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OBERLIN - In 2004, Amherst native Adam McCann enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

While on tour in Iraq in April 2005, he was injured when debris from mortar explosion hit his neck and legs while conducting a mission.

Upon his return to Ohio, McCann faced a road of recovery.

His injuries led to a Purple Heart Award and a discharge from his days of service.

McCann was looking for ways to stay in shape without further injuring himself and found cycling. McCann realized that the fluid motion of mountain biking did not further damage his ligaments or tendons that were wounded in combat.

"I realized that I could actually cycle and found it relaxing," McCann said. "There was no pounding or stress put on the parts of my legs that were injured."

It was through this passion that McCann met former president George W. Bush.

The former president's foundation hosts a 'Military Service Initiative', hosts a Warrior 100 kilometer mountain bike ride each year. The ride, which honors wounded warriors from the military, gives veterans the chance to meet other men and women who stood on the front lines - as well as meet the former president himself.

McCann was invited to the ride for the first time after his discharge from the Marine Corps. and met George W. Bush.

He then continued his relationship with Bush by volunteering at other Warrior bike rides, helping the organization bring in and host new groups of veterans.

After meeting the former president several times and building a more personal relationship with him, McCann has a permanent place in Bush's legacy.

He is featured in Bush's Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors book, released this year. His portrait is seen on page 185 of the book and was based on a photograph sent into Bush.

Photo courtesy of Adam McCann

"President Bush really cared and really wanted to know about the stories of myself and others that had been wounded," McCann said. "He cared about the impact of the decisions he made during his presidency and cared about our stories... I think this is his way of giving back."

McCann currently lives in Oberlin. In October, he is traveling to Texas to see his portrait for the first time in person. He has a copy of the book and received a copy of his painting, but has yet to see it in person.

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A local veteran wounded in Iraq is featured in President Bush's book - News 5 Cleveland

The Hindu

Why is Iran growing its presence in Iraq? The Hindu After the U.S. withdrew its troops from Iraq in 2011, Baghdad became increasingly dependent on Tehran on various avenues, from trade to security, which raised Iran's global profile. Iran established a Shia corridor stretching from Tehran through ... Iran vows full support for IraqXinhua all 7 news articles »

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Why is Iran growing its presence in Iraq? - The Hindu

TheSpec.com

No peace yet in Iraq or Syria TheSpec.com People walk through a damaged neighbourhood as the sun sets on the west side of Mosul, Iraq. U.S -backed forces succeeded in wresting Mosul from the Islamic State group but at the cost of enormous destruction. The nine-month fight culminated in a ... and more »

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No peace yet in Iraq or Syria - TheSpec.com

QARAQOSH, Iraq In a town ravaged by the war against Islamic State, amid ransacked homes and shuttered shops, a flashing sign above the entrance to one business beckons visitors: Welcome, it reads.

Inside, the floors are carpeted, the lights are low and the gurgling sound of water pipes accompanies hushed conversations between men drinking beer in small groups.

It is the first bar to reopen since Islamic State militants were routed from the northern Iraqi town of Qaraqosh nine months ago in the early stages of a campaign to retake Mosul, around 10 miles west.

The customers are mainly local Christians tentatively returning home three years after fleeing en masse when the jihadists overran their town and issued an ultimatum: pay a tax, convert to Islam, or die.

Some of the bars patrons, however, are Muslims, savoring the freedom to drink and smoke, which they were denied under Islamic State.

They come here for respite from the grim realities of the conflict, but for Muslim and Christian customers alike, the conversation soon turns to the war and its aftermath.

Its hard to forget that until now there are people under the rubble, said 45-year-old Abu Khalid, a Muslim from Mosul, sharing a bottle of lemon flavored vodka with two friends in the mid-afternoon.

Why do we drink? So we can release our problems, he said, wearing traditional Arab dress. Alcohol loosens the tongue.

Iraq declared victory in Mosul last week, but it will take longer for people to recover from Islamic States occupation.

Many lost relatives, homes and livelihoods and reconciliation between different communities is a major challenge.

An Indian man has been filmed casually strumming his guitar...

