Ali al-Sistani

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Pope Joins Historic Appeal for Coexistence in Peace

'We need one another,' Francis says after meeting in Iraq

(Newser) - After a historic private meeting with a senior Shiite cleric in Iraq, Pope Francis appealed for religious tolerance. "We need one another," the pope said later in a speech on the desert plain of Ur, believed to be the birthplace of Abraham. "Hostility, extremism and violence are...

Can ISIS Be Stopped?
 Can ISIS Be Stopped? 

Can ISIS Be Stopped?

Militants have taken four towns in two days

(Newser) - Officials in Baghdad are increasingly worried that the Iraqi Army is simply incapable of standing up to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which is both better armed and better trained, diplomats and politicians tell the BBC . And the militants provided plenty of evidence for that as their campaign...

Every Iraqi Urged to Pick Up a Weapon

Iraq's top cleric says 'everyone who can' must fight

(Newser) - Iraq's top Shiite cleric issued a statement during Friday prayers today, calling on everyone—Shiite and Sunni alike—to fight back against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the New York Times reports. It is "the legal and national responsibility of whoever can hold a weapon, to...

US, Iraq Close to 2011 Pullout Pact

Deal would also allow Iraq prosecutions of US soldiers who commit rape, murder

(Newser) - The US and Iraq are close to clinching a new security agreement which would include a targeted 2011 date for troop withdrawal—and a provision to allow US troops to be prosecuted in Iraqi courts. The US military has enjoyed blanket immunity from criminal prosecution, but under the new agreement...

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