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Syrian rebel leader: U.S. will act if conflict widens

May 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

50316f5c9c7bc2c78b8caf57d70ad61f Syrian rebel leader: U.S. will act if conflict widens

Story Highlights

Syrian say as many as 94,000 people have died in the two-year conflict
SNC plagued by , tepid international backing, the involvement of rebels in atrocities
Analyst: SNC leader just a for the true powers running the agenda

(PhatzNewsRoom / USA Today) — The leader of the Syrian opposition says the conflict engulfing the country will draw in neighboring states before international players such as the U.S. move in to help bring about its end.

In his first sit-down interview since being named interim president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SNC) last month, George said only when the wider region is pulled into the war will the U.S. government change its stance on arming rebels and establishing a “no fly” zone. And, he says, it’s looking increasingly likely that the conflict will widen.

“Now there is one country with 23 million people involved,” he said. “In time, if the situation continues, there will be five countries and 80 million people involved in this conflict. When this happens, and when Israel is involved, then America will act.”

Syrian activists say as many as 94,000 people have died in the two-year conflict, which has turned increasingly violent and sectarian in recent months.

Hilal Khashan, a professor of political studies at the American University of Beirut, blames the lack of a response from Western governments for allowing the conflict to deteriorate.

“It was the nonchalant approach of the West to the Syrian conflict that, among other factors, has contributed to the radicalization of the conflict and the spread of gruesome practices,” he said. “After all, the regime got away with its own .”

Despite attempts by figures in the CIA and State Department to get the U.S. more actively involved in supporting rebel groups, the White House remains wary of becoming embroiled in another .

The conflict has already destabilized fragile political activities in neighboring Lebanon, and last week 51 people were killed in two car bombs in Turkey that officials blamed on supporters of Syrian President .

Sunni-Shia divisions in the region have been exacerbated by the role played by the Shia-Lebanese group Hezbollah, which experts say is currently fighting on the side of the Syrian regime in the western part of the country.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two Sunni monarchies, have been instrumental in providing cash and weapons to the mostly Sunni rebel groups fighting the Syrian government. With Assad backed by Iran and Hezbollah, and rebels by Gulf states, Sabra says he believes a long, sectarian war involving all sides may be imminent.

The SNC itself has been plagued by resignations, tepid international backing and, recently, the involvement of rebels in atrocities against government soldiers.

This week, footage emerged of a rebel fighter in province cutting out and eating the body parts of a dead government soldier. In the audio accompanying the video clip and obtained by Time magazine, the rebel spoke with a vicious sectarian hatred directed at Assad and Syria’s Alawite community.

Sabra admitted he hadn’t seen the video but said the SNC has given direction to rebel groups to help combat extremist activities and will provide instruction to mid-level fighters on the laws of war.

Sabra was named interim chief of the SNC following the resignation of Sheikh Moaz al-Khateeb in March. Al-Khateeb cited outside forces seeking to control the activities of the opposition — a veiled reference to Saudi Arabia and Qatar — as a main reason for stepping down. Sabra said he doesn’t see al-Khateeb — a charismatic figure popular among many Syrians — returning to the SNC.

“Sheikh al-Khateeb didn’t come from politics — he thinks with his heart and has little time for politics.”

Sabra, who fled Syria in December 2011 after spending time in prison for his activities during the revolt, is skeptical of a peace initiative drawn up by and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this month.

Sabra said opposition figures won’t attend a U.N. meeting in Geneva in June, where the initiative is expected to be set in place, without first seeing an agenda and the names of those invited.

Damascus — also invited to send representatives even as a U.N. resolution passed Wednesday condemning its use of heavy weapons in the conflict — has similarly asked for more details about the conference before committing.

On Thursday, Syrian opposition leaders will gather in to elect a new president of the council, and Sabra is one of several front-runners.

David Butter, analyst and former fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said

“(Sabra’s) advantage internally for opposition figures is that he’s much more reliable — al-Khateeb went off message,” Butter said. “But whoever’s going to lead the opposition is always going to be just a frontman.”

