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According to an itinerary obtained from the Alaska National Guard, the Republican governor visited troops and airmen at a series of bases in Kuwait, including Camp Buehring, Camp Virginia, and Ali Al Salem Air Base. Her visit to Iraq itself was during a short stop at Khabari Alawazem Crossing on the second day of her two-day trip to the region. Palin arrived at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, where she held a town meeting with soldiers and reviewed various training programs designed to prepare troops to deploy into Iraq, said Lieutenant Colonel Dave Osborn, commander of the 3d Battalion, 207th Infantry...

August 30, 2008 Categories: John McCain Palin's travels Sarah Palin's abrupt appearance on the national stage sparked an enormous array of questions, one of which is: Has she ever traveled abroad? I asked her new spokeswoman, Maria Comella, who noted that Palin visited Germany and Kuwait in 2007 to visit Alaska National Guard troops. Comella said she'd also visited one other country: Ireland.

Obama camp suggests lies over Palin visit to Iraq By GLEN JOHNSON – 4 minutes ago WASHINGTON (AP) — The question of whether Sarah Palin has ever been to Iraq pushed Obama aides Saturday to accuse the McCain campaign of outright lies, distortions and distractions to the American people. Since Republican presidential nominee John McCain tapped the Alaska governor to be his running mate on Aug. 29, questions about her experience have been fueled by her relatively brief tenure in office, as well as a dearth of foreign travel. Palin made a well-documented trip to Kuwait and Germany last year...

(CNN) -- Sarah Palin did not visit troops in Iraq, a spokesperson for the Republican vice presidential nominee confirmed Saturday, as new details emerged about the extent of the Alaska governor's foreign travel. Gov. Sarah Palin's aide confirmed to CNN details of her foreign travel Saturday. Gov. Sarah Palin's aide confirmed to CNN details of her foreign travel Saturday. In July of last year, Palin left North America for the first time to visit Alaskan troops stationed in Kuwait. Palin officials originally said her itinerary included U.S. military installations or outposts in Germany and Kuwait, and that she had visited...

<p>This undated photo provided by the Heath family shows Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with one of her daughters posing with the caribou she shot in Alaska.</p>

Has anyone heard today 22 August of Iranian Naval Maneuvers off the coast of Kuwait. My wife heard it on the International news, but I can't find it anywhere.

The mother of two children who were found dead inside her car Wednesday was excited about starting a new life after a recent divorce. Stacey Mendieta, 28, had planned to move with her children to Kuwait to marry her fiancee, whom she met online, said Denver attorney Eric Ruderman, who represented Mendieta in her divorce ------------------------------------------------ Her estranged husband could not be found and was served by publication shortly after Mendieta filed for divorce in March. Court records state that Hugo Mendieta is an "illegal alien who is most likely in Honduras or elsewhere in South America."

The small oil-rich emirate of Kuwait – situated between Iraq, Iran and an un-enviable geographic hard place on the northern end of the Persian Gulf – has reportedly activated its "Emergency War Plan" as a massive U.S. and European armada is reported heading for the region.

Kuwait has activated its Emergency War Plan after an armada of US naval battle groups headed for the Persian Gulf, Middle East Times reports. The report comes after DEBKAfiles claimed on Monday that the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the USS Ronald Reagan, and the USS Iwo Jima are sailing toward the Persian Gulf to reinforce the US strike forces in the region. The US naval force is accompanied by a British Royal Navy carrier battle group and a French nuclear hunter-killer submarine. The deployment is believed to be the largest naval task force assembled by the United States and its allies...

BEIRUT -- It was an open-and-shut case. Kuwaiti cops showed up at the dealer's house and seized more than 22 pounds of cocaine and 165 pounds of hashish. The suspect was accused of drug trafficking and, a few months later, sentenced to death. But the convicted drug dealer, Talal Nasser al Sabah, was no ordinary Kuwaiti -- he was a member of the Persian Gulf kingdom's ruling family. Now everyone is watching to see whether the authorities will follow through on the ruling by the independent-minded judiciary or grant Talal the immunity considered a right by royal families throughout the...

