Policy & Strategy

The attempt presents a challenge to President Obama by opening a new Republican line of attack in the presidential campaign.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will testify next week at the House Appropriations Committee on the security situation in Syria, just as Syria's government agreed to a cease-fire that was holding as of Friday.

Obama administration officials welcomed the cease-fire, but said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had yet to leave population centers in Syria. The administration has pushed for Assad's resignation in a bid to stop the government's violent actions against Syrian civilians who have protested against the president.

Romney said the launch of a long-range rocket by North Korea underscores the "incompetence" of the Obama administration.

The launch of the long-range rocket failed, separating to pieces after reportedly flying for just over a minute.

Afghan leaders pleaded on Thursday to not let political pressures surrounding the upcoming presidential campaign sway U.S. plans to transition out of Afghanistan. 

An overarching deal between the United States and Afghanistan over America's role in the country after 2014 could be completed before both countries meet at a high-level NATO summit in May. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Syria can’t “pick and choose” which parts of the peace agreement to accept.

Afghan officials told Panetta they would implement an enhanced vetting process to better identify rogue soldiers.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey are going to Capitol Hill on Monday to talk sexual assault with members of Congress, according to an invitation for the event.

The closed-door meeting with members at 5 p.m. Monday is being hosted by Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), who chairs the Caucus on Women and the Military, and Reps. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) and Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.), who co-chair the Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus.

A new poll found that a majority of Republicans for the first time say that the Afghanistan war has not been worth fighting.

The new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that only 30 percent of the public believes the Afghan war is was worth fighting, its lowest level of support since at least 2007.