James Jones

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Iraqis to adopt an election law that would enable the country's national polls to take place as scheduled in January.

US President Barack Obama met Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in an unannounced encounter and praised him for promoting national unity, the White House said.

Clinton, Gates say US retains goal of defeating al-Qaida, but rethink of strategy appropriate. President Barack Obama's top defense and diplomacy advisers said the United States retains the Afghanistan war goal that he outlined just two months into his presidency ? to sideline al-Qaida ? but changing circumstances require a reassessment of how to get there.

As inquiry of 2008 Afghan firefight begins, militants kill more American troops in same region. As President Barack Obama grapples with the way ahead in Afghanistan, a decision to launch a new investigation into a deadly firefight is a painful reminder of the challenges the U.S. faces in a country known as the graveyard of empires.

US military officers and civilians advising President Barack Obama on Afghanistan should keep their views private, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday, in an apparent rebuke to the commander there who has openly declared his stance on war strategy.

The US military's advice to President Barack Obama on Afghanistan should remain private, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday, in a rebuke to the commander who has openly declared his stance on war strategy.

The US military's advice to President Barack Obama on Afghanistan should remain private, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday, in a rebuke to the commander who has openly declared his stance on war strategy.

The US military's advice to President Barack Obama on Afghanistan should be candid but private, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday, in a rebuke to the commander who has openly declared his stance on war strategy.

Afghanistan's foreign minister said Monday the country was a victim of global extremism, denying that an increase in violence was a domestic insurgency and warning against any withdrawal of foreign troops.

Obama's national security adviser downplays threat of renewed al-Qaida haven in Afghanistan. A top U.S. commander's public plea for more troops in Afghanistan prompted a mild rebuke Sunday from the White House national security adviser, as the administration heads into a second week of intensive negotiations over its evolving Afghan strategy.

AP News in Brief. 8 US soldiers die in militant attack on outposts in remote eastern Afghanistan

TEHRAN (Reuters) - U.N. experts will inspect Iran's newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant on October 25, the IAEA nuclear agency chief said on Sunday, praising a shift "from conspiracy to cooperation" between Tehran and the West.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pakistan has mobilized enough forces and equipment to launch a long awaited ground offensive against Taliban militants in their South Waziristan stronghold near the Afghan border, U.S. defense officials said on Sunday.

Talks with Iran draw optimism from White House as lawmakers endorse tougher sanctions. The White House said Sunday it sees signs of progress in confronting Iran's nuclear program while members of Congress endorsed authorizing tougher U.S. economic penalties against the Tehran government.

The visiting head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog set Oct. 25 as the date for his inspectors to check Iran's newly revealed uranium enrichment site and struck an upbeat note Sunday, saying Tehran's confrontation with the West is shifting gears to more cooperation and transparency.

Head of UN atomic agency says standoff over Iran's nuclear program shifting to cooperation. The visiting head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog set Oct. 25 as the date for his inspectors to check Iran's newly revealed uranium enrichment site and struck an upbeat note Sunday, saying Tehran's confrontation with the West is shifting gears to more cooperation and transparency.

Adviser: Obama to tackle `don't ask, don't tell' policy on gays in military at `right time'. President Barack Obama will focus "at the right time" on how to overturn the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays serving openly in the military, his national security adviser said Sunday.

Obama adviser hopes administration can meet Obama's January deadline to close Guantanamo. The White House's national security adviser says the Obama administration is hard at work on fulfilling President Barack Obama's deadline to shut down the Guantanamo detention center for suspected terrorists.

White House: Signs that Iran is moving in right direction on its disputed nuclear program. The U.S. is pleased by some positive signs of cooperation from Iran about its nuclear program.

President Obama is not ready to tackle the military's ban on open gay service. President Obama is not ready to tackle the military's ban on open gay service, National Security Adviser James Jones told John King on CNN's 'State of the Union'. Democrats in the House, led by Pennsylvania Representative Patrick Murphy, have already introduced a bill that would repeal the 1993 law that forbids gay and lesbian service members from revealing their sexuality at the risk of losing their jobs. A Senate version is rumored to be in the offing. In a letter addressed to the president last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, urged the White House to move quickly to end the law, also known as ?don't ask, don't tell.? ?As Congress considers future legislative action, we believe it would be helpful to hear your views on the policy,? Reid wrote in a letter addressed to the president. ?I therefore request that you bring to Congress your recommendations on DADT (don't ask, don