State Dept Confirms Taliban Concessions Within Hours of Fatal Attack on U.S. Troops State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday that talks between the United States and the Taliban for a "political solution" to the security of Afghanistan will result in concessions from both sides. Within hours of that statement, the Taliban took credit for an attack in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of four Americans. by Meredith Dake
State Dept Confirms Taliban Concessions Within Hours of Fatal Attack on U.S. Troops State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday that talks between the United States and the Taliban for a "political solution" to the security of Afghanistan will result in concessions from both sides. Within hours of that statement, the Taliban took credit for an attack in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of four Americans. by Meredith Dake 19 Jun 2013, 2:49 AM PDT
China, N. Korea Hold 'Strategic Dialogue' A high-ranking North Korean official with long experience as his country's international nuclear negotiator held talks Wednesday with Chinese officials, Beijing's foreign ministry announced. from AFP 19 Jun 2013, 2:47 AM PDT
Blast, Shootings near UN Compound in Somali Capital A loud explosion followed by heavy shooting was heard close to the main United Nations compound in the Somali capital Wednesday, an AFP reporter and UN sources said. from AFP 19 Jun 2013, 2:45 AM PDT
A Year On, Assange Stays Put in Ecuadorean Embassy A year ago, Julian Assange skipped out on a date with Swedish justice. Rather than comply with a British order that he go to the Scandinavian country for questioning about sex crimes allegations, the WikiLeaks founder took refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. from AP 19 Jun 2013, 2:42 AM PDT
Karzai Suspends Talks with US over Taliban Move The Afghan president on Wednesday suspended talks with the United States on a new security deal to protest the way his government was being left out of initial peace negotiations with the Taliban meant to find ways to end the nearly 12-year war. from AP 19 Jun 2013, 2:40 AM PDT
State Dept. Unsure if Taliban Still Considered Terrorists State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she was "not sure" whether the Taliban is designated as a terrorist organization when a reporter pressed her on negotiations between the United States and the Islamist group during Tuesday's press briefing. by Meredith Dake 19 Jun 2013, 2:32 AM PDT
Putin Refuses to Go Obama's Way on Syria President Obama could not come to an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Syria when the two leaders met on June 17. by AWR Hawkins 19 Jun 2013, 2:26 AM PDT
U.S. to Provide Almost $1 Billion to Syrian Rebels State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki joined her White House colleague Jay Carney in announcing $300 million in additional aid to the Syrian rebels on Tuesday. National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters that this would make the total financial "humanitarian" aid from the United States to the Syrian rebels to over $800 million. by Meredith Dake 19 Jun 2013, 2:17 AM PDT
World View: Taliban Prepare for Return of 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' As U.S. officials were announcing the start of talks with the Taliban, the Taliban themselves were giving a press conference in Doha, Qatar, at the "Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." This was the name of the country Afghanistan when the Taliban ruled it, prior to September 11, 2001. by John J. Xenakis 19 Jun 2013, 2:07 AM PDT
Obama to Renew Calls for Nuclear Reductions President Barack Obama on Wednesday will renew his call to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles, including a proposed one-third reduction in U.S. and Russian arsenals, a senior administration official said. from AP 18 Jun 2013
Whistleblower: State Dept. 'Harassed' Her Children The State Department whistleblower who revealed alleged cover-ups of misconduct under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has paid a price for her honesty, according to her attorney. by AWR Hawkins 18 Jun 2013
Four U.S. Troops Killed in Attack on Afghan Base Four American troops were killed Tuesday in an insurgent attack on Afghanistan's Bagram air base, a US defense official said, as Washington announced plans to hold talks with the Taliban. from AFP 18 Jun 2013
Islamic Jihad's Summer of Radicalization Summer camp conjures up bucolic images of swimming and other outdoor fun, but thousands of Palestinian children will experience something quite different, as exhibited in a report issued Thursday by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). by Steven Emerson 18 Jun 2013
