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  June 19, 2013, 6:02 pm

OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Obama calls for reducing nukes

By Carlo Muñoz and Jeremy Herb

The Topline: President Obama on Wednesday called for reducing the U.S. nuclear arsenal by as much as a third, a proposal that was not well received by Republicans and some Democrats.

In a speech at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate Wednesday, the president said that seeking "peace with justice means pursuing the security of a world without nuclear weapons."

“We may no longer live in fear of global annihilation, but so long as nuclear weapons exist, we are not truly safe,” Obama said.

He announced plans for a 2016 conference in the United States with the aim of better securing nuclear materials across the globe. He also called for a treaty to end the production of fissile material.

Obama’s comments were met with a flurry of statements from Republicans criticizing the proposal, and some Democrats also expressed their displeasure.

Republican lawmakers warned that Obama’s plans amounted to unilateral disarmament and would make it more difficult to negotiate with Russia.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) called the move “misguided and dangerous.”

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  June 19, 2013, 5:38 pm

Pentagon reaffirms need for nuclear 'triad'

By Carlo Muñoz

Top U.S. military planners on Wednesday reaffirmed the Pentagon's commitment to maintaining a viable nuclear arsenal to take out potential threats from land, at sea and in the air. 


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  June 19, 2013, 5:19 pm

Feinstein: Pentagon should stop force-feeding detainees

By Jeremy Herb

Democratic senator says the forced-feedings complicate "difficult situation" regarding indefinite detentions.

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  June 19, 2013, 3:23 pm

White House condemns attack on UN headquarters in Somalia

By Carlo Muñoz

The White House condemned Wednesday's brutal terrorist attack against the United Nations headquarters in West Africa, calling the unprovoked strike a "despicable" act. 

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms al-Shabab’s despicable attack on the United Nations in Somalia," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement. 

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  June 19, 2013, 2:28 pm

Sen. Durbin questions whether F-35 project has become 'too big to fail'

By Carlo Muñoz

The second-ranking Senate Democrat pressed military brass on the rising costs of the fighter jet.

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  June 19, 2013, 1:19 pm

Wesley Clark joins Blackstone as energy adviser

By Megan R. Wilson

Private-equity giant Blackstone nabbed retired Gen. Wesley Clark, the former NATO supreme allied commander in Europe, to head the board of directors for its new energy development firm.

Fisterra Energy launched in January, spearheaded by industry veteran Pedro Barriuso and fueled by investor funds that are managed by Blackstone.

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  June 19, 2013, 12:45 pm

GOP lawmaker asks GAO to review overclassification

By Jeremy Herb

A Republican lawmaker is asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a new study examining the government’s classification systems.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) requested the new GAO study after the recent leaks of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) phone and Internet surveillance programs by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor.

“With access to classified information contingent on the issuance of security clearances, overclassification stands to dangerously expand access to material that should ordinarily be limited,” Hunter wrote to the GAO.

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  June 19, 2013, 11:28 am

GOP slams Obama nuke announcement

By Jeremy Herb

Republicans were furious at President Obama’s announcement Wednesday that he will ask Congress to reduce the U.S. nuclear stockpile by a third.

GOP lawmakers slammed Obama’s comments in his speech at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, warning that the president’s proposal amounted to unilateral disarmament and would make it more difficult to negotiate with Russia.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) called the move “misguided and dangerous.”

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  June 19, 2013, 10:21 am

Obama downplays rift as Karzai pulls out of Taliban peace talks

By Justin Sink

Obama said despite "enormous mistrust," Karzai saw the need for "political reconciliation."

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  June 19, 2013, 7:20 am

Report: Karzai suspends security talks with US

By Meghashyam Mali

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday suspended negotiations on a long-term security deal with the United States to protest the Obama administration’s decision to launch peace talks with the Taliban.

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