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WASHINGTON (CNN) - The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee warned Monday against a narrowing of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, but also suggested a plan by the commanding U.S. general in the country is overly ambitious.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations that a major U.S. troop pullout could trigger a civil war could between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

It could also destabilize neighboring Pakistan, he added.

Kerry's warning came in the midst of a comprehensive Obama administration review of U.S. strategy in the two countries.

Kerry rejected the idea of a small-scale counter-terror campaign advocated by Vice President Joe Biden, saying it was no substitute for the wider ongoing military campaign.

But he also would not endorse a major troop increase as proposed by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. Kerry said McChrystal's request for 40,000 additional troops "reaches too far, too fast."

Kerry just returned from Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he played a key role in persuading Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept a runoff election after Karzai's recent election victory was found to be the result of widespread voter fraud.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Massachusetts Democrat Sen. John Kerry, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Vietnam War veteran, said he does not see parallels between the war in Vietnam and the U.S. engagement in Afghanistan.

“This is not Vietnam, in many respects,” Kerry said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

Unlike the top commander in Vietnam decades ago, Kerry said he thought Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, “is asking the questions about the underlying assumptions” of the U.S. mission in the war-torn country.

“We are here in Afghanistan because people attacked us here in the most significant attack against the United States since Pearl Harbor,” Kerry told King while on a trip to Afghanistan, “We are here because there are still people at large who are plotting against the United States of America. And we are here because the stability of this region is a critical strategic interest to the United States.”

“So the basic assumptions here are very, very different from what we experienced years ago in Vietnam,” Kerry also said.

Kerry added that he thought McChrystal was very carefully looking at the capability of the Afghan government and at the need to get civilian assistance on the ground in Afghanistan once the U.S. military mission there was completed.

But Kerry said that after meeting in person with McChrystal, he was not yet convinced that the Afghan government was up to the task of maintaining order and security and of implementing necessary reforms to achieve better governance.

Kerry rejected a recent suggestion from former Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain that President Obama would make a decision based on politics when it comes to next steps in Afghanistan.
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WASHINGTON (CNN)– Sen. John Kerry cautioned President Obama Saturday against raising troop levels in Afghanistan, saying it would be "entirely irresponsible" to do so while the Afghan government remains in turmoil following national elections.

"It would be entirely irresponsible for the president of the United States to commit more troops to this country, when we don't even have an election finished and know who the president is and what kind of government we're working in, with," Kerry told CNN's John King in an interview set to air Sunday at 9 a.m. on State of The Union.

Speaking from Afghanistan, Kerry, who is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the U.S. should listen to the advice of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in that country.

"When our own, you know, commanding general tells us that a critical component of achieving our mission here is, in fact, good governance, and we're living with a government that we know has to change and provide it, how could the president responsibly say, oh, they asked for more, sure, here they are?," Kerry said.

President Obama and his advisers have held five meetings in recent weeks to discuss U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as they continue to weigh a call from Gen. McChrystal for as many as 40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan.

However, complaints of voter irregularities have dogged the Afghanistan election and the United States' mission there. At a press conference earlier this month, the top United Nations official in Afghanistan, Kai Eide said the vote was marred by "widespread fraud."

The Independent Election Commission is expected to soon finish an audit and recount of suspicious ballots. The independent commission is a "constitutional body" that conducts "free and fair elections" in an "impartial way" according to its Web site.

Election tallies have yet to be certified because of the allegations. Last month, final uncertified results showed Karzai with 54 percent of the vote.

Be sure to watch the full interview Sunday at 9.am. on State of The Union with John King

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Barack Obama signed legislation Thursday providing an additional $7.5 billion in assistance to the Pakistani government.

"This law is the tangible manifestation of broad support for Pakistan in the U.S.," the White House said in a written statement.

The act bolsters a partnership "based on a shared commitment to improving the living conditions of the people of Pakistan through sustainable economic development, strengthening democracy and the rule of law, and combating the extremism that threatens Pakistan and the United States," it said.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - The chairmen of the House and Senate committees on foreign relations Wednesday provided a written explanation of the $7.5 billion Pakistan aid bill, a response to Pakistani protests of U.S. meddling in its affairs.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman were joined by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as they spoke to reporters.

Qureshi had rushed back to Washington this week to report on the Pakistani Parliament's opposition to the five-year package of nonmilitary aid. Some Pakistani politicians said the aid bill was an American attempt to micro-manage Pakistan's civilian and military affairs.

Sen. Kerry, D-Massachusetts, said an "explanatory statement" will accompany the aid bill, which is awaiting President Obama's signature.

"Everyone is on the same page," Kerry said in a statement to journalists outside the door to the Foreign Relations Committee. "We are all clear about the intentions of the legislation."

