Tuesday's global agenda: Congress considers Congo

Your morning global affairs speed-read

Congress takes a rare look at one of the most brutal conflicts in the world today when the House Foreign Affairs panel on Africa holds a hearing Tuesday afternoon on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The hearing, titled “The Devastating Crisis in Eastern Congo,” is expected to generate sparks when the State Department's top Africa hand, Johnnie Carson, testifies alongside some of the sharpest critics of the administration's policy in the region.

Prior to the hearing, 15 human-rights groups sent President Obama a letter urging him to appoint a presidential envoy to the region and cut all military aid to U.S. ally Rwanda, which is accused of fueling an insurgency in its giant neighbor.

Clinton to skip Syria meeting: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won't participate in Wednesday's international conference on Syria because of a stomach virus, the State Department announced late Monday.

US in Iraq: Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Thomas Nides is in Baghdad today for meetings with U.S. and Iraqi officials on efforts to streamline the U.S. presence in Iraq.

In other news: 

President Obama's envoy to Sudan and South Sudan steps down. [Reuters]

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Monday said it has decoded all of the data from an advanced CIA spy drone captured last year. [The Associated Press]

The reluctance of authorities in Libya to move against Islamist extremists is hobbling the U.S. investigation into the Sept. 11 Benghazi attack, writes The New York Times.

The U.S. and other lenders are pushing ahead with billions of dollars in loans to Egypt and other troubled Middle East countries despite post-Arab Spring turmoil. [The Washington Post]

What you might have missed on Global Affairs:

US labels rebel group battling Assad in Syria a terrorist organization

Report: Susan Rice foe McCain to join Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Former CIA Director Goss says US support for rebels in Syria may be 'too little, too late'

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