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  July 10, 2012, 2:12 pm

Graham: Romney should talk more about Syria, Arab Spring

By Jeremy Herb

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) lamented the lack of foreign policy debate in the presidential election on Tuesday and said he’d like to see his party’s presumptive nominee, Mitt Romney, talk more about Syria and the Arab Spring.

“It’s an economic-driven election; I can understand his policy team saying stay on the economy,” Graham told reporters.

“I do wish Romney would speak more about how Syria and Iran, Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, how all of this comes together to go one way or the other. There’s a lot going on in the Arab world right now, and I would like to hear Romney articulate his vision about how to handle the Arab Spring,” he said.

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  July 10, 2012, 1:02 pm

Lawmakers say their patience with F-22 issues is 'wearing thin'

By Carlo Munoz

They are growing frustrated with the Air Force's inability to pinpoint why pilots suffer from oxygen deprivation in the aircraft.

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  July 10, 2012, 11:42 am

Obama administration: UN arms trade treaty shouldn't regulate ammunition

By Julian Pecquet

The State Department says covering ammunition in the treaty would have "significant administrative and financial costs."

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  July 10, 2012, 11:29 am

Massachusetts man pleads guilty to Capitol, Pentagon bombing plot

By Debbie Siegelbaum

The man allegedly wanted to use a remote controlled aircraft outfitted with C-4 plastic explosives to attack Capitol, Pentagon.

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  July 10, 2012, 10:56 am

Army drops 10-year NASCAR sponsorship

By Jeremy Herb

The Army made the move amid attempts in Congress to kill all military sponsorships of sporting events.

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  July 9, 2012, 6:08 pm

OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Annan hopes to salvage Syrian peace plan

By Jeremy Herb and Carlo Munoz

The Topline: United Nations-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan is hoping to resurrect his Syrian peace plan — which most people had declared dead already — with trips to both Syria and Iran on Monday.

Annan spoke with Syrian President Bashar Assad, declaring that the two had agreed upon a new “approach” to bring about peace in Syria. Annan then traveled to Iran, Syria’s biggest ally on the region.

Annan acknowledged in an interview with the French paper Le Monde over the weekend that his first six-point peace plan had failed, but now it appears he’s trying for a triumphant second act.

Many questions remain unanswered, however, including the details of the new approach. And the White House remains “highly skeptical” that Assad will honor any of the promises he makes. White House press secretary Jay Carney said at Monday’s press briefing that “it is not one person alone who will bring about that transition in Syria, certainly not Kofi Annan.”

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  July 9, 2012, 3:28 pm

OMB director will testify at congressional hearing on effect of sequestration cuts

By Jeremy Herb

Armed Services Chairman McKeon and other Republicans have hammered the administration for not providing more information on impending defense cuts.

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  July 9, 2012, 2:20 pm

New meeting scheduled for Iran nuclear talks

By Jeremy Herb

A new meeting between senior European Union and Iranian officials has been scheduled later this month as the two sides struggle to find common ground in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

The deputies of the two chief negotiators, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iran’s nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, will meet in Istanbul on July 24, Ashton’s spokesman said Monday.

The deputies, EU’s Helga Schmid and Iran’s Ali Bagheri, are holding the second meeting this month to discuss more technical negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program.

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  July 9, 2012, 2:12 pm

Clinton: 'Pivot to Asia' about promoting democracy, not countering China

By Julian Pecquet

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on a whirlwind tour of Asia this week, hoping to convince allies that the administration's much-touted “pivot to Asia” is about promoting human rights and democracy, rather than curtailing China's rise.

Clinton acknowledged that U.S. military outreach to regional partners worried about Chinese ambitions has dominated the headlines since the administration announced the new strategy last fall.

The realignment, however, has three main dimensions — security, economic and “common values” — she said in a speech Monday, the last of which is at the “heart” of U.S. policy vis-a-vis Asia.

“I have to say that in many ways, the heart of our strategy, the piece that binds all the rest of it together, is our support for democracy and human rights,” Clinton said during a visit to Mongolia. “Those are not only my nation’s most cherished values; they are the birthright of every person born in the world.”

Clinton's visit to the continent — she attended an Afghan donors' conference in Japan over the weekend and next travels to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum – follows Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's own highly scrutinized Asia trip last month. 

Panetta met with other Asian defense chiefs in Singapore to discuss tensions in the South China Sea and other hotspots where China is asserting its power, following earlier announcements that the United States is boosting its military presence in Australia, the Philippines and other areas.

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  July 9, 2012, 12:35 pm

Pakistani officials suspect attack on army camps retaliation for supply-line deal

By Carlo Munoz

Pakistani officials suspect a brazen attack against one of the country's military bases on Monday may have been the work of Islamic militants angered over the recent deal to reopen supply routes to U.S. and coalition forces. 

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