Two additional United States naval aircraft carriers are heading to the Gulf and the Red Sea, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Kuwait Times. Kuwait began finalizing its "emergency war plan" on being told the vessels were bound for the region. The US Navy will neither confirm nor deny that carriers are currently en route. US Fifth Fleet Combined Maritime Command located in Bahrain said it could not comment because of what a spokesman termed "force-protection policy." While the Kuwaiti daily did not name the ships it believes are heading for the Middle East, The Media Line's defense analyst said they...

Kuwait sees oil prices remaining over $100 ABU DHABI — Kuwait envisions crude oil prices staying above $100 per barrel. Khalid Budai, a member of the Kuwait Supreme Petroleum Council, said oil prices would stabilize over the next few months. But Budai said he envisioned prices to remain around $100 per barrel on the strength of increased demand by China and India.

Special Dispatch Series - No. 2006 July 29, 2008 No. 2006 Kuwaiti Daily Reveals: Iran Building Secret Nuclear Reactor On July 29, 2008, the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa reported that, according to "highly reliable sources," Iranian authorities had begun construction of a secret nuclear reactor in the Al-Zarqan region close to the city of Ahwaz in southwest Iran, on the Iran-Iraq border. The paper said that according to sources, Iran was working to distance its nuclear installations from international oversight. The English version of the report, published in the Kuwaiti Arab Times, said, "Disclosing [that] Tehran directed international A-bomb inspectors...

Rising international tension between Iran and the West has prompted OPEC-member Kuwait to consider long-term plans to increase storage of its oil abroad, oil industry sources and diplomats said. The United States says it wants a diplomatic solution to its dispute over Iran's nuclear programme but has not ruled out military action if that fails. Tehran has threatened to impose controls on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz if attacked. Kuwait, the world's seventh-largest oil exporter, ships all of its crude exports, totalling around 1.7 million barrels per day, through the strait. The Gulf Arab state has no alternative export...

Pentagon Makes Fighting Extremism Top Priority Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon on Thursday officially named "the long war" against global extremism as its top priority and pledged to avert any conventional military threat from China or Russia through dialogue. The Defense Department, in a new national defense strategy, also emphasized the need to subordinate military operations to "soft power" initiatives to undermine Islamist militancy by promoting economic, political and social development in vulnerable corners of the world. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he hoped the change would help establish permanent institutional support for counterinsurgency skills...

1990: Iraq invades Kuwait More than 100,000 Iraqi soldiers backed up by 700 tanks invaded the Gulf state of Kuwait in the early hours of this morning. Iraqi forces have established a provisional government and their leader Saddam Hussein has threatened to turn Kuwait city into a "graveyard" if any other country dares to challenge the "take-over by force".

One would think that the non-stop media coverage of Savior Barack Obama’s recent travels would have been sufficient to relay all of the trip’s events to those of us stuck within the bitter confines of America’s borders. Few know that some meetings, however, were closed to the media and the public. And although we might never find out what precisely took place behind those closed doors, we can at least take an educated guess. Afghanistan: Obama meets with President Hamid Karzai, who asserts his need for additional U.S. troops to help fight off the resurgence of extremists. Obama agrees, saying,...

Kuwait : His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Sunday received at his Dar Salwa residence, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Deputy Chief of the National Guards Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. The aim of the gathering of these senior officials was to welcome visiting US Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama, who attended the meeting with US Ambassador to Kuwait Deborah Jones, Rhode Island State Senator Jack Reed, and Nebraska State Senator Chuck Hagel. Discussions were conducted between the...

