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Last week, TheBlaze reported that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan invited the father of one of the radical Islamist activists killed on the 2010 Gaza flotilla to join the official entourage on his visit to the U.S. last week. And while sources familiar with lat weekÂ’s visit told TheBlaze that the father did not enter the White House or meet President Obama to deliver a personal letter about his son, according to the Turkish foreign ministerÂ’s Twitter account Secretary of State John Kerry did meet with the father and even posed for a photo with him. The Turkish news...

Haaretz's Barak Ravid reports that US Secretary of State John FN Kerry has given Israeli and 'Palestinian' negotiators something upon which they can agree. About one thing, thereÂ’s no disagreement between Jerusalem and Ramallah: Kerry has a lot of good intentions and a real sense of mission; he truly wants to make peace in the Middle East. But despite his good intentions, Kerry so far looks like a naive and ham-handed diplomat who has been acting like a bull in the china shop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Or as former Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan once put it, heÂ’s a good...

The Venezuelan government has seized a U.S. flagged ship and detained its captain for more than a week. The ship Ocean Atlas has been at port in Maracaibo, Venezuela since August 29. After four hours in port, the ship was boarded by armed security personel, and the captain was detained on suspicion of trafficking in arms or drugs. The rest of the crew of 16 Americans has remained on board under guard. According to a well-placed source arrest warrants have been issued for all of the crewmembers, who are to be taken off the ship for questioning. Incredibly, my Forbes...

Shortly after Russian state security arrested an American diplomat named Ryan C. Fogle, alleging that he was actually a CIA spy who’d sought to pay a Russian official for information, the Moscow-financed media outlet RT published a surprisingly detailed series of photos and videos showing Fogle’s arrest. Within moments of the story breaking, RT had shown the world what it said were Fogle’s fake wigs, his bundles of cash, even a letter explaining his plans. As is often the case with moments of U.S.-Russia tension, Fogle’s arrest has spurred skepticism and suspicion in both countries. But there are a number...

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, several days after the alleged Israeli air raids on Syrian targets and as Washington steps up its Middle East peace efforts, AFP reported. The White House said in a short statement that Obama and Netanyahu, who is visiting China, spoke by telephone, and discussed "regional security issues and Middle East peace." U.S. officials have declined to comment in detail on air strikes allegedly carried out by Israel on targets near Damascus on Friday and Sunday, which reportedly destroyed Iranian missiles apparently destined for the Hizbullah terror group. But...

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama will meet British Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House on Monday to discuss Syria and the G8 summit next month in Northern Ireland, officials said. "The prime minister's visit underscores the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom that has been crucial in advancing our shared security and prosperity," a White House statement said. The statement said that in addition to Syria and the G8, the talks would include discussion on trade and economic cooperation and counterterrorism measures. The Cameron visit will take place as Washington seeks to build momentum...

MOSCOW – The U.S. Secretary of State’s motorcade often halts traffic when he travels abroad, but today it proved no match for columns of Russian tanks, ICBMs and armored personnel carriers. Secretary John Kerry arrived in Moscow for meetings with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, but he had to cool his heels at the airport for about 30 minutes because a rehearsal for an upcoming military parade was blocking his route downtown. Every May 9, Russians celebrate Victory Day, marking their triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II. Moscow hosts an annual parade in Red Square...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The U.S. secretary of state sought Russian help in ending Syria's civil war on Tuesday, telling President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that common interest in a stable Middle East could bridge divisions among the big powers. Putin, however, kept John Kerry waiting three hours before their meeting at the Kremlin, fiddled with a pen while his guest spoke and made no mention in his own public remarks of the conflict in Syria, which has generated some of the frostiest exchanges between Washington and Moscow since the Cold War.

PUTIN KEEPS KERRY WAITING HOURS

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on May 7 at the start of Kerry's two-day trip to Moscow. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov announced the meeting as Kerry departed for his first trip to Russia since assuming the top U.S. diplomatic post in January. The visit comes with the United States and Russia divided over issues including Syria's civil war, foreign adoption, and Washington’s so-called Magnitsky sanctions targeting Russian officials accused of rights abuses. Kerry is expected to press Moscow to drop its support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad amid mounting concerns about...