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GOP lawmaker: Benghazi witnesses will contradict account

May 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

dbd45734aa73cbbaa309db7b6de4a517 GOP lawmaker: Benghazi witnesses will contradict account

Story Highlights

Rep. Jason Chaffetz says politics is to blame
Former official denies the charges
Four people died in the attack

(PhatzRadio / AP) — Testimony from three State Department “whistleblowers” scheduled to appear at a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday will show that politics played a role from the start in the government’s handling of the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. mission in , , a Republican lawmaker says.

The hearing will explore why the State Department never activated its Foreign Emergency Support Team, a unit made up of security and intelligence professionals who specialize in responding to crises, said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.

Chaffetz believes the reason is that activating the team, whose members have connections to the CIA and the military, would have labeled the attack “a terrorist activity,” which then-secretary of State ’s State Department did not want to do.

“They didn’t want the political label of a ,” said Chaffetz, who heads the national security subcommittee of the House and Government Reform Committee, which is holding Wednesday’s hearing.

“Early on in this fight these people made a critical bad decision in that they did not activate these people simply because they were afraid it would be labeled as terrorism. It was pure politics.”

Daniel Benjamin, who ran the State counterterrorism bureau that headed the Foreign Emergency Support Team at the time of the attack, denied on Monday that his bureau was cut out of decision-making on Benghazi.

“I can say now with certainty, as the former coordinator for counterterrorism, that this charge is simply untrue,” he said in a statement released by the State Department. “At no time did I feel that the bureau was in any way being left out of that it should have been part of.”

Whether to deploy the FEST team was the first issue his office considered, Benjamin said. The idea was rejected out of concern that it “might well have complicated the difficult situation of U.S. personnel on the ground in Libya,” and endanger more lives there and elsewhere around the world, he said.

But Rep. , R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said testimony Wednesday from the people he termed whistleblowers will contradict both the White House and the State Department’s official versions of what happened.

State Department and White House spokespeople initially blamed the attack, which occurred less than two months before presidential elections, on a mob that formed spontaneously in response to an anti-Muslim video that appeared on the Internet.

But several members of Congress say the initial assessment of the CIA that the attack was an operation by linked terrorists was edited out of talking points disseminated by the administration to the American public.

“It was scrubbed, it was totally inaccurate, there’s no excuse for that,” Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., told Fox News Sunday.

However, Lynch, a member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Republicans control the House and should have done a better job getting good information from administration officials in Benghazi.

Hearings Wednesday will include testimony from Mark Thompson, acting deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism, Gregory Hicks, former deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affairs in Libya, and Eric Nordstrom, the former regional security officer in Libya. All are current State Department employees.

U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens died in the attack along with State Department employee Sean Smith, and former Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods.

Issa said many witnesses fear to speak in public.

“Their principal reticence of appearing in public is their concern of retaliation at the hands of their respective employers,” Issa said.

An appointed by Clinton issued a report saying the attacks was the result of terrorism but that U.S. military assets were not available to respond in time to intervene and save the Americans. The State Department released a statement Monday by the board’s chairman, Ambassador Thomas Pickering, and and its vice-chariman, Adm. Mike Mullen, who said they had “unfettered access to everyone and everything including all the documentation we needed,” for their investigation.

“Our marching orders were to get to the bottom of what happened, and that’s what we did,” the statement said.

Chaffetz said the hearing will explore whether the military’s failure to intervene was a result of an order to stand down.

“Previously the administration had been adamant there were no resources or personnel available,” Chaffetz said. “On the contrary we will hear testimony that we had military personnel geared up and ready to go and they were told to stand down. Why is that?”

Former Defense secretary Leon Panetta had said previously that there were no U.S. military assets nearby that could have halted the attack, which lasted for several hours.

Maj. Robert Firman., a Pentagon spokesman, said Monday that the military’s account that was first issued weeks after the attack “hasn’t changed.”

“There was never any kind of stand down order to anybody,” Firman said.

Before the attack, U.S. personnel in Benghazi issued multiple requests for additional security that was denied by the State Department, requests that Clinton said she never saw.

Chaffetz says documents and testimony “so far disputes that contention.”

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Benghazi whistle-blower Hicks: Internal review ‘let people off the hook’

May 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

20c813d6d2c2ce93404cfa06429fa670 Benghazi whistle blower Hicks: Internal review let people off the hook

(PhatzNewsRoom / CNN Security) — Greg Hicks, former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, , told congressional investigators that the internal review of the catastrophe at the mission in Benghazi “let people off the hook,” CNN has learned.

The Accountability Review Board “report itself doesn’t really ascribe blame to any individual at all. The public report anyway,” Hicks told investigators, according to transcript excerpts obtained by CNN. “It does let people off the hook.”

The board’s report on the Benghazi attack, in which Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in September, is being reviewed by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General.

Rep. , the chairman of the House and Government Reform Committee, said Sunday on CBS that Hicks will testify Wednesday in a congressional hearing on the deadly attack in Benghazi.

“In our system, people who make decisions have been confirmed by the Senate to make decisions,” Hicks told investigators.”The three people in the State Department who are on administrative leave pending disciplinary action are below level. Now, the DS (Diplomatic Security) resigned, and he is at level. Yet the paper trail is pretty clear that decisions were being made above his level.

Whom might Hicks be referring to? He specifically mentions Under Secretary of State for Management .

“Certainly the fact that Under Secretary Kennedy required a daily report of the personnel in country and who personally approved every official American who went to Tripoli or Benghazi, either on assignment or TDY (temporary duty), would suggest some responsibility about security levels within the country lies on his desk,” Hicks said.

In the interview, conducted on April 11, Hicks also makes clear that he immediately believed the on the U.S. mission in Benghazi had been conducted by terrorists, though the White House and other officials in the Obama administration initially suggested that the attack was the result of an out-of-control demonstration against an anti-Muslim YouTube video.

“I thought it was a from the get?go,” said Hicks, who was in Tripoli during the attack. “I think everybody in the mission thought it was a from the beginning.”

Hicks said he never had any indication that there had been a popular protest outside the mission in Benghazi.

“I never reported a demonstration; I reported an attack on the consulate,” Hicks said. Stevens’ “last report, if you want to say his final report, is, ‘Greg, we are under attack.’”

You know, it’s jaw?dropping that ?? to me that ?? how that came to be,” Hicks recalled. “And, you know, I knew ?? I was personally known to one of (U.S.) Ambassador (to the United Nations Susan) Rice’s staff members. And, you know, we’re six hours ahead of Washington. Even on Sunday morning, I could have been called, and, you know, the phone call could have been, ‘hey, Greg, Ambassador Rice is going to say blah, blah, blah, blah,’ and I could have said, ‘no, that’s not the right thing.’ That phone call was never made.”

Hicks said that “for there to have been a demonstration on Chris Stevens’ front door and him not to have reported it is unbelievable. And secondly, if he had reported it, he would have been out the back door within minutes of any demonstration appearing anywhere near that facility. And there was a back gate to the facility, and, you know, it worked.”

Hicks said that despite being the senior in Libya after Stevens was killed, he wasn’t consulted at all before Rice went on Sunday talk shows to discuss the attacks.

Rice contradicted Libyan President Mohammed Magariaf, who said the same day that “this was an attack by Islamic extremists, possibly with terrorist links,” Hicks said. “He describes what happens. He tells the truth of what happened. And so, you know, Ambassador Rice says what she says, contradicting what the president of Libya says from Benghazi.”

This violated “a cardinal rule of diplomacy that we learn in our orientation class, and that rule is, never inadvertently insult your interlocutor. The net impact of what has transpired is, the spokesperson of the most powerful country in the world has basically said that the president of Libya is either a liar or doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The impact of that is immeasurable. Magariaf has just lost face in front of not only his own people but the world. And, you know, my jaw hit the floor as I watched this. I’ve never been ?? I have been a professional diplomat for 22 years. I have never been as embarrassed in my life, in my career, as on that day.”

That “affected cooperation with the Libyans,” Hicks said. “I firmly believe that the reason it took us so long to get the FBI to Benghazi is because of those Sunday talk shows.”