Obama Makes Stop On Way To Afghanistan In Whirlwind Tour Of Middle East, Europe CHICAGO (CBS) A group soldiers serving overseas, including some from the Chicago area, were overjoyed Saturday when presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama visited in Kuwait. As CBS 2's Susan Carlson reports, Obama stopped in at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait before making his first trip to Afghanistan. Camp Arifjan is a major gateway for U.S. soldiers moving into and out of Iraq. The soldiers applauded thunderously when Obama arrived; one of them could barely contain herself as she sported a Chi-town sign. When the cheers settled...

Brack Obama launched his week-long world tour with a brief stop in Kuwait and then began a longer visit to Afghanistan, ahead of planned stops in Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and England. The highly anticipated trip was launched in secrecy, with Obama’s campaign refusing to confirm that he had left the country, citing security reasons. The campaign announced early Saturday morning that Obama was on the ground in Kabul, Afghanistan. The U.S. military later said Obama was greeting U.S. troops at Jalalabad airfield in eastern Afghanistan. Obama made a secret stop in Kuwait and visited U.S. service members, then...

Al-Qaeda Draws New Recruits Via Internet Al-Qaeda is using the Internet to recruit vulnerable young people to its terrorist network, according to a programme aired on Saudi Arabian TV late on Tuesday. Umm Osama, the founder of al-Qaeda's first women-only website, al-Khansa, joined several others on the programme to discuss how they renounced jihadist ideology. Among those who sought a response to this question was an imam from the Medina mosque, Saleh Ibn Awad al-Mudamsi, and the father of a young al-Qaeda suspect held in an Iraqi prison. Read More Qaeda Targets U.S. Oil Interests in North Africa U.S....

June 13, 2008 HP-1023 Washington - The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated the Kuwait-based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) for providing financial and material support to al Qaida and al Qaida affiliates, including Lashkar e-Tayyiba, Jemaah Islamiyah, and Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya. RIHS has also provided financial support for acts of terrorism. "Designating and freezing the assets of an organization engaged in charitable work is a decision not taken lightly because the last thing we want to do is cut off needed humanitarian assistance," said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. "However, the reality is that...

The latest Big Apple trophy being coveted by oil-rich sovereign wealth funds is the landmark Chrysler Building. Sources say the super-rich Abu Dhabi Investment Council is negotiating an $800 million deal for a 75 percent stake in the Art Deco treasure that has defined the Midtown skyline since 1930. The Chrysler assets would be purchased from TMW - the German arm of an Atlanta-based investment fund that's been eager to cash out of its Chrysler stake. The deal follows last month's sale of the GM Building and three other Macklowe/Equity Portfolio properties for $3.95 billion to a group of investors...

Oil prices fell closer to $122 a barrel Thursday as investors become more wary of falling global demand and a strengthening dollar, despite an explosion at a Kuwaiti petrochemical plant. By early afternoon in Europe, light, sweet crude for July delivery fell 10 cents to $122.20 per barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract had risen rose as high as $123.25 earlier in the session. On Wednesday, it fell $2.01 during the floor session to close at $122.30, its lowest settlement since May 6. Changing expectations over global demand were seen as the main cause...

Baghdad: A proposed Iraqi-American security agreement will include permanent American bases in the country, and the right for the United States to strike, from within Iraqi territory, any country it considers a threat to its national security, Gulf News has learned. Senior Iraqi military sources have told Gulf News that the long-term controversial agreement is likely to include three major items. Under the agreement, Iraqi security institutions such as Defence, Interior and National Security ministries, as well as armament contracts, will be under American supervision for ten years. The agreement is also likely to give American forces permanent military bases...

An Islamic parliamentarian in Bahrain has called for the expulsion of Bangladeshi immigrant workers after one of them was accused of a gruesome killing. "We need to expel all the Bangladeshi workers that are in our country," said Abdel Halim Murad of the hardline Salafi bloc according to a report in the local newspaper Akhbar al-Khalji. "We cannot tolerate the way in which these people continue to repeat crimes," he said. Murad said this during a political debate on Sunday after a Bahraini citizen was allegedly killed by a foreign worker from Bangladesh who worked as a mechanic. The victim...

