Policy & Strategy

Afghanistan and Pakistan have formally agreed to terms on Taliban peace plan both governments expect to have in place by July, six months before the Obama administration's deadline to have all U.S. combat forces out of Afghanistan. 

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An aide to Cornyn last week said "all options are on the table" when asked if GOP senators would filibuster.

The Michigan Democrat has not publicly said whether or not he'll run for reelection.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) predicted Monday that former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) would struggle in his confirmation vote for his nomination as secretary of Defense, saying he couldn't "help but think there are a lot of people on the Democrat side having a hard time supporting Chuck Hagel."

"There are a lot of Democrats who have to be concerned," Inhofe told CNN's "Starting Point." "They have to be concerned with some of their Israeli friends, and the concern they have had consistently with Sen. Hagel in terms of things he has said."

Inhofe said that he believed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had badly bruised Hagel when, during the confirmation hearings, Cruz played clips of a Hagel appearance on an al Jazeera call-in program. Callers to the program suggested Israel had committed war crimes and that the United States was the "world's bully" — comments Hagel did not explicitly refute.

“Women as a practical matter are now in combat,” Obama said during a live interview Sunday.

“If sequester happens, it is going to badly damage the readiness of the United States of America,” warned Panetta.

The former White House press secretary also criticized GOP lawmakers he said asked "totally superfluous" questions.

The White House is weighing post-war troop levels after Afghans take over security operations.

Panetta said senators spent too much time questioning Hagel about past quotes instead of current issues.

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) reportedly announced Saturday that he will support former Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Neb.) nomination to become secretary of Defense.

The Lincoln Journal Star reported that Johanns would become the second Republican senator to publicly back Hagel's bid, following Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). Several Republican senators have indicated they will oppose Hagel's nomination on the Senate floor.

Hagel faced a bruising nomination hearing Thursday, when he found himself being grilled by some of his former Republican colleagues. The eight-hour hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee saw Hagel face withering questions from mostly Republican lawmakers, as Democrats on the panel largely supported President Obama's pick to lead the Pentagon after the outgoing Leon Panetta.