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Washington Post - Middle East  

Egypt pushes back against Senate resolution on elections, human rights
A Senate resolution condemning Egypt's record on human rights and free elections has sparked an aggressive Washington lobbying campaign by the longtime U.S. ally, which argues that the measure could harm the Middle East peace process and its relationship with the United States. Human rights - Egypt - Human Rights and Liberties - Africa - Advocacy Organizations

Clinton declares 'new American moment' in foreign policy speech
In a lengthy speech at the Council of Foreign Relations on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton defended the Obama administration's foreign policy approach, declaring ed that "a new American moment" had arrived in international relations, "a moment when our global leadership is essen United States - Foreign policy - President - History - Council on Foreign Relations

Karzai's brother financed Dubai property purchases through embattled Kabul Bank
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - The brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai made nearly $1 million on a Dubai property deal financed with money from Kabul Bank, according to a person familiar with the transaction and a property sales registry. Dubai - United Arab Emirates - Afghanistan - Kabul - Middle East

Israel turns back clock for Yom Kippur, sparking debate
IN TEL AVIV Gil Leibowitz was heading down to the beach on a recent evening to "clear his head," as he put it, with a walk, a run and a sunset swim - the software engineer's after-work summer ritual. Orthodox Judaism - History - Wars and Conflicts - Twentieth Century - Arab-Israeli Wars

Iraqi soldier kills 2 U.S. troops
BAGHDAD - Two U.S. service members were killed and nine others were wounded when a Kurdish Iraqi soldier sprayed them with gunfire inside an Iraqi army commando base north of Baghdad on Tuesday afternoon, Iraqi and U.S. military officials said. Iraq - United States - Iraqi Army - Middle East - Baghdad

Car bomb kills 12 at Baghdad military HQ Iraq
BAGHDAD - Just five days after the United States declared the end of its combat mission in Iraq, U.S. soldiers opened fire Sunday morning on suicide bombers who snuck into an Iraqi army base in Baghdad, a U.S. military spokesman said. Iraq - Baghdad - Middle East - Warfare and Conflict - Suicide attack

Hamas attacks show group is still strong in West Bank
JERUSALEM - Deadly drive-by shootings by Hamas gunmen this week proved that the Palestinian militant group can still operate in the West Bank when its leadership demands, despite a sustained crackdown by Israel and the Palestinian Authority. West Bank - Middle East - Hamas - Hebron - Palestinian Territory

As Mideast talks begin, Clinton urges Israelis, Palestinians to seek 'future of peace'
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton officially inaugurated a new Middle East peace process Thursday urging patience and leadership from the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, who soon after agreed to meet in less than two weeks for a second round of talks. Barack Obama - Middle East - Israel - Peace - President

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After Iraq war, uncertainty and seemingly mixed messages
BAGHDAD - As President Obama declared Tuesday that it was "time to turn the page" in Iraq, Mahmoud Othman - tuning in to the Oval Office address here at 3 a.m. - listened in shock. Iraq - Iraq War - United States - Warfare and Conflict - Barack Obama

U.S. military adopts new role in Iraq
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military's war is officially over in Iraq, even as the future of the country remains undecided. The signs of the end were everywhere Wednesday, despite the presence of about 49,000 American troops who remain mostly sequestered on large U.S. bases. Iraq - Middle East - United States - Barack Obama - Warfare and Conflict

Iranian threat may be boon for Mideast peace talks
As President Obama convenes the first direct Middle East peace talks in 20 months, the question many observers here and in the region are asking is what, if anything, makes this round any more hopeful than the last. Middle East - Peace - Barack Obama - Mahmoud Abbas - Israel

4 Israelis shot dead in West Bank
ON ROUTE 60, WEST BANK - Four Israelis traveling in a car near the West Bank city of Hebron were shot dead Tuesday night as the Obama administration prepared to host Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Washington. Middle East - West Bank - Warfare and Conflict - Hebron - Israel-Palestine

U.S. troop deaths in Afghan war up sharply
With surge underway, death toll remains high, though below record levels of June and July. Afghanistan - Asia - Maps and Views - Improvised explosive device - Government

Obama declares that combat In Iraq is over
Saying it is "time to turn the page" on one of the most divisive chapters in American history, President Obama declared the U.S. war in Iraq over Tuesday night, telling the nation that he was fulfilling his campaign pledge to stop a war he had opposed from the start. Iraq - United States - Barack Obama - President - Iraq War

Afghan authorities take over biggest bank to avoid meltdown
Afghanistan's Central Bank has taken control of Kabul Bank, a politically potent financial institution partly owned by President Hamid Karzai's brother, according to Afghan bankers and officials. Afghanistan - Asia - Banking Services - Financial Services - Business

Direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders to begin
JERUSALEM - President Obama plunges into Middle East peacemaking on Wednesday with a two-day summit he hopes will be the first step in brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement within a year. Middle East - Warfare and Conflict - Israel - Israel-Palestine - Mahmoud Abbas

As Obama declares Iraq war over, Iraqis brace for uncertainty
BAGHDAD - On the last day of the official U.S. combat mission in Iraq, there was no dancing in the streets, no celebratory gunfire and no sense that a milestone had been reached. Iraq - Iraq War - United States - Barack Obama - Warfare and Conflict

Obama speech on Iraq has risks
President Obama is promoting the decision to end the U.S. combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday as a fulfillment of his campaign promise to draw the war to a close. But some of the president's detractors are using the same moment to question the wisdom of doing so. Iraq - United States - Barack Obama - Middle East - Warfare and Conflict

Biden meets with top Iraqi politicians amid end of combat operations
BAGHDAD - Vice President Biden met Tuesday with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and other senior politicians on the second day of a visit to the Iraqi capital and the last official day of U.S. combat operations in the country. Joe Biden - United States - Iraq - Middle East - Vice Presidents

As combat operations end in Iraq, Gates hails shift in focus to Afghanistan
With the U.S. military's focus off Iraq, "for the first time in nine years, we now have the resources . . . needed for this fight" in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said. Iraq - Afghanistan - Middle East - United States - Barack Obama

As U.S. ends combat operations, Iraqis move to protect themselves from violence
BAGHDAD - Four days after his brother was murdered in a Baghdad robbery this month, Muntather Shaker borrowed $1,500 and bought a pistol. He carries it in his back pocket, sleeps with it under his pillow and is ready to use it to defend his family. United States - Violence and Abuse - Women - People - Iraq

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Iraq conflict leaves officers weary and humbled
The Iraq war has defined the careers of a generation of Army officers. How they make sense of their last seven years of war will profoundly affect how America wields military power over the next quarter-century. Iraq - Warfare and Conflict - United States - Iraq War - United States armed forces

Offshore gas discoveries in Israel prompt squabbling over royalties
JERUSALEM - Recent discoveries of large natural gas reserves off Israel's coast have set in motion a battle between investors and the government over how to divide up the profits. Israel - Middle East - Business - Energy - Warfare and Conflict

Dangers of war persist for soldiers left in Iraq
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, IRAQ - Col. Malcolm Frost knew there would be questions. The official end to the U.S. combat mission in Iraq was approaching, but his soldiers, operating in two of Iraq's most dangerous provinces, would still be here. Iraq - Warfare and Conflict - Middle East - United States - Saddam Hussein