Israel needs to reach peace with the Palestinians to avoid becoming a binational state, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday. He stressed, however, that the core of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians was not territory, but rather a Palestinian unwillingness to recognize Israel’s legitimacy within any boundaries. Netanyahu’s comments at a meeting with top Foreign Ministry officials came amid signs of revived motion on the Palestinian track. He made similar comments during a meeting later in the day with five US congressmen, giving the impression that he was staking out a pre-negotiation position. “We’re engaged right now in an...

Polls show Gomez closing on Markey days after Massachusetts Senate primary Two new polls have Gabriel Gomez, the Republican candidate for a Senate seat out of Massachusetts, within single-digits of the front-running Democratic candidate -- just days after the Tuesday primaries.

There are many things that American voters and the public can stand, but the Obama administration’s refusal to acknowledge a different timeline of events is not one of them.

Even though White House Press Secretary Jay Carney thinks “Benghazi happened a long time ago,” the four people killed in the attacks are just now being officially honored.

Two years ago today, SEAL Team Six sent Osama bin Laden on his way to Davy Jones’ Locker — but his Islamist terror machine is anything but sinking to the depths. It remains a vicious, global threat. Since Osama’s demise, the terror group’s strength has ebbed in some areas, but flowed strongly in others. Indeed, one current estimate concludes that al Qaeda affiliates and associates (i.e., groups, cells or operatives) are active in more than 30 countries (of some 190) on four continents. Including our continent. While we don’t yet know the whole story behind the Boston bombing, just last...

Nearly eight months after terrorists killed J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three others at the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Vice President Biden on Friday will officially recognize them and four other diplomats killed in the line of duty. Biden will be joined by Secretary of State John Kerry and other top administration officials to unveil the addition of the eight names on the Memorial Plaque in the lobby of the State Department. "Last year was a horror," said Thomas W. Switzer, spokesman for the American Foreign Service Association. "Sadly, this will be the biggest

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: So Benghazi, that's "a long time ago." "Benghazi happened a long time ago." I mean, why is everybody bringing that up now? Yet everything remains the fault of George W. Bush. From the Weekly Standard: "White House spokesman Jay Carney said in response to a question about the September 11, 2012 Benghazi terror attack that it 'happened a long time ago.' 'Let's be clear,' said Carney. "'Benghazi happened a long time ago. We are unaware of any agency blocking an employee who would like to appear before Congress to provide information related to Benghazi.'" Really? See, this...

Massachusetts Rep. Edward J. Markey won the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State John Kerry’s old Senate seat Tuesday, advancing to summer special election campaign against Republican Gabriel Gomez which the Democrat will be heavily favored to win. With 60 percent of precincts reporting, the Associated Press called the race for Markey, who led Rep. Stephen F. Lynch 57 percent to 43 percent. Three years after Massachusetts Democrats nominated Attorney General Martha Coakley, a flawed candidate who was upset by Republican Scott Brown in the race for late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s seat, Democratic leaders sought to clear the field early...

MECHELEN, Belgium (AP) — From his city hall under Belgium's most imposing cathedral, Mayor Bart Somers is wracking his brains trying to figure out how to keep young Muslims from going to fight "holy war" in Syria against the Assad regime. Through much of western Europe, scores of Islamic youths have heeded the call to take up arms for a cause that is only a few hours away by plane. The phenomenon has alarmed authorities amid signs that the insurgency is becoming increasingly radicalized, with strong infiltration by al-Qaida. European authorities see a double danger, one that's summed up by...

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey said on Friday any use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would "take the crisis to another level", but remained cautious about any foreign military intervention in the conflict on its border. The White House said on Thursday Assad's government had probably used chemical arms on a small scale, but that President Barack Obama needed proof before he would act. "We have been hearing allegations of the use of chemical weapons for quite some time now and these new findings take things to another level. They are very alarming," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Levent...

A senior House Republican this week called on Secretary of State John Kerry to make public a U.S. offer of cooperation with Russia on missile defenses made recently in Moscow. Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, stated in a letter sent Tuesday to Kerry that he is concerned about the offer disclosed in statements this week by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “Unfortunately, for the second time in as many weeks, Secretary Kerry has alluded to making deals with foreign countries regarding our missile defense,” Rogers said in a statement. “I suggest...

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday the U.S. intelligence community believes the Syrian regime used the chemical weapon sarin, a revelation that immediately raised the question of whether a "red line" had been crossed in the country's civil war. Hagel confirmed the intelligence assessment, which was detailed in a letter to select members of Congress, while speaking to reporters on a visit to Abu Dhabi. The administration swiftly released those letters, which said U.S. intelligence determined with varying degrees of confidence that "the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin."...

