BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of car bombings and other attacks in Iraq killed at least 58 people in mostly Shiite-majority cities on Sunday, another bloody reminder of the government’s failure to stem the surge of violence that is feeding sectarian tensions. Iraq is experiencing its deadliest bout of violence since 2008, raising fears the […]
Iraq
Posted inOp-Eds
Austin Bay: Many options available for Syrian situation
Expanded intervention in Syria’s civil war? The promised “red line” punitive strike? An equivocal pause for congressional rumination? Ambiguous postponement? Or … a “Saturday Night Live” Emily Litella “never mind” skit on the world stage — farcical incompetence an obscene response to obscene tragedy? The five preceding sentence fragments framed as questions sketch five potential […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Iraq suicide car bomb hits Iraq Kurdish patrol, kills 8
BAGHDAD (AP) — A police official says a suicide car bomber has rammed his vehicle into a Kurdish security patrol in northern Iraq, killing eight. Col. Hussein Ali Rasheed, who is police chief of Tuz Khormato, says the bomber struck Sunday morning as the patrol was passing through the ethnically-mixed town. He says five more […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Playing it forward: Vietnam veteran writes song about peace
LEWISTON — Jim Merrill is a busy man. After retiring from the Air Force, he spent 12 years working at Tri-County Mental Health Services before being hired at Facing Change, a family counseling, substance abuse and mental health agency in Lewiston. He spends one day a week at Mountain Valley High School as an affiliate […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Retired Gen. Schwarzkopf, commander during first Gulf War, dies at age 78
WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who topped an illustrious military career by commanding the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait in 1991 but kept a low public profile in controversies over the second Gulf War against Iraq, died Thursday. He was 78. Schwarzkopf died in Tampa, Fla., […]
Posted inOxford Hills, sj-web
Newry military mom leads soldier bandana project
“I’m trying to make it a little easier for our boys across the pond,” said Deborah Rafford, a stay-at-home wife and mother of three sons in the military. “I want our guys to know they are not being forgotten.” In her Newry home, surrounded by hundreds of books written by returning soldiers, clippings of newspapers […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Last Run for the Fallen held
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — What could be the last “Run for the Fallen” road race to raise money for families of Maine military personnel killed in combat featured more than 200 runners. The participants, escorted by Maine State Police cruisers, departed Sunday morning from Ogunquit for the run up U.S. 1 to the finish line […]
Posted inOxford Hills, River Valley
Veteran’s artwork from Iraq to be displayed at Pennacook
RUMFORD — Randy Rickards remembers well his year-long deployment to Iraq in 2005-06. As an artist, anything can be a subject, and his service in the Middle East was no different. Eleven of the acrylic paintings he composed from his military stint will be on display beginning Friday, April 6, at the Pennacook Art Center […]
Posted inOur View
War over, a grateful nation says ‘thanks’
The ceremony is over, the flag has been cased and U.S. combat soldiers will be out of Iraq within two weeks. A grateful nation now turns to thanking the 1.5 million Americans who served there, including the 30,000 who were injured and the 4,500 who died. Today, we salute them all, as well as their […]
Posted inLetters
Bring the troops home
I am glad that the U.S. troops are leaving Iraq. It’s about time. There have been too many lives lost over there. I think, and the polls agree, that Congress is doing the poorest job ever. Members should stop thinking of what they want and do something to help this country. This country should also […]