Guest Column: The 'Sex Jihad' News emerged a few weeks ago in Arabic media that yet another fatwa had called on practicing Muslim women to travel to Syria and offer their sexual services to the jihadis fighting to overthrow the secularist Assad government and install Islamic law. Reports attribute the fatwa to Saudi sheikh Muhammad al-'Arifi, who, along with other Muslim clerics, earlier permitted jihadis to rape Syrian women. by Raymond Ibrahim 18 Jun 2013
US Announces Negotiations with Taliban The United States and the Taliban announced on Tuesday that formal talks will begin on coming to an agreement to rule Afghanistan. Tuesday also marked the formal transition to Afghan leadership in terms of military force from the NATO coalition. The Taliban has opened a political office in Doha, Qatar, which should provide them a home base from which to conduct negotiations. Obama celebrated the opening of the office. by Ben Shapiro 18 Jun 2013
Pentagon Opening Navy SEALs, Army Rangers to Women As early as June 18, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is expected to announce that the Pentagon is opening the Navy SEALs and the U.S. Army Rangers to women. by AWR Hawkins 18 Jun 2013
100K Protesters Flood Brazilian Streets in Protest Some of the biggest demonstrations since the end of Brazil's 1964-85 dictatorship have broken out across this continent-sized country, uniting tens of thousands frustrated by poor transportation, health services, education and security despite a heavy tax burden. from AP 18 Jun 2013
Obama: Iranian People Want 'Different Direction' US President Barack Obama said that Iran's election result showed the country's people wanted to back away from confrontation with the outside world but ruled out for the moment lifting economic sanctions on Tehran. from AFP 18 Jun 2013
Pentagon Reveals Guantanamo 'Indefinite Detainees' List The Pentagon released the names of Guantanamo Bay's 46 "indefinite detainees," terror suspects considered too dangerous to transfer from the prison and who cannot be tried in court. from AFP 18 Jun 2013
Obama Skeptical on Major Military Action in Syria President Barack Obama expressed skepticism that setting up a no-fly zone in Syria or other major US military action could save lives or tip the balance against President Bashar al-Assad's regime. from AFP 18 Jun 2013
Afghan Lawmaker Escapes Kabul Suicide Attack A prominent Afghan lawmaker escaped a suicide attack on Tuesday, aides said, on the day that the handover of security from NATO to Afghan forces was to be announced. from AFP 18 Jun 2013
Pakistan: Kerry Visit Delayed Because of Syria US Secretary of State John Kerry has been forced to delay a visit to Pakistan because of the worsening crisis in Syria, Pakistani officials said on Tuesday. from AFP 18 Jun 2013
Britain Charges ex-UBS Trader over Libor Rate Scandal Britain's Serious Fraud Office said on Tuesday that former UBS trader Tom Hayes had become the first person to be charged in its probe into the Libor rate-rigging scandal that has rocked the banking sector. from AFP 18 Jun 2013
Turkey Vows to Strengthen Police Powers Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will increase police powers following a wave of anti-government protests. from AP 18 Jun 2013
Greece: TV Screens Still Blank Amid Dispute State TV signals remain blank in Greece as parties in the governing coalition were still at odds over what to do with public broadcaster ERT. from AP 18 Jun 2013
G-8 Summit Turns Focus to Clampdown on Tax-Dodging Leaders from eight of the world's wealthiest countries spent the final hours of their summit Tuesday focusing how to make sure that multinational companies can no longer rely on shelters and loopholes to avoid paying the tax they owe. from AP 18 Jun 2013
World View: 80,000 Hezbollah-Trained Syrian Soldiers Ready to Retake Aleppo Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime's army, with some 80,000 military forces trained by Hezbollah, is preparing to launch a massive ground offensive to recapture the city of Aleppo. by John J. Xenakis 18 Jun 2013
Iranian Nuclear Program Progresses with Activation of Plutonium Facility On June 8, Iran inaugurated the main nuclear fission container at the country's heavy water reactor in Arak, part of Iran's plutonium production facility. Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) director Fereydoon Abbasi called the inauguration of this container, "an important step in the advancement of the project." by AWR Hawkins 17 Jun 2013
Libor Criminal Charges Imminent British prosecutors are expected to file criminal charges against UBS AG and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes for allegedly attempting to rig the all-important Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate), reports the Wall Street Journal. by Wynton Hall 17 Jun 2013
