Obama administration

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US to Freeze Syrian Assets, Impose Sanctions

Europe also considering action

(Newser) - With the bloodshed mounting in the streets of Daraa , the Obama administration is preparing sanctions against Syria, including freezing the assets of top Syrian officials, the LA Times reports. That may not have a ton of impact, since Syrian officials don’t own all that many US assets to begin...

Obama Looks to Crack Down on Secret Donations

Administration actions would replace law Congress fails to pass

(Newser) - The Obama administration has drafted an executive order that would force all companies seeking government contracts to disclose their donations to groups airing political ads, as part of a multi-pronged attack on the kind of anonymous campaign spending Republicans walloped Democrats with last year. The FEC is also moving to...

Supreme Court Skeptical About Climate Suit

Justices likely to throw out case brought by states against power plants

(Newser) - The Supreme Court looks like it will throw out a major environmental case against coal-fired power plants, reports the Los Angeles Times . The US solicitor general and several justices held that such matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency, and shouldn’t be decided by judges. The...

Diplomat Accused of Preaching Too Much Resigns

State dept. said Douglas Kmiec spent too much time touting Catholic beliefs

(Newser) - The Obama administration’s ambassador to Malta has resigned following a State Department report that blasted him for spending too much time speaking and writing about his Catholic beliefs—to the detriment of his actual work, Politico reports. In a resignation letter sent to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and the...

US Takes Heat as Bahrain Protests Die

US did little to help movement against allied government

(Newser) - Thanks to a violent crackdown and an assist from Saudi troops, the government of Bahrain has just about silenced the protest movement—and that’s left the US facing some hard questions. Even as it fights to free Libya, the Obama administration has done next to nothing to help Bahrain’...

Emails Show BP Trying to Tamper With Oil Spill Studies

Greenpeace digs dirt with Freedom of Information Act request

(Newser) - In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP created a $500 million fund for independent research into the disaster. But in emails obtained by Greenpeace under the Freedom of Information Act, BP officials talk openly about how they can manipulate that research, the Guardian reports. “Can we...

Rove Group Unveils GOP Version of WikiLeaks

Wikicountability will spotlight White House transparency

(Newser) - Inspired by WikiLeaks, a Karl Rove-linked conservative group has started its own online home for government dirt: Wikicountability.org . The site, which aims to gather Obama administration documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, allows its creators to “crowd-source both the information and analysis of the information,”...

David Brooks: President Barack Obama in Libya: Wrong Words, Right Strategy

 Obama in Libya: 
 Wrong Words, 
 Right Moves 


david brooks
Apr 1, 2011 1:20 PM CDT

Obama in Libya: Wrong Words, Right Moves

US pushes loyalists to defect, hopes for regime change: David Brooks

(Newser) - There’s a big gap between what the US is doing in Libya and how the administration is describing it—and while the White House’s explanation is "maddeningly ambiguous," the actual operation is right on, writes David Brooks in the New York Times . Regime change is the...

GOP Votes to Ax Foreclosure Aid Program

But bill is unlikely to clear Senate

(Newser) - The House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill that would kill off President Obama’s top foreclosure prevention program, in a 252-170 vote that broke mainly along partisan lines. Republicans said the Home Affordable Modification Program, which gives banks incentives to modify mortgages, had proven ineffective, helping less than 600,...

US Price Tag for Week 1 of Libya Mission: $600M

But money has all come from Pentagon's existing budget

(Newser) - Week one of the United States' intervention in Libya has cost us at least $600 million, according to new data from the Pentagon. That figure includes $268.8 million worth of Tomahawk cruise missiles, tens of thousands of dollars worth of precision guided bombs, and more than $60 million to...

Homeland Security Hiding Its Emails: Insiders

Employees concerned over lengthy vetting process for internal records

(Newser) - Homeland Security insiders spent months complaining that top Obama appointees were improperly delaying the release of potentially embarrassing files sought under the Freedom of Information Act. In a raft of uncensored emails obtained by the AP , insiders called the vetting process “meddling," "crazy" and "bananas!”...

Dems to Offer GOP Another $20B in Spending Cuts

...bringing total to $30B, which may not satisfy Republicans

(Newser) - With the threat of a government shutdown less than two weeks away, all eyes are on the budget. The White House and congressional Democrats are working on a proposal to cut another $20 billion in spending, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . It’s the biggest cut the administration and...

Libya Allies Bicker Over Who Will Lead

US calls 'not it'

(Newser) - The coalition policing Libya’s skies is facing an internal conflict, as well: it can’t agree on who will lead the effort going forward. The US is currently in charge, but President Obama has made it clear that he’d like to hand off control . But to who? The...

Limbaugh: Obama and His Boys Are 'Sissies'

Gates, male liberals are 'the new castrati'

(Newser) - In a column for CNN, David Gergen wrote about how "ironic" it is that the advisers who "talked Obama into using force" against Moammar Gadhafi were all women. But Rush Limbaugh was not at all surprised by the fact that "leading male advisers were opposed." Referencing...

Hillary Clinton Drove President Obama's Decision to Use Military Force on Libya
 Clinton Drove 
 Obama Shift on Libya 
ANALYSIS
Mar 19, 2011 8:52 AM CDT

Clinton Drove Obama Shift on Libya

Secretary of State secured Arab buy-in, convinced prez to act

(Newser) - President Obama came late to the decision to authorize military force against Libya , but he did so based on the counsel and efforts of Hillary Clinton, reports the New York Times . The secretary of state was herself against intervention until she secured buy-in from Arab nations; she then joined a...

US Ready to Back Airstrikes on Libya

Fears no-fly zone is too late, backs broader resolution

(Newser) - With a siege in Benghazi looking like a distinct possibility, the White House is suddenly looking to use some muscle in Libya. After weeks of discussion, the administration has concluded that a no-fly zone would likely be “too little, too late” to save the rebels, the New York Times...

Clinton: I'm Done After This Term

Secretary of state rules out another White House run

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton says she's not interested in staying on as secretary of state or in any other government job even if President Obama wins a second term in 2012. "There isn’t anything that I can imagine doing after this that would be as demanding, as challenging or rewarding,...

US Drones Quietly Spy on Mexico Drug Lords

Flights kept hush-hush because they're probably illegal

(Newser) - The Obama administration has begun sending high-altitude spy drones deep into Mexican territory to keep an eye on the movements of drug traffickers, the New York Times reports. The information is intended to be shared with Mexican law enforcement, and Felipe Calderón formally agreed to the flights in his...

NRA Refuses White House Meeting on Gun Rules

Democrats are out to kill Second Amendment, says group

(Newser) - The Obama administration is trying to bring together both sides in the debate over gun control for a series of meetings, but the NRA sees it as a waste of time. “Why should I or the NRA go sit down with a group of people that have spent a...

US Unveils 5-Point Plan to Assist Libya Rebels

Rebels retreat from key town as Gadhafi launches offensive

(Newser) - The White House has announced a five-point, non-military plan aimed at removing Moammar Gadhafi from power in Libya. Officials are set to partially embrace the opposition movement and threatened to prosecute loyalists involved in atrocities, the New York Times reports. Meanwhile, the administration rejected the US intelligence chief’s comments...

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