He said the bill "demonstrates the American people have a long-term commitment to the people of Pakistan."

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Call it Kerry vs. Palin, Round 2.

Massachusetts Democrat Sen. John Kerry, a longtime Obama ally, and Alaska's Republican Gov. Sarah Palin are sparring again, this time over climate change and energy policy.

Kerry has taken to liberal Web site The Huffington Post to respond to an op-ed by Palin published Tuesday in the Washington Post.

In her op-ed, Palin slams President Obama's cap-and-trade energy plan, saying she believes the plan is "an enormous threat to our economy."

In his response, Kerry takes a dig at Palin in an apparent reference to Tina Fey's "I can see Russia from my house" take-off on Palin.

"The global climate change crisis threatens our economy and our national security in profound ways," writes Kerry.

"Governor Palin need no look further than the view from her front porch in Alaska to see how destructive this crisis can be," says Kerry, pointing to a two-year-old New York Times report about a small Alaskan village facing destruction because of melting permafrost.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Call it Kerry vs. Palin, Round 2.

Massachusetts Democrat Sen. John Kerry, a longtime Obama ally, and Alaska's Republican Gov. Sarah Palin are sparring again, this time over climate change and energy policy.

Kerry has taken to liberal Web site The Huffington Post to respond to an op-ed by Palin published Tuesday in the Washington Post.

In her op-ed, Palin slams President Obama's cap-and-trade energy plan, saying she believes the plan is "an enormous threat to our economy."

In his response, Kerry takes a dig at Palin in an apparent reference to Tina Fey's "I can see Russia from my house" take-off on Palin.

"The global climate change crisis threatens our economy and our national security in profound ways," writes Kerry.

"Governor Palin need no look further than the view from her front porch in Alaska to see how destructive this crisis can be," says Kerry, pointing to a two-year-old New York Times report about a small Alaskan village facing destruction because of melting permafrost.
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(CNN) – She's visiting troops on a peacekeeping mission, but Sarah Palin signaled Friday she's ready to go to battle with John Kerry, who reportedly made a joke earlier this week at her expense.

The Boston Herald reported that on Wednesday, before South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's exact whereabouts were widely known, the Massachusetts senator mused to reporters the wrong elected official had dropped out of sight.

"Too bad if a governor had to go missing it couldn't have been the governor of Alaska," he said, according to the paper. "You know, Sarah Palin."

Palin herself, speaking to U.S. troops in Kosovo, responded Friday with a shot aimed straight for the face - literally.

"Then Sen. John Kerry makes this joke, I don't know if you saw this, but he makes this joke saying, 'Aw shoot, of all the governors in the nation who disappeared, too bad it couldn't have been that governor from Alaska...'" she said.

"But the way he said it, he looked quite frustrated, and he looked so sad, and I just wanted to reach out to the TV and say, 'John Kerry, why the long face?'"

Palin is overseas visiting Alaska National Guard troops on a peacekeeping mission.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A top congressional Republican on Thursday joined critics of the White House's response to Iran's disputed presidential election, saying the United States has a "moral responsibility" to condemn attacks on protesters.

"The administration's position that what's going on in Iran is a 'vigorous debate' is absurd," House Minority Whip Eric Cantor said in a statement released Thursday. "People are being brutalized and murdered by the regime in Tehran. We have no idea exactly how many have died or have been seriously injured, since the regime has restricted journalists. In no way do these actions constitute a 'vigorous debate.'"

The congressman from Virginia, the No. 2 Republican in the House, added that "America has a moral responsibility to stand up for these brave people, to defend human rights, and to condemn the violence and abuses by the regime in Tehran."

Obama said Monday he was "deeply troubled" by the violent protests that followed Friday's vote, which official results show resulted in the re-election of hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But he avoided siding with Ahmadinejad's opponents, telling reporters that "It is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran's leaders will be."

Tuesday, he added, "It's not productive, given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations, to be seen as meddling, the U.S. president meddling in Iranian elections."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs defended that approach Thursday, telling reporters Obama "believes that he's struck the right tone."

"I know some people agree with what Sen. McCain said. Some people agree with what other Republicans have said that's very much like the president's position," Gibbs said. "The president strongly believes that we should - and have - spoken out to ensure the demonstrators have the universal right and principle to demonstrate without fear of harm. But at the same time, we have to respect their sovereignty."
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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. John Kerry defended President Obama Thursday for staying out of the controversy over the elections in Iran, telling CNN this was an "Iranian moment" and saying it would be an "enormous mistake" for the president to get involved.

Kerry continued his criticism of Sen. John McCain, who had called Obama's response "tepid." In an editorial published Thursday morning in the New York Times, the Massachusetts Democrat wrote that the "tough talk" of McCain and his advocates "only empowered hard-liners and put reformers on the defensive."

