Brown sent a letter Wednesday to Defense Secretary Panetta urging him to allow women to serve in front-line combat positions.

Protests over the burning of Qurans at a U.S. air base in Afghanistan have left seven dead, according to The Associated Press, as Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for calm Wednesday.

A NATO official confirmed the Afghan casualties at a Wednesday briefing and vowed a quick investigation to find out why the Qurans and other Islamic religious materials wound up in the burn pit at Bagram Air Base.

Foreign Minister Avigor Lieberman said it's not the business of the United States whether his country stages a military strike.

The failure to assess Iran’s nuclear activity is likely to further enflame tensions between Iran and the West.

The Justice Department dropped its case Tuesday against 22 defendants who were caught in a sting operation where FBI informants pretended to represent a defense minister from Gabon.

The Justice Department filed to dismiss the case in federal court on Tuesday, after the first two trials resulted in a hung jury for seven defendants and acquitted three.

Obama will also meet next month with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu amid growing tensions with Iran over its nuclear program.

An Iranian military commander said Tuesday that Iran would strike pre-emptively against perceived threats, as the country faces the prospect of attacks to stop its nuclear program.

Iran’s Gen. Mohammad Hejazi told the semi-official FARS News Agency that Iran would not wait “to see enemy action against us” before attacking.

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Gen. John Allen said the burning of the Qurans was unintentional and apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) argued Monday that Iran is "already supplying" military assistance to the Syrian regime, and said the U.S. must act quickly to aid opposition forces in the country. 

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