U.s. Foreign Policy | featured news

Misstatements were found about an oil pipeline, presidential contacts with Iran and cuts to the defense budget... The latest GOP debate was thin on memorable moments or major factual bloopers, but we do have some leftover claims to dispute before we shut down for the Thanksgiving holiday. We wouldn't want anybody's turkey dinner to be spoiled by worries that terrorists have come over the border with Mexico, for example. We also found misstatements about an oil pipeline, presidential contacts with Iran and cuts to the defense budget.

Republican presidential contenders jousted over Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East on Tuesday night in a tense national security debate that laid out sharply contrasting views on how to keep America safe from attack.

The Republican candidates for president outlined their foreign policy and national security visions in a debate Saturday, tackling issues that have largely taken a backseat in a presidential race that has been shaped by the troubled economy.

The demise of Moammar Gaddafi is big news around the world. Note to the Republican presidential candidates: This will come as a shock, but there are lots of other countries out there, and what happens in some of them is really important. Anyone who wants to serve as commander in chief should be paying attention.

When Republican candidate Mitt Romney attacked President Obama for conducting a "feckless" foreign policy, the White House had a ready answer. It came from a Republican. White House spokesman Jay Carney quoted this particular Republican as saying: "I've been very supportive of the President's decisions in Iraq and Afghanistan ... When you look at the prosecution of the war effort against the enemy in the tribal areas, there's clearly been more done under President Obama than there was under President Bush in terms of a more aggressive effort focused at them." "So said John Boehner, Speaker of the House, highest elected Republican in the land," Carney dutifully reported.

President Barack Obama may have a string of counterterrorism successes and earned high marks from the public on foreign policy, but neither is likely to help him hold the White House....

Seeking to defuse a major diplomatic confrontation, President Obama said the only way to achieve the goal was for the Palestinians and Israelis to resume direct negotiations.

Wading into a tense foreign policy dispute, Republican presidential candidates Rick Perry and Mitt Romney on Tuesday criticized the Palestinian Authority's effort to seek a formal recognition of statehood by the U.N. General Assembly. The GOP rivals also used the jockeying at the U.S. to assail President Barack Obama's policy toward Israel.

Top Obama administration officials are expected to face continued criticism Thursday over their handling of the crisis in Libya, and louder calls for a clearer explanation of U.S. policy in the war-torn North African nation.

President Obama could build on a New START victory as he turns to other foreign policy challenges. Failure might be regarded abroad as confirmation that the administration is too weak to put its stamp on world affairs.