Free Republic

Moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could endanger U.S. diplomats and Marine guards there and elsewhere in the region — “and needlessly so” — State Department spokesman John Kirby warned Wednesday. He said the Obama administration, like previous ones, believes relocating the embassy “is not a good idea.” “It’s not constructive to the overall peace process. It could actually put some of our people, some of our troops, those that work at the embassy, in harm’s way, and needlessly so.” “It could exacerbate tensions not just there but elsewhere in the region too,” Kirby added,...

One day after the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) released a video showing the brutal beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff--the second American journalist ISIS has decapitated on video--Secretary of State John Kerry gave a speech saying that Islam is a “peaceful religion based on the dignity of all human beings,” and that ISIS is not “the real face of Islam.”

Clinton says Israel announcement 'insulting to the United States' By Eric Zimmermann - 03/13/10 10:27 AM ET Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Israel today for announcing an expansion of settlements while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting the country this week. The announcement forced Biden to issue a statement condemning the decision while in the midst of touring through Israel and meeting with top officials. "It was insulting," Clinton told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell in an interview airing today. "And it was insulting not just to the vice president, who certainly didn't deserve that. He was there with a very...

The Obama administration criticized Israel Wednesday for designating two shrines on Palestinian territory as national heritage sites. The criticism came as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she hopes long-stalled peace talks between Israelis and the Palestinians will resume. Clinton told a congressional committee that groundwork is being laid to restart the talks with the help of U.S. envoy George Mitchell. She didn't say exactly when the negotiations might resume but her remarks come amid a flurry of U.S. diplomatic activity in the region. They come as the United States, Russia and their Mideast peace partners are trying to...