Syrian President Bashar Assad said in a newspaper interview Saturday he won't step down and will instead "face the storm," raising new doubts about a U.S-Russian effort to get Assad and his opponents to negotiate an end to the country's civil war.
The Obama administration found itself facing a series of scandals and it was revealed that the federal government gave witness protection to terrorists. On the international stage, the Russians sent more than a dozen warships to aid the Assad regime in Syria. Here's a recap, or wrap, on the week that was from The Washington Times.
Twin explosions ripped through a crowd of Sunni worshippers outside Baghdad on Friday, an attack which, combined with a second deadly bombing at a Sunni funeral to the south of the capital, deepened fears Iraq may be headed toward a new round of sectarian conflict.
The head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency made an unannounced visit to Israel on Friday to meet with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon.
The U.S. military could blind Syria's air defenses -- as it would need to do to establish a 'no-fly' zone over rebel held areas -- without firing a shot, using new and highly secret cyberattack capabilities, according to USA Today.
Russia has sent more than a dozen war ships to patrol the waters near Syria, U.S. military spokesmen said on Friday.
The pro-Syria regime group, Syrian Electronic Army, hacked into the news site and Twitter feed of the Financial Times on Friday.
Even after two years, President Obama's Syria policy remains hard to understand. On the one hand, he talks about isolating Bashar Assad's Syrian regime and drawing "red lines" on its use of chemical weapons. On the other, he accedes to Russian President Vladimir Putin's demand for another regional conference that surely will give Mr. Assad a longer lease on life.
Shortly after Israeli warplanes struck inside Syria to take out Iranian missiles intended for Hezbollah, Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said, "The attack carried out by the Zionist regime will shorten this fake regime's life."
