Shelby Talcott Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said Friday he will resign after weeks of deadly anti-government protests in the country. Parliament will likely accept the resignation, and the 78-year-old will be the first prime minister to resign from office in Iraq since 2003, according to The New York Times. The resignation prompted celebrations at Tahrir Square in…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Phillip Stucky Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup helped House Majority Whip Steve Scalise after the shooting at a Republican baseball practice Wednesday, and he compared the gunfire to when he served in Iraq. Wenstrup leaped into action, using his experience as a combat surgeon to help Scalise immediately after he was…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), a staunch non-interventionist, has angered and confounded many in her own party due to her questioning of the narrative that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad gassed his own people according to the Associated Press. The Associated Press reports: “This is Tulsi country, and maybe it’s not well understood by people…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Saagar Enjeti The Trump administration has given the U.S. military significantly more leeway to use whatever means it sees fit in the fight against radical Islamic terrorism, senior officials say, in stark contrast to the Obama administration. “There’s nothing formal, but it is beginning to take shape,” a senior…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Saagar Enjeti Iraq’s military says a blast that killed nearly 200 civilians was caused by an Islamic State booby trap, not a U.S. airstrike. The incident is being investigated by the Pentagon, who confirmed Friday that the U.S. struck the blast area in an airstrike requested by the Iraqi Security…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Will Racke President Donald Trump entered office promising to avoid costly nation-building efforts overseas, but his administration appears willing to deploy significant military resources to “stabilization” in Iraq after the Islamic State is driven from the country. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday U.S. forces will remain in…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By: Elias J. Atienza Vice President Mike Pence said that the federal judge who halted President Donald Trump‘s travel ban, “certainly” has the right do so, reported The Hill. “He certainly does, and that’s why the administration is complying with that order as we speak,” Pence told ABC’s “This Week” in an…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By: Elias J. Atienza U.S. District Court Judge James Robart issued a block on President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations. Politico reports that the judge ruled in favor of the attorneys general of Washington state and Minnesota, who had filed a lawsuit looking to…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Saagar Enjeti Iraq’s parliament passed a reciprocal ban on visas for U.S. citizens Monday, two lawmakers told The Associated Press. The description of the ban as reciprocal indicates that the ban on U.S. visas will remain in place, as long as the Trump administration prohibits Iraqi citizens from entering the…
by Kody Fairfield During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly talked with a more dovish tone about the United States’ seemingly constant involvement in world affairs, and more specifically intervention in foreign nation’s governments, such as in Iraq in 2004 or Libya in 2011. This is a stance which has been one of his strongest…