Clinton: Israel Must Make Peace or Disappear In a speech that will no doubt incentivize Palestinians to continue their campaign of terror and warfare against Israel, former President Bill Clinton told Israel that it would have to make peace with the Palestinians if it wanted to remain Jewish and democratic. He said that thanks to demographic changes, Israel will have to separate from the Palestinian population in order to maintain its majority. by Ben Shapiro 17 Jun 2013
Questions Surround U.S. Gunrunning to Syrian Rebels The CIA is gearing up to send weapons to rebel groups in Syria through Turkey and Jordan, the Washington Post reported on Friday. This is an expanded program over the effort during the past year to maintain supply routes into the war torn country for nonlethal material, U.S. officials told the Post. by Kerry Picket 17 Jun 2013
Report: Kim Jong Un Hands Copies of 'Mein Kampf' to Top Officers A report from New Focus International, a North Korean news organization that runs underground to avoid the scrutiny of the tyrannical government, senior government officials got copies of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf for Kim Jong Un’s birthday in January. by Breitbart News 17 Jun 2013
Inhofe Blasts Obama's $170 Million Military Biofuels Giveaway On Sunday, Ranking member of the Armed Services Committee Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) blasted the Defense Department’s plan to “contribute $170 million to a massive federal giveaway to private biofuels companies.” He said the plan is further evidence of the Obama Administration’s “use of taxpayer dollars to fund the president’s hobby as a venture capitalist.” by Wynton Hall 17 Jun 2013
Cruz, Lee Introduce Military Religious Liberties Amendments to Senate Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are introducing two amendments in the full Senate to protect the religious rights of those in the U.S. armed forces. Last week, the two amendments passed in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). by William Bigelow 17 Jun 2013
Documents Obtained by JW Reveal FBI Training Curricula Purged of Material Deemed 'Offensive' to Muslims Judicial Watch recently released hundreds of pages of FBI memos and other documents revealing that, in 2012, the agency purged its anti-terrorism training curricula of material determined by an undisclosed group of “Subject Matter Experts” (SME) to be “offensive” to Muslims. by Tom Fitton 17 Jun 2013
IRS: We Investigate Pro-Israel Groups for Terrorism Ties Eliana Johnson of National Review Online reports that Cincinnati-based IRS agent Gary Muthert told the House Oversight Committee that the IRS does, in fact, subject pro-Israel tax-exempt groups to higher scrutiny--by sending their applications to a special IRS unit that investigates them for ties to terrorism. by Joel B. Pollak 17 Jun 2013
Beijing: Suspicions Snowden Spied for China 'Groundless' China's foreign ministry on Monday dismissed as "groundless" suspicions that former US contractor Edward Snowden spied for Beijing. "I think it is completely groundless," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying when asked at a regular news briefing if Snowden spied for China. from AFP 17 Jun 2013
Cameron Wants Syria Peace Conference Pledge at G8 Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday his priority at the G8 summit was to ensure a peace conference on the Syrian conflict takes place later this year to push through a transitional government to replace President Bashar al-Assad. from AFP 17 Jun 2013
Bombings Near Baghdad Kill 10 Bombings near Baghdad killed at least 10 people Monday in a second day of deadly violence that, coupled with a prolonged political stalemate, has spurred fears of a revival of full-blown sectarian war. from AFP 17 Jun 2013
Greek Coalition Wrestles to Avoid Collapse Party leaders in Greece's ruling coalition are trying to heal the rift over the closure of the country's state TV and radio broadcaster that is threatening to topple the government and compromise the country's bailout program. from AP 17 Jun 2013
Prince Philip Leaves Hospital After Surgery Britain's Prince Philip was discharged from a London hospital on Monday, 10 days after undergoing exploratory surgery on his abdomen. from AP 17 Jun 2013
Iran's Ahmadinejad Given Court Summons over Feuds Iran's official news agency says a criminal court has summoned outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over a lawsuit filed by the country's parliament speaker and others. from AP 17 Jun 2013
