Iran, Iraq gay, who the fuck are you?
Here is this blog #39;s list of 78 countries and independent political entities with anti-homosexuality laws, with links to the blog #39;s coverage of them: Africa 1 Algeria 2 Angola 3 Botswana...
By: Miister Gay
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Iran, Iraq gay, who the fuck are you? - Video
Vice President Joe Biden today argued the momentum against ISIS in Iraq was "moving in the right direction" and that claims to the contrary did not "reflect the circumstances on the ground."
"[ISIS] momentum in Iraq has halted and in many places has been flat-out reversed," Biden told students and faculty at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in southeast Washington, D.C.
"We are pounding [ISIS] from the sky," he said, adding that ISIS can be beaten from Syria, too.
The speech came just days before a visit from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to Washington. Biden applauded Abadi, congratulating him on his work negotiating oil deals and a budget, conducting foreign relations with neighbors and working to build a functioning federalism in Iraq.
Biden continued to advocate for strong federalism in Iraq, a position he has held for years.
"We want what Iraqis want: a united, federal and democratic Iraq ... where power is shared among all Iraqi communities," he told the decorated members of the U.S. military and foreign diplomats at the half-hour-long speech.
In 2006, Biden penned a New York Times op-ed article arguing for federalism in Iraq, with Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite territory and shared power, a position he reiterated as a presidential candidate in the 2008 race. He again echoed the position.
ISIS intended to tear Iraq apart, he said, but "actually united the Iraqis.
Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has been criticized recently for some foreign policy positions. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote in his memoir last year that Biden "was wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue of the past four decades," and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton distanced herself from Biden in her own book, specifically with the regards to the successful U.S. raid that ended in the death of Osama bin Laden.
The only laugh in an otherwise sober speech came when Biden joked he may have spent more time recently on the phone with Abadi than with his wife.
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Biden: Iraq Fight Against ISIS 'Moving in the Right Direction'
KIRKUK, Iraq In a small room within a compound of nondescript buildings southwest of Kirkuk, three Kurdish peshmerga commanders are gathered in front of a giant map that covers the wall behind them.
The map is dotted with dozens of arrows and pins. Each marks a point on the front line against the Islamic State (IS), and the brigade that controls it.
"We liberated this entire area," says one of the men, sweeping his hand across the middle of the map. "We feel now that the enemy is very weak."
Before IS stormed through northern Iraq last year, this area and Kirkuk itself were controlled by the Iraqi army. But when the maraudingmilitants reached the edge of the city in June, most of the soldiers dropped their weapons and fled, leaving the peshmerga the armed forces of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to move in and claim a prizethey have long considered their own.
Today, the peshmerga have pushed even further south of the city, taking back villages and towns from IS. They have lost some1,500 fighters. But the pins on the map are piling up.
The people of Kirkuk have largely welcomed the peshmerga and the security theyve brought. But the question of whether Kurdish forces should remain there permanently is more controversial. The answer could have a dramatic impact on the future of Iraq.
There is a tug-of-war going on for this city with its massive oil wealth and a multicultural population of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Assyrians, among other groups. Either it will remain part of Iraq, or become part of Kurdistan. Neither side wants to give it up.
A view of the area southwest of Kirkuk under the control of the Peshmerga. The frontline with the Islamic State lies just beyond the hill in the distance.
The Iraqi troops left the people of Kirkuk for ISIS, says Dr.Kemal Kirkuki, the peshmerga commander for this winding frontline and the former speaker of Kurdistans parliament. They ran away.
As far as Kirkuki sees it, Kurdish forces saved the city from IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Thats given Kurds sudden control of a place they have long claimed as part of Kurdistan.
More:
What Happens in This City Could Determine Iraq's Future
Video Shows IS Group Destroying Iraq #39;s Hatra
Islamic State extremists at Iraq #39;s ancient city of Hatra destroyed the archaeological site by smashing sledgehammers into its walls and shooting assault rifles at priceless statues, a new militant...
By: Associated Press
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Video Shows IS Group Destroying Iraq's Hatra - Video
ISIS Rats Crashed Mosul Museum Antiquities in Mosul Iraq
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By: Jinmu Choy
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ISIS Rats Crashed Mosul Museum Antiquities in Mosul Iraq - Video