John Kerry

The mountebanks are at it again.

Why can’t Democratic grandees admit that somebody else is in charge?

The new documentary The Final Year records the ups, the downs, the smiles, the frowns of President Obama’s foreign policy advisers during their last months in office. It was made for HBO but it won’t hit the small screen until later this year. For the moment it’s playing in a few theaters in Obama…

Nathan Thrall is a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, where he focuses on the Arab-Israeli conflict. A frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books, Thrall has also written for Commentary, which is to say he’s a writer who specializes in…

Two secret documents obtained by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz purportedly show that the Obama administration was eagerly trying to sponsor a final agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority that would end the five decades of conflict in the West Bank.

Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee easily passed a bipartisan bill that slaps sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile tests and other non-nuclear behavior Thursday, amid attempts by former Obama administration officials to stymie the legislation over concerns that it could hurt the…

Top officials from the Obama administration are working to stymie congressional pressure on Iran, including through a quiet push in Congress by an organization that has been criticized for helping mislead the public about the Iran deal, according to correspondence obtained by THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

The Trump administration is reviewing the release of millions of dollars for Palestinian projects made by the Obama administration in a last-minute transfer that flouted congressional objections, according to statements provided to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

As John Kerry wraps up his tenure as secretary of state, he seems determined to defend his and President Obama's legacy regarding the conflict in Syria. At this week's U.S. Institute of Peace's conference, Judy Woodruff asked Kerry about the perception that U.S. leadership could not be relied on…

The Obama administration has one week to hand over all documents involving a United Nations resolution critical of Israel to a congressional committee, amid allegations from Israeli officials that the administration worked behind the scenes to pass the resolution.

Secretary of State John Kerry recently gave a speech highly critical of the Israeli government. Supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were outraged; critics, on the other hand, were gratified. And then, just about everyone picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and turned their…

President Barack Obama's administration has indisputably done more to advance the LGBT agenda than any prior administration. Ending Don't Ask-Don't Tell for the military, vigorous support of gay marriage, and bathroom choice for the transgendered are only a few of the boxes checked off the LGBT…

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with contributing editor Elliott Abrams on his recent essay, "John Kerry's Final, Harmful Insult to Israel."

In the Obama administration's waning days, global challenges to American interests abound. In Syria, which will be a bloody stain on the reputations of Barack Obama and John Kerry, the killing continues. The effort to free Mosul from ISIS is slowing. The rise of Iranian influence in the Gulf and…

Secretary of State John Kerry accused the Israeli government of undermining prospects for a two-state solution Wednesday and defended the Obama administration's decision to allow the passage of a United Nations resolution critical of Israel, underscoring that Israeli settlements "only invited U.N.…

In his Wednesday speech on the Middle East, outgoing secretary of state John Kerry said a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian people was the only way to achieve piece. Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee for president, also scolded the leadership of the democratic Jewish state of…

Secretary of State John Kerry will lay out his vision for the Middle East peace process Wednesday, according to a State Department spokesman, less than a week after the Obama administration allowed the passage of a United Nations resolution critical of Israel.

The U.S. State Department updated its travel warning for Ukraine this week, backing off a recommendation that U.S. citizens currently in Crimea and the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk leave the area. The warning posted Wednesday advises U.S. citizens "to avoid all travel to" those regions of…

The Obama administration is facing mounting criticism that it is deliberately downplaying Iran's role in ongoing atrocities in Syria in order to avoid endangering the nuclear deal, a characterization the administration has rejected but that experts and journalists continue to wage.

Companies doing business with Iran risk U.S. sanctions unless they take heightened measures to avoid benefiting sanctioned entities like the Iranian military, according to a State Department statement provided to THE WEEKLY STANDARD. The warning contradicts remarks made by Secretary of State John…

Guidelines published last month by the Obama administration protect banks doing business with Iran from U.S. sanctions even if their transactions end up benefiting sanctioned entities, according to Secretary of State John Kerry. That stance, experts and congressional sources tell THE WEEKLY…

John Kerry painted a dire picture of impending climate doom Friday in Kigali, Rwanda. At a meeting of parties to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, an early climate agreement, the secretary of state said in part:

Just a few weeks ago, Secretary of State John Kerry admitted that "one of the most successful environmental agreements in history" was actually now a huge driver of climate change. Late last week, Kerry went further, saying that "HFCs [hydrofluorocarbons], which was supposed to be the solution,…

A former top Treasury Department official told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Thursday that major international firms still do not want to do business with Iran, despite efforts by the Obama administration to persuade foreign banks and businesses to reengage there.

In an interview with the Nieman Lab this week, New York Times editor Dean Baquet was asked about how the media are struggling to cover Donald Trump. He noted that this is not the first time during the course of a presidential campaign that the media has had hard time combat untruths, except that…

The State Department announced Monday that the United States had broken off talks with Russia of implementing a ceasefire agreement in the Syrian Civil war, as the Kremlin continued to back an aggressive bombing campaign in rebel-held parts of Aleppo.

