National Security Adviser Susan Rice addressed the New America Foundation today and forcefully argued that Congress should approve President Barack Obama’s request for an authorization for the use of military force against Syria: “Any president, Republican or Democrat, must have recourse to all elements of American power to design and...

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Analysts and lawmakers are heavily emphasizing the potential costs to American credibility should Congress decline to grant President Barack Obama authority to retaliate against what is widely considered to have been a mass chemical weapons attack against Syrian civilians. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel had already on Tuesday stated bluntly...

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This week’s G-20 conference was overshadowed by the crisis in Syria, with both advocates and opponents of action against the Bashar al-Assad regime seeking to press their case. President Barack Obama had entered the summit hoping to garner momentum in what has become a bruising political fight to gain Congressional...

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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee today approved a resolution authorizing President Barack Obama to use military force against Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime. The approved wording limits military action to 60 days with a potential 30 day extension, and includes strong language advocated by Sen. John McCain linking action to an...

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Amid spiking tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean – The Israel Project’s illustrated situation analysis as of Monday is here – Iran has announced the development and deployment of a new warship. The declaration, conveyed by Iranian state media, is unlikely to calm matters: A senior Iranian commander announced on Tuesday...

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U.S. officials have been pushing their Hungarian counterparts to robustly condemn the use of chemical weapons by the Bashar al-Assad regime. Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued a statement condemning the use of chemical weapons in general, and welcoming an investigation to find out “who was responsible for this...

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Hezbollah maintains an extensive terror network in the United States. It has sought to facilitate [PDF] attacks on U.S. airports. Its agents have targetted American embassies in Asia. A recent article by Matthew Levitt described how “the Hezbollah-Qods Force threat has sometimes eclipsed that of al-Qaeda.” In the context of...

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Bipartisan endorsements for President Barack Obama’s request for an authorization to use military force against Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime trickled in through most of the morning. On the Senate side, the president met with Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham. McCain subsequently declared that he had not made up...

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Israel’s Defense Ministry confirmed this morning that Jerusalem had carried out a successful anti-missile exercise over the Mediterranean. The test – which came amid renewed, destabilizing threats of attack from the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria – was reportedly conducted as a joint exercise with the United States. The missiles...

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Israel is undertaking an array of defensive measures in preparation for what Syria and Iran have promised will be attacks against the Jewish State should the West move against the Bashar al-Assad regime. Israeli officials have upped their efforts to prepare civilians for the attacks. Last Thursday Israel announced that...

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