The day after Rice’s appearance on the Sunday shows, Hicks says, he asked Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Beth Jones, ” ‘Why did Ambassador Rice say that?’ And Beth Jones said, ‘I don’t know.’”

Hicks said he didn’t think Jones “welcomed the question at all. … Both the sharpness of the ‘I don’t know’ and the tone of voice … indicated to me that I had perhaps asked a question that I should not have asked.”

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State Dept. Kerry: Diplomacy equals jobs

February 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

t1largkerryfri State Dept. Kerry: Diplomacy equals jobs

, the new secretary of state, jokingly calls himself a “recovering .”

After in the Senate, he now finds himself “sort of walking a new line,” as he says, not allowed to mix politics with international policy.

But Kerry does see a direct connection between what the does abroad and its impact at home.

“This is not just about over there; this is about here,” he told staff of the U.S. Agency for International Development on Friday.

“This is about how you build the societies that offer us the market opportunities so that we can have the trade and investment and the options of creating the jobs here at home and the goods that Americans can buy,” he said.

Following a meeting with European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton on Thursday, he touted the benefits of cooperation between the United States and Europe.

“We can create jobs. We will have greater market clout as a consequence of that,” Kerry said.

At times, Kerry sounds more like a chief executive than a :

“What I want to do is work with you in the smartest way we can together to get the best return on this investment for the American taxpayer that we can get, the most accountable, the most transparent, the most efficient. ”

Kerry aides tell to look for a heavy focus on economic diplomacy, saying he looks to connect diplomacy with daily life and the American economy.

Aides say he “wants to talk to” people at home about their connection to his work.

This may come through, for instance, in a speech before he heads out on a foreign trip.

Kerry already is planning to deliver his first major speech on February 20 at the University of Virginia.

State says it’s the first in a series of domestic addresses in which he plans to discuss “how a relatively small investment in our foreign policy and results in a big return for America’s economy and security.”

The theme also aims to show how “American businesses and citizens have a stake in the ongoing debate about our nation’s budget priorities,” Nuland said.

Kerry’s predecessor, , also made that link between America’s diplomatic actions abroad and their effect on jobs at home.

But several studies have shown that many Americans feel the United States spends too much on foreign aid. Although it totals less than 1% of the federal budget, many think it’s more like 25%.

This week Kerry said he used to joke that “a senator who stands up in today’s world and tries to make the argument for foreign aid probably ought to have a mental evaluation.”

“It’s tough,” he admits. “But I’ve got news for you: We’re going to do it. We’re going to continue to fight for this connection because it is such a paltry, tiny component of what we do overall, compared to the military budget, compared to all of our budget.”

Kerry wants Americans to “connect the dots” between America’s security and the State Department’s efforts abroad and he points to Egypt and other countries in the Middle East, with huge numbers of young people and fragile economies.

“If we don’t build health capacity or education capacity or governance capacity with those folks,” he says, “then everybody here knows how ripe those people will be for someone to walk in with a religious extremist point of view and strap a suicide vest on them and send them out to do harm because they don’t have anything better to offer to the world.”

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U.S.: Syria didn’t use chemical weapons in Homs incident

January 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

121006103021 02 syria 1006 horizontal gallery U.S.: Syria didnt use chemical weapons in Homs incident

(PhatzNewsRoom / CNN Security) — The did not use chemical weapons against residents of in a December attack, a U.S. investigation shows, but did apparently misuse a riot-control gas in the incident, according to senior U.S. officials.

The investigation stemmed from inside Syria about the use of chemical weapons during an attack on the city of Homs on December 23. The officials said the State Department launched a probe from its consulate in after doctors and reported dozens of victims suffering from nervous system, respiratory and gastrointestinal ailments after inhaling the gas.

’s “The Cable” blog reported Tuesday that a secret diplomatic cable provided a “compelling case” that al-Assad’s military used chemical weapons in the attack.

The United States was informed of the incident by representatives of a non-governmental organization working in Syria, who told the U.S. consulate in Turkey that they believed a chemical attack took place in Homs, according to a U.S. official. The NGO set up some interviews for the consulate, which then wrote a cable discussing the concerns. The U.S. official said the cable noted that the evidence was inconclusive that there was a chemical attack.