Secretary of State John Kerry denied that the United States maintained a foreign policy of disengagement under the Obama administration, calling that perception "a marketing problem" on Thursday.

A State Department official testified Thursday morning that the administration was considering "some new" options to address Russia's activity in Syria at the request of President Obama, some seven months after Secretary of State John Kerry warned of a "plan B" in the event that an agreed-upon…

Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that the United States is edging toward dropping months of diplomatic efforts with Russia to end the Syrian civil war, after a U.S.-Russian ceasefire collapsed earlier this month and gave way to a Russia and Iran-backed offensive in the Syrian city of…

Top senators fired back at the Obama administration on Tuesday after the State Department shifted blame to Congress for the collapse of a U.S.-Russian brokered ceasefire in Syria. The back-and-forth in Washington comes as the State Department refuses to rule out further talks with Moscow despite a…

Now that Secretary of State John Kerry has the Paris Agreement on climate change under his belt, he has set his sights on amending the 1987 Montreal Protocol that phased out "ozone-depleting substances" (ODS) such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons to help close the ozone hole over the…

Top Obama adminstration officials have characterized the threat from climate change as "more terrifying" and "more potentially destructive and destabilizing" than a host of other threats, including terrorism and diseases like Zika and Ebola.

Secretary of State John Kerry addressed fellow world leaders Wednesday at an "Entry into Force" event for the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change with a salutation that sounded like a throwback to 1970s Saturday morning cartoons: "Thank you, warriors for the planet," he praised the…

If, come November 9, Donald Trump is looking for a secretary of state with the talents and experience to appease Vladimir Putin, he could do worse than retaining the current incumbent, John Kerry. As Walter Russell Mead has observed, “Watching the State Department pursue its Syria negotiation with…

"We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they're a nuisance." —John Kerry, New York Times Magazine, October 10, 2004 "What American would not trade the economy we had in the 1990s, the fact that we were not at war and young Americans were not…

The way John Kerry sees it, there is no joy when the president goes on The View.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that a report about the Obama administration sending Iran $400 million in cash was old news.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the transfer of $400 million in cash for Iran in January coincided with not only the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal but with the release of American detainees as well. The cash came not from sanctions relief, but from the settlement of a…

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

The Kremlin snapped back Tuesday at allegations that Russia hacked the Democratic party's email database to sway the U.S. election—without denying the Russian government was behind the attack.

Last Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry met in Washington with leaders of forty-five nations to discuss the Islamic State, which he calls "ISIL," and terrorism. Refering to that meeting, Kerry said Friday during a remarks at the Vienna International Center in Austria that working on climate…

Last week, President Barack Obama’s administration dismissed reports of Iranian support for al Qaeda as the product of fevered minds. Claims of collaboration between the Islamic regime and the terrorist organization are little more than "baseless conspiracy theories," an Obama administration…

Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday in Moscow, a meeting that stretched to one in the morning, according to Kerry. Although the session centered on Syria and restoring the "cessation of hostilities", spokesperson John Kirby noted that Kerry also raised…

Thursday marks the one year anniversary of the Iran nuclear deal with China, Russia, Germany, France, Great Britain, and the United States. The deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has been controversial since its inception. Critics say that the deal gives Iran far too…

Secretary of State John Kerry skipped out early on what many considered the most important NATO meeting in decades in order to see the final original performance of a Broadway musical Saturday night.

Multiple GOP lawmakers led by House speaker Paul Ryan have asked Obama administration officials and introduced legislation to revoke Hillary Clinton's security clearance.

A Democratic senator who voted for the Iran deal said Thursday that it is not America's responsibility to promote foreign investment in Iran, despite efforts by Secretary of State John Kerry to encourage investment there.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew are in China for two days of talks on a variety of issues with his Chinese counterparts. In his opening remarks for the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Kerry said the Americans and the Chinese are increasingly anxious…

Earlier today Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the staff of the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria, where much of the work on last year's Iran nuclear deal took place. Kerry often addresses the embassy staff as he travels from country to country, thanking them for their behind the scenes work…

At an Anti-Corruption Summit in London recently, Secretary of State John Kerry lumped in the U.S. electorate along with others around the world who are "angry" because of a "sense that the system is rigged." Kerry said that the "extremism that we see in the world today comes in no small degree from…

Secretary of State John Kerry recently spoke at the Oxford Union and addressed a range of issues from climate change to extremism to political corruption. During the question and answer after Kerry's remarks, one audience member asked the secretary of state to name the "proudest achievements of the…

Administration critics are slamming Secretary of State John Kerry's globetrotting in recent weeks to drum up investment in Iran with international banking and business leaders, and say Tehran has a responsibility to clean up its financial act in order to attract investment on its own.

Why is John Kerry eager to provide Iran with more economic benefits by publicly declaring the Iranians may actually deserve more relief? Why did the secretary of state tell Charlie Rose that the United States and Iran want the same thing when it comes to ending the war in Syria? Why does America’s…

Responding to a journalist's inquiry at a press availability in Bahrain with Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, Secretary of State John Kerry said that, based on the nuclear deal struck with Iran, "now there is no path to the nuclear weapon."

