The talking points have been an issue of contention, not just in recent days but over the past eight months. Republicans charged the Obama administration with staging a "cover up" by presenting the siege as stemming from a spontaneous protest, when the violence was later proven to be a planned terrorist attack. Read More
‘Scourge’ of sexual assault hurts military effectiveness, says Obama

Women leaders have put a spotlight on the epidemic of military sexual assault. "This is not a sideshow," said Obama in a meeting with his top military and national security team. "This goes to the heart and the core of who we are and how effective we're going to be." Read More
Obama and Syria: What happened to the ‘red line?’
"Assad lost legitimacy when he started firing on his own people and killing his own people," said Obama in a press conference with the Turkish prime minister. But, he added, there's "no magic formula" for stopping the bloodshed in Syria. Read More
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What we’re reading: Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The pressure on the Obama administration shifts to the Justice Department, where federal authorities obtained two months of telephone records from Associated Press reporters. Read More
British PM: We have not made decision to arm Syrian opposition
British Prime Minister David Cameron also said at a news conference on Monday morning that he saw an "urgent window of opportunity'' before the "worst fears'' in Syria would be realized. Read More
Defiant Obama calls Benghazi controversy ‘a political circus’
The president called out Republican leadership as insistent on re-litigating the eight month old controversy based on purely political motivation, and intent on challenging the credibility of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others, including himself. Read More
What we’re reading: Monday, May 13, 2013
In the opinion pages: Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron writes in The Wall Street Journal about the importance of international trade to promote global economic growth. Read More
Kerry on Benghazi hearings: ‘I haven’t learned anything new’
Secretary of State John Kerry, who joined NBC News's Andrea Mitchell in a Google+ Hangout Friday, responded to accusations from congressional Republicans that the administration was attempting to "cover-up" its response to the consulate attacks. Read More
What we’re reading: Friday, May 10, 2013
In the opinion pages: The Wall Street Journal's Kim Strassel notes the conservative support rallying behind Florida Senator Marco Rubio just days after the… Read More
Benghazi: Boehner calls on Obama to release docs
“Somebody clearly decided they didn't like the references to Islamic terrorism, and made changes in this document," Speaker John Boehner charged Thursday. "The American people deserve the truth. And they will get the truth." Read More
Watch: John Kerry joins Andrea Mitchell in first State Dept Google Hangout
Tune in Friday at 1:30 pm ET as Andrea Mitchell moderates the first "Hangout at State" between Secretary of State John Kerry and Americans nationwide. Read More
Benghazi siege: New testimony, old political games
The former Deputy Chief of Mission in Libya, Greg Hicks, recounted a harrowing night at the U.S. Embassy in Libya's capital on September 11, 2012, trading dropped calls and text messages with U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who by morning would be dead. Read More
Top Clinton aide responds to House Benghazi testimony
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's longtime aide Philippe Reines responded by email to NBC News/MSNBC regarding the allegation that Clinton's Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills was angry that a State Department attorney was excluded from meetings in Libya with republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, of the House Oversight Committee. Read More
What we’re reading: Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The response to the September 11th attacks in Benghazi, Libya that ended with four Americans killed will be analyzed at a House Oversight & Government Reform Committee hearing, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Wednesday morning. Read More
Obama: ‘North Korea has failed again’
South Korean President Park Geun-Hye joined President Obama in a press conference Tuesday, where the two emphasized their countries' warm relationship and warned North Korea not to pursue its nuclear ambitions. Read More
State Department witnesses will challenge official Benghazi attack account
The former Deputy Mission Chief in Libya, Gregory Hicks, is expected to testify Wednesday morning that the military overruled his attempts to send four special forces operatives from Tripoli to subdue the uprising at the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. Hicks believes the special forces action could have saved two American lives. Read More
Senators blast ‘plague’ of military sexual assault
A new Pentagon report hows a dramatic rise in the number of service members who claim to have been sexually assaulted, but never came forward to report their attacks. From 2011 to 2012, that figure increased by 37%, from 19,000 in 2011 to 26,000 in 2012. Read More
What we’re reading: Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The immigration reform debate shifts focus to border security at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
In the opinion pages:… Read More
What we’re reading: Monday, May 6, 2013
Lawmakers return to Capitol Hill to begin the legislative battle over immigration reform. Politico's Seung Min Kim looks at the major political players involved… Read More
Steve Case: Tech world needs comprehensive immigration reform
"There is an opportunity here," AOL co-founder Steve Case told Andrea Mitchell Friday. "People recognize that the demographics are shifting and we just need to deal with this if we're going to remain the most entrepreneurial nation." Read More
White House fully supportive of Israeli strikes inside Syria
In an interview with Telemundo Sunday, President Obama said Israelis "justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah." Read More
Guantanamo ‘under lockdown’ ‘like we haven’t seen since the Bush years’
With 100 of the 166 detainees at Guantanamo Bay on a hunger strike and the military force-feeding 23 of them with feeding tubes, the situation at the detention facility has captured international attention. Read More