One of the larger drawbacks to having John Kerry as secretary of state is his inane statements now have worldwide impact, instead of being limited to a domestic audience as was the case previously. Even worse, what he says now can cause real damage, while as a senator Kerry’s bloviating was relatively harmless since he was part of large collection of publicity-seeking bloviators. Kerry’s latest occurred last Sunday when he compared the jihadists trying to break Israel’s Gaza blockade aboard the Mavi Marmara with the victims of the Boston bombing. .... Israeli commandos were lowered to the deck from a...

John Kerry, America's most successful gigolo and now our Secretary of State, has used the tragedy of the terrorist bombings in Boston to appease and win acceptance of Turkish officials. Citing his personal anguish over the Jihadist Terror in his home state, he told the Turks he can understand how the nation of Turkey felt when their IHH armed thugs were killed by Jewish comandos while trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza on the good ship Mavi Marmara. In Kerry's own words, he reveals his superior skills as a diplomat and international statesman. He is quick to use slang...

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano admitted Tuesday that a Saudi national once identified as a “person of interest” in the Boston Marathon bombings was put on a terror watchlist after the attack.

Saying he was “fed up with the nutso actions of this goofball gook,” Secretary of State John Kerry threatened North Korea’s Kim Jong-un “if he continues to taunt us with his threats to launch his nuclear missile.” The former decorated Vietnam veteran warned Kim “Don’t make me come over there. If I have to I will kill you and cut off your ears. Don’t think I won’t. I’ve done it before. In case you weren’t aware, I served in Vietnam. And if you ask those who served with me they’ll tell you I was a virtual Genghis Khan. So, don’t...

Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit has posted that one of the Tsnaraev brothers attended a Boston mosque and "cultural center" that has been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev attended The Islamic Society of Boston which has links to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Clarion Project reported, via Free Republic: Dzhokar Tsarnaev, who has been arrested for the terrorist bombings in Boston, attended the Islamic Society of Boston. Dzhokar Tsarnaev, who has been arrested for the terrorist bombings in Boston, attended the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) in Cambridge, a mosque with strong Muslim Brotherhood links. The...

Secretary of State John F. Kerry just wishes that Congress would stop asking him silly questions about the September 11 murders in Benghazi. Rather than release any facts he continued the obfuscation of the truth that the Obama Administration will be known for. He chastised members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, insisting that all State Department Officials have testified and all documents were made available to Congress, less testimony from the survivors of the murderous attacks, of course. When pressed to provide a better accounting of events he told Congress “I do not want to spend the next year...

Steve Emerson just broke the shocking news that the Saudi National, Abdul al-Harbi, first questioned in the Boston bombing, is going to be deported on "national security grounds." He is from a very powerful Saudi family with many terrorist ties. Abdul al-Harbi is a devout Muslim from Medina. I said it takes longer than 15 hours to investigate all of Abdul al-Harbi's relatives, friends, acquaintances, and business and school friends. Perhaps a quick look at the Arabic sources should raise the eyebrows of every American relative to the extent of the problem at hand. Many from Al-Harbi’s clan are steeped...

US Secretary of State John Kerry again warned Wednesday that time was slipping away to reach a Middle East peace deal, and for the first time said there may only be a year or two left. Appearing before US lawmakers for the first time since becoming America's top diplomat in February, Kerry said his three trips to the region already were proof of his commitment to try to find a way to resume peace talks, AFP reported. The Obama administration is "trying to find out what is possible," Kerry told the House foreign affairs committee, as he laid out the...

US Secretary of State John Kerry again warned Wednesday that time was slipping away to reach a Middle East peace deal, and for the first time said there may only be a year or two left. Appearing before US lawmakers for the first time since becoming America's top diplomat in February, Kerry said his three trips to the region already were proof of his commitment to try to find a way to resume peace talks, AFP reported. The Obama administration is "trying to find out what is possible," Kerry told the House foreign affairs committee, as he laid out the...

Israel turns 65 today, old enough to know better; and if life begins at conception, the state and I are exactly the same age. So forgive me for going all meta. I can imagine pretty much what I'll be, if at all, in 20 years. But Israel? I ask because the conflict with the Palestinians seems headed to something bad, yet the peace process has become a great bore. Presumably, everybody knows the arguments and grievances and indignations. They know that two states have been preempted by Tel Aviv's complacency, or settler momentum, or Ramallah's nostalgia, or Gaza's missiles; that...

“We came, we saw, he died.” This was the gleeful announcement of our previous Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, after hearing that Libya’s longtime strongman Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had been killed in the NATO-supported rebellion then surging throughout that country. This was a rather novel statement. Chief diplomats of leading powers seldom publicly celebrate the killing of foreign heads of state, no matter how repugnant, especially when the U.S. had been maintaining regular diplomatic relations with their government. But we need not have been too surprised by her remark. After all, altering the domestic political composition of the various Arab...

"We had an interesting discussion about why fewer students are coming to, particularly from Japan, to study in the United States, and one of the responses I got from our officials from conversations with parents here is that they're actually scared. They think they're not safe in the United States and so they don't come," Kerry tells CNN.

Secretary of State John Kerry told the press in Beijing that he discussed with Chinese government officials investing in America's infrastructure. Kerry called the security concerns "very, very few; very, very little." "We welcome Chinese investment in the United States. And a very, very small percentage of investment is subject to a process where we have a security evaluation because of the nature of the business or the particular location. But it’s very, very few; very, very little. And obviously, there are sometimes concerns when there’s a state ownership of a particular business because that raises a different set of...

Secretary of State John Kerry offered concessions on Asian missile defense systems in exchange for China’s help with North Korea. The Boston Globe reported: Secretary of State John Kerry flew to China on Saturday and offered a concession on missile defense meant to elicit China’s help in dealing with an increasingly recalcitrant and nuclear armed North Korea. In a news conference after meetings with China’s top leaders, Kerry said the United States would reduce its missile defenses in Asia if North Korea abandoned its nuclear weapons program. Kerry’s overture appeared aimed at addressing Chinese concerns that North Korea’s provocative actions...

BEIJING — Secretary of State John F. Kerry lobbied China on Saturday to lean harder on its Marxist ally North Korea, suggesting that Washington might reverse certain military moves in the region if the North gives up its nuclear weapons ambitions. Kerry argued that the North’s escalating belligerence threatens the entire Pacific region, including China’s interests. He won a modest restatement of the shared goal of a ­non-nuclear Korean Peninsula and a public call from China’s foreign policy chief, Yang Jiechi, for a way out of the tension “peacefully, through dialogue.” That was a clear warning to North Korea that...

BEIJING — Secretary of State John Kerry flew to China on Saturday and offered a concession on missile defense meant to elicit China’s help in dealing with an increasingly recalcitrant and nuclear armed North Korea. In a news conference following meetings with China’s top leaders, Mr. Kerry said that the United States would reduce its missile defenses in Asia if North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons program. Mr. Kerry’s overture appeared aimed at addressing Chinese concerns that North Korea’s provocative actions were leading the United States to build up military strength in the region as China is boosting its own...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry demanded on Friday that North Korea scrap an expected missile test and dial down its virulent rhetoric, AFP reported. As Pyongyang aimed fresh nuclear threats at Japan, Kerry urged China to step in and said the North would never be accepted as a nuclear power. Visiting Seoul to give full U.S. backing to military ally South Korea, Kerry mixed tough talk with more conciliatory comments about the prospects for a peaceful way out of a crisis that has sent inter-Korea tensions soaring. In particular, he said Washington chose to "honor" the vision of South...

"The puppet group of south Korea is resorting to smear propaganda campaign to seek its comfort by forcing others into death like itself," KCNA said today. Warning of impending nuclear war, the chilling rant by the state run news agency continued: "The arrows indicating the merciless retaliatory strikes have already been drawn directing at the U.S. mainland, U.S. military bases in the Pacific and all other bases where the U.S. imperialist aggression forces station. "The powerful strike means of the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK have been put in their places and the coordinates of targets put into the...

Kerry to North Korea: Don't test missile By BRADLEY KLAPPER | Associated Press – 1 hr 18 mins ago SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a stark warning to North Korea on Friday not to test-fire a mid-range missile, while rejecting a new U.S. intelligence report suggesting significant progress in the communist regime's nuclear weapons program. Kicking off four days of talks in an East Asia beset by increasing North Korean threats, Kerry told reporters in Seoul that Pyongyang and its enigmatic young leader would only increase their isolation if they launched the missile...

