State Department

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White House Releases Benghazi Emails

They cover the development of 'talking points' after attack

(Newser) - If you can't get enough of the Benghazi story, the White House has some reading for you: This afternoon, it released 100 pages of emails and other internal notes that show how its "talking points" evolved after the attack, reports the Washington Post . You can dig in here...

New Emails Keep Benghazi in Spotlight

State Department toned down CIA's initial draft in regard to 'extremists'

(Newser) - If this week made anything clear about Benghazi, it's that the issue isn't going away anytime soon. The latest development is that ABC News got its hands on 12 different versions of talking points and emails that show how the CIA's initial draft on what happened got...

Debate Swirls Over Single Word in Benghazi Email

As Boehner demands email be made public

(Newser) - Republicans aren't letting up in their pursuit of the Benghazi incident, with John Boehner yesterday calling for the release of an email that he claimed would prove that the Obama administration knew from the beginning that the incident had been an attack by Islamic terrorists. Congress has seen the...

Feds Order 3D Gun Blueprints Taken Offline

Defense Distributed will comply after 100K downloads in first 2 days

(Newser) - When a company run by a Texas law student posted blueprints online this week for a 3D-printed gun, it logged more than 100,000 downloads in its first two days. Now, the State Department also has taken notice of the gambit by Cody Wilson at Defense Distributed , reports Forbes . It...

Diplomat: Special Ops Told to Stand Down During Benghazi

Hicks says Pentagon refused to scramble jets

(Newser) - More testimony has been released sharply contradicting the Obama administration's version of events during last year's Benghazi attack. Greg Hicks, deputy of slain US Ambassador Chris Stevens, says a team of Special Operations troops was ready to fly from Tripoli to Benghazi but was told to stand down...

American Diplomacy in Sad Shape
 American 
 Diplomacy 
 in Sad Shape 
OPINION
Apr 12, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

American Diplomacy in Sad Shape

Essay: Foreign Service needs more professional diplomats, not political appointees

(Newser) - Even as diplomacy has grown ever more important to US national security, the US Foreign Service is being threatened by partisan politics worse than ever before, write longtime diplomats Susan Johnson, Ronald Neumann, and Thomas Pickering in the Washington Post . Exhibit A: Top leadership positions in the State Department have...

US Mourns Diplomat, 25, Killed in Afghanistan

Anne Smedinghoff among those who died in bombed convoy

(Newser) - Among the six Americans killed in Afghanistan yesterday was 25-year-old foreign service officer Anne Smedinghoff, reports CNN , the first US diplomat to be killed since Chris Stevens died in September. John Kerry led the mourning for her today, saluting the "vivacious, smart" up-and-comer who assisted him during a visit...

US Puts $10M Bounty on Heads of 2 Americans

Jehad Mostafa, Omar Shafik Hammami helping al-Shabab in Somalia

(Newser) - There may not be any American militants on the kill list , but that doesn't mean the US isn't hunting any. The State Department is offering up to $5 million apiece for information leading to the capture of two American members of al-Shabab, it announced yesterday. The US will...

Fearing Syria Spillover, CIA Ups Iraq Presence

Al-Nusra Front and al-Qaeda in Iraq closely tied, experts say

(Newser) - The US military may have pulled out of Iraq in December 2011, but now the CIA is going back in, reports the Wall Street Journal . In a series of secret decisions in 2011 and 2012, the White House directed US intelligence to take over from the military in supporting Iraq'...

Report Sees No Big Problems With Keystone Pipeline

State Department assessment angers environmental groups

(Newser) - A long-awaited State Department report on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline is proving to be a bitter disappointment to environmentalists, reports Politico . The draft report issued late this afternoon does not give President Obama a clear yes-or-no recommendation on whether the project should move forward, but it generally plays...

Kerry Heads Out on 1st Trip
 Kerry Heads Out on 1st Trip 
Feb 24, 2013 10:36 AM CST

Kerry Heads Out on 1st Trip

'Listening tour' centers on Syria solution, will hit 9 nations

(Newser) - Secretary of State John Kerry is off and racking up the frequent flier miles, embarking on his first official overseas voyage in a diplomatic mission to bring new ideas to European capitals and the Middle East on how to end nearly two years of brutal violence in Syria. Kerry today...

After Benghazi, 55% of Posts Still Weak on Security
After Benghazi, 55% of
Posts Still Weak on Security 
new testimony
Feb 15, 2013 1:00 AM CST

After Benghazi, 55% of Posts Still Weak on Security

158 posts may not be up to snuff: state dept. official

(Newser) - Could another Benghazi loom? A State Department official has testified that some 158 diplomatic posts "have facilities that may not fully meet current security standards." That's out of 283 total, undersecretary Pat Kennedy said yesterday. Many "were built or acquired prior to the establishment of the...

Senate Committee Approves Kerry for State Gig

He'll go before the full Senate later today

(Newser) - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee surprised exactly no one today by putting its seal of approval on John Kerry's nomination for secretary of State nomination. It would have been quite the upset if Kerry hadn't gotten the committee's approval, given that he has sat on it for...

State Dept. Shuts Office in Charge of Closing Gitmo

Daniel Fried gets moved to sanctions-policy issues

(Newser) - The State Department all but raised the white flag on closing Gitmo today, quietly reassigning the special envoy in charge of shutting down the notorious prison, the New York Times reports. The office of Daniel Fried is being closed, with no one to replace him, as his work is "...

GOP Fires Up the Grill for Clinton, Kerry

McCain jokes that he'll waterboard Kerry

(Newser) - Both Hillary Clinton and her would-be successor John Kerry are headed to Capitol Hill: Clinton is testifying today about the Benghazi attack, while Kerry is getting ready for confirmation hearings tomorrow. A look around the landscape:
  • Republicans are hoping Clinton's hearing will finally answer some tough questions about the
...

Clinton Returns to Work, Gets Gag Gift

She's greeting with applause, and a helmet

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton is back at work, and while her blood clot is gone, her sense of humor is hopefully not. The State Department greeted Clinton with a standing ovation and a gag gift: a football helmet adorned with her department's seal, reports the AP . She was also given a...

Richardson to State Dept: I Can Handle North Korea

He says Eric Schmidt isn't going for a 'Google trip'

(Newser) - Bill Richardson today shed some light on the purpose of the North Korea trip he's taking with Google honcho Eric Schmidt—and brushed aside the State Department's objections to it. "It's a private humanitarian visit," he told CBS This Morning . "We're not representing...

Clinton Plans Return to Work Next Week

As John Kerry ramps up preparation for his confirmation hearings

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton continues to recuperate at home but will be back at work in her Washington office at some point next week, reports Politico . Clinton is "sounding terrific, upbeat, and raring to go," says spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. The secretary of state was discharged from the hospital yesterday following...

Senate Report Blasts State Dept. on Benghazi

Lieberman-Collins report echoes independent probe

(Newser) - The State Department didn't provide its Benghazi team with enough protection against possible threats, a bipartisan Senate report finds, marking the second slap at State this month over the Libya attack. What's more, intelligence pointed to the attack being the work of terrorists all along—but the Obama...

Who Gets John Kerry's Senate Seat?

Scott Brown is a good bet, but Kennedys are dropping hints

(Newser) - John Kerry's confirmation hearings for secretary of State haven't yet started, but that's not stopping quite a crowd from measuring the drapes for his Senate office. According to Massachusetts state law, Gov. Deval Patrick would appoint Kerry's successor—likely a placeholder—then a special election would...

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