U.S. Army paratroopers train in small-unit tactics at night on Camp Ramadi, Iraq, Oct. 26, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael J. MacLeod From The L.A. Times: After years of relative calm, many voters are keen to put divisions behind them. Political leaders oblige with several Sunni-Shiite blocs. But in north Iraq, Kurd-Arab tensions [...]

A technician pictured at the control room of the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facilities in 2007. Photo AFP Iran’s Nuclear Response Creates a Quandary for Obama — Time Magazine If the Obama Administration had hoped to get the bulk of Iran’s current stockpile of enriched uranium out of the country under a new agreement for reprocessing [...]

Saddam Hussein From AFP: AMMAN — Deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein planned to escape from his US-run prison in 2006 with the help of loyalists, including former bodyguards, according to a book written by one of his lawyers. “Saddam’s plan to escape prison was supposed to take place in the summer of 2006, with the [...]

Salva Kiir, First Vice President of the Government of National Unity of Sudan and President of the Government of Southern Sudan (AFP) South Sudan President Makes First Call For Independence — New York Times/Reuters JUBA, Sudan (Reuters) – South Sudan’s president on Saturday urged southerners to vote for independence in a referendum if they wanted [...]

Displaced Yemenis from Saada province live in a camp near Mazraq. Photo AFP OIC Chief Backs Yemen Plan To End Feud With Shiite Rebels — AFP SANAA — The head of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) expressed support on Saturday for a five-point plan by the Yemeni government to end a protracted conflict [...]