National Security

Self-Declared Islamic State Takes Iraqi City Of Ramadi

1:35pm May 19, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block interviews New York Times Baghdad bureau chief Tim Arango about how the self-proclaimed Islamic State took control of Ramadi, Iraq, despite American air support.

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White House Says Fall Of Ramadi, Iraq, Is A 'Setback'

6:23pm May 18, 2015

by Michele Kelemen

The Obama administration downplays the self-proclaimed Islamic State takeover of the important Iraqi city of Ramadi as Iraq emerges again as a major American political issue.

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All 8 Bodies Recovered From U.S. Helicopter Crash In Nepal

2:02pm May 18, 2015

by L. Carol Ritchie

The bodies of six U.S. Marines and two Nepali soldiers were recovered near the crash site in remote mountains northeast of Kathmandu where the helicopter was delivering earthquake relief aid.

4 ISIS Leaders Reportedly Among 32 Killed In U.S. Raid, Airstrikes

2:44pm May 17, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The raid, carried out on Saturday by U.S. forces, killed Abu Sayyaf, a senior commander. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says three other leaders were killed in ground and air operations.

Ice Cold U.S., Russia Relations Put Strain On Nuclear Agreements

7:31pm May 16, 2015

by Corey Flintoff

As relations between the world's two biggest nuclear powers deteriorate, the treaties and dialogue that kept Russia and the U.S. from nuclear war are fraying.

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U.S. Troops Kill Senior ISIS Commander In Syria

1:42pm May 16, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The U.S. says that Abu Sayyaf, a senior leader of the self-declared Islamic State, was killed during a U.S. military operation authorized by President Obama.

John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, testifies on Capitol Hill last June. Sopko says the Afghans are still having trouble managing the money the U.S. sends to the country. The U.S. has spent $110 billion on Afghanistan's r

The Man Who Keeps Tabs On U.S. Money Spent In Afghanistan

2:46pm May 15, 2015

by David Welna

John Sopko says the Afghans still do a poor job of managing the billions they get from the U.S. and he has documented the abuses. Still, he supports the ongoing U.S. efforts there.

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This small unmanned aerial vehicle was spotted flying near the White House.

Drone-Like Device Puts White House On Lockdown

6:54pm May 14, 2015

by Tamara Keith

A person flying a small drone-like device too close to the White House was taken into custody. It's another in a line of security instances around the White House.

Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks Wednesday before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, where he laid out his

4 Questions For Republicans On Foreign Policy

4:51pm May 14, 2015

by Mara Liasson

Republicans are critical of President Obama's foreign policy with the rise of the Islamic State militant group and the Iran negotiations. But the GOP faces its own challenges related to world affairs.

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Jeb Bush walked back his position that he would have authorized the Iraq War, even knowing what we know now. He now says he would not have.

Jeb Bush Fully Walks Back: 'I Would Not Have Gone Into Iraq'

3:09pm May 14, 2015

by Domenico Montanaro

After days of shifting positions on whether he would have gone to war in Iraq, even knowing what we know now, Jeb Bush did an about-face, saying definitively that he would not have gone in.