He echoed that point on The Situation Room Thursday.

"Specifically for the president of the United States to get in the middle of what is happening in Iran right now, I believe and I think many people believe, would be an enormous mistake, because it just gives the Iranian clerics, who are already in some cases oppressive and restrictive with respect to what people in Iran can do, more excuse to make America the target and America an excuse for their actions," Kerry told CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer.

"I think there are serious questions about the election, but I think the Iranians are carrying that message to their own leadership," Kerry said. "There is no need for the United States of America to step into the middle of it and make this about America when it is an Iranian moment spurred on by Iranians."

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The United States is rushing emergency aid to Pakistan - an initial $5 million - to help people uprooted by the fighting against extremists, according to the State Department.

The U.S. had urged the Pakistanis to launch the military action that in recent days has driven hundreds of thousands of people from their villages.

Meanwhile, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took a longer-term view Tuesday and discussed how the United States might triple aid to Pakistan over the next five years.

The State Department said Tuesday the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan and officials of the U.S. Agency for International Development were evaluating the needs of civilians fleeing the Swat valley and surrounding regions in northwest Pakistan.

"We are of course very concerned about the well-being of civilians who are fleeing the fighting in the area," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said. "And we have personnel, USAID personnel, on the ground in Pakistan, not in the Swat valley, but in Pakistan, who are directing assistance to help them."

"We've provided a substantial amount of money through the International Organization for Migration," Kelly said at his daily briefing in Washington. "This is primarily to provide tents, provide shelter and emergency relief supplies, food and medicine to the affected populations."

Kelly said the $5 million was just an initial payment.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. John Kerry said that newspapers are "becoming an endangered species" as more people turn to the "power, efficiency and technological elegance" of Internet news.

Before a Senate hearing on the struggling newspaper industry on Wednesday, the Massachusetts Democrat warned that television and radio could face the same fate "in a matter of a few years."

"As a means of conveying news in a timely way, paper and ink have become obsolete, eclipsed by the power, efficiency and technological elegance of the Internet," Kerry said in a statement. "But just looking at the erosion of newspapers is not the full picture; it's just one casualty of a completely shifting and churning information landscape."

While lamenting the fall of some of the country's oldest newspapers, Kerry, the chairman of Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, praised the contributions of online journalists and said the process for credentialing reporters to cover Capitol Hill should be modernized to include them.

But he also questioned whether Internet publications will uphold the same journalistic standards as newspapers.

"Will the emerging news media be more fragmented by interests and political partisanship?" Kerry said. "There also is the important question of whether on-line journalism will sustain the values of professional journalism, the way the newspaper industry has."

Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said newspapers will not receive federal bailout money because it is a "bit of a tricky area" and it could cause a conflict of interest to help media companies that cover the president.

The purpose of the hearing Wednesday is to try to figure out an economic model for the new kind of press that the "newspaper barons of this country never envisioned," Kerry said.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A prominent Democrat is joining the fray as many of the nation's newspapers slash staffs, file for bankruptcy, end their print editions, or cease publishing altogether.

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts announced Monday that he will chair a subcommittee hearing on the future of journalism.

"An independent news media is vital to our democracy," Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, said in a statement Monday evening. "The history of our Republic is inextricably linked to the narrative of our free and independent press, yet today, America's newspapers are struggling just to stay afloat. I called this hearing to directly address a problem that for too long has had us turning the other way. Whatever the model for the future, we must do all we can to ensure a diverse and independent news media endures."

The hearing is set for May 6. It is the subcommittee's first hearing since Kerry became the chair. It "will address the economic recession's impact on media," the statement said.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. John McCain will meet early next week with Chris Hill, President Barack Obama's nominee for ambassador to Iraq who McCain has questioned because he has no prior experience in the country, a spokeswoman told CNN.

McCain spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan told CNN that McCain, an Arizona Republican and 2008 presidential nominee, plans to use the meeting to assess whether he thinks Hill can do the job. Buchanan said Hill requested the meeting.

McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, released a statement Thursday night saying "the next ambassador should have experience in the Middle East and in working closely with the U.S. military in counterinsurgency or counterterrorism operations. Mr. Hill has neither."

Hill has had a long career in the foreign service. He most recently served as U.S. ambassador to South Korea, leading the U.S. delegation to the so-called six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program.

He also has served as ambassador to Poland and special envoy to Kosovo among other posts in Europe.

"I have every confidence that Ambassador Hill is the right person to represent the United States in Baghdad," said Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, which will consider Hill's nomination. "By nominating Ambassador Hill to serve in Baghdad, President Obama has chosen one of our very best to help bring lasting peace to Iraq.

