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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: State Department

State Department stories: 155 news summaries

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ANALYSIS

In Middle East, Clinton Faces New Troubles

Netanyahu, Hamas complicate Hillary's already difficult mission

Mar 2, 09 8:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton arrived in Egypt last night, beginning her trip to the Middle East at a conference aimed at raising reconstruction money for Gaza. The secretary of state has enlisted a team of diplomats with long experience in Mideast negotiations, led by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. But as... More »

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Palestinian Authority • Hillary Clinton • Israel • Gaza • Palestine • Hamas • State Department • Benjamin Netanyahu • George Mitchell • Obama administration

Clinton Heads to Mideast, Europe and Russia

Egypt, Israel and Europe all on the itinerary

Feb 28, 09 8:28 AM CST
(AP) - Hillary Clinton is using her second overseas trip as the nation's top diplomat to assess peace prospects in the Middle East, reconnect with European allies, and discuss America's strained relationship with Moscow with her Russian counterpart. Clinton will begin the weeklong journey in Egypt, where she'll attend an international conference... More »

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Russia • Hillary Clinton • Israel • Middle East • Europe • State Department • Egypt • West Bank • Obama administration • two-state solution

(Newser) - Human rights in Russia are "under siege," and the Chinese government is engaging in "serious human rights abuses," the US State Department says. The finger-pointing, in an annual report released today, comes just a week after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited China and downplayed... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • China • Russia • Hillary Clinton • Pakistan • human rights • State Department • secretary of State • Country Report

ANALYSIS

On First Trip, Clinton Strikes
a Blunt Tone

Diplomats split over uncharacteristic lack
of tip-toeing at State

Feb 23, 09 6:55 AM CST
(Newser) - On her first trip as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton spoke far more frankly than her predecessors about everything from North Korean leadership to the efficacy of US sanctions against Burma. As the Washington Post writes, the Asia trip showcased a blunter, more open style of American diplomacy. But veteran... More »

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China • Hillary Clinton • human rights • State Department • secretary of State • Chinese Communist party

(Newser) - As Hillary Clinton takes over the State Department, it's worth remembering that her train-wreck presidential campaign followed an "audacious 2000 run for Senate" and an excellent record as a legislator, Michael Crowley writes for the New Republic. "The question—not only for Hillary's legacy but for US... More »

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Hillary Clinton • Cabinet • State Department • secretary of State • George Mitchell • bureaucracy • Madeleine Albright • Susan Rice • Obama administration • Dennis Ross • Richard Holbrooke • President Obama • Cabinet secretary • Obama Cabinet • James Steinberg

Blackwater Ditches Name, Attempts to Change Image

Firm renames itself Xe; will focus on training and logistics support

Feb 13, 09 2:58 PM CST
(Newser) - Private security firm Blackwater Worldwide is hoping to shed some of the controversy that has dogged it since its bloody tenure in Iraq by renaming itself Xe (pronounced “Zee”), the AP reports. Besides the name change, the firm has altered the focus of its business from contracting out... More »

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Iraq • State Department • Blackwater • training • mercenaries • security contractors • logistics

 Iran Rebuffs 
 US Badminton 
 Team's Shuttle 
 Diplomacy 

Invited team denied visas in mystifying move

Feb 5, 09 2:16 AM CST
(Newser) - Iran has refused entry to US women badminton players invited to play in an international tournament marking the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution. The eight athletes and four coaches and managers were denied visas in a move that has mystified the Obama administration, reports the Washington Post. "This... More »

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Iran • State Department • visas • badminton • US athletes • Iranian Badminton Federation

ANALYSIS

 Now, Obama Awaits 
 Overture From Iran 


Jan 31, 09 10:57 AM CST
(Newser) - While Barack Obama is not backing away from his campaign pledge to meet Iran without preconditions, the new administration is hoping Tehran will take the first step toward détente, Politico reports. “If countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from... More »

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Iran • Hillary Clinton • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • State Department • negotiations • Obama administration • Dennis Ross • President Obama

US Flushes Blackwater Contract

State Dept. calls renewal 'moot' after Iraq denies operating license

Jan 31, 09 2:58 AM CST
(AP) - The State Department said Friday it will not renew Blackwater's contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May. A department spokeswoman said the contract will lapse because of the Iraqi government's decision to deny Blackwater a license to operate, amid lingering outrage over a 2007 shooting... More »

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Iraq • State Department • Blackwater • security contractors • Iraq contractors • Iraq war

Mitchell, Holbrooke Named Special Envoys 

Former senator gets Mideast portfolio; ex-ambassador Afghanistan and Pakistan

Jan 22, 09 3:11 PM CST
(Newser) - President Obama and newly minted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton moved quickly today to build the administration’s diplomatic efforts, naming George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke special envoys, Reuters reports; both appointments were expected. Former Sen. Mitchell will focus on facilitating peace talks between Israel and Palestine, while ex-UN ambassador... More »

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Afghanistan • Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Israel • Palestine • State Department • secretary of State • George Mitchell • Obama administration • Richard Holbrooke • President Obama • special envoy

