Independent voices from the TWT Communities
The Obama administration responded sharply to Russia's announcement Tuesday that it will proceed with the delivery of sophisticated weapons to embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad despite the administration's attempts to get Moscow's help toward peacefully resolving Syria's civil war.
Democrats rallied behind President Barack Obama in the long-running, bitter dispute over the administration's handling of the Benghazi attack, arguing that the White House's latest email disclosure undermines Republican claims of a cover-up.
Sen. John McCain on Sunday said a special congressional committee is needed to investigate last year's deadly attacks on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, and called on former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to testify again on Capitol Hill regarding her role in the matter.
Sen. Robert Menendez brought forth a bill Monday to give munitions to rebel fighters in Syria. So far, the United States has only provided non-lethal aid to the opposition fighters, in the form of medical supplies and food.
Sen. John F. Kerry breezed through the hearing Thursday on his nomination as the Obama administration's new secretary of state, facing few tough questions and vowing to mind the image the U.S. projects in a post-9/11 world.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee faces a busy week ahead, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton slated to testify Wednesday about the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Members of the Senate have many reasons to oppose the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense, but criticism from LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) groups pushing their causes is not one of them. Senators should be more troubled by Mr. Hagel's opportunistic apology to his LGBT activist critics.
The nomination of Sen. John F. Kerry as secretary of state prompted a frantic shuffle on Capitol Hill, where congressional sources now say Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey will replace the Massachusetts Democrat as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Sen. John F. Kerry, nominated by President Obama to be the next secretary of state, has started meeting with diplomatic staff to prepare for his confirmation, the State Department said Thursday.
Democratic Sen. John Kerry, who unsuccessfully sought the presidency in 2004 and has pined for the job of top diplomat, vaulted to the head of President Obama's short list of secretary of state candidates after U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice suddenly withdrew from consideration to avoid a contentious confirmation fight with emboldened Republicans.
Three Republican senators who met Tuesday with Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said they are more troubled now over her initial explanations about the deadly Sept. 11 raid in Libya.
With congressional opposition softening, U.N. Ambassador Susan E. Rice could find her name in contention as early as this week to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state. It's a step that may signal greater U.S. willingness to intervene in world crises during President Obama's second term.
A brewing conflict between Congress and the Obama administration broke into the open Thursday as several lawmakers were critical about a briefing on the Sept. 11 anniversary attack on U.S. diplomats in Libya, which the administration had said was a spontaneous response to an anti-Islam video.
Senate Republicans are pressing the White House to dump its nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq, citing concerns about his abilities and judgment amid allegations that he acted inappropriately while working at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad during President George W. Bush's second term.
President Obama's nominee for U.S. ambassador to Iraq impressed Republican senators in a confirmation hearing this week, but his key critic, Sen. John McCain, remains skeptical of his ability to handle America's biggest and most-expensive embassy.
