By Ashley Killough
House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul said Sunday he believes Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects, received training during an extended trip to the Chechen region of Russia in 2012.
McCaul also questioned why the FBI did not take further action against Tsarnaev when he was investigated before his trip.
By: CNN's Ashley Killough
Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Sunday his "biggest concern" right now is the uncertainty over budget issues on Capitol Hill.
"If the sequester is allowed to go into effect, I think it could seriously impact on the readiness in the United States," he said on CNN's "State of the Union." "And that's a serious issue."
The U.S. military could face the start of $500 billion in budget cuts in about a month if Congress fails to come up with a budget plan that avoids the so-called sequester, a serious of automatic, across-the-board spending cuts spread out over the next decade.
By Ashley Killough
Sen. Jim Inhofe, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has pledged to oppose President Barack Obama's nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel for secretary of the Defense Department after a sit-down with Hagel on Tuesday.
"We had a very cordial meeting today in which we discussed his nomination," the Republican senator from Oklahoma said in a statement. "Unfortunately, as I told him during our meeting today, we are simply too philosophically opposed on the issues for me to support his nomination."
FULL STORY
By Ashley Killough
President Barack Obama on Thursday defended his administration's handling of the Libya consulate attack, telling Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" that he will ultimately fix any problems involving security for diplomatic posts.
"The government is a big operation and any given time, something screws up," he said in the interview to air Thursday night. "And you make sure that you find out what's broken and you fix it."
Also: McCain says Romney missed opportunity in Benghazi discussion
Stewart pressed the president on the aftermath of the terror attack that killed four Americans at a U.S. consulate in Benghazi last month. The administration has faced scrutiny over why the post was not more robustly staffed with security.
The comedian said the administration's response did not play out in an "optimal" way.
"I would say, even you would admit, it was not the optimal response, at least to the American people, as far as all of us being on the same page," Stewart said.
The president replied: "When four Americans get killed, it's not optimal. We're going to fix it. All of it."
FULL STORYBy Ashley Kilough
Sen. John McCain on Wednesday said Mitt Romney missed an opportunity to go after the president over Libya in the second presidential debate.
Asked whether Romney failed to press President Barack Obama on the administration's handling of last month's consulate attack, the Arizona senator said "in a way, he did" on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."
During the debate, Obama said he referred to the Libya attack as an "act of terror" the day after the violence last month. Romney disputed the claim, sparking a fiery exchange over whether the president used the term.
President Obama on Benghazi: I am "always responsible"
On Wednesday, some political observers noted Romney spent too much time over the semantics, rather than moving on and asking more questions about the security of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the attack on the U.S. facility on September 11, 2012.
FULL STORYBy Ashley Killough
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday there's no proof indicating this month's consulate attack in Libya – which killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans – was related to protests over an anti-Islam video.
"I have seen no information that shows that there was a protest going on as you have seen around any other embassy at the time. It was clearly designed to be an attack," Rep. Mike Rogers said on CNN's "State of the Union."
On Thursday, Security Clearance reported that some government officials are also less certain about there having been a protest ahead of the attack, despite the initial belief adhered to by administration officials that the attack was an opportunity that arose spontaneously from a protest.
While he still thinks there may be evidence that the attackers could have known Ambassador Christopher Stevens was on the property at the time, he said, "9/11 is probably more important to that equation than even the ambassador."
Read the whole story here
The heads of the Senate and House intelligence committees said Sunday the Taliban was gaining ground, just days after President Barack Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan and touted the progress made in the war on terror.
“I think we'd both say that what we found is that the Taliban is stronger,” said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein on CNN’s “State of the Union,” while sitting with Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan.
As first reported on Security Clearance on Friday, Rogers said his recent trip demonstrated that the military and intelligence officials he met with were in disagreement with intelligence officials believing the Taliban were significantly stronger than just a few years ago.
Here's what the two intelligence committee chairs said on State of the Union: FULL POST
By Ashley Killough
Vice President Joe Biden will take direct aim at presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in a speech on foreign policy Thursday, according to prepared remarks released by the president's re-election campaign. "Governor Romney's national security policy would return us to the past we have worked so hard to move beyond," Biden will say in a speech at New York University.
The vice president is expected to draw a sharp contrast between the president and Romney over involvements abroad and the fight against terrorism.
"If you are looking for a bumper sticker to sum up how President Obama has handled what we inherited, it's pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive," Biden will say, repeating a line he's used in recent speeches.
As Security Clearance's Jamie Crawford noted on Monday, as the Republican candidate transitions from the long primary slog into the general election battle, his effort to cut down Obama on foreign policy and national security will sharpen. Naivety, appeasement, apologist and a menu of other unflattering descriptions are likely to be emanating from Romney's attack machine trying to cut down the president's perceived advantage on foreign policy. The president and his campaign team will be doing their best to ensure that advantage is maintained.
Read more preview of Biden's speech on CNN's Political Ticker
By Ashley Killough
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hit back Sunday against Mitt Romney's comments this week that Russia is America's main "geopolitical foe."
Labeling Romney's words as "dated, "Clinton said in an interview with CNN there were more pressing matters of concern in global affairs.
"I think it's somewhat dated to be looking backwards instead of being realistic about where we agree, where we don't agree, "Clinton told CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty.
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona on Sunday questioned the president’s recent order to send American troops to central Africa, saying the move could put the United States on a slippery slope.
“I worry about, with the best of intentions, that we somehow get engaged in a commitment that we can't get out of,” McCain said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
This week, President Barack Obama ordered about 100 U.S. military personnel to aid in the hunt and removal of Joseph Kony, head of the Lord’s Resistance Army, better known as the “LRA.”
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