However, the concern triggered a more extensive investigation by the State Department, with intelligence personnel assessing online videos of the attack and pictures of the victims. Chemical weapons experts and doctors experienced in treating patients exposed to chemical weapons were also consulted, according to U.S. officials. And interviews were conducted with Syrian doctors and activists inside the country by a U.S. partner there.

The gas was determined to be a “riot control agent” that was not designed to produce lasting effects, but became more dangerous when it was released in dense areas and was not dispersed in the air quickly, the officials said.

“It is meant to be short term,” one of the officials said. “But just like with tear gas, if you breathe in an entire canister, that can have a severe effect on your lungs and other organs.”

“That doesn’t make it a chemical weapon, however,” the official said.

Dr. Abu al Fida, who treated about 30 of the approximately 100 people who were affected by the mysterious gas, told CNN the victims’ symptoms depended on their proximity to the substance.

People who were further away from the source suffered labored breathing, disorientation, hallucination, nervousness and lack of limb control, al Fida said.

But those closer to the source of the gas had much more severe symptoms, including paralyses, seizures, muscle spasms and in some cases blindness, he said. Six people were killed by the gas, the doctor said.

Those affected responded well to atropine, a medication used to treat people exposed to the nerve gas sarin, al Fida said.

The senior U.S. officials said the symptoms in those who inhaled the gas were similar to those in people exposed to Agent 15, an incapacitating gas controlled by the Chemical Weapons Convention, although it was later determined not to be Agent 15.

The officials also said that while some Syrian doctors on the ground were convinced the gas was a chemical weapon, others were not.

A senior Turkish told CNN that Turkey also conducted its own investigation into the chemical weapons allegations, but found the claims to be unsubstantiated.

President Barack has said the use of chemical weapons by al-Assad’s government would cross a “red line” which would trigger a robust U.S. and international response.

“We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized,” Obama first said in August. “That would change my calculus.”

National Spokesman Tommy Vietor said that reports about the use of chemical weapons by the regime have “not been consistent with what we believe to be true about the Syrian chemical weapons program.”

“The president was very clear when he said that if the Assad regime makes the tragic mistake of using chemical weapons, or fails to meet its obligation to secure them, the regime will be held accountable,” Vietor told CNN.

Officials tell CNN there are no plans for more robust specific action in light of the investigation. A Deputies Committee meeting of top administration officials is scheduled for Thursday, but officials say they do not expect any policy shifts.

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Official: Four arrested in connection with attack on US consulate in Libya

September 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

77602af03a0fa5edbaefa2580bc45d08 Official: Four arrested in connection with attack on US consulate in Libya
(U.S. President makes a statement about the death of Stevens with Secretary of State in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday in Washington. /AP)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: An aide says those arrested are not directly tied to the attacks
Four people have been arrested in connection with the attack in Benghazi, an aide says
Authorities have not released the identities of the four in custody

Benghazi, (CNN) — Four people have been arrested in connection with the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left U.S. Ambassador to J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead, the president of the parliament’s top aide said Friday.

Those arrested were not directly tied to the attacks that resulted in the deaths, Monem Elyasser, the chief aide to Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagur, told CNN by telephone.

The announcement came as the United States is struggling to determine whether a militant group planned the attack that killed the four Americans.

Elyasser did not release the identities of the suspects nor did he detail the allegations against the four people in custody.

During an interview on CNNI’s “Amanpour,” Abushagur said Thursday that there had been one arrest early Thursday in Benghazi and three or four others who were being pursed.

“The evidence itself is based on mostly pictures that were taken around the compound at that time, and also through some witnesses,” he said.

Conflicting theories flew in the hours after Stevens, another and two State Department were killed late Tuesday in the eastern city of Benghazi.

They died amid a protest outside the U.S. consulate over a film that ridiculed Muslims and depicted the as a child molester, womanizer and ruthless killer.

“I think the degree to which we’re able to update this information or deepen it, it’s going to be in the context of beginning to interview our employees who are coming out and beginning to participate in the investigation that the Libyans are doing,” U.S. State Victoria Nuland told reporters Thursday.

