
As the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, Sen. John F. Kerry denounced the war in Iraq as a "profound diversion" and asserted that without a serious change of course, America faced "the prospect of a war with no end in sight."

The State Department on Wednesday said Tuesday's election results don't change Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's plans to step down.

U.S. officials and a former Afghan foreign minister are expressing skepticism over Pakistan-brokered talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and al Qaeda-affiliated groups, saying Islamabad appears to be trying to install its proxies in a future government in Kabul.