Republicans press Obama to recall ambassador to Syria
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 28th, 2011 4:36 am by HL
Republicans press Obama to recall ambassador to Syria
Republicans are intensifying pressure on the Obama administration to recall its ambassador to Syria, arguing that the U.S. policy of engagement has done nothing to stop President Bashar al-Assad’s government from cracking down on protesters.
On Monday, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, became the latest Republican to call for Ambassador Robert Ford to come home. Sens. John Thune (S.D.) and Jon Kyl (Ariz.) have also said that Ford should be recalled.
Gay-marriage advocates in Md. urge O’Malley to step up role
With New York’s embrace of same-sex marriage last week, advocates of gay nuptials in Maryland are pressing Gov. Martin O’Malley to play a more vigorous role as state lawmakers prepare to push the issue again.
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, another Democrat whose national profile is on the rise, is widely credited with getting a bill through his divided legislature with a well-funded lobbying campaign to persuade conflicted lawmakers.
In Maryland, O’Malley supported a similar measure that fell short during this year’s legislative session but, unlike Cuomo, largely limited his advocacy to private conversations.
Which Petraeus will arrive at the CIA: The officer or the gentleman?
When David H. Petraeus arrives in September at the CIA’s Langley headquarters, what sort of man will show up to become the intelligence agency’s 20th director, the fourth in the last seven years?
At last week’s Senate confirmation hearing, Petraeus was a uniformed, be-ribboned four-star general whom Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) described as a “kind of a superstar on the military and intellectual force side.” A man who when asked by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence pre-hearing questionnaire to list honors and awards — including “military decorations, civilian service citations or any other special recognition for outstanding performance or achievement” — referenced 43 medals, 10 badges and 42 awards.
