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A bill introduced June 12 by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), would establish a special envoy at the State Department to coordinate America’s “global response” on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues and allow LGBT individuals “who have a well-founded fear of persecution...to seek protection in the United States.” The International Human Rights Defense Act of 2014 would reinforce the Obama administration’s already established foreign policy position on LGBT rights, including the public funding of overseas LGBT groups. In addition, the bill would require annual congressional briefings on “the status of the human rights of LGBT people internationally” and institute...

US Ambassador Robert Ford resigned from his State Department post a month ago, after a long and difficult time as the envoy to Syria. Ford showed great personal courage in his service while Bashar al-Assad instigated attacks on Western embassies and eventually provoked a massive civil war which has turned into a regional threat, thanks to the collapse of his power in large regions of Syria. The collapse of American policy in Syria over the past year was presumed to have prompted Ford’s departure, which he confirms with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview today.This is interesting for more...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday named the five Democrats who will participate in the select committee established by House Speaker John Boehner to investigate the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya. Here they are: * Elijah Cummings, Ranking Member on the House Oversight Committee * Adam Smith, Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Committee * Adam Schiff, a member of the Appropriations Committee who vehemently opposed the creation of the panel * Linda Sanchez, a member of the Ways and Means Committee * Tammy Duckworth, a member of the Armed Services Committee A...

<p>The State Department has no idea what happened to $6 billion used to pay its contractors.</p>

US Embassy in Venezuela Halts New Visas US Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela Notification March 23, 2014 We regret that as a result of the expulsion of several consular officials and Venezuelan government delays in issuing visas for incoming officers, the U.S. Embassy in Caracas does not have sufficient consular staff at present to continue to schedule appointments for first-time tourist (B-1/B-2) visa applicants. Until further notice, we are able to offer such appointments only in emergency situations. If you already have an appointment, please appear at the appointed date and time, because it is unlikely under current staffing conditions that...

President Obama’s foreign policy is based on fantasy By Editorial Board, Published: March 2 FOR FIVE YEARS, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality. It was a world in which “the tide of war is receding” and the United States could, without much risk, radically reduce the size of its armed forces. Other leaders, in this vision, would behave rationally and in the interest of their people and the world. Invasions, brute force, great-power games and shifting alliances — these were things of the past. Secretary of...

‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ Was this Samantha Power baffling Daniel Pearl tweet evil or stupid? Samantha Power@AmbassadorPower Daniel Pearl's story is reminder that individual accountability & reconciliation are required to break cycles of violence. @DanielPearlFNDN

Secretary of State John Kerry demanded Monday that Uganda “repeal” its new anti-gay law and warned that the State Department has begun a “review” of U.S. assistance to the impoverished East African nation. “This is a tragic day for Uganda and for all who care about the cause of human rights,” Kerry said in a statement. “Ultimately, the only answer is repeal of this law.” President Yoweri Museveni signed into law on Monday legislation enacting tough prison sentences for homosexual acts, which were already illegal in Uganda. Kerry threatened to cut the more than $400 million the country receives in...

“That information turned out, in some respects, not to be 100 percent correct," Rice said. "But the notion that somehow I or anybody else in the administration misled the American people is patently false. And I think that that's been amply demonstrated." She was, at the time, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a top candidate to become secretary of state. However, Rice withdrew herself from consideration in the wake of the attacks on the U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya, after the firestorm of criticism she received for her response. Rice said Sunday she didn’t know whether her...

JAKE TAPPER, HOST: Thank you so much for agreeing to do this. JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Good to be with you. TAPPER: So you've been secretary of State for a year. What's been the most surprising thing about the job? KERRY: I - I think just the sheer intensity of the number of issues coming at us all at one time on a global basis. A lot of transformation, a lot of challenge in the world, a lot of upheaval. And all of it affects our interests, you know... ... TAPPER: There's a lot of talk about two of...

The State Department on Monday said it has no evidence that “core al Qaeda” was behind last year's terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. “We have no indications that core al Qaeda, which I think is what most people are referring to when they talk about quote ‘al Qaeda,’ directed or planned what happened in Benghazi,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said at a briefing. The statement appears to leave open the possibility that associates or followers of the terrorist network were involved in the assault. The comments come on the heels of a New York Times investigation published over the...

The wife of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi told Turkey’s Anatolia News Agency that “the departure of Hillary Clinton from the Obama Administration has been a major setback for the Muslim Brotherhood’s efforts to overthrow Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi.” “You would expect that a person appointed by President Obama would ensure a continuation of previous policies, but we have found this not to be the case,” Mrs Morsi complained. “Kerry ‘expresses his concern,’ but he doesn’t carry through like Mrs Clinton did. She and Ambassador Stevens were working to supply weapons for the Islamic cause. But now he is dead and...

Hillary Clinton can’t point to any actual diplomatic achievements during her time as Secretary of State. The one thing they bring up endlessly is how often she traveled and how many parties she attended. Take this New York Times profile… In contrast, even when members of Mrs. Clinton’s own party describe her achievements, they tend to point to a lot of miles traveled (956,733 to be exact).While at the State Department, Mrs. Clinton enjoyed generally positive media coverage and some of her highest approval ratings. She was often portrayed as a pantsuit-wearing globe-trotter, hitting the dance floor in Pretoria,...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - KerryÂ’s Peace Process ExplodingPosted By P. David Hornik On October 7, 2013 @ 12:31 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 11 Comments On Saturday night a Palestinian terrorist snuck into the Israeli community of Psagot, north of Jerusalem and near Ramallah, and either shot or stabbed a nine-year-old girl, Noam Glick. Noam was rushed to hospital in Jerusalem and, fortunately, is in stable condition.The terrorist, however, melted back into the Palestinian population and has not yet been apprehended, and the attack was part of a pattern.In the Jewish year that ended on the Rosh Hashanah...

Valerie Jarret is Obama’s top advisor and for the most part, that is all the majority of people know about her at all. Now we are going to show you what many have asked, and we will show you just who Valerie Jarrett really is, where she came from, what her alliances are, what her background is, what she thinks and most of all, what type of individual she really is. Once we lay out who she is, we must ask ourselves if Valerie Jarrett is the one that gave the ‘stand down’ order to those who were in Benghazi...

Scandal: The omnipresent power behind the throne some have called the president's Rasputin had the power to call off three strikes against Osama bin Laden. She may have used that power again the night four Americans died in Benghazi. The Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on our diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, came while America failed to mount a rescue mission despite sufficient time and assets. Included in that disaster were the unaccounted whereabouts of President Obama during eight critical hours, the lack of Situation Room photos, the failure by the president to follow up with subordinates before his trip...

The White House said top administration officials gathered late Saturday over a terror threat that provoked the State Department to close more than 20 diplomatic posts and issue a worldwide travel alert. National Security Adviser Susan Rice chaired a meeting with 12 administration officials including the secretaries of State, Defense and Homeland Security and the directors of the FBI, CIA and NSA

Recall reading about how Valerie Jarrett  cancelled the Bin Laden raid three times? I sure do... So NOW the story making circulation is that she was de facto Commander in Chief on the night of the Benghazi attack... and personally responsible for the bizarre lack of US response on that day: Chronology of the evening of 9/11/12:  Around 5 pm EST, secure-channel reports arrived in Washington saying that our Special Mission Benghazi consulate was under attack.  Secretary of Defense Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen Martin Dempsey summoned the President,and briefed him on the crisis, face to face. Subsequent...

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