The demonstration was one of several protests across the region that day.

Protest as diversion

U.S. officials believe the attackers used the protest as a diversion.

Given what officials know about al Qaeda in Libya, intelligence officials believe it is very unlikely that core al Qaeda was behind the attack, a U.S. intelligence official told CNN on condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to release the information.

State Department Under Secretary Patrick Kennedy has said that the attack appeared to be planned because it was so extensive and because of the “proliferation” of small and medium weapons at the scene. He was briefing congressional staffers when he offered that theory.

But on Thursday, three U.S. officials told CNN that they have seen no evidence the attack was premeditated.

Meanwhile, Shawn Turner, director of communications for U.S. National Intelligence, denied news reports that American officials had been warned of a possible attack.

“This is absolutely wrong,” he said. “We are not aware of any actionable intelligence indicating that an attack on the U.S. post in Benghazi was planned or imminent.”

The United States is deploying warships and surveillance drones in its hunt for the killers of the diplomatic staffers, and a contingent of 50 Marines has arrived to boost the security of Americans in the country.

The United States and Libya have embarked on a new relationship since toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi last year.

U.S. and NATO warplanes helped the Benghazi-based rebellion against Gadhafi, who was wanted by the International Criminal Court for charges of crimes against humanity before the ruler was killed in October.

The jihadists suspected in Tuesday night’s attack “are a very small minority” who are taking advantage of a fledgling democracy, said Ali Suleiman Aujali, the Libyan ambassador to the United States.

Sources tracking militant Islamist groups in eastern Libya say a pro-al Qaeda group responsible for a previous armed assault on the Benghazi consulate is the chief suspect. A senior defense official told CNN the drones would be part of “a stepped-up, more focused search” for a particular insurgent cell that may have been behind the killings.

Questions swirl around the attack

There are numerous questions about what happened at the consulate where had gathered to demonstrate against the film “Innocence of Muslims,” which reportedly was made in California by a filmmaker whose identity is unclear.

Chief among the questions is what happened to Stevens, who went missing during the attack.

What is known is that during the attack, a rocket-propelled grenade set the consulate on fire, and American and Libyan security personnel tried to fight the attackers and the fire.

As the fire spread, three people — Stevens, Foreign Service information management officer Sean Smith, and a U.S. regional security officer — were inside a safe room, senior State Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as a matter of practice during a briefing with reporters.

Smith was later found dead, apparently of smoke inhalation, officials said.

The State Department has not released details about how Stevens died, though numerous media reports have said the ambassador was taken from the consulate to the Benghazi Medical Center by locals.

He arrived at the hospital, according to the reports, unresponsive and covered in soot from the fire.

A doctor was unable to revive him and declared him dead, the reports said.

Stevens body was turned over to consulate personnel as they were evacuated from Benghazi.

Also killed in the attack on the consulate were security personnel Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, both former Navy SEALs, the Staet Department said.

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U.S., Europe cautious on Iran offer for nuke talks

February 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

U.S., Europe cautious on Iran offer for nuke talks

WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States and on Friday expressed cautious optimism that Iran is serious about returning to talks with world powers over its .

Hillary Rodham Clinton and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said they were continuing to study Iran’s response to a proposal to restart the stalled . However, they said they welcomed Iran’s professed willingness to hold talks as soon as possible without .

Speaking to reporters after meeting with Ashton at the State Department, Clinton said the Iranian reply was “one we have been waiting for.” But, she stressed that “if we do proceed it will have to be a sustained effort that will produce results.”

“We must be assured that if we make a decision to go forward, we see a sustained effort by Iran to come to the table to work until we have reached an outcome that has Iran coming back into compliance with their ,” Clinton said. “We’re evaluating all of these factors. But I think it’s fair to say … that we think this is an important step and we welcome the letter.”

Ashton said she was “cautious” but “optimistic” that talks could resume.

“I think it is good to see that the letter has arrived and there is a potential possibility that Iran may be willing to resume talks,” she said.

