War_Conflict

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President Obama speaks to returning troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., Wednesday, about the end of the Iraq war with the withdrawal of all U.S. forces at the end of this month. "Our commitment [to you] doesn't end when you take off the uniform," Mr. Obama said. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** Jessica Lynch, who became famous in 2003 as an Iraq war POW, is honored in a holiday parade. She has embarked on a teaching career and is glad just to be alive, saying: "You're just thankful for what you've been given, even if it's not what you wanted." (Associated Press)

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The Chinese aircraft carrier Varyag undergoes its second round of sea trials in the Yellow Sea. Michele Flournoy, the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for policy, says it has been "anticipated for a while." (Digital Globe)

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South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit greets the European co-sponsors of the International Engagement Conference, including (from left) Endre Stiansen, special envoy from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Cevdet Yilmaz, minister of the Turkish Ministry of Development, and Susan Page, U.S. ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan, after speaking about the Republic of South Sudan at the Marriott Wardman Park on Wednesday. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Washington Times)

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This image released Dec. 14, 2011, by Time Magazine shows the Person of the Year issue featuring "The Protester." The magazine cited dissent across the Middle East that has spread to Europe and the U.S. and says these protesters are reshaping global politics. (Associated Press/Time Magazine)

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President Obama, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, speaks to troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) ** FILE **

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Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta presents Purple Hearts to personnel of the 172nd Infantry Brigade Task Force Blackhawks at a forward operating base in Sharana, Afghanistan, on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)

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The minaret of a vandalized mosque in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood is seen Dec. 14, 2011, after unknown arsonists torched the inactive mosque, provoking calls in Israel for a more effective crackdown on Jewish extremists suspected in a string of increasingly brazen acts of violence. (Associated Press)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Despite the continued violence and political uncertainty in Iraq, President Obama thinks the Iraqis are ready to deal with their own national security, a spokesman for the president said Tuesday.

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Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta speaks to military personnel during his visit to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti on Tuesday. Mr. Panetta arrived in Afghanistan later in the day. He will also visit Iraq, Libya and Turkey. (Associated Press)

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Palestinians demonstrate for statehood in Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem in May. Now at Christmastime, Palestinians in Jesus' traditional birthplace of Bethlehem are aiming to re-energize their bid for recognition. (Associated Press)

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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (center) walks to his vehicle after being greeted by Ryan Crocker (right), U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, and Gen. John Allen upon his arrival in Kabul, Afghanistan on Dec., 13, 2011. (Associated Press)

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Zalman Shoval, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former ambassador to the U.S., says Middle Eastern nations, with the exception of Israel, will lose confidence in the U.S. if Iran develops nuclear weapons. (J.M. Eddins Jr./The Washington Times)

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Amateur video is said to show security forces in Daraa, Syria, on patrol Monday as many Syrians closed shops and kept their children home from school in a show of civil disobedience. (Ugarit News Group via Associated Press)

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Kevin Lunsman, a kidnapped American teenage boy, talks Dec. 10, 2011, to Filipino soldiers inside the Philippine military compound in Zamboanga City, Philippines, following his escape from suspected al Qaeda-linked militants. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Iraqi police officers demonstrate anti-riot policing techniques during a training session Nov. 25, 2009, at Camp Dublin in Baghdad, Iraq. The Italian Carabinieri police team, a part of the NATO Training Mission to Iraq, conducted the specialized training for the Iraqi National police. (Associated Press)

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An unidentified Chinese fishing-boat captain (center) suspected of stabbing two South Korean coast guard officers is led by police officers to a coast guard office in Incheon, South Korea, after his arrest on Monday, Dec. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Ha Sa-hun)