United States

Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he expected a proposed Syria peace conference backed by Washington and Moscow to be held in early June, and he denied reports that the Damascus government did not plan to attend.

(Reuters) - The United States and African leaders threw their full diplomatic weight on Wednesday behind a campaign to expel Islamist rebels from Mali, as French air strikes harried the al Qaeda-allied fighters in their strongholds.

The Obama administration's recently released Defense Strategic Guidance has officially brought the COIN era to a close. But debates over counterinsurgency's accomplishments in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as its role in America's future national security posture show no sign of letting up. Steven Metz, Bing West, Michael Mazarr, Crispin Burke and Andrew Exum examine lessons learned and the path ahead for COIN.

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) will get her first chance to fulfill her promise to cut U.S. funding from the United Nations tomorrow, when the House votes on a bill to take back $180 million already given to the U.N.

House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will fire her first legislative salvo against the United Nations this week when the chamber takes up her bill to force the return of money the United States overpaid to the international organization.

According to the legislation, which has yet to be formally introduced, the United Nations has owed the United States $179 million in overpayments to the U.N.’s Tax Equalization Fund since Dec. 31, 2009. It is currently scheduled for House consideration Feb. 9.