China Calls for Explanations of US Surveillance China is joining calls for Washington to provide explanations following disclosures of National Security Agency programs which collect millions of telephone records and track foreign Internet activity on U.S. networks. from AP 17 Jun 2013
World View -- Report: Iran Sending 4,000 Troops to Aid Assad in Syria According to a news report, Iran will send 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers to Syria to support the regime of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad by John J. Xenakis 17 Jun 2013
Czech Prime Minister to Step Down Amid Graft Scandal Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said Sunday he would step down, after a massive corruption scandal in which his top aide was indicted for bribery. from AFP 16 Jun 2013
Canadian Couple Charged $5,000 After Finding 400-Year-Old Skeleton in Backyard (UPI) -- A Canadian couple who found a skeleton in their backyard said an Ontario law required them to pay $5,000 for archaeological disinterment and other treatments. from UPI 16 Jun 2013
Snowden Leaks 'Detailed Records' About IP Addresses NSA Hacked in China, Hong Kong NSA leaker Edward Snowden showed a Hong Kong newspaper classified documents that revealed the specific IP addresses in Hong Kong and China the National Security Agency may have hacked. by Tony Lee 16 Jun 2013
Samantha Power: The Quintessential 'Blame America First'-er The American people do not need to populate the United Nations with any more anti- or post-Americans, especially as their “representative” to that organization. Someone who equates the United States with Adolf Hitler’s Germany, someone who has for years derided the U.S. contribution to freedom and a better planet, someone who yearns for a new world order in which our nation is not only unexceptional but subject to the dictates of others, is not someone we want anywhere near Turtle Bay. by Frank Gaffney 16 Jun 2013
Saudi Arabia Expands Grand Mosque, Endangers Islamic Relics Saudi Arabia is expanding the Grand Mosque in Mecca, according to wire reports, which contains the Kaaba, so that 2.2 million people can visit there simultaneously. The area of the Mosque will be increased by 400,000 square metres (4.3 million square feet). by William Bigelow 16 Jun 2013
War with Iran May Be Inevitable Though he ran as the anti-war candidate, and took office with an outstretched hand to America's rivals, the course President Barack Obama has set may lead to a direct war with Iran, whether he likes it or not. That is because the ambitions of the Iranian regime--geopolitical hegemony over the Middle East, and the millenarian fantasies of militant Shia Islam--are fundamentally at odds with core American interests. by Joel B. Pollak 16 Jun 2013
World View: Egypt's Morsi Endorses Syria Rebels Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi announced on Saturday the end of all diplomatic ties with the Syrian regime led by Bashar Al-Asaad, and that "the Egyptian people and army are supporting the Syrian uprising." by John J. Xenakis 16 Jun 2013
Iran's Rowhani 'beacon of hope': Hezbollah Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, a close ally of Tehran, welcomed the election of Hassan Rowhani as Iran's new president on Sunday, calling him a "beacon of hope". from AFP 16 Jun 2013
WH: No 'Rush to War' in Syria On Sunday, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said that the Obama administration would not be rushing to war in Syria, and implicitly accused the Bush White House of rushing to war in Iraq. “We’ve rushed to war in this region in the past,” McDonough said. “We’re not going to do it here.” by Breitbart News 16 Jun 2013
Obama Deploys U.S. Marines to Syrian Border On the heels of the decision to arm select groups of Syrian rebels, 300 U.S. Marines have reportedly been deployed to the Syrian border. by AWR Hawkins 16 Jun 2013
NSA Whistleblower Really a Double Agent? Although Edward Snowden claims to be but a NSA whistleblower who is sick of the way the system works, Fox News reports on what appears to be a "growing backlash against the former NSA contractor." by AWR Hawkins 16 Jun 2013
Study: Global Elite Leave Bigger Carbon Footprints when Flying First Class A World Bank study has found the global elite superclass, composed of figures such as Al Gore who take lavish jets to conferences in places like Davos, leave large carbon footprints when traveling in first class. by Tony Lee 16 Jun 2013
Pope Warns of 'Adolescent Progressivism' and Desire to 'Play It Safe' During his daily celebration of Mass in the chapel of his apartment residence, Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church can be hindered by dual temptations of wanting to remain in the past and “adolescent progressivism.” by Dr. Susan Berry 15 Jun 2013
