(Reuters) - President Barack Obama told a recent interviewer he did not want the U.S. military to become Iraq's air force. But he may have little choice. Iraq had only a fledgling air force when the United States withdrew in 2011. Washington has agreed to bolster Iraqi air...

(Reuters) - Syria is wagering that Islamic State's push to reshape the Middle East will eventually force a hostile West to deal with President Bashar al-Assad as the only way to tackle the threat. While Assad's forces escalate their fight with Islamic State militants in the...

The United States sought to maintain pressure on jihadist militants in Iraq on Thursday, launching air strikes after the murder of a journalist underlined the international threat posed by the Islamic State. And, in the latest sign that a reluctant America could be dragged deeper...

BEIRUT (AP) — The year since a chemical attack that killed hundreds near Damascus has been a strikingly good one for President Bashar Assad. His deadly stockpile has been destroyed, but he has stayed in power, bought time and gotten world powers to engage him. Along the way,...