iran's leadership of incompetence and ignorance just days after he was barred from standing in an election next month, the opposition Kaleme website reported on Thursday. Rafsanjani's comments appeared to add to the political conflict between those loyal to the leadership and opposition groups who have been marginalized since post-election unrest in 2009. ...

Man shot by FBI had spoken with bombing suspect

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:21:56 -0400

Obama Moves to Restrict Drone Strikes; Tancredo Announcing for CO GOV; Walker Heads West to IA

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:11:19 -0400

Wake-Up Call! is Hotline's daily morning briefing on campaigns and elections. Click here to subscribe.WHAT'S NEWSPres. Obama "plans to open a new phase in the nation's long struggle with terrorism on Thursday by restricting the use of unmanned drone strikes that have been at the heart of his national security strategy and shifting control of them away" from the CIA to the military. The Obama admin. ...

Soccer-Nagatomo recalled for Japan's World Cup qualifier

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:02:31 -0400

May 23 (Reuters) - Flying fullback Yuto Nagatomo was recalled to the Japan squad on Thursday for the crunch 2014 World Cup qualifier against Australia next month, where victory would secure a berth in Brazil and damage the Socceroos' hopes of joining them. A knee injury forced Nagatomo to miss Japan's last qualifier in Jordan where the Asian champions needed only a point to claim an early place at the finals but lost 2-1 to the West Asians. ...

British Prime Minister seeks answers after soldier hacked to death

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:43:32 -0400

By Maria Golovnina and Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron convened an emergency meeting of his intelligence chiefs on Thursday after two Islamists hacked a soldier to death with meat cleavers on a south London street. A dramatic clip filmed by an onlooker just minutes after Wednesday's killing showed a man with hands covered in blood shouting Islamic slogans and promising revenge on Britain for its participation in wars in the Muslim world. "We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. ...

Obama to push for transparency in face of threats

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:20:03 -0400

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid lingering concerns about his national security policies, President Barack Obama is outlining measures to clarify the deadly use of drones against terror suspects, make good on a pledge to close the controversial prison at Guantanamo Bay and warn Americans about dire threats they continue to face — even from fellow citizens.