Radical Sunni Islamists made a strong showing in Kuwait's legislative election and minority Shiites gained one more seat, reflecting heightened sectarian sentiment and conservatism in the oil-rich Gulf state. Women, despite numbering more than half the electorate, again failed to enter parliament, according to official results released on Sunday. The hardline Islamic Salafi Alliance and its allies won at least 10 seats in Saturday's poll, almost twice their strength in the previous chamber. Sunni and Shiite Islamists grabbed more than half of parliament's 50 seats. Sunni Islamists won 21 seats, four more than their number in the previous parliament which...

Kuwait decided on Tuesday to reduce the number of diplomats in its mission in Beirut but the embassy will remain open, the official KUNA news agency quoted the Kuwaiti ambassador as saying. "Due to the situation in Beirut and the continued blockade of roads and the difficulty of movement... we have decided to reduce the number of Kuwaiti diplomats," Abdulaal al-Qenai said. But Qenai insisted the embassy would remain open and that he would stay in the Lebanese capital despite the deadly sectarian fighting that has shaken Beirut and other parts of the country for almost a week. He said...

How best to acknowledge the precious democratic exercise in civic responsibility we’re witnessing this Tuesday? If you’re the New York Times, you run a disingenuous story about the failings of democracy. Today’s lesson in American hubris comes from Kuwait: “Kuwait used to be No. 1 in the economy, in politics, in sports, in culture, in everything,” [Parliamentary candidate Ali al-Rashed] said, his voice floating out in the warm evening air to hundreds of potential voters seated on white damask-lined chairs. “What happened?” It is a question many people are asking as this tiny, oil-rich nation of 2.6 million people approaches...

A vessel contracted by the Navy in the Persian Gulf fired warning shots Thursday on two Iranian fast boats, FOX News has learned. The Westward Venture, a ship contracted by the Navy to carry military cargo to Kuwait, fired upon the boats Thursday after attempts to get Iranian boats' attention failed. The ship was about 50 miles off the coast of Iran when the fast boats approached. A Navy security team, armed with M16 rifles and .50-caliber machine guns, was onboard at the time the warning shots were fired.

KUWAIT, April 22 (Reuters) - Following are key points Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki made in a speech at a meeting of foreign ministers from the region and Western powers in Kuwait on Tuesday. ** Maliki criticised neighbouring countries for not doing enough to support Iraq. Sunni Arab states have only low-level ties with the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad. "It's difficult for us to explain why diplomatic ties have not been resumed with Iraq. Many other foreign countries have kept diplomatic missions in Baghdad regardless of security considerations." "A safe and stable Iraq serves the interests of regional nations and...

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was to leave for Qatar Sunday for a two-day visit during which she is scheduled to speak at the opening of the Doha Forum on Democracy, Development and Free Trade. In her speech, Livni is expected to call on Arab nations to assist in the Israel-Palestinian peace process by promoting "gradual" normalization of ties with Israel, among other things. The foreign minister is scheduled to meet with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, as well as Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamed bin Jassem al-Thani. During her meetings with senior Qatari officials, Livni is...

Published: 04.09.08, 23:20 / Israel News US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to travel to the Middle East this month to build support among Arab countries for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and to lobby Iraq's neighbors for help in stabilizing Iraq. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack says Rice will meet April 22 with foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt and Jordan in Bahrain. He says she plans to discuss Middle East peace talks as well as Iraq. (AP)

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait, April 1, 2008 – Troops passing through Camp Buehring on the way to deployment in Iraq can find a little piece of home at the camp’s recreation center, “The Oasis.” Violet Kelly, a recreation lead with Morale, Welfare and Recreation on Camp Buehring, Kuwait, talks with some civilians in Camp Buehring's recreation center March 10, 2008. Kelly is best known as "Big Momma" to the troops who pass through the camp, as well as to her colleagues. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The comfortable feeling certainly is not a result...

