Assad meets Putin in ‘first foreign visit since 2011’. White House slams Russia 'red carpet' treatment for Syria's Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flew into Moscow on Tuesday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which the two men discussed their joint military campaign against Islamist militants in Syria, a Kremlin spokesman said.

US Senate report finds CIA interrogations 'far more brutal' than agency admitted

"Enhanced interrogation" techniques used by the CIA on militants detained in secret prisons were ineffective and never produced information which led to the disruption of imminent terrorist plots, the declassified report by the Senate Intelligence Committee has found.
The report said the CIA misled the public and government policymakers about the effectiveness of the programme, which ran from 2002 to 2006 and involved questioning Al-Qaeda and other captives around the world.

U.S. warns against Israeli ground invasion of Gaza

The United States on Monday warned against any Israeli ground invasion of Gaza, saying it would put even more civilians at risk than are currently in the crossfire of attacks on Hamas.
But the White House stopped short of criticizing Israel over the civilian toll so far in Gaza of the offensive, saying the government had a "right" and "responsibility" to defend their citizens against rocket attacks.
"Nobody wants to see a ground invasion because that would put more civilians at risk," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said during his daily press briefing.

Full Obama Statement on Prisoner Release

President Barack Obama broke the news Saturday that Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's was released by his Taliban captors in Afghanistan. Here is the president's statement, as released by the White House:


Statement by the President on Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl:"Today the American people are pleased that we will be able to welcome home Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, held captive for nearly five years.