"I look forward to his confirmation hearings, and am confident that those of my colleagues who may not yet be familiar with his service to the nation will be as impressed by his skill and dedication as I have been."

State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said Friday the administration stands behind Hill.

"I know that Ambassador Hill looks forward to confirmation hearings in which he can address the senators' concerns and go into more detail about his record," Duguid said. "He is ready for those hearings."

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(CNN) – “Mr. Amtrak,” better known as Vice President Joe Biden, announced stimulus funding for Amtrak trains Friday at Union Station in Washington.

$1.3 billion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be allocated to the inter-city passenger train service which employs nearly 19,000 people.

Alongside a “gang” of rail supporters like Republican Sen. Arlen Specter and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry, the vice president and Amtrak advocate announced that federal funding will be used to improve safety measures, rebuild passenger rail cars, and handle operating costs.

"I'm tired of apologizing for help for Amtrak. ... It is an absolute national treasure and necessity,” Biden affirmed, reminding the crowd of reporters, “after 9/11, the only thing functioning was this rail system.”

Biden has been a daily rail commuter for over 37 years, traveling from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware to Washington, DC during his terms in the US Senate. Referred to by railway personnel as “Amtrak’s #1 customer,” Biden informed the crowd he hosts the commuter trains’ conductors to his Wilmington home every year for a summer party.

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GAZA CITY, Gaza (CNN) - A U.S. congressional delegation visited Gaza Thursday, marking the first time that American lawmakers have entered the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory in eight years, according to the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem.

The delegation included Reps. Brian Baird, D-Washington, and Keith Ellison, D-Minnesota, who is the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. Congress.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, also visited Gaza separately from the two congressmen, according to an official who was traveling with the senator.

None of the U.S. lawmakers visited representatives of Gaza's Hamas leadership. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.

Baird said that the visit represents a change in the United States' attitude and approach to Gaza, under newly elected President Barack Obama.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Senate Foreign Relations Chairmain John Kerry will travel to Syria next week and meet with President Bashar Assad, his spokesman said Wednesday.

Frederick Jones told CNN that Kerry will be traveling to the Middle East, calling the senator's visit to Damascus "part of a continuing dialogue he's had with the Syrian government."

Kerry has maintined contacts with Syrian officials and recently met with the country's ambassador to the United States.

His trip comes as President Barack Obama considers engagement with Syria as well as Iran, an idea supported by Kerry.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – He’s the three-quarters of a billion dollar man.

Barack Obama's presidential campaign hauled in nearly $750 million dollars during this very long and historic campaign for the White House. That's more than twice what his opponent, Republican presidential nominee John McCain, raised and it's more than what George W. Bush and John Kerry combined raked in during the 2004 presidential campaign.

In a report filed with the Federal Election Commission Thursday, the Obama campaign reported spending over $100 million during the final few weeks leading up to the November 4 election, far more than McCain.

Obama opted out of taking public funds during the September to November general election period, becoming the first candidate for president to opt out of public financing since the system was created in the 1970s. Obama gambled that he could raise more money than the $84 million McCain received in public funds. That gamble apparently paid off.

Some other numbers: The Obama campaign raised $104 million in the five weeks leading up to and just after Election Day. And as of November 24, the last day included in this report, the Obama campaign had nearly $30 million left in the bank.

(CNN) – Sen. Hillary Clinton continues to top the short list of possible contenders to be the next Secretary of State under President-elect Barack Obama.

In addition to Clinton, there are several prominent Democrats and even one Republican on CNN’s list:

SEN. JOHN KERRY: The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee has served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for almost 20 years.

DR. SUSAN RICE: A veteran of Bill Clinton’s State Department, Rice was also a senior adviser to Obama’s presidential campaign.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON: The New Mexico governor was tapped by Bill Clinton to be U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., but Richardson broke with the Clintons when he decided to endorse Obama after ending his own 2008 presidential bid.

SEN. DICK LUGAR: The Republican, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, worked with Obama last year to expand a program that destroys weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union.

SAM NUNN: The former Democratic senator from Georgia currently co-chairs an effort to reduce threats from nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. While in the Senate, Nunn worked with Lugar to destroy weapons of mass destruction amassed by the former Soviet Union.

Click here for additional CNN short lists for Obama’s potential cabinet.

(CNN) - To the victor belong the spoils, and after eight years out of the White House, Democrats want to be spoiled with high-profile jobs.

"For every senior job, there is probably 10 qualified people, and it's hard to be the person to tell the nine that they are not the number one pick," said former Clinton White House press secretary Joe Lockhart.

Senior Democrats say Sen. John Kerry is jockeying to be secretary of state - and has a good case after endorsing President-elect Barack Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries.

But some Democrats worry he can veer off message, just like Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

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