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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iranian operatives are training fighters in Iraq and helping to plan attacks there despite diplomatic pressure on Tehran to halt such interference, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. The latest accusation leveled against Iran by the U.S. military followed rare diplomatic talks in Baghdad last month between the two old adversaries to discuss Washington's concerns in Iraq. "There absolutely is evidence of Iranian operatives holding weapons, training fighters, providing resources, helping plan operations, resourcing secret cells that is destabilizing Iraq," said military spokesman Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner. "We would like very much to see some action on their part...

McCain's Obsession posted by: jason | posted at: 6:58 AM | permalink here McCain seems to be literally obsessed with Romney. I guess it's that whole dying gasp thing. First he was going to open www.mittvstruth.com, then he was thinking about it, now it's definitely off the table. Now he is in Massachusetts taking pot shots at Romney, all the while sinking himself into presidential obscurity: BOSTON - Sen. John McCain said Monday he hopes to take advantage of former Gov. Mitt Romney's sagging support at home and lead a resurgence of the Republican Party in the northeast during...

Mitt Romney responds to the personal attacks that have been made on him. It's a fantastic answer, IMHO. Check it out. View the video here.

Patrick Ruffini: Why then attack Romney this early? The easy answer is desperation. But I also think that their passions have gotten the better of them. They’re on autopilot, and like Sunni and Shi’a, can’t imagine not fighting the other guys. Ambinder: Contradiction? I wrote about Romney's conversion for National Journal and came away with the impression that the Harvard incident began the process, rather than ended it -- that it took time before Romney fully came to realize that the pro-life position was correct. Also, Romney has always claimed that, even after his personal revelation, he never went...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas gunmen attacked the headquarters of Fatah-allied forces in northern Gaza with mortars and grenades Tuesday and captured several smaller positions in what Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah alleged was a coup attempt by the Islamic militants. More than 80 people have been killed since mid-May, most of them militants, including two on Tuesday. Security commanders loyal to Abbas complained they were not given clear orders to fight back at a time when Hamas appeared to be moving forward according to a plan. Abbas' Fatah movement was to meet later in the day to...

This is almost sad. I would also say it’s disappointing, but in fact it’s oh-so-predictable. John McCain has decided that the best way to sell his vision of immigration reform to the Republican electorate is to criticize his critics. The Boston Globe reports: In a major speech on immigration Monday in South Florida, McCain will have tough words for critics such as Romney who haven't proposed anything of their own, according to advisers. We’ll momentarily bypass the fact that the Boston Globe is apparently continuing its policy of willingly serving as hand-maiden to whomever happens to be Mitt Romney’s...

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United States will face worse attacks than those on September 11, 2001 if it does not heed al Qaeda demands effectively allowing the group control over Muslim countries, a U.S. Islamist militant said on Tuesday. Adam Gadahn, a California-born convert to Islam and the first American to be charged with treason since the World War Two era, appeared in a video posted on the Internet. Gadahn, wearing robes and a turban, is believed to be in Pakistan. "Your failure to meet our demands ... means that you and your people will, Allah willing, experience things which...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Security Forces repelled a large-scale terrorist attack in Mosul Wednesday. Iraqi Security Forces countered several terrorists who targeted bridges, transition jails, police stations and a combat outpost with vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, sporadic small-arms fire and indirect mortar attacks throughout the evening. “This was a total team effort on the part of the Iraqi Security Forces and emergency responders,” said U.S. Army Col. Stephen Twitty, commander of 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. “This Iraqi team showed the people of Mosul that they are resolute in their efforts to defeat this very cowardly, desperate enemy while protecting innocent...

The computer attacks, apparently originating in Russia, first hit the Web site of Estonia’s prime minister on April 27, the day the country was mired in protest and violence. The president’s site went down, too, and soon so did those of several departments in a wired country that touts its paperless government and likes to call itself E-stonia. Then the attacks, coming in waves, began to strike newspapers and television stations, then schools and finally banks, raising fears that what was initially a nuisance could have economic consequences. The attacks have peaked and tapered off since then, but they have...

BAGHDAD — The Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman and the commanding general of the Ground Combat Element, Multi-National Force-West, held a press conference at the Combined Press Information Center Wednesday. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, the MNF-I spokesman, and U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. C. Mark Gurganus, commanding general of GCE, MNF-W, discussed progress in operations and security in western Iraq. “We want to help the Iraqi people develop a secure, stable and self-governing nation they can be proud of,” said Caldwell. “We are here to help the Iraqis build institutions, which will offer their children a better life...