WASHINGTON -- Asked at a New Hampshire campaign stop about possibly staying in Iraq 50 years, John McCain interrupted -- "Make it a hundred" -- then offered a precise analogy to what he envisioned: "We've been in Japan for 60 years. We've been in South Korea for 50 years or so." Lest anyone think he was talking about prolonged war-fighting rather than maintaining a presence in postwar Iraq, he explained: "That would be fine with me, as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed." And lest anyone persist in thinking he was talking about...

The U.S. Treasury is struggling with how to handle any political or Islamic ramifications as Persian Gulf sovereign wealth funds look to make substantial investments in capital-poor American banks and securities firms. The crisis in mortgage-backed securities has created a need for new capital to enter financial markets after major financial institutions such as Bear Stearns and Carlyle Capital Corp. failed over the weekend. The crisis is an opportunity for sovereign wealth funds that have prospered as the price of oil has soared over $110 a barrel. WND previously reported sovereign wealth funds in six Persian Gulf countries, including Kuwait,...

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait's ruler has dissolved parliament days after the government resigned, Al Jazeera television reported on Wednesday. It said the ruler had informed the Kuwaiti parliament speaker Jassem al-Kharafi that the assembly was dissolved. It gave no more details.

A retired Kuwaiti superstar singer has recently the left the Gulf emirate for Afghanistan to join ranks with al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in fighting foreign troops there, according to a press report published Saturday. Hussein al-Ahmad, who was until recently one of the Gulf’s most famous pop stars, decided to join “his Mujahideen brothers in Afghanistan to support Islam and fight alongside his fellow Muslims in al-Qaeda”, reported Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai Saturday. Al-Ahmad has previously told Kuwait’s Al-Rai TV that the reason he decided to quit singing was “a dream” where he saw his “own journey from this world into...

A crackdown on leading clerics and politicians from Kuwait's Shiite minority has stoked sectarian tensions in the oil-rich Gulf state, raising questions about its aim and timing, analysts say. Claims that Shiite activists who took part in a controversial rally in February are seeking to topple the regime "amount to a sectarian campaign by the security agencies ... against prominent figures of the Shiite community," a group of leading Shiite clerics said in a statement. "If you're a Shiite in Kuwait, you have to swear five times a day after each prayer that you hate Iran and love Israel" in...

Jessica Simpson travels to Kuwait to take part in Operation Myspace (10 March, 2008).

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait, March 11, 2008 – It’s hard to imagine that Frank Cavanagh, a tall thin Army Reserve sergeant with a shaved head, once had hair nearly to his shoulders and played bass for the rock band Filter. Richard Patrick (left), lead vocalist for the band Filter, and former band mate turned Army Reserve Sgt. Frank Cavanagh share the stage for a reunion song during the Operation MySpace concert at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, on March 10, 2008. Defense Dept. photos by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Cavanaugh said he didn’t tell anyone he’d gone...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait, March 11, 2008 – For more than four hours last night, Camp Buehring, in the middle of the Kuwaiti desert, became a hard-rocking outdoor amphitheater. Before the music began, about 5,000 servicemembers heard a message of support and appreciation from President Bush. Both Lt. Gen. James J. Lovelace, commander of U.S. Army Central and Combined Forces Land Component Command, and his deputy, Maj. Gen. Dennis E. Hardy, visited with the performers and thanked them for their support. Then, before comedian Carlos Mencia got the troops laughing, he gave them some words of thanks. “You guys work...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait, March 10, 2008 – Save for the crowd and the celebrity at its core, it could have been a day like any other for a soldier strumming his guitar in the recreation center here yesterday. Army Spc. Richard Baxter began playing the acoustic guitar just a few years ago, but yesterday he spent nearly 30 minutes jamming with Richard Patrick, guitar player and lead singer for the industrial rock band, Filter. “It was the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Baxter, a member of 352nd Military Police Company, a reserve unit out of Maryland. “It still hasn’t...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait, March 10, 2008 – Like devoted fans, about 100 servicemembers anxiously awaited Clyde’s arrival here on March 7. And, like a true celebrity, Clyde was fashionably late. Army Sgt. Dale Carson with the 76th Brigade out of Indianapolis, Ind., gets a wild ride from Clyde the camel March 7, 2008, on Camp Buehring, Kuwait. Clyde comes to the base once a month as part of the Morale, Welfare and Recreation office’s efforts to give the troops a break from their day-to-day routines. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “I...

