Policy & Strategy

Iran has installed 20 new centrifuges into its underground nuclear plant near Tehran days before key negotiations over the country's nuclear program are slated to begin this month.  

The House passed a bill Tuesday evening that would grandfather in 49,000 National Guard members to receive more paid leave benefits after the Pentagon changed them last year.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), passed on a voice vote. The bill would undo a Defense Department policy that reduced the amount of paid leave received by National Guard members who had deployed before the policy went into effect last October.

French President Francois Hollande is already having to back off his campaign pledge to withdraw all French forces from Afghanistan this year, The Washington Post reports.

Hollande's desire to withdraw France's 3,400 military personnel — the fifth largest contingent in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force — two years ahead of schedule has created friction with the United States and NATO. Hollande is expected to broach the issue with President Obama in a visit to the White House ahead of the G-8 summit Friday.

Hollande has since clarified that he would only withdraw “combatant” troops, leaving behind hundreds of military trainers. Removing all military personnel on such a short timetable would require France to leave behind much of its equipment, the Post reported, including top-of-the-line armored personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of DEFCON Hill's Overnight — an evening update of all the day's defense news.

A dozen anti-war House members are holding a press conference Wednesday morning to call for expedited withdrawal from Afghanistan, pushing back against President Obama’s speech earlier this month where he said the war was nearing its end.

The group of 11 Democrats and one Republican are planning to send a letter to Obama urging a more rapid withdrawal to coincide with the press conference.

The lawmakers are pushing back on Obama’s left in Afghanistan, where he’s tried to thread the needle on bringing an end to the war while rebutting criticisms from the right that he’s drawing down too quickly.

House and Senate Democrats are clashing over whether to bar the military from detaining terrorism suspects on U.S. soil. 

Armed Services Chairman McKeon released a letter from former attorneys general and security officials opposing an amendment striking indefinite-detention laws.

Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Monday introduced legislation that would require the executive branch to secure congressional approval before committing troops overseas for humanitarian missions, and clarify when the president has the authority to act without approval from Congress.

Webb said his Military Humanitarian Operations Act is a response to military missions, such as the one President Obama committed to in Libya. Webb and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) introduced a resolution last year asking the administration to justify its actions in Libya, and Webb said he is also worried that the administration might commit forces in Syria.

The United States must team up with Israel to draft a new set of "red lines" on Iran's growing nuclear program as a way to pressure Tehran into opening up those efforts  to the international community. 

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McCain said the White House's decision to increase its Pacific presence will be a much-needed check on China.

"We really have got to make sure it never does happen again," Lieberman said of the scandal.