The State Department issued a tough and lengthy condemnation of Bahrain's crackdown on protesters Wednesday, saying the United States is “deeply concerned” by the U.S. ally's decision to outlaw public gatherings.

“Freedoms of assembly, association and expression are universal human rights,” department spokesman Mark Toner said. “We urge the government of Bahrain to uphold its international commitments and ensure that its citizens are able to assemble peacefully and to express their views without fear of arrest or detention.

“We urge the government of Bahrain to work with responsible protest leaders to find a way for peaceful and orderly demonstrations to take place. The decision to curb these rights is contrary to Bahrain's professed commitment to reform and will not help advance national reconciliation nor build trust among all parties. We also urge the opposition to refrain from provocations and violence; violence undermines efforts to reduce tensions, rebuild trust and pursue meaningful reconciliation in Bahrain.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is turning up the diplomatic heat on Tunisia over its refusal to allow U.S. officials access to terror suspect allegedly tied to the deadly Sept. 11 consulate attack in Libya. 

A department statement shows the Pentagon decreased spending on sensitive intelligence programs by $2.5 billion compared to fiscal 2011.

A National Security Council spokesman is denying claims made by former Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.

The Obama administration has failed to respond to GOP questions about Libya, a group of Republican senators said Wednesday. 

The Obama administration is preparing a statement addressing the ongoing crackdown against pro-democracy protests by U.S. ally Bahrain amid increasing international condemnation, a State Department official told The Hill on Wednesday.

The Persian Gulf kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, banned all public demonstrations on Tuesday. It also threatened legal action against protest supporters amid intensifying complaints of discrimination against the Sunni-ruled country's Shiite majority. Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdulla al-Khalifa justified the decision by accusing protesters of fomenting violence and disrupting the economy.

The State Department and the U.S. embassy in Manama have so far declined to comment. The department, by contrast, vocally condemned the death of a Bahraini policeman earlier this month when his patrol came under attack by rioters.

There will not be a delay in Afghanistan’s elections, the country’s independent election commission said Wednesday, announcing that the elections will be held as scheduled in April 2014.

Afghanistan will pick a new leader in 2014; the Afghan constitution does not allow President Hamid Karzai to run again. Opposition groups and independent observers have been concerned that Karzai would try to push back the date of the presidential election.

The elections are scheduled to occur in a crucial year for Afghanistan, when its forces are supposed to take control of security from NATO as most U.S. and international troops will depart.

Brig. Gen. Eric Wendt began his tenure as the new head of U.S. special forces in South Korea, officially taking the reins from outgoing commander Brig. Gen. Neil Tolley on Tuesday, according to recent reports. 

"Five minutes after [an attack], ... relief will spread across the region,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview.