Search results for

President Obama says the U.S. combat mission in Iraq will end by Aug. 31, 2010, and he'll honor a previous agreement to remove all forces by Dec. 31, 2011. But officials say both American interests and Iraqi security needs will require a much longer U.S. presence.

Next month in The Hague, a special U.N. tribunal will get under way to examine the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Many Lebanese insist Syrian leaders were behind the assassination. But Syria denies any role in Hariri's death.

On her first official trip abroad since joining the Obama administration, Hillary Clinton is defining the kind of secretary of State she wants to be. Because she is well-known and admired, ordinary people, especially young people, have been eager to hear her.

President Obama used his first White House news conference Monday night to personalize the dire state of the nation's economy, leveraging the power of his office and his huge popularity to urge Congress and the country to get behind his stimulus package.

The Obama administration's first big appearance on the international stage at the Munich security conference this weekend is being watched closely by America's friends and foes alike.

United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari was in Myanmar this week in an effort to bring about political reform. But he apparently failed to persuade the military leadership and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to talk to each other. And the military shows no sign of giving up power anytime soon.

the past few months, Pakistan's Pakistan's army has lost control of the Swat Valley to the Taliban. It has now launched an operation to win the valley back, but victory will difficult: The Taliban is highly organized, and uses hit-and-run guerrilla tactics.

The Obama adminstration's special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan is heading on his first trip to the region. Richard Holbrooke is perhaps best known as the architect of the Bosnian peace agreement. He will meet with regional leaders as he tries to coordinate a new administration strategy on Afghanistan.

The Iraqi government will not renew the license of Blackwater Worldwide, the private security firm accused of killing Iraqi civilians while protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq. Anger at the firm peaked in 2007, when its guards were accused of killing at least 14 unarmed civilians on a crowded street.

Middle East envoy George Mitchell arrived in Israel on Wednesday. His assignment from President Obama is to listen to both Israelis and Palestinians. It's a daunting task because the fractures between and within the two societies are deeper than ever.