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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi authorities have deprived Turkish soldiers, deployed in northern Iraq to combat Kurdish militias, from visas to return to their bases as means to cut down the number of troops which Baghdad had repeatedly demanded to pull out. Watheq al-Hashemi, director of al-Nahrain Center for Strategic Studies, an Iraqi government-affiliated think tank, told Almaalomah website that the Iraqi government has unilaterally decided not to grant Turkish soldiers on leave at their homeland visas to return to the Turkish military base in Bashiqa region, north of Iraq. According to Hashemi, the measure, adopted over the past months, has helped...

“Happy Memorial Day.” It doesn’t seem right to say it like that, does it. Today is one of the few holidays that doesn’t fit neatly into a friendly salutation. And it shouldn’t. This day doesn’t belong to us. Memorial Day is a day to acknowledge a debt owed to men and women better than us. It is a debt that can never be repaid. On this day, though, we must address those men and women in our thoughts and prayers and convey our appreciation. There are memorials to them everywhere, and while statues and flags are wonderful testimonials, their proper...

Memorial Day means more than remembering those who died in military service to the country Memorial Day had its origin as Decoration Day following the Civil War, but it only became an official federal holiday to honor those who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces of the United States in 1971. Memorial Day is also an occasion to associate those who died with the just causes for which the United States was willing to go to war. World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam were conflicts where freedom was clearly at stake. The post 9/11...

The Foreign Ministry has rejected as “hypocritical” statements by European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker regarding two detained Greek soldiers in Turkey. “With these remarks ... The EU authorities lose their credibility and reliability day by day,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said in a written statement on April 26 During a recent visit to Greece, Juncker said Turkey must release the Greek soldiers, detained after inadvertently crossing the border last month. “We reject this statement, which is far from being serious and lacks legal basis. Greek soldiers who violate Turkish law do not have any privileges before the independent...

Turkish President Recep Tayipp Erdogan said he would consider releasing the soldiers if eight Turkish servicemen, who sought assylum in Greece following the failed 2016 coup attempt, were sent home first."Blackmail" Athens has described this as "blackmail", with the Defence Ministry describing the soldiers as "hostages", and the Greek Supreme Court has sided with the government. President Prokopis Pavlopoulos of Greece said: "There was an unacceptable connection made between the Greek officers who were arbitrarily detained, and Turkish citizens who came to Greece, and requested asylum. Because Greece implemented - I emphasize this - implemented international law, it was granted....

Three off-duty French soldiers were arrested and detained by police after saving a woman from robbery. This is how France (and other EU countries, like the UK) is conditioning its “tax-farm” to have a victim mentality and to not fight crime even in the most extreme cases. This is taught (more like force-fed) helplessness by any definition, but I’ll have to elaborate a little bit on this issue. To put things into perspective on how far gone Europe is and how aggressively the unelected EU bureaucrats are implementing their sick social engineering agenda, just a couple of days ago we...

SAS soldier 'chopped off ISIS thug's head with SHOVEL and used his gun to kill more militants' The British sergeant was said to have run out of ammunition during a bloody battle in Afghanistan By Chris kitching Updated 20:40, 7 JAN 2018 An elite SAS soldier cut off an ISIS fighter's head with a spade after he ran out of ammunition during a bloody six-hour battle, it was claimed. After killing the jihadist, the British sergeant used the enemy's gun to kill more militants. The brutal battle is said to have occurred six weeks ago in war-torn Afghanistan. The British...

More than 25 years after being locked away for a killing their lawyers say they didn't commit, three former soldiers are free on bail and preparing to go home to spend the holidays with their families. Mark Jason Jones, Kenneth Eric Gardiner and Dominic Brian Lucci were in their early 20s when they were convicted of murder in the Jan. 31, 1992, slaying of Stanley Jackson in Savannah, Georgia. Prosecutors said the crime was racially motivated. The three former soldiers are white, and Jackson was black. Calculate Pay Now. Find Out what Your Next Promotion Could be Worth Click Here!...

Francis denigrates soldiers, referring to us as "warmongers." Francis is now denigrating soldiers as "warmongers."  See here. (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of All Souls Day on Thursday commemorating all those who have died in war, reminding humanity not to forget past lessons and warning that the only fruit yielded by conflict is death. His words of warning and his powerful condemnation of warmongers came during his homily at the Sicily-Rome American War Cemetery some 50 kilometers south of Rome. _____________________________________ The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2310), explains that, "Those who are sworn to serve their country...

