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A day after Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned against "war fever," administration officials on Friday said the U.S. is indeed waging a war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, otherwise known as ISIL). However, the administration is still trying to draw a distinction between this new "war" and the previous war the U.S. waged in Iraq, which included putting American troops on the ground in Iraq for combat operations. "The United States is at war with ISIL in the same way that we are at war with al Qaeda and its al Qaeda affiliates all around...

(P) resident Obama came into office in 2009, telling the American people he would end the wars against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. Six years later, facing a broader and more lethal terrorist threat, he is now telling us why we need to go to war again. To say Obama can't seem to make up his mind in the war on terrorism (a designation his administration stopped using the day he entered the Oval Office), is putting it mildly. If anything, his naive plan of withdrawal and retreat and the way it was carried out in the face of a...

The United States is at war with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL), the White House and Pentagon said Friday, a day after Secretary of State John Kerry repeatedly declined to use that phrase. “In the same way that we are at war with Al Qaeda and its affiliates around the globe, we are at war with ISIL,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at the White House. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby echoed that sentiment, telling reporters that while the effort was "not the Iraq war," they should "make no mistake, we know we...

The use of the W-word could have both legal and political implications. Top Obama Administration officials have publicly given conflicting accounts in recent days over a fundamental question of the new U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria: Is the nation at war? With 158 airstrikes carried out on ISIS targets and more than 1,600 troops deployed to Iraq in various capacities, Secretary of State John Kerry told ABC News Thursday that the nation was not in fact at war with the militant group. But by Friday afternoon, the White House and the Pentagon were...

President Barack Obama and White House national security adviser Susan Rice met with a delegation of Christian Middle Eastern leaders in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that included at least one Hezbollah-supporting Lebanese cleric. The meeting came one day after Sen. Ted Cruz was booed off the stage for defending Israel while giving a keynote address at a conference for the same delegation of Christian leaders. The In Defense of Christians summit, which was aimed at raising awareness of persecution against Arab Christiansa, featured speeches by several Hezbollah supporters and some of Bashar al-Assad’s most vocal Christian allies. One of the...

Putin is doubling down on the separatists. We continue to see arms flow across border from Russia to Ukraine.Russia is also firing artillery from within Russia into Ukraine.Although our preference is a diplomatic solution to Ukraine crisis, we remain ready to impose further costs on Russia as warranted

Casey Cooper is new to the bench, but he’s well-connected . Just three months into his tenure on the federal bench, and before his formal investiture ceremony later this week, newly minted — but well-connected — U.S. District Judge Christopher “Casey” Cooper has been handed one of the most high-profile and politically sensitive American terrorism cases in recent years ... Cooper, 47, was part of the Obama administration’s transition team and is one of the more connected people in D.C. legal circles, Marimow notes. His wife, Amy Jeffress, worked at the Justice Department as a national security adviser to the...

Classified info at compound required U.S. Marine protection Did the State Department under Hillary Clinton deliberately refuse to classify what has been described as sensitive information housed at the U.S. special mission in Benghazi? The storage of any officially classified information in the compound would have required the deployment of the U.S. Marine Corps Embassy Security Group for protection. Instead, external security at the facility was provided by unarmed local Libyan guards. Armed members of the Martyrs of the February 17th Brigades served as the official quick-reaction force that worked within the compound. The Brigade is an offshoot of the...

World leaders were unanimous Wednesday in condemning the killing of Mohammad Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old Palestinian who was most likely kidnapped and murdered in revenge for the death of three Israeli teens that were abducted and recently found dead in the West Bank. In a series of posts on Twitter, National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the US is paying close attention to the investigation into the death of 17-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir. She also offered condolences to his family and the Palestinian people. US Secretary of State John Kerry also condemned the murder, calling the act "sickening" and saying,...

The White House is required provide Congress with an annual list of every one of its employees It's 2014 list, published today, shows that the president has 456 aides The lowest paid White House staffers make $42,000 a year, while the president's senior staff members make nearly four times that at $172,200The White House published its annual list of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue staff their salaries today. This year's list reveals that 456 aides serve at the pleasure of the president and make anywhere from $42,000 a year to $172,200 a year. Among the highest paid White House staffers are: National...

Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the Libyan militant charged in the 2012 Benghazi attacks, will face a federal judge Saturday afternoon for an initial court appearance, authorities confirmed to Fox News. At that time, the government is expected to outline the charges against him. Khatallah is being held at a federal courthouse in D.C. amid tight security, Department of Justice spokesman William Miller said. He was flown to Washington by helicopter shortly after sunrise from a navy warship, where he had been held since his capture nearly two weeks ago. Khatallah is accused of being involved in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack...

A man suspected in the attacks two years ago on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, which killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans arrived at federal court in Washington, D.C. today, a source told ABC News. Ahmed Abu Khattala was captured in Libya earlier this month. He's expected to be arraigned later today.

When The Washington Post reported the capture of Ahmed Abu Khattala, suspected in the Benghazi terrorist attacks that killed four Americans in 2012, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) were clear in asserting what they deem the proper course of action should be: send him to Guantanamo Bay. Reporters waiting outside the chamber received the news on their smartphones before senators began trickling out of the Senate Chamber. Many of them refused to comment, awaiting more details from their staff. But McCain and Graham spoke up. "I’m glad that they got him,” McCain stated, before suggesting that...

The suspected ringleader of the deadly 2012 Benghazi attacks, who was captured by U.S. forces over the weekend, was actually interviewed by multiple media outlets last year — a stunning revelation that could raise questions over why it took the U.S. so long to arrest the man.

CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon, who spoke last year with Ahmed Abu Khattal, the suspected mastermind in the 2012 Benghazi terror attack that killed four Americans, said not only was he not in hiding but he actually offered to speak with American officials about the attack. Ahmed Abu Khattal did not deny he was at the consulate the night of September 12, 2012 but instead claims he was "directing traffic." Damon said while his story does not line up with the events of that night, she empathized his confidence in making himself available to talk with U.S. authorities.

When Fox News correspondent Jesse Watters asked Hillary Clinton fans about the deadly Benghazi terror attacks of 2012, he got some surprising answers. None were more surprising than the ones coming from several people who had no idea what Benghazi was, despite the fact that many argue it is Clinton’s biggest failure as secretary of state.

Representatives of prominent conservative groups converged on the Heritage Foundation on Monday afternoon for the umpteenth in a series of gatherings to draw attention to the Benghazi controversy. But this one took an unexpected turn. What began as a session purportedly about “unanswered questions” surrounding the September 2012 attacks on U.S. facilities in Libya deteriorated into the ugly taunting of a woman in the room who wore an Islamic head covering. The session, as usual, quickly moved beyond the specifics of the assaults that left four Americans dead to accusations about the Muslim Brotherhood infiltrating the Obama administration, President Obama...

US official: Libyan militant accused in Benghazi attack in US custody .

The U.S. military has captured a man believed to be one of the ringleaders of the deadly attacks on the American diplomatic compound and a CIA base in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012, officials said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — To congressional Republicans, "Benghazi" is shorthand for incompetence and cover-up. Democrats hear it as the hollow sound of pointless investigations. It is, in fact, a Mediterranean port city in Libya that was the site of an attack on an American diplomatic compound on the 11th anniversary of 9/11 that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. That's nearly all that U.S. politicians can agree on about Benghazi. It's been a political rallying cry since just weeks before President Barack Obama's re-election in November 2012. With the launch of a new House investigation, Benghazi is shaping...