For Christians, who trace their history in Iraq back two millennia, Islamic State has called into question the very future of their community in the predominantly Muslim Middle East.

The owner of the bar, Abu Firas, hopes that re-opening it will breathe life back into his town and help reverse the exodus of its Christian population.

He has covered up bullet marks in the wall with posters advertising beer and filled in a large hole the militants made behind the kitchen sink, which enabled them to move undetected into the shop next door.

Day by day it (business) is getting better, he said optimistically. Although Islamic State is expected to revert to insurgent tactics like bombings as its caliphate falls apart, Abu Firas is undaunted: We are not afraid, he said.

Around 400 families have now returned to Qaraqosh also known as Hamdaniya which was the largest Christian settlement in Iraq until Islamic State took over, with a population of more than 50,000.

I love my town. I want it to go back to the way it was, said a Christian customer who sat with three friends taking a break from repairing homes torched by the militants.

The 49-year-old returned to Iraq 15 days ago from Europe, where he fled after Islamic States invasion. I havent decided whether to go back to France or stay here, said the man, who asked to remain unnamed.

His main concern is security, but it is not Islamic State that worries him. The danger, he says, is of violence between rival paramilitary groups that now patrol the streets of Qaraqosh and the surrounding area. Last week, two Christian militias clashed in the town.

On a more positive note, the customer said the presence of Muslims in the bar showed that peaceful co-existence with Christians was still possible.

He later admitted, however, that trust between the two communities was broken because many Sunni Muslims from the surrounding villages had supported Islamic State.

The bar is open to outsiders only until 8 p.m. After that, just Christians are welcome.

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Bar re-opens in Iraq town previously overrun by ISIS - New York Post

ASPEN, Colo. (Reuters) - In a new assessment, the U.S. intelligence community judges that large numbers of foreigners fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria likely will stay to defend what is left of their self-declared caliphate rather than return to their homelands, a top U.S. counter-terrorism official said on Friday.

Many if not most of the foreign fighters who made their way to the conflict zone will end up staying, fighting and potentially dying in order to maintain the caliphate, Nicholas Rasmussen, the director of the U.S. National Counter Terrorism Center, told the annual Aspen Security Forum.

That contrasts with the previous assessment that many foreign fighters would return home, posing major security threats.

Rasmussen also said that he has seen no information confirming recent reports that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi has been killed. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday he assumes that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is still alive.

Ive seen nothing that would lead me to believe that the leader of ISIS (Islamic State) has been removed from the battlefield, Rasmussen said. We know a good bit. We just dont have information that would confirm his death and demise.

The new foreign fighter assessment will be welcome news to the countries of origin of the tens of thousands of Islamist extremists. They flocked to fight for the caliphate that Islamic State declared in 2014 after storming out of Syria, seizing the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and charging to Baghdads outskirts.

Extremists who have returned home have staged attacks that claimed scores of lives, and governments have been bracing for new strikes as the group loses ground in Syria and Iraq.

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul this month and U.S.-backed Kurdish and Syrian Arab fighters are moving to retake Raqqa, the groups main stronghold in northeastern Syria.

Rasmussen noted that the U.S. intelligence community, which estimated that some 40,000 foreigners joined Islamic State in Syria and Iraq after the conflict began, until recently assessed that many would return home.

At one point, we were worried about this out-rush, outflows, massive outflows of foreign fighters once the battlefield situation changed in Iraq and Syria and that Western countries, countries in the region, would be flooded with returnees, he said. I think now speaking kind of broadly, thats less likely than we first assessed.

A U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that fewer than 15,000 Islamic State extremists still are fighting in Iraq and Syria.

It has become harder for foreign fighters to return home because of the ongoing combat operations and because Turkey and other countries have significantly tightened their borders, the intelligence official said.

While there may be no major outflow of foreign fighters, Rasmussen said he is concerned by the threat posed by Islamic State's affiliates from Asia to Africa.

He said he also remains worried by those who manage to escape home, bringing with them specialized skills like bomb-making, that they acquired in Syria and Iraq.

Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by David Alexander and Cynthia Osterman

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Many foreign fighters likely to stay in Syria, Iraq: US official - Reuters