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Articles by Stephen Dinan

** FILE ** In this March 30, 2010, photo reviewed by the U.S. military, a U.S. trooper stands in the turret of a vehicle with a machine gun, left, as a guard looks out from a tower at the detention facility on Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Obama veto possible over Guantanamo

The Senate Tuesday approved a defense policy bill that calls for a fast transition in Afghanistan, orders a study of U.S. military options in Syria such as imposing a no-fly zone, and restricts President Obama's authority to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

December 4, 2012
Sen. Rand Paul

Senate orders study on U.S. no-fly zone in Syria

The Senate voted Tuesday to order President Obama to study what military options the U.S. would have if it wanted to get more deeply involved in the revolt against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

December 4, 2012
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republlican, talks to reporters after private discussions with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on the "fiscal cliff" negotiations at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Democrats shrug off Republicans’ ‘fiscal cliff’ counter

House Republican leaders delivered a $2.2 trillion "fiscal cliff" counteroffer to President Obama on Monday that included $800 billion in tax increases, but the White House and congressional Democrats said that still isn't enough revenue to begin negotiating.

December 3, 2012
Scott Veley of Kensington, Conn., holds a Gadsden flag during a tea party protest at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., on April 15, 2010. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Historic town’s clash leaves ‘Tread’ marks

Officials in Culpeper, Va., decided to create a new public relations branding campaign, and tourism officials suggested they go with a new, less "political" emblem. The problem: The town's existing logo — the famous Revolutionary War-era rattlesnake and "Don't Tread On Me" combination — had been "hijacked" by the conservative tea party movement, staffers said.

December 3, 2012
**FILE** Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican (Associated Press)

House passes bill to cancel diversity visa lottery

The House voted Friday to cancel the annual diversity visa lottery and give those immigration visas to high-tech foreign-born who earn advanced degrees from American universities, as Republicans powered through their chamber the first major immigration bill since the election.

November 30, 2012
** FILE ** Sen. Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire Republican, speaks with reporters after a closed-door meeting with U.N. Ambassador Susan E. Rice about the deadly Sept. 11 raid in Libya, at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate votes to rewrite detention rules in war on terror

Senators voted late Thursday to rewrite some of the key rules in the war on terror, including prohibiting indefinite detention of U.S. citizens captured at home, and a permanent ban on transferring suspected terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States.

November 29, 2012
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Palestinians gain U.N. status as ‘observer state’

Palestinians won a victory on the world stage Thursday when the U.N. General Assembly voted to grant them enhanced status in the world body, but they could face a backlash in Washington, where lawmakers introduced legislation to kick them out of their diplomatic offices and to strip U.S. aid.

November 29, 2012
“We used to be the uninvited party crashers. All of the sudden we’re the belle of the ball. Well, it’s time to dance.” - Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, Illinois Democrat (Associated Press)

Obama opposes GOP option for amnesty

The Obama administration said Wednesday it opposes House Republicans' first postelection immigration effort to entice more high-tech university graduates to stay in the U.S., signaling that this month's election has yet to foster a breakthrough on Capitol Hill on an issue all sides expect to dominate.

November 28, 2012
Erskine Bowles, co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, sees chances for avoiding going over the “fiscal cliff” at less than 1 in 3. President Obama is sending aides to Capitol Hill on Thursday to meet with legislative leaders. (Associated Press)

Are parties hurtling toward ‘fiscal cliff’?

With little tangible headway being made in Washington on averting the looming federal taxes-and-spending crisis, a key observer said Wednesday that he puts the chances of Congress reaching a deal before the Jan. 1 "fiscal cliff" deadline at less than 1 in 3.

November 28, 2012
A Libyan man investigates the inside of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, two days before. (Associated Press)

Senate calls for more Marines at U.S. diplomatic posts

The Senate voted Wednesday to authorize adding Marine security forces to more U.S. diplomatic posts around the globe in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist assault in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead.

November 28, 2012
** FILE ** Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sunday, July 3, 2011. (Associated Press)

Senators in GOP propose immigration reform

Moving to try to steal the immigration spotlight from Democrats, top Senate Republicans on Tuesday introduced their own version of the Dream Act to grant young illegal immigrants legal rights — though it wouldn’t give them a special path to citizenship.

November 27, 2012
“You either engage them or you become an irrelevant party and movement. We already cannot win California and New York. If we continue like this, it’s [next] going to be Florida, Texas, Arizona. That’s it — Republicans will never win another national election.” - Alfonso Aguilar, a Bush administration official who is now the executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles (The Washington Times)

Data show Hispanics more likely to relate to Democrats

Stung by their election defeat, Republicans are eager to try to woo Hispanic voters, arguing that once their party puts immigration reform behind them, the ethnic group will be open to the GOP's conservative message.

November 26, 2012
"The first thing is the most important thing. Do away with motion to proceed. Just do away with it.” - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat (Associated Press)

Reid threatens filibuster change

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed Monday he will push to change Senate rules and curtail some Republican filibusters next year, setting up a major test of collegiality and power politics in the usually chummy chamber that bills itself as "the world's most exclusive club."

November 26, 2012
“We cannot afford to educate these foreign graduates in the U.S. and then send them back home to work for our competitors. For America to remain the world’s economic leader, we must have access to the world’s best talent.” - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, the Texas Republican who wrote the bill. (Associated Press)

GOP immigration bill keeps the well-educated

Trying to beat Democrats to the punch on the first post-election immigration bill, House Republicans have scheduled a vote later this week on a business-friendly proposal to grant green cards to foreigners who earn high-tech doctoral degrees from U.S. universities.

November 26, 2012
** FILE** President Franklin D. Roosevelt carved the turkey during the annual Thanksgiving dinner for polio patients at Warm Springs, Ga., on Dec. 1, 1933. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt was by his side. Roosevelt was jeered for changing the date of the holiday in 1939. Critics dubbed the revised holiday as “Franksgiving.” (Associated Press)

Roosevelt’s movable feast sparked outrage in year of ‘Franksgiving’

The year was 1939, and American businesses, still reeling from the previous year's recession, decided they wanted an extra week of Christmas shopping. The solution? They asked President Roosevelt to move Thanksgiving up a week. Roosevelt complied — and confusion and outrage ensued.

November 21, 2012
**FILE** Rahm Emanuel (Associated Press)

Illegals may get driver’s licenses in Illinois

Top Illinois state officials said Tuesday they'll push to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants — a move backed also by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who for years stood as Democrats' key impediment to pushing immigration in Congress.

November 20, 2012
**FILE** Rep. Allen West, Florida Republican, is seen here during an Oct. 4, 2011, news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Associated Press)

Allen West concedes in Fla. House race, leaves one black GOP lawmaker

Rep. Allen B. West's concession Tuesday that he lost his bid for re-election means the 113th Congress will open in January with only one black Republican in either chamber — a rough end to a year when the GOP had high hopes for expanding the diversity of its caucus.

November 20, 2012
**FILE** Rep. Allen West, Florida Republican, is seen here during an Oct. 4, 2011, news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Associated Press)

Democrat leads,
 West still fights 
at deadline for 
Florida recount

Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy declared victory Sunday over Rep. Allen B. West after a partial recount this weekend showed him still leading by more than half a percentage point — though Mr. West is refusing to concede, and questions linger over how ballots were treated in one Florida county.

November 18, 2012