State Department

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US Blacklists Haqqani Network
 US Blacklists Haqqani Network 
Sep 7, 2012 9:24 AM CDT

US Blacklists Haqqani Network

Step could be a blow to relations with Pakistan, Taliban

(Newser) - The Obama administration intends to slap the Haqqani network onto its terrorism blacklist, in a risky bid to strangle the group's fundraising. The idea has been hotly debated in the administration, with many arguing that it could harm relations with Pakistan, undercut Taliban peace talks, and endanger the life...

Assange Who? US Unlikely to Prosecute

There's no current case against WikiLeaks founder

(Newser) - Julian Assange thinks Washington is after him, but that might just be delusions of grandeur at work. Not only has the US not issued any charges against or made any attempt to extradite the WikiLeaks founder, officials aren't even sure it's a good idea to do so. If...

Audit: Feds Have Lousy Oversight of Climate Funds

Tens of millions being allocated, with little accountability

(Newser) - An obscure agency of the State Department has doled out tens of millions of dollars around the world for programs designed to fight climate change, but it's done a remarkably bad job of making sure the money isn't being wasted, according to an internal audit picked up by...

China Fumes Over US Knock on South China Sea

Beijing calls in top US diplomat Robert Wang

(Newser) - Stung by comments from Washington over the South China Sea, China has summoned a top US diplomat and urged America to "mend the error of its ways." The US State Department said Friday that China's creation of a new city with a military garrison to oversee the...

US Issues Global Security Alert

New report advises caution just about everywhere

(Newser) - The US has issued a fresh version of its worldwide safety caution to citizens abroad, making it clear that it's a pretty dangerous world out there. Terrorists are planning attacks "in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East," the statement warns, listing possible targets...

McCain Defends Clinton Aide Huma Abedin

He says GOP attacks on Muslim deputy are 'sinister'

(Newser) - John McCain took on a group of fellow Republicans on the Senate floor today, blasting them for their ill-founded attacks against Deputy Secretary of State Huma Abedin. Michele Bachmann and four other House Republicans have demanded Abedin be investigated for distant alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. "To say...

Clinton Makes Historic Visit to Laos

She's the first US secretary of state there in five decades

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton just keeps racking up the miles , today becoming the first US secretary of state to visit Laos in more than five decades, in a test of whether a place the United States pummeled with bombs during the Vietnam War could evolve into a new foothold of American...

US Bigwigs Get Paid Well to Push for Iranian Group

It's hoping to come off the list of designated terrorist groups

(Newser) - Prominent US leaders from Rudy Giuliani to Howard Dean have been visiting the White House to fight for an Iranian opposition group currently on the State Department's terror list—and those visits are drawing scrutiny at the Washington Post . The Treasury Department already has looked into the possibility that...

'Differences' With Obama Drive Out Kenya Envoy

J. Scott Gration, a longtime Obama adviser, had called it his 'dream job'

(Newser) - The US ambassador to Kenya resigned today, citing "differences with Washington regarding my leadership style and certain priorities." Former Air Force Major General J. Scott Gration didn't give any more specific reason for his departure, but it comes on the heels of a recent dustup with Nairobi,...

Clinton Breaks Travel Record
 Clinton Breaks Travel Record 
Jun 28, 2012 6:00 AM CDT

Clinton Breaks Travel Record

Secretary of state chalks up 100 countries with visit to Latvia

(Newser) - Four years after telling staffers that she would "not in a million years" consider becoming secretary of state, Hillary Clinton is setting a record: She visits Latvia today, the 100th country she has visited in the role. Clinton is now the best-traveled secretary of state in American history, having...

US Ensures Summer Jobs Go to Students —Foreign Ones

Work-travel program gets new rules, but that doesn't please everyone

(Newser) - Youth unemployment is pretty darn bad , and that has many raising new eyebrows over America's long-running work-travel program. The State Department revamped the program this month following allegations of poor working conditions , ensuring that the 100,000 foreign students participating this year will work at "light, seasonal occupations"...

US: We Won't Scrap Iraqi Police Training

But embassy in Baghdad doesn't deny program cuts

(Newser) - The US embassy in Baghdad today denied a New York Times report that Washington may scrap its Iraqi police training program, AFP reports. "The Police Development Program is a vital part of the US-Iraqi relationship and an effective means of standing by our Iraqi friends," an embassy rep...

State Dept's 'Take Your Kids to Work Day' R-Rated

Children hear all about Secret Service sex scandal

(Newser) - "Take Your Kids to Work Day" was quite the titillating experience at the State Department this year. Despite the presence of youngsters, reporters didn't censor their questions about the Secret Service sex scandal at a Q&A yesterday, Politico reports. They mentioned sex seven times, prostitution four times,...

US Diplomat: &#39;We Lost the War&#39; in Iraq
US Diplomat:
'We Lost the War' in Iraq
OPINION
Apr 9, 2012 2:41 PM CDT

US Diplomat: 'We Lost the War' in Iraq

Peter Van Buren says State is punishing him for blowing the whistle

(Newser) - Don't let anyone tell you the US "won" the Iraq war. During his stint in Iraq, State Department officer Peter Van Buren was so shocked by "the eye-watering waste and mismanagement" he saw that he wrote a blistering book about it. Nothing that's happened since has...

Al-Qaeda Websites Oddly Go Dark for 11 Days

Ex-State Department official: 'It looks like a takedown'

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda's most popular web forums have gone dark for 11 days now in what experts are calling a likely cyber attack, the Washington Post reports. "It sure looks like a takedown," said a former State Department official. If website administrators were dealing with mere technical glitches, they...

Iraqis Fume Over US Drone Use
 Iraqis Fume Over US Drone Use 
Jan 30, 2012 7:55 AM CST

Iraqis Fume Over US Drone Use

State Department is operating surveillance drones in the country

(Newser) - Many Iraqi officials are outraged that the US is operating drones in the country a month after the American military left, calling the drones a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, reports the New York Times . It's the State Department, not the CIA or Pentagon, that's behind the program,...

Egypt Bans Ray LaHood's Son From Leaving

Along with other Americans monitoring Egyptian elections

(Newser) - Egypt has placed Ray LaHood's son and several other Americans working for pro-Democracy groups on a no-fly list, barring them from leaving the country. Sam LaHood tried to board a plane out of Egypt in Cairo on Saturday, Politico reports, but was prevented from doing so. A State Department...

US Hangs Iraqi Translators Out to Dry

With visa process slowed, many now fear for their lives

(Newser) - When the US signed up translators in Iraq, it promised them an inside track for a special visa to the US. But now that the war is over, the visa approval process has slowed to a crawl, leaving translators stuck in Iraq—where many want them dead for helping the...

Hillary Clinton Starts Historic Burma Visit

Landmark visit to be first in more than 50 years

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton arrived in Burma’s capital of Naypyidaw today, kicking off the first visit by a US secretary of state to the country in more than 50 years. Clinton says her goal is to see for herself how serious Burma’s junta is about its halting steps toward democratic...

US Cuts Off Funding to UNESCO Over Palestine

Political workaround unlikely to go anywhere

(Newser) - The US has officially cut off all funding to the UN’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization over its acceptance of Palestine as a full member. The impact will be felt immediately, because the US had a $60 million dues payment due in November, the AP reports. The Obama administration’...

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