“War_Conflict” on The Daily Caller

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — The elected president of this West African nation heralded “the dawn of a new era of hope” Monday when a bloody, four-month standoff ended with the capture of his rival, the longtime strongman who lost the vote but refused to give up power. (more)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Sunday it was launching an international campaign to push the United Nations to rescind a scathing report on Israeli war conduct in the Gaza Strip two years ago, after the report’s author backtracked from key allegations against the Jewish state. (more)

The Obama administration has sent teams of CIA operatives into Libya in a rush to gather intelligence on the identity, goals and progress of rebel forces opposed to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, according to U.S. officials. (more)

The US and Britain have raised the prospect of arming Libya’s rebels if air strikes fail to force Muammar Gaddafi from power. (more)

Reporting from Bin Jawwad, Libya— A sustained counterattack by Libyan government forces sent overmatched rebel fighters fleeing eastward through this desert crossroads early Tuesday as heavy fighting engulfed the battered town. (more)

A US Army soldier is to testify against the comrades with whom he allegedly planned and carried out the murders of Afghan civilians. The news comes as Nato forces brace themselves for a backlash in Afghanistan following the publication of graphic photographs of US soldiers posing with the people they allegedly killed. (more)

U.S. military operations in Libya could wipe out a significant chunk of the budget cuts won by congressional Republicans in recent weeks, defense analysts say. (more)

The first sentence of the famous opening crawl for the film The Empire Strikes Back — “It is a dark time for the Rebellion” — appears to have laid out the rationale for American involvement in Libya more succinctly than any official administration pronouncements made thus far. Throughout this seminal Arab Spring, the United States has largely stood by and watched as tens of thousands across the Middle East have taken to the streets in general protest of closed autocratic rule. In Libya, a significant number of revolutionaries have taken their movement a step further by taking up arms against Muammar Qaddafi. Last Thursday, with Qaddafi’s tanks threatening the gates of Benghazi, President Obama chose this ragtag band of irregulars as the first Arab uprising worthy of more than his rhetorical and moral support. (more)

Washington (CNN) – A majority of Americans would support a move by the United States and other allies to establish a no fly zone in Libya, according to a new national poll. (more)

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday about the ongoing unrest in Libya, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted “no option is off the table.” In other words, American military intervention is very much still possible. Like most Americans, I too want to see the Libyan people’s suffering alleviated. The systematic brutalization that characterizes Muammar Gaddafi’s rule, such as ordering his military to search every house and hunt down protesters like “rats” and “cockroaches,” is abhorrent. Our desire to assist, however, should be matched with practical assessments of what methods are most effective. (more)

BENGHAZI, Libya — Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces struck back on three fronts on Monday, using fighter jets, special forces units and regular army troops in an escalation of hostilities that brought Libya closer to civil war. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration froze assets of the Libyan government, leader Moammar Gadhafi and four of his children, just hours after it closed the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli and evacuated its remaining staff. U.S. officials said announcements of the steps were withheld until Americans wishing to leave the country had departed as they feared Gadhafi might retaliate amid worsening violence in the North African country. (more)

CAIRO (AP) — A defiant Moammar Gadhafi vowed to fight to his “last drop of blood” and roared at supporters to strike back against Libyan protesters to defend his embattled regime Tuesday, signaling an escalation of the crackdown that has thrown the capital into scenes of mayhem, wild shooting and bodies in the streets. (more)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The possible heirs of Egypt’s uprising took to the streets Monday in different corners of the Middle East: Iran’s beleaguered opposition stormed back to central Tehran and came under a tear gas attack by police. Demonstrators faced rubber bullets and birdshot to demand more freedoms in the relative wealth of Bahrain. And protesters pressed for the ouster of the ruler in poverty-drained Yemen. (more)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned that combat will likely escalate during the spring thaw as Taliban insurgents try to return to areas cleared by the international forces during the past several months. (more)

CAIRO (AP) — A young Google executive who helped ignite Egypt’s uprising energized a cheering crowd of hundreds of thousands Tuesday with his first appearance in their midst after being released from 12 days in secret detention. “We won’t give up,” he promised at one of the biggest protests yet in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. (more)

CAIRO (AP) — Protesters demanding President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster packed Cairo’s central square by the tens of thousands Friday, waving Egyptian flags, singing the national anthem and cheering, appearing undaunted and determined after their camp withstood two days of street battles with regime supporters trying to dislodge them. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Thursday severely criticized what it called systematic attacks on journalists in Egypt and said they appeared to be an attempt to shut out reporting of even bigger anti-government demonstrations to come. (more)

The two nuclear superpowers both shot down their own satellites using sophisticated missiles in separate show of strength, the files suggest. (more)

BEIJING (AP) — The protests in Egypt are about free elections and overthrowing a longtime dictator? Not according to China’s state media, which is painting them as the kind of chaos that comes with Western-style democracy. (more)