U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says it is a "great regret" that the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court. Clinton spoke Thursday in Kenya during a seven-nation tour of Africa. The court is the first permanent institution authorized to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national courts are unable or unwilling... 

By Victor Davis Hansen Barack Obama has reached down to a lowly (though no longer “stupid”) cop and raised him up to the presidential empyrean: “And I have to tell you that, as I said yesterday, my impression of [Sgt. James Crowley] was that he was an outstanding police officer and a good man, and that was confirmed in the phone conversation — and I told him that,”... 

BY ABDON M. PALLASCH President Obama got his start as a community organizer in Roseland, but a few dozen residents gathered there Saturday gave the new commander-in-chief a failing grade for not doing enough to tackle urban problems during his first 100 days in office. Share/Save Read More →

By Peter Finn A military judge in Guantanamo Bay today denied the Obama administration's request to delay proceedings for 120 days in the case of a detainee accused of planning the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole warship, an al-Qaeda strike that killed 17 service members and injured 50 others. Share/Save Read More →

By Amir Taheri In his "first message to the Muslim world" Tuesday, President Obama on Al-Arabiya TV invited the Is lamic Republic in Iran to "unclench its fist" and accept his offer of "un conditional talks." A few hours later, after Obama had appeared on the Saudi-owned satellite-TV channel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a crowd of militants that no talks... 

Family members of people killed on September 11, 2001, and in other terror attacks say they are outraged by President Obama's draft order calling for the suspension of war crimes trials of prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. Share/Save Read More →

President-elect Barack Obama said this weekend that he does not expect to close Guantanamo Bay in his first 100 days in office. "I think it's going to take some time and our legal teams are working in consultation with our national security apparatus as we speak to help design exactly what we need to do," Obama said in an exclusive "This Week" interview with George Stephanopoulos,... 

President-elect Barack Obama's incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was pushing for Obama's successor just days after the Nov. 4 election, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times. Emanuel privately urged Gov. Blagojevich's administration to appoint Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett, and the Sun-Times learned Tuesday that he also pressed that it be done by a certain deadline. Share/Save Read More →

By Jonathan Weisman President-elect Barack Obama's transition team said it had completed an internal review of contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich — but wouldn't release its findings until Christmas week, at the request of federal investigators. Share/Save Read More →

By Howard Fineman Political pros know that the best time of the year in which to bury a scandal is Christmas week. People are busy. Reporters are on vacation. Almost no one is watching the news. Share/Save Read More →

By Bob Secter (CHICAGO TRIBUNE) Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration about who would replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Tribune has learned. Share/Save Read More →