Middle East

JERUSALEM - Deadly drive-by shootings by Hamas gunmen this week proved that the Palestinian militant group can still operate in the West Bank when its leadership demands, despite a sustained crackdown by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.


West Bank - Middle East - Hamas - Hebron - Palestinian Territory

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton officially inaugurated a new Middle East peace process Thursday urging patience and leadership from the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, who soon after agreed to meet in less than two weeks for a second round of talks.


Barack Obama - Middle East - Israel - Peace - President

BAGHDAD - As President Obama declared Tuesday that it was "time to turn the page" in Iraq, Mahmoud Othman - tuning in to the Oval Office address here at 3 a.m. - listened in shock.


Iraq - Iraq War - United States - Warfare and Conflict - Barack Obama

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military's war is officially over in Iraq, even as the future of the country remains undecided. The signs of the end were everywhere Wednesday, despite the presence of about 49,000 American troops who remain mostly sequestered on large U.S. bases.



Iraq - Middle East - United States - Barack Obama - Warfare and Conflict

As President Obama convenes the first direct Middle East peace talks in 20 months, the question many observers here and in the region are asking is what, if anything, makes this round any more hopeful than the last.


Middle East - Peace - Barack Obama - Mahmoud Abbas - Israel

ON ROUTE 60, WEST BANK - Four Israelis traveling in a car near the West Bank city of Hebron were shot dead Tuesday night as the Obama administration prepared to host Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Washington.


Middle East - West Bank - Warfare and Conflict - Hebron - Israel-Palestine

With surge underway, death toll remains high, though below record levels of June and July.


Afghanistan - Asia - Maps and Views - Improvised explosive device - Government

Saying it is "time to turn the page" on one of the most divisive chapters in American history, President Obama declared the U.S. war in Iraq over Tuesday night, telling the nation that he was fulfilling his campaign pledge to stop a war he had opposed from the start.



Iraq - United States - Barack Obama - President - Iraq War

Afghanistan's Central Bank has taken control of Kabul Bank, a politically potent financial institution partly owned by President Hamid Karzai's brother, according to Afghan bankers and officials.


Afghanistan - Asia - Banking Services - Financial Services - Business