Kerry Urges Broader Foreign Policy of ‘Strategic Impatience’
Secretary of State John Kerry, testifying as part of a budget hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Wednesday, spent much of his time fielding questions on the September attack in Benghazi that cost the lives of four Americans.
U.S. Congress Receives Proposed Export Reforms from State
Following through on a promise to reform the United States’ policies limiting the export of items related to the defense industry, the State Department sent a pair of changes to Congress last week. The agency told Congress that it would be redefining category 8 of the U.S. Munitions List (USML) and introducing a new category....
Clinton’s Shadow Looms Large as Kerry Arrives at State
Less than 72 hours after former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left the State Department’s C Street lobby to applause and cheers, her successor filled the same room and offered some humor in introductory remarks. Secretary of State John Kerry, sworn in at a private ceremony on Friday, began his first day at Foggy Bottom Feb....
The Syria Problem Evolves
After months of little movement in the ongoing conflict between Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad and opposition forces, we’re starting to see some shifting, partially triggered by military action from Israel. Last week news broke of an airstrike supposedly by the Israelis against what was initially reported to be a convoy headed for Lebanon. Israel remained mum on...
Clinton Departs State Dept., Kerry Sworn In
U.S. Senator John Kerry, D-Mass., can now add secretary of state to his resume, having been sworn in at 4 p.m. Friday in a private ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. The location of the ceremony was a secret closely guarded by the State Department, and reporters were not allowed to attend. Associate Justice of the...
Hagel Backs Returning Some Authorities to State
While much of today’s coverage of Senator Chuck Hagel’s confirmation hearing centered on several contentious exchanges with GOP senators, slipped in during the middle of the hearing was reference to an ongoing concern in the foreign policy community that DoD has claimed too many of the jobs that State once had. Hagel, in response to...
As Clinton Approaches Her Last Day, A Look at Her First
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to spend her last day at Foggy Bottom Friday, as her designated replacement Sen. John Kerry is due to be sworn in by Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan that afternoon. But before she departs, I wanted to take a look back at her first day, January 22, 2009...
Kerry (Unsurprisingly) Confirmed By Senate
By an ever-so-slim margin, Sen. John Kerry was confirmed as the next U.S. Secretary of State this evening with a vote of 94-3. The three standing in opposition are all from the GOP. That Kerry would be confirmed was a near inevitability when U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration in December....
60 Minutes Interview Shows Obama’s World View
In case you missed it, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat down with 60 minutes on Jan. 27, for a brief interview. Much of the conversation revolved around the perception that the two didn’t get along, and have subsequently grown quite fond of one another. Sources who have been in meetings...
Clinton To Testify on Benghazi Attack
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will head to Congress Jan. 23 to testify about the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens. After a series of delays in her appearance, which included a medical emergency when Clinton fell, hit her head and suffered...
The Sit Down: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Political and Military Affairs
Several years ago, the U.S. State Department had been relegated to afterthought status in national security planning, an agency whose budget was and is dwarfed by that of the Defense Department. The budget reality hasn’t changed, but the State Department’s influence has blossomed, with the agency playing a critical role in strategy and policy-making. Its...
Arms Sales and Benghazi: The Internal Debate About Libya
After Moammar Gadhafi lost his grip on the reins of Libya, and then lost his life, the new government inherited a military and police arsenal depleted by civil war and already antiquated. During years of isolation by the broader international community, Gadhafi had found few allies and even fewer arms trading partners, and surplus Russian...