 Clinton Takes Over at State 

Hundreds of employees cheer her arrival

Jan 22, 09 10:08 AM CST
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton began her first day as secretary of state with a message for her new employees, the New York Times reports. “This is a new era,” she said as State Department workers applauded her arrival this morning. “We will make clear as we go forward that... More »

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Hillary Clinton • Joe Biden • State Department • secretary of State • James Jones • Obama administration • President Obama

Bush and Condi Find Something to Celebrate

Crisis, what crisis? It's all backslapping at Foggy Bottom

Jan 16, 09 8:33 AM CST
(Newser) - India and Pakistan are at loggerheads, Afghanistan is a narco-state, and the Middle East is almost unspeakably troubled—so how did George W. Bush's diplomatic team see off their president? With yesterday's "Ceremony to Commemorate Foreign Policy Achievements," a State Department lovefest complete with billowing flags and commemorative... More »

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Condoleezza Rice • State Department • Laura Bush • ceremony • George W. Bush

Fidel Reported to Be
Close to Death 

Castro is gravely ill, sources say

Jan 14, 09 2:45 AM CST
(Newser) - Fidel Castro may be nearing the end of his life, reports the Miami Herald. It's been almost two months since Castro has been photographed in public. No images were released of his November meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and he was a no-show at the Jan. 1 celebrations of... More »

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health • State Department • Fidel Castro • Cuba • Hu Jintao • Brookings Institution • Dmitry Medvedev • U.S. Task Force on Cuba • Reflections • Martín Torrijos • Alpha 66 • Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies

Clinton to Outline Vision for Reinvigorated State

Will speak on Hill as confirmation hearings begin today

Jan 13, 09 6:58 AM CST
(Newser) - Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton marches into her Senate confirmation hearings today armed with sweeping plans to retake the ground State lost to the Defense department under President Bush, the Wall Street Journal reports. Clinton will advocate using “smart power,” a wide variety of economic and social diplomatic... More »

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Hillary Clinton • diplomacy • State Department • secretary of State • Clinton Foundation • President Obama • economic policies

Al-Sadr Urges 'Revenge' Attacks Against US for Gaza

Cleric tells militia to hit American targets in Iraq

Jan 8, 09 2:59 AM CST
(Newser) - The anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has urged radical Shi’ite militants to strike American targets in Iraq as retaliation for US support of Israeli’s attack on Gaza, the Times of London reports. Al-Sadr also called on nations with Israeli consulates to close those missions in solidarity with Palestine. A... More »

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Iraq • Israel • Gaza • Hamas • State Department • Shia • US troops • Muqtada al-Sadr

 USS Pueblo Crew 
 Awarded $65M 

Judge awards damages against North Korea for torture

Dec 31, 08 4:27 AM CST
(Newser) - In a distant echo of the Cold War, a federal judge has ordered north Korea to pay $65 million in damages to four crewmen from a US ship captured in 1968, reports AP. The USS Pueblo was seized by North Korea on an intelligence-gathering mission, and crew members were severely... More »

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North Korea • torture • State Department • USS Pueblo • William Thomas Massie • Donald Raymond McClarren • Dunnie Richard Tuck • Lloyd Bucher • U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr

White House Frets Over
Gaza Fighting

Administration pressuring Israel
to end attacks

Dec 31, 08 2:45 AM CST
(Newser) - A deeply worried Bush administration is privately pushing Israel to settle on a Gaza exit strategy, despite the White House's public support of the offensive, insiders tell the Los Angeles Times. Amid rising international pressure to end the fighting, administration officials fear that rather than crushing Hamas, Israel's assault could... More »

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Bush administration • Israel • Gaza • Mahmoud Abbas • Hamas • State Department • Israel and Palestinians • Gaza City • Palestinians • Arab Israeli conflict • George W. Bush

Clinton Moves
to Beef Up State

Bigger budget, expanded role sought for department that withered under Bush

Dec 23, 08 8:20 AM CST
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton is already working to restore some of the strength sapped from the State Department under the Bush administration, the New York Times reports. Clinton is seeking a bigger budget for the department and wants to restore the role played by high-profile special envoys. Officials say Clinton also wants... More »

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Hillary Clinton • diplomacy • State Department • secretary of State • envoy • Obama administration • Jacob Lew • James Steinberg

 Fire Blackwater: 
 State Dept. Panel 

Security firm's contract should not be renewed, advisory group says

Dec 17, 08 1:03 PM CST
(Newser) - The US military should stop using contractors from Blackwater Worldwide, concludes a report by a State Department advisory panel, obtained by the AP. In light of numerous allegations of violent misconduct, Blackwater’s contract to defend American diplomats should not be renewed when it expires next year, the panel recommends.... More »

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Iraq • State Department • murder • Blackwater • manslaughter • security contractors • bodyguard • convoy

Portugal Offers to Take
Gitmo Detainees

Move may help close prison

Dec 12, 08 8:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Portugal is willing to resettle some detainees freed from Guantanamo Bay, and it urged its fellow European countries to do likewise. It’s a diplomatic breakthrough that could help close the controversial US prison, the New York Times reports. Of the 250 detainees still in Guantanamo, 60 have been... More »

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State Department • Portugal • Guantanamo Bay • Guantanamo prisoners

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