GAZA (Reuters) - At least 16 Palestinians were killed in fierce factional fighting in Gaza on Wednesday and Israel went into action with an air strike on a Hamas compound that killed at least four gunmen. Palestinian officials said the widening hostilities could bring down a two-month-old unity government formed between Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah. Some Palestinians have said the government's collapse could lead to further violence and spell the end of the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli air strike flattened a building used by Hamas's Executive Force, but the army said the attack was not connected to internal...

In the continuing, disgusting saga of liberal talk show host Michael McGee, Sr.’s attack on conservative talk show host Charlie Sykes’ mother, McGee confirmed his statement on Fox 6 news and compared Sykes to Hitler and Satan. Then, he stated the only thing he regretted was that “his stringy haired ho son wasn’t layin’ there with her” when Katherine Sykes died in a fire. (Video)

Terrorist attacks worldwide shot up more than 25 percent last year, killing 40 percent more people than in 2005, particularly in Iraq where extremists used chemical weapons and suicide bombers to target crowds, the State Department said Monday. Among countries, Iran remains the biggest supporter of terrorism, with elements of its government backing groups throughout the Middle East, notably in Iraq, giving material aid and guidance to Shiite insurgent groups that have attacked Sunnis, U.S. and Iraqi forces, it said. In its annual global survey of terrorism, the department said 14,338 attacks took place in 2006, mainly in Iraq and...

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2007 – Progress continues in Iraq despite headline-grabbing enemy attacks, a top U.S. general in Iraq said yesterday. “There’s some areas that we need to work a little bit harder at,” Army Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott said of the Baghdad surge strategy. He pointed to vehicle-bombs as a primary area of concern. Scott, deputy chief of staff for strategic effects for Multinational Force Iraq, told online journalists in a conference call that while there has been a slight increase in the number of “spectacular” car-bomb attacks around Baghdad, there has also been positive movement as a...

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2007 – Suicide-bomb attacks on coalition and Iraqi troops and civilians, orchestrated by Al Qaeda and Sunni extremists, present the top challenge in establishing security and stability in Iraq, the commander of U.S. Central Command testified at a Congressional hearing on Capitol Hill today. “Of all the things that we have on the plate in Iraq, the one that I think is first and foremost as a target for us to try to get a grip on and to neutralize is the group that is very clearly al Qaeda-motivated that is linked to Sunni extremists in...

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2007 – A suicide bomber attacked a coalition patrol southeast of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, today, and two Taliban fighters were killed in an airstrike, military officials reported. One coalition soldier sustained minor injuries and returned to duty, and one coalition vehicle was damaged. “The enemies of Afghanistan continue to fight against the peace and security that the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan works to maintain,” said Army Maj. Eric Zenk, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division spokesman. Elsewhere, defense officials reported five Afghan Security Guards were wounded and another two were killed during a four-hour firefight with...

Tony Blair today warned that "elements of the Iranian regime" were arming insurgents in Iraq after it was confirmed four British troops were killed in Basra last night. He said: "The general picture, as I have said before, is that there are elements of the Iranian regime that are backing, financing, arming and supporting terrorism in Iraq." British and US officials believe that the Quds brigade, part of the Iranian revolutionary guard, is helping to provide insurgents in Iraq with the training and finance to create roadside bombs...

Mayor's office in northern city of Lille says it is 'shocked' and 'disgusted' by weekend attack, which it describes as a 'hateful anti-Semitic act' More than 50 tombstones were damaged in an attack at the weekend on a Jewish cemetery in the northern French city of Lille that the mayor's office described as a "hateful anti-Semitic act". The Lille mayor's office said it was "shocked" and "disgusted" by the desecration of 53 tombstones overnight Saturday to Sunday in the Lille-Sud cemetery. New Interior Minister Francois Baroin issued a statement condemning the attack and pledging to mobilise "all means necessary to...

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2007 ? Coalition forces in Iraq this morning captured 19 suspected terrorists in various operations, Iraqi forces repelled an attack in Fallujah, and attacks on civilians continue across the country, military officials reported. -- Coalition forces east of Karmah captured five suspected terrorists with alleged involvement in al Qaeda terrorist operations. -- Forces detained an additional five suspected terrorists, reportedly tied to foreign fighter facilitation, during a raid northwest of Haditha. -- In southwest Baghdad, coalition forces detained five suspects reportedly involved in car-bomb operations. -- Three more suspects with alleged ties to al Qaeda were...

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2007 – A detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has admitted to helping orchestrate the bombings of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1998 and the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000. The Defense Department today released the transcript of Walid Muhammad Salih bin Attash’s combat status review tribunal hearing, held March 12 at the detention facility. The tribunal was an administrative hearing to determine only if Attash could be designated an enemy combatant. Attash is one of 14 high-value detainees who were transferred Sept. 6, 2006, to Guantanamo Bay from CIA custody. The CSRT hearings...