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Articles by Stephen Dinan

The Islamic State is building up infrastructure across territory its militants have captured in Iraq and Syria. Analysts say the group will become more entrenched among local populations if its governance goes unchallenged. (jihadology.net) **FILE**

Only ‘four or five’ U.S.-trained fighters in Syria

Only "four or five" U.S.-trained rebels are currently fighting in Syria, or thousands less than the Pentagon expected, the chief of the military campaign against the Islamic State told Congress on Wednesday as President Obama's war plans came under withering criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

September 16, 2015
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said the Senate will keep debating the Iran nuclear deal and take votes Thursday. (Associated Press)

Mitch McConnell to force tough votes on Iran, 4 U.S. prisoners

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he'll force tough votes this week on whether senators back Iran over Israel and over four American prisoners still being held by the regime in Tehran as all sides scrambled for ways to stiffen the nuclear deal President Obama reached with the Islamic republic.

September 15, 2015
A group of immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally are stopped in Granjeno, Texas, on June 25, 2014. (Associated Press) ** FIL E**

Democrats shift radically on illegal immigration as Republicans remain adamantly opposed

Democrats have become far more open to legalizing illegal immigrants over the last decade, while Republicans remain adamantly opposed, according to extensive new polling by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs that helps explain the rise of businessman Donald Trump within the GOP presidential field and the dim hopes for getting anything done in Congress.

September 15, 2015
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a campaign stop at Uncle Nancy's Coffee House, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015, in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

John Cornyn calls for special counsel to investigate Clinton emails

A top Republican called Tuesday for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to name a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's emails, saying Americans need greater assurance that any wrongdoing will be investigated without fear of political influence from President Obama and his team.

September 15, 2015
Bryan Pagliano, a former State Department employee who helped set up and maintain a private email server used by Hillary Rodham Clinton, departs Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 10, 2015, to give his deposition to a House panel on the Benghazi investigation. Pagliano will assert his constitutional right not to testify before any congressional committees, his lawyer says. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Senators seek ways to get Pagliano to talk about Clinton emails

Two top senators asked the Justice Department on Monday to reveal whether it has opened an investigation involving Bryan Pagliano, the tech worker who assisted former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in setting up her email server, as Congress continues to try to find ways of learning what he knows.

September 14, 2015
Syrian refugees sleep inside a greenhouse at a makeshift camp near Roszke, Hungary, on Sunday. The U.S. and many European countries are facing internal political pressures regarding the influx of migrants, seen by many right-wing fringe groups as suspect or even extremists. (Associated Press)

Syria refugee crisis a no-win for Obama

Human rights groups say President Obama's opening bid of accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees next year is far too timid in the face of the humanitarian catastrophe playing out in the Middle East, and even his own party colleagues in Congress are preparing to raise him tenfold, calling for the U.S. to take in 100,000 Syrians.

September 13, 2015
Republican presidential candidate and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks at the Defending the American Dream summit hosted by Americans for Prosperity at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 22, 2015. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Rick Perry to suspend 2016 GOP presidential campaign

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is suspending his campaign to win the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, announcing the decision in a speech to the Eagle Forum in St. Louis on Friday afternoon.

September 11, 2015
Huma Abedin, who has been at Hillary Rodham Clinton's side as her personal assistant or "body woman" since the 2008 presidential race, faced criticism for standing by her husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner, after sexting scandals that damaged his political career. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

State Dept. has no plans to make all Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills emails public

The State Department has the equivalent of 22 full-time employees designated to processing former Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton's emails, the Obama administration told a federal court Friday, detailing the extraordinary efforts it is making to try to handle the legal tangle Mrs. Clinton left behind.

September 11, 2015
Chairman Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif. speaks during a House Rules full committee meeting on the Iran nuclear program deal in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

House GOP rejects Iran deal, votes to extend sanctions

The House voted Friday to extend American sanctions on Iran until January and went on record rejecting the deal President Obama and other international leaders reached to curtail the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, in votes more freighted with symbolism than effect at this point.

September 11, 2015
A volunteer helps two Syrian children as they arrive aboard a dinghy after crossing from Turkey, on the island of Lesbos, Greece, Monday, Sept. 7, 2015. The island of some 100,000 residents has been transformed by the sudden new population of some 20,000 refugees and migrants, mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Democrats urge U.S. to take 100,000 Syrian refugees

Two top Democrats have called for the U.S. to accept 100,000 Syrian refugees next year, or 10 times the number President Obama proposed this week, saying America should "do our part."

September 11, 2015
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton walks with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 14, 2015. Clinton is attend meetings on Capitol Hill with House and Senate Democrats. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Nancy Pelosi: Emails aren’t hurting Hillary Clinton’s polling

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she's not paying attention to Hillary Rodham Clinton's tumble in the polls, but doubted it is related to the email scandal that appears to have fed into doubts about the former first lady's trustworthiness.

September 10, 2015