Clinton and Ashton were referring to a letter from chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed , which was sent to Ashton on Tuesday, in which he proposed new discussions. Ashton is the point of contact for the five permanent members of the U.N. and Germany, who are demanding that Iran freeze all uranium enrichment.

“We voice our readiness for dialogue on a spectrum of various issues which can provide ground for constructive and forward looking cooperation,” Jalili wrote in the letter.

Ashton had written Jalili in October, offering Iran a new round of talks toward an agreement that “restores in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.” The West fears Iran seeks nuclear weapons, and speculation is rife that Israel may launch a pre-emptive strike to set back the program.

Jalili welcomed Ashton’s statement of respect for Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy use and said that “by committing to this approach, our talks for cooperation based on step-by-step principles and reciprocity on Iran’s nuclear issue could be commenced,” according to a translated copy of the letter.

Also Friday, the White House announced that national security advisor Tom Donilon will travel to Israel this weekend for discussions on Iran, Syria and other security issues. The United States and Europe have been arguing to Israel that the costs of a hit on Iranian nuclear sites outweigh the benefits.

President has said he does not think Israel has made a final decision to strike. Israeli officials have said the window for an effective strike is closing this spring.

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Biden marks new relationship with Iraq

November 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

0fdccbdd6f7497f79aa5ea487c650700 Biden marks new relationship with Iraq

(PhatzRadio / ) — With a month to go before the U.S. officially ends the war in Iraq, Vice President Biden sat down with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in on Wednesday and declared that the two countries are setting off on a “new path.”

“This is marking a new beginning of a relationship that will not only benefit the United States and Iraq, I believe will benefit the region and, in turn, the world,” Biden said.

The U.S. military has about 13,000 troops left in the country that are set to depart before Dec. 31. The administration had been pushing to allow thousands of trainers to remain beyond the end of this year, but abandoned that plan after it became clear that Iraq’s parliament would not approve from Iraqi law for those forces.

Biden noted during Wednesday’s joint news conference that President Obama was keeping his promise, as set by a 2008 with Iraq to withdraw all U.S. troops by the end of 2011. The U.S., however, will maintain the largest embassy in the world in Baghdad — with 16,000 personnel.

Still, Biden subtly suggested that the United States influence in Iraq may be waning. Already, the Obama administration and Iraqi government are at odds about Syria. The White House has condemned the against protesters in Syria by Bashar al-Assad’s regime and declared that he’s lost to lead. Al-Maliki’s government has refused to back the Syrian leader’s .

“We realize we are one relationship you will have,” Biden said. “We feel a particular to you because our people – our military in particular — has made .”

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$10 million bounty on al Qaeda in Iraq leader

October 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

1c36c95a9cd4061b424f3e9e80a1670d $10 million bounty on al Qaeda in Iraq leader

Ibrahim “Awwad Ibrahim” Ali al-Badri, also known by “Abu Du’a,” is the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. State Deparment says.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

“Abu Du’a” was put on a global terrorist list earlier this week
He is known as the senior leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, says
Abu Du’a has threatened “violent retaliation” for the death of , U.S. says

Washington (CNN) — As thousands of prepare to depart Iraq as part of an agreement to leave by the end of this year, the U.S. State Department has issued a $ bounty for a man there it recently designated an international .

Ibrahim “Awwad Ibrahim” Ali al-Badri, also known by the alias “Abu Du’a,” was put on the agency’s global terrorist list earlier this week and is the senior leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, the State Department said.

According to a State Department bulletin, Abu Du’a is in charge of overseeing all AQI operations, such as the August attack on ’s Umm al-Qura , and is based in Iraq.

He has also threatened “violent retaliation” for the death of Osama bin Laden, who was killed in May after a decade-long ended with a U.S. raid on the former al Qaeda leader’s compound in Pakistan.

Three days after bin Laden’s death, Abu Du’a claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 24 and wounded 72 others, according to the bulletin.

His group has also claimed responsibility for series of August attacks that began in the northern Iraqi city of and left more than 70 people dead.

The terrorist designation is part of a U.S. effort to restrict resources available to Abu Du’a, while also freezing his assets in the United States, the State Department said.

The United States designated al Qaeda in Iraq as a in 2004.

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