By Jamie Crawford
The Pentagon issued guidance on Friday on how a potential government shutdown, which would begin on Tuesday absent a congressional agreement on spending, would impact its operations.
"All military personnel will continue in a normal duty status regardless of their affiliation" under a shutdown scenario, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter wrote in a memo to military commanders and other senior defense officials.
But continued service could present complications for the troops themselves, Carter added.
"Military personnel will not be paid until such time as Congress makes appropriated funds available to compensate them for this period of service," he wrote.
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The National Security Agency's internal watchdog detailed a dozen instances in the past decade in which its employees intentional misused the agency's surveillance power, in some cases to snoop on their love interests.
A letter from the NSA's inspector general responding to a request by Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R., Iowa), lists the dozen incidents that abused the NSA's foreign intelligence collection systems. The letter also says there are two additional incidents now under investigation and another allegation pending that may require an investigation.
FULL STORYBy Elise Labott, Michael Pearson, and Joe Sterling
It's been more than 30 years since high-level officials from the United States and Iran sat down together to talk face-to-face.
If everything holds, that drought ends on Thursday.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are set to meet in New York as part of a meeting between the Middle Eastern country and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany. They will explore restarting talks on Iran's nuclear program.
Such a high-level meeting involving the United States and Iran hasn't happened since Iran's 1979 revolution, which sent relations between the two into a deep freeze.
FULL STORYBy Elise Labott, reporting from the United Nations
The drama over whether President Barack Obama would shake hands with his Iranian counterpart detracted from what diplomats at the U.N. General Assembly described as an acute disappointment with his handling of Mideast turmoil.
A perceived lack of leadership in Syria during its civil war coupled with U.S. handling of the political crisis in Egypt has forced the Obama administration to confront a growing lack of confidence among Middle East allies.
But what's most bewildered American allies in the region was Obama's abrupt decision to back away from threats to use military force over alleged Syrian chemical weapons use in favor of a diplomatic approach to divest it of those stockpiles.
They fear Obama's ambivalence foreshadows a lack of mettle in dealing with Iran.
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By Jamie Crawford
The United States signed on to an international arms control treaty Wednesday that seeks to reduce global atrocities, but the road to ratification in the Senate may prove to be extremely bumpy and, possibly, insurmountable.
Secretary of State John Kerry signed the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) on the sidelines of this week's gathering of the U.N. General Assembly.
The treaty, which nearly 90 countries have signed, requires signatory countries to ensure arms are not sent to countries where they could be used to commit genocide, crimes against humanity or other serious human rights abuses.
"This is about keeping weapons out of the hands of terrorists and rogue actors," Kerry said as he signed. "This is about reducing the risk of international transfers of conventional arms that will be used to carry out the world's worst crimes."
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