Palin on Syria: 'Let Allah Sort It Out' Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said until the United States has a Commander-in-Chief who knows what he is doing, America should stay out of the mess in the Middle East. by Breitbart News 15 Jun 2013
China Announces Measures to Curb Air Pollution China's Cabinet has announced measures to curb the country's notorious air pollution, one of the many environmental challenges facing the country that are increasingly angering the public. from AP 15 Jun 2013
Wag the Syrian Dog With embattled President Barack Obama facing a scandal about electronic spying on the private lives of almost every voter in America, it should not be surprising that he would make “a decision to provide lethal assistance,” including weapons, ammunition, and air support, to the Syrian rebels. Using wag the dog might have worked in the past, but the mushrooming privacy scandal seems destined to grow. by Chriss W. Street 15 Jun 2013
'Moderate' Rowhani 'Outspoken Critic' of Ahmadinejad Hassan Rowhani, the bearded cleric who is leading the pack in Iran's presidential election, is a moderate who has pledged to engage more with world powers in hopes of easing crippling economic sanctions. from AFP 15 Jun 2013
Minister: Rowhani Wins Iran Presidential Election Moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani has won Iran's presidential election, the interior minister announced on Saturday, putting an end to eight years of conservative grip on the nation's executive. from AFP 15 Jun 2013
White House: Obama's $100 Million Africa Trip 'Great Bang for Our Buck' After questions over the $100 million price tag of the President's trip to Africa arose, the White House defended the costs claiming that the expenditure offers the nation "great bang for our buck." by Warner Todd Huston 15 Jun 2013
Tanzania's Albinos Hope Govt Will Offer More Help As an infant in rural Tanzania, Angel Salvatory was unusual. Snow white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes set her apart from others in her village. Those unique looks have also made her a target. from AP 15 Jun 2013
World View: Hezbollah Promises to Keep Fighting for Assad in Syria As we've been reporting, the recent announcement by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and his subsequent actions in providing thousands of fighters to help Bashar al-Assad's Syrian army, has resulted in a harsh Sunni/Shia divide throughout the Mideast, with Arab Sunni Muslims vitriolically condemning and threatening all Shias, especially after the stunning al-Assad/Hezbollah victory in Qusair. by John J. Xenakis 15 Jun 2013
Russia Questions Syrian Chemical Weapons Evidence Russia's foreign minister says the evidence put forth by the United States of chemical weapons use in Syria apparently doesn't meet stringent criteria for reliability. from AP 15 Jun 2013
Ukrainian Teen Prostitutes Find Way Back into Society The risks of such work are clear: the Mykolayiv region has one of the highest levels in Ukraine of HIV-related fatalities in the age group of 15 to 24 years. from AFP 15 Jun 2013
Protesters Rally in Hong Kong to Support Snowden Hundreds of protesters staged a rally in rain-hit Hong Kong Saturday to urge the city's government not to extradite former spy Edward Snowden and slam the US for its surveillance programmes. from AFP 15 Jun 2013
Russia's Putin Calls for IMF Overhaul, Bigger Role for BRICS Russia will use its presidency of the G20 to push for a radical overhaul of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and changes to its voting system to give developing economies a stronger voice, President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Russia's news agency RIA Novosti. from UPI 15 Jun 2013
Reaction Cool to U.S. Arms Plan for Syrian Rebels The Obama administration hopes its decision to give lethal aid to Syrian rebels will prompt other nations to beef up assistance, now that the U.S. has cited evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people. But the international reaction Friday ranged from flat-out disbelief of the U.S. intelligence assessments to calls for negotiation before more weapons pour into the vicious civil war. from AP 14 Jun 2013
Early Vote Count in Iran Gives Rowhani Wide Lead Iran's reformist-backed presidential candidate surged to a wide lead in early vote counting Saturday, a top official said, suggesting a flurry of late support could have swayed a race that once appeared solidly in the hands of Tehran's ruling clerics. from AP 14 Jun 2013
Thousands of Egypt Islamists Rally for Syria Jihad Thousands of Islamists rallied in the Egyptian capital on Friday in support of calls by Sunni Muslim clerics for a holy war against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. from AFP 14 Jun 2013