KUWAIT CITY: The destruction of Iran's nuclear capabilities would be in the interest of the Arab nations in the Gulf, and it would be "less embarrassing" if it was done by Israel rather than the U.S., a top Kuwaiti strategist said in remarks published Sunday. Officially Kuwait, like the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, wants a peaceful solution to the nuclear standoff between Tehran and the West and will not allow the U.S. to use its territories for any attack on Iran. But when asked in an interview with the daily Al-Siyassah about the consequences of an Israeli...

The destruction of Iran's nuclear capabilities would be in the interest of the Arab nations in the Gulf, and it would be "less embarrassing" if it was done by Israel rather than the US, a top Kuwaiti strategist said in remarks published Sunday. Officially Kuwait, like the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, wants a peaceful solution to the nuclear standoff between Teheran and the West and will not allow the US to use its territories for any attack on Iran. But when asked in an interview with the daily Al-Siyassah about the consequences of an Israeli strike on...

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2008 – Troops in Kuwait preparing to deploy into Iraq will get a crash course in rock-and-roll MySpace style when the online social network hosts its “Operation MySpace” concert March 10. “For years, troops stationed all over the world have utilized MySpace as a lifeline to communicate with their loved ones back home,” said Tom Anderson, a MySpace co-founder. “Many of them have been generous enough to share their unique experiences with me through messages on MySpace. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to thank them in person and bring along the entire MySpace community.” MySpace...

1. Four F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighters fly in formation during a sortie over Antelope Valley, California, USA. Photographer: Bobbi Zapka, Chief of Aerial Photo Department, Edwards AFB. Image ID: 070328-F-9126Z-504Link: http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/070328-F-9126Z-504.jpg 2. During Operation Desert Storm (1991) F-16A Fighting Falcon, F-15E Strike Eagle, and F-15C Eagle fighter jets fly over Kuwait's burning oil fields. Photographer: Tech. Sgt. Fernando Serna, USAF. Image ID: 071009-F-2911S-013. Link: http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20060914.htm (photo 4)

Lawyers acting for Kuwait Airways are warning that any aircraft that Iraqi Airways acquires face being impounded to settle the drawn-out $1 billion compensation case brought by the Kuwaiti flag-carrier following the Iraqi invasion of 1990. Iraq’s Government is in discussions with Boeing and Bombardier and has indicated plans to acquire more than 40 aircraft for Iraqi Airways. Both airframers have confirmed they are in talks over fleet requirements. << snip >> UK law firm Howard Kennedy partner Christopher Gooding, representing Kuwait Airways, says: “Kuwait Airways holds judgements against Iraqi Airways in excess of $1 billion. All appeal procedures have...

Three Afghan nationals are being held in New Delhi, India after they tried boarding a flight to France, via Kuwait, using Mexican passsports identifying themselves as: Antonio Lopez Juan (42) Javier Sanchez Alberto (20) Atonio Lopez Ernesto (16) According to Indian press reports, the three men departed from Nedumbaserry Airport in India, on February 11, without incident. When they arrived in Kuwait, emigration officials found them suspicious because they did not speak any Spanish. They were deported back to India. The three had reportedly arrived in New Delhi on January 23 this year, as per the stamps on their passports....