President Obama asks Senate to delay military strike vote, senator says
(CNN) - As a Russian proposal to strip Syria of its chemical weapons began to take shape, the White House eased off the gas on Tuesday in its drive for congressional approval to strike the Middle Eastern country.
President Barack Obama asked Senate Democrats to delay voting on authorizing military action in Syria while the diplomatic process works itself out, according to senators in a meeting with Obama.
A White House official told CNN that during his meeting on the hill, the president said that his administration would spend the days ahead pursuing this diplomatic option with the Russians and U.S. allies at the United Nations.
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Obama to nominate Carlin as DOJ’s chief national security lawyer
By Evan Perez
President Barack Obama nominated John Carlin as the Justice Department’s chief national security lawyer.
Carlin has held the post of acting assistant attorney general for national security since March when Lisa Monaco left to become the president’s homeland security and counterterrorism adviser.
The nomination requires Senate approval.
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Kerry acknowledges slow flow of aid to Syrian rebels
By Jamie Crawford
Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday acknowledged concerns by some in the moderate Syrian opposition that limited U.S. military assistance had not reached them as fast as they had wanted, but he said that issue has now been resolved for the most part.
"It is accurate to say that some things have not been getting to the opposition as rapidly as one would have hoped," Kerry said during a Google + Hangout discussion. "Part of that was sort of early organizational effort, but then subsequently it took a while for Congress to approve certain components of it and finally it just takes time to start it."
Kerry said he was not able to disclose what specifically has been sent in the form of weapons by the United States to the Syrian opposition.
"A coordinated effort is being made among the many supporters of the moderate opposition to get them the assistance they need," in addition to ongoing non-lethal, medical and humanitarian assistance to the opposition Kerry said.
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Some former Guantanamo Bay detainees still returning to battle, report says
By Jamie Crawford
Some former inmates at the United States prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are still returning to the battlefield, a report from the U.S. intelligence community says.
Of the 603 detainees who have been transferred from the facility since it opened, 100 of them, or 16.6%, have re-engaged in terrorist activity, says an unclassified summary from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released last week.
Three detainees of 71 who were released since January 2009 have gone back to battle, and four others who were transferred from the facility since then are suspected of returning to their old ways.
"Based on trends identified during the past ten years, we assess that if additional detainees are transferred without conditions from GITMO, some will reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities," the report said. "Transfers to countries with ongoing conflicts and internal stability as well as active recruitment by insurgent and terrorist organizations pose a particular problem."
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