US Seeks to Ease German Anxiety over Web Spying The White House on Friday sought to cool German fears over a secret US Internet surveillance program, which threatens to detract from President Barack Obama's visit to Berlin next week. from AFP 14 Jun 2013
Guatemala Reels from Mass Police Slaying Guatemalan authorities expressed concern about the power of organized drug gangs Friday after eight police officers were shot dead inside their station. from AFP 14 Jun 2013
Assange Enlists Puerto Rican Band in Political Fight WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange revealed on Friday how he is spending some of his time living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London -- working on a song with Puerto Rican band Calle 13. from AFP 14 Jun 2013
Ecuador Approves Law Curtailing Private Media Ecuador slashed the private sector's share of radio and television frequencies Friday and restricted content, the culmination of a battle between the president and media he accuses of undermining him. from AFP 14 Jun 2013
Obama to Give Speech in Belfast, Family to Head to Dublin US President Barack Obama will laud the US role in backing Northern Ireland's peace process in a speech in Belfast on Monday, and his wife and daughters will then head to Dublin. from AFP 14 Jun 2013
Congress: President Cannot Indefinitely Detain US Citizens On June 13, Congress voted to limit President Obama's ability to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens who are suspected of terrorism. by AWR Hawkins 14 Jun 2013
Obama Blows with Political Winds on Syria On Thursday, White House press secretary Jay Carney strenuously denied that American provision of arms for the Syrian rebellion had anything to do with public opinion. But polls show that the President’s “red line” on Syria – use of any sort of weapons of mass destruction – happens to coincide with the public’s red line. by Ben Shapiro 14 Jun 2013
Senators Unaware of Potential Syrian Refugee Resettlement in U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), two lawmakers who are part of the gang of eight immigration bill, are unaware of the administration's willingness to accept thousands of Syrian refugees into the United States. by Kerry Picket 14 Jun 2013
Syria: US Chemical Weapons Charges 'Full of Lies' The Syrian government has dismissed U.S. statements it used chemical weapons as "full of lies." from AP 14 Jun 2013
In Syria Decision, Obama's Hypocrisy is Complete--and Dangerous With the announcement Thursday that the U.S. will send weapons to rebel forces in the Syrian civil war, President Barack Obama's hypocrisy on war is now complete. by Joel B. Pollak 14 Jun 2013
'Intersex' Included on Australia's New Gender Guidelines The Australian government has announced new guidelines on gender recognition which state that individuals should be given the option of selecting "male", "female" or "intersex" on their personal documents. from AFP 14 Jun 2013
Iran Votes in Key Presidential Contest Iran chooses a new president Friday in an election the reformists hope their sole candidate will win in the face of divided conservative ranks, four years after the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. from AFP 14 Jun 2013
Vietnam Detains Second Blogger in Weeks: Reports A prominent Vietnamese blogger has been arrested for anti-state activity, reports said on Friday, the second online government critic detained in less than a month in an intensifying crackdown on dissent. from AFP 14 Jun 2013
NATO Urges Syria to Allow UN Weapons Inspection NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday welcomed a "clear" US statement accusing the Syrian regime of using chemical weapons and said Damascus must let the UN investigate the allegations. from AFP 14 Jun 2013
Iran's Leader Jabs US as Presidential Vote Begins Iran's top leader gave a salty rebuke Friday to U.S. questions over the openness of the presidential contest in the Islamic Republic, telling Washington "the hell with you" after casting his ballot in a race widely criticized in the West as rigged in favor of Tehran's ruling system. from AP 14 Jun 2013
Obama Authorizes Arms for Syrian Rebels President Obama has authorized his administration to provide the Syrian rebels with arms in their fight against Bashar al-Assad. by AWR Hawkins 14 Jun 2013
World View: U.S. Escalates Syria Crisis with Confirmation of Chemical Weapons The White House issued a statement late on Thursday confirming that the regime of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad has crossed a "red line" with the use of chemical weapons on its own people, causing some 150 deaths by John J. Xenakis 14 Jun 2013
Official, private assessments contradict president’s claim that Al Qaeda is on ‘path to defeat’19 Jun 2013, 4:28 AM PDT