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Articles by Stephen Dinan

aftermath: Syrians sift through the rubble of a house targeted by coalition airstrikes in the village of Kfar Derian. Washington informed President Bashar Assad's government of imminent U.S. strikes against Islamic State group strongholds hours before the bombing began. (Associated Press)

Obama use of Sept. 11 authority for Syria airstrikes questioned

With nearly two dozen attacks in Syria against both the Islamic State and the Khorasan Group, an al Qaeda offshoot that the administration said posed an immediate threat to the U.S., President Obama this week opened a new front in the war on terror that he said was winding down just a year ago.

September 23, 2014
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell touted Obamacare's enrollment numbers in a speech Tuesday, saying "... we're spending our health care dollars more wisely and we're starting to receive higher quality care." (Associated Press)

Sylvia Burwell touts Obamacare enrollment numbers

After nearly a year of full operation under its belt Obamacare is a growing success, and next year will be even better with 77 new insurers preparing to offer plans on the new insurance markets, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said Tuesday.

September 23, 2014
Minutes after the Senate voted to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels in the fight against the Islamic State militant group, the administration signaled that it is poised to expand its air campaign into Syria, opening a new geographic front in the war on terrorism. President Obama said, "These terrorists thought they could fight us, or intimidate us, or cause us to shrink from the world, but today they're learning the same hard lesson of petty tyrants and terrorists who've gone before." (Associated Press)

Obama given green light to battle ISIS in renewed war on terrorism

Congress gave final permission Thursday for the Pentagon to train and arm Syrian rebels, approving part of President Obama's war plans before fleeing Washington for a two-month break, leaving the White House free rein to fight a war against the Islamic State on its own terms.

September 18, 2014
President Barack Obama gestures during a statement in the State Dining Room of the White House, on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014, in Washington. Obama spoke after Congress voted to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels in the fight against the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

French to join U.S. coalition in Iraq

France will join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State by helping the U.S. conduct airstrikes in Iraq, President Obama said Thursday night as he basked in a successful vote in Congress giving him permission to arm and train Syrian rebels.

September 18, 2014
Illegal immigrants on their way to deportation listen to a Border Patrol agent in Arizona in 2010, when the majority came from Mexico. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Senate falls short in bid to halt Obama immigration policies

Senate Republicans narrowly missed a chance Thursday to halt President Obama's non-deportation policies, falling just short in a vote that saw even five Democrats join them in signaling worries over the White House's immigration plans.

September 18, 2014

John Kerry takes go-slow approach on revoking passports

While he has the power to revoke passports of those traveling to fight in Syria, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Thursday he wants to be careful in using that authority so he doesn't disrupt any ongoing criminal investigations.

September 18, 2014
Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ** FILE **

Former commander says nixing U.S. ground troops damages international coalition

Taking ground combat troops off the table in the fight against the Islamic State could be hurting President Obama's efforts to build an international coalition because it leaves questions about the U.S. commitment, the former commander who oversaw military efforts in the Middle East said Thursday.

September 18, 2014
President Barack Obama speaks to service men and women at MacDill Air Force Base Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014, in Tampa, Fla. The President arrived in Tampa on Tuesday evening and met with Centcom commander Gen. Lloyd Austin III and other leaders at MacDill, including members of the Centcom international coalition. (AP Photo/The Tampa Tribune, Chris Urso, Pool) ** FILE **

House approves Obama plan to arm, train Syrian rebels to fight ISIS

The House voted Wednesday to approve President Obama's request to open a new front in the war on terrorism, granting him permission to train and arm some Syrian rebels in the hope that they will fight Islamic State militants advancing in Syria and Iraq.

September 17, 2014
President Barack Obama, center, before the start of a briefing at US Central Command (CentCom) at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. Obama was updated on the ongoing military campaigns in Iraq and Syria. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

House approves first part of Obama war plan to train Syrian rebels

The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to back President Obama's request for permission to train and money to arm the more reliable forces among Syrian rebels, giving the first congressional approval to the White House's still-developing war plans.

September 17, 2014
Rep. Paul Broun. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

House approves Ron Paul’s ‘Audit the Fed’ bill

Former Rep. Ron Paul's push to audit the Federal Reserve got another boost Wednesday when the House passed the bill for the second time in three years, and by a bigger margin than before.

September 17, 2014
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wisconsin Republican (Associated Press) **FILE**

Sensenbrenner: Time to dissolve ATF

A top Republican House member on Wednesday proposed eliminating the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, writing a bill that would freeze all hiring at the troubled agency and require the Justice Department to come up with a plan for transferring its duties to other agencies.

September 17, 2014
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey, from left, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, and National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen testify before the House Homeland Security Full Committee during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson opposes White House on Libya visas

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will not lift the ban that keeps Libyans from coming to study aviation or nuclear sciences in the U.S., he told Congress on Wednesday, pushing back against an initiative supported by the State Department and the White House.

September 17, 2014
architects: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey remain in the process of continuing to shape Obama administration activities to rout the Islamic State terrorist group. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Pentagon open to U.S. ground troops in fight against Islamic State

The Pentagon's top general opened the door Tuesday to the possibility that U.S. combat troops would be needed in Iraq, as he publicly laid out President Obama's still-developing plans to combat Islamic State insurgents through U.S. air power and relying on an as-yet-unformed coalition of Muslim and Arab allies.

September 16, 2014
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, left, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey testify concerning the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, September 16, 2014. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

U.S. troops in Iraq to rise to 1,600

There will be 1,600 U.S. troops in Iraq by the time President Obama's current plans are fully in place — but none of those are considered combat troops, which means the U.S. is not officially reengaged in the war there, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Congress on Tuesday.

September 16, 2014
President Barack Obama salutes as he arrives on the South Lawn of the White House, on Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, in Washington. Obama traveled to the Fort McHenry historic site that is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore, and also attended a private Democratic fundraiser. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Congress demands Obama act to keep Islamic terrorists out of U.S.

While President Obama is focused on getting money to friendly-ish Syrian rebels, Congress is increasingly demanding he take more steps to stop militant fighters from coming to the U.S. by stripping Americans of their passports if they join the fight and by suspending countries that have large contingents of foreign fighters from the Visa Waiver Program.

September 15, 2014