Brigadier Gen. Anthony Tata asked why the media is allowing Florida Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson to “stand on the backs of four dead soldiers” during a Monday segment on CNN’s “New Day.” Host Chris Cuomo asked if White House Chief of Staff John Kelly was given special treatment because he lost his son in battle, and Tata said the issue wasn’t with Kelly but with Wilson. “I think the bigger question is, why are we allowing a congresswoman to stand on the backs of four dead soldiers. Why are we continuing to dig this hole,” Tata said. “I thought there...

Car rams into soldiers near their barracks outside ParisVehicle took off after the incident, police sayLocal mayor says it was 'without a doubt a deliberate act'France has been in state of emergency since November 2015​ French police launched a manhunt on Wednesday after a car rammed into soldiers near their barracks outside Paris, injuring six people, two of them seriously. Police were scrambling to track down the vehicle, which took off after the incident described by local mayor Patrick Balkany as "without a doubt a deliberate act". Mayor of Levallois-Perret Patrick Balkany has said he saw a BMW drive...

Remembering the Indian Soldiers Who Helped Liberate Jerusalem 100 Years Ago Indian Lancers guarding Turkish prisoners in Jerusalem in December 1917 Welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and thank you for the sacrifices made by your country’s soldiers who saved the Jews of the Land of Israel 100 years ago and eventually led to the Jewish state’s creation. An idyllic fenced park is located in the middle of the Talpiot neighborhood in Jerusalem, just a four-minute Waze-directed detour from Hebron Road. This cemetery, which I visited for the first time last week, is the burial site for 79 Indian soldiers...

What is the life of one soldier worth?: Why not give our troops 30 days before they return home an opportunity to decompress in a setting that is equipped with mental health professionals, programs designed to return soldiers to civilian life An article by Gregg Zoroya, “USA TODAY” highlights an issue our country is facing that needs attention and, as possible, correction. Too many people in our military are victims of suicide. A small portion of what Mr. Zoroya wrote: “The number of suicides among troops was 145 in 2001 and began a steady increase until more than doubling to...

Three U.S. soldiers were killed and another wounded during an attack in eastern Afghanistan, according to three U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. A local Afghan official said earlier two U.S. soldiers were killed and two others wounded during the shooting in Achin district, where U.S. special forces have been fighting alongside Afghan troops against Islamic State and Taliban militants.

Poetry of my father, Major Bradley Van Deusen, 1905-1955, buried in Ft. Sam Houston Military Cemetery, San Antonio TX, among an almost endless field of monuments. Appropriate to Memorial Day.

Authorities arrested several soldiers at Fort Stewart on Tuesday. The soldiers are believed to have used, had or involved in the sale of cocaine. Officials at the base were reluctant to speak with Popular Military, only offering a small statement in a press release. “We dedicate resources and work closely with our local law enforcement partners to identify and suppress illegal drug use in our ranks,” Maj. Gen. James Rainey, senior commander of Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, said in a news release. An anonymous source at the base told Popular Military that sixty four soldiers from the 3-15 Infantry Battalion...

Four Turkish soldiers and a military attaché who had applied for asylum in Norway following the 15 July coup attempt have been granted residence and working permits. Kjell M. Brygfjeld, lawyer of the five Turkish nationals, confirmed the decision which has stirred controversy between the NATO allies to Norwegian daily Klassekampen.Turkey had asked Norway for the extradition of the four soldiers and the military attaché, suspected of having participated in the failed coup. The decision to grant the suspects and their families, all living at secret addresses, asylum in Norway may thus further add to the already tense relationship between Turkey and Europe.Turkish...

In the airport terminal the attacker assaulted a patrol of three counter-terrorism soldiers, wrestling one of them to the floor and trying to take her gun. The man was shot dead by patrol officers as they attempted to protect the women and members of the public at the airport, according to France's Interior Ministry.... ...A police source said the man was "a radicalised Muslim known to intelligence services and the justice system" and had a history of thefts and violent robberies.

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Army soldiers finished wading across a stream in a rainforest in Hawaii, and they were soaked. Their boots and socks were water-logged and their clothes, hair and ears were caked with mud. The soldiers were going through training at the first jungle school the Army has established in decades. The course is part of a program to train soldiers for exercises and potential combat on terrain that looks more like islands and nations in the Pacific than arid Afghanistan and the deserts of the Middle East. Brig. Gen. Stephen Michael, deputy commander of the 25th...

America has lost a hero. Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, the legendary commander of 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam, whose bravery on the battlefield inspired the movie 'We Were Soldiers' has passed away. “He served his country with distinction and valor for over 32 years during the wars in Korea and Vietnam where he was immortalized,” the Army said in a powerful statement. Moore was 94. After being accepted to West Point in 1942, Moore served in the Korean War and commanded a heavy mortar company. He became a professor at West Point after the war, educating a young...