Republican senators on a key committee sparred with the Obama administration’s point man on the War Powers Resolution, Harold Koh, at a hearing Tuesday ahead of a crucial afternoon vote on what to do about U.S. military efforts in Libya. (more)
Sen. John Kerry has left for a trip to Pakistan today, according to his spokesperson on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (more)
Senate Democrats appear to have the nine Republican votes they need to ratify the New START nuclear treaty this week and give President Obama his third major victory of the lame-duck session. (more)
The Obama administration has earned a bad rap for ramming legislation through Congress without sufficient oversight, Republican buy-in, or support from the American people. The White House rushed its bulky healthcare bill through before congressmen could read it. As House Speaker Pelosi infamously quipped, “[W]e have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” (more)
Everything starts with a point of view. Turkey’s orientation – or rather– Orientalism is causing quite a discussion and is creating a wide split among policy makers, analysts, and journalists concerning whether or not the Islamist based ruling party, Justice and Development (AKP), is changing Turkish values. In the past, there was no doubt that Ataturk’s Turkey was destined to look toward the West. Now, there is talk about a whole new Turkey. Are the ones who warn of Turkey sliding away from the West creating a storm in a teacup? Or is there reason to wonder about Erdogan’s vision for the future of this first secular experience in a nation of Muslims? (more)
As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gets ready to vote on President Obama’s nuclear arms reductions treaty, several Republican senators are now hinting that they will support the agreement and are working toward bipartisan ratification. (more)
Sen. John Kerry, whose windsurfing came to symbolize what critics derided as his tendency to heed the politics of the moment, has trimmed his sails over the significance of the recent leak of some 92,000 U.S. military documents on the Afghan war. (more)
Republican lawmakers pressed President Obama’s nominee for ambassador to El Salvador Wednesday over her former relationship with a Cuban national who may have had ties to Cuban intelligence. (more)
Republicans are upping the pressure on Obama diplomatic nominee Mari Carmen Aponte, demanding to see details of her background investigation conducted by the Administration. (more)