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus' offshore natural gas deposits are enough to warrant the construction of a gas processing plant to export excess supply, regardless of whether Israel decides to be a partner in the project, the island nation's foreign minister said Wednesday. Ioannis Kasoulides said Cyprus is continuing talks with Israel, which has also discovered its own offshore gas deposits, on ways the countries can best exploit their mineral reserves. Cyprus is particularly keen, hoping its future gas wealth will help pull it out of a crushing economic crisis that has forced it to ask for an international bailout....

Kerry to seek diplomatic ‘off-ramp’ for North Korea WASHINGTON (CNN) — When he visits Asia later this week, Secretary of State John Kerry will discuss potential diplomatic incentives for North Korea once it stops its bellicose rhetoric and threatening behavior, senior administration officials tell CNN. Officials warn any resumption of talks with North Korea is premature, and could only come once Pyongyang adheres to its international obligations. But they say Kerry hopes the new emphasis on diplomacy will give the North Koreans a face-saving way to de-escalate the current situation.

John Kerry, who is worth an estimated $198.65 million, will donate $9,175 because of the so-called sequestration. "A day after Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said they'd return 5 percent of their paycheck to the Treasury, Secretary of State John Kerry followed in somewhat similar fashion," the Huffington Post reports. "State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says Kerry, however, will give his 5 percent to a charity for department employees. She says he already makes significant charitable donations. Kerry makes $183,500 this year. His donation is worth $9,175." Based on Senate disclosure forms, Roll Call estimated Kerry to be worth...

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday signed off on a sweeping, first-of-its-kind treaty to regulate the international arms trade, brushing aside worries from U.S. gun rights advocates that the pact could lead to a national firearms registry and disrupt the American gun market. The long-debated U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) requires countries to regulate and control the export of weaponry such as battle tanks, combat vehicles and aircraft and attack helicopters, as well as parts and ammunition for such weapons. It also provides that signatories will not violate arms embargoes, international treaties regarding illicit trafficking, or sell weaponry to...

Diplomacy: After a reprieve from international regulation of our guns, another sovereignty-grabbing U.N. treaty, a pet project of our secretary of state, is still being pushed to declare the oceans the common heritage of mankind. In the pre-dawn hours last Saturday, the U.S. Senate approved by 53-46 a measure "to uphold Second Amendment rights and prevent the United States from entering into the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty." But a seemingly harmless cousin, the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), remains on the table, with its champion, former Sen. John Kerry, now our secretary of state. Kerry gave a speech...

Diplomacy: After a reprieve from international regulation of our guns, another sovereignty-grabbing U.N. treaty, a pet project of our secretary of state, is still being pushed to declare the oceans the common heritage of mankind. In the pre-dawn hours last Saturday, the U.S. Senate approved by 53-46 a measure "to uphold Second Amendment rights and prevent the United States from entering into the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty." But a seemingly harmless cousin, the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), remains on the table, with its champion, former Sen. John Kerry, now our secretary of state. Kerry gave a speech...

UN members were presented on Wednesday with a final draft on a proposed Arms Trade Treaty, an attempt to instill some level of control into a largely unregulated industry. After nine days of touchy talks, the president of the negotiating conference, Australian diplomat Peter Woolcott, laid down his final attempt at compromise. “I will not consider any further amendments. It is ‘take it or leave’,” Woolcott told the conference at the UN’s New York headquarters. … The text would cover all cross-border trade in conventional weapons like tanks, combat aircraft, missiles and launchers, warships and some light weapons. The negotiators...

Most alphabet journ-O-lists like to wrap up the week on Saturday or Sunday giving their own “unique spin” on the week’s news. Butt, as you know, I’m not most alphabet journ-O-lists. Let’s get started with my new, journ-O-list style feature: Hump Day Noows Roundup. Up first, Changing Our Royal Palace Guard: On Tuesday, Big Guy named veteran Secret Service agent Lilly Raines as the Royal Palace Guard’s first female director, signaling his desire to change the culture at the male-dominated service, which has been marred by scandal. Incoming Royal Palace Guard Director, Lilly Raines Veteran SS agent Lilly Raines, along...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry heads a soccer ball made in Afghanistan as he meets with Afghan women members of a U.S.-backed women's entrepreneurship program at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.