Failed presidential candidate John Kerry is an embarrassed by the presidential campaign. In remarks to CBS's John Dickerson, the current secertary of state said that "every leader" he talks to "cannot believe" what is "happening in America."

Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged Thursday morning that ISIS has committed genocide against minority populations, including Christians, though his remarks have no legal consequence and did not indicate a shift in U.S. policy toward the terror group.

Secretary of State John Kerry talked about running for president again. Though the comment appeared to be lighthearted, it comes less than a week after the once-inevitable Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, was trounced in the New Hampshire primary.

John Kerry has announced that the U.S. has made a $1.7 billion payment directly to Iran. Here's the secretary of state's statement:

Hillary Clinton is talking tough on Iran. In a statement released to the press, the leading Democratic candidate took a tougher stance than President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry.

Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his "gratitude" this morning to Iran. Iran detained 10 U.S. sailors and released the Americans this morning.

Secretary of State John Kerry has done it again: even more foolish and offensive statements about the terrorist attacks in Paris a year ago.

John Kerry is warning North Korea that the U.S. will take "appropriate action" in response to the rogue nation's "latest nuclear test."

"The United States and our partners are not seeking regime change in Syria," John Kerry said in Moscow this week. The announcement that the White House is fully in line with the position of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's Russian and Iranian sponsors caught some by surprise. Others argue that…

The secretary of state blasted the lead Republican presidential candidate in remarks today in Paris:

In a television interview Thursday, during which he responded to the killings in San Bernardino, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan asserted, "What we have seen—and a common theme among many of these mass shootings—is a theme of mental illness." In the context of the slaughter in southern California,…

Speaking in Paris on November 17, Secretary of State John Kerry made what are already infamous comments about the fight against terrorists and terrorism. He spoke to the staff and families of the U.S. embassy in Paris, and his remarks deserve quoting at some length—because they display a deep…

Barack Obama and John Kerry have yet to comment on the death of an American murdered last week by Palestinian terrorists. Ezra Schwartz, an 18-year-old from Sharon, Massachusetts, was spending a year in Israel when terrorists fatally attacked him last Thursday, not far from Jerusalem.

Over the past few weeks, students at universities across America have been throwing temper tantrums at the prospect of free speech and open dialogue. On Tuesday, John Kerry justified the Charlie Hebdo slaughter and differentiated it from the Paris attacks, by saying there was "a rationale that you…

Secretary of State John Kerry believes that al Qaeda’s “top leadership” has been “neutralize[d]” as “an effective force.” He made the claim while discussing the administration’s strategy, or lack thereof, for combating the Islamic State (ISIS), which is al Qaeda’s jihadist rival. Kerry believes…

Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that al Qaeda has been neutralized -- and that he hopes ISIS will be neutralized "much faster." Kerry made the claim to a group of reporters:

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie slammed Secretary of State John Kerry for remarks the top diplomat made Tuesday about the attacks in Paris and the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January. Kerry contrasted the Paris attacks, which he called “indiscriminate,” with the attacks on the French satire…

In remarks today in Paris, France, Secretary of State John Kerry justified the terror attack earlier this year that targeted the magazine Charlie Hebdo in January. This latest attack, by contrast, was different, said Kerry. 

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke Wednesday at a Department of Energy event at the U.S. Navy Heritage Center in Washington, D.C., where he noted the official implementation of the nuclear deal reached with Iran this summer. Throughout the negotiations with Iran, that country's religious leader,…

A new advertisement by the Republican National Committee compares Hillary Clinton to John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004.

Secretary of State John Kerry blamed Israeli settlements for Palestinian terrorism, in remarks made recently about the wave of terror attacks in Israel:

When CBS’s 60 Minutes Wednesday broadcast its lead story—reported by Dan Rather and produced by Mary Mapes—on the evening of September 8, 2004, it was given the anodyne title “For the Record,” as though it constituted little more than a disinterested historical footnote. In reality, the story was a…

There has been speculation that John Kerry and Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif would be selected for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

In one newly released email from Hillary Clinton, one discovers that John Kerry had Hillary Clinton's personal email address. Note that Kerry, who was then a senator but is now secretary of state, chose who would be in charge of overseeing the State Department's response to document requests…

Secretary Kerry passed up the opportunity this week to recognize one of the most important holidays on the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah. In recent weeks, however, Kerry took time to recognize the Independence/National Days of Guatemala, Papua New Guinea, and Andorra, among others. He also issued…

A growing majority of Americans say Congress should reject the nuclear deal with Iran brokered by the Obama administration, according to a new CNN poll. Here's more from CNN:

The Associated Press reports that under the provisions of the deal, the Iranian government will be allowed to use its own inspectors on one site thought to have been used to develop nuclear weapons. Here's more from the AP:

A new Gallup poll shows that 55% of Americans disapprove of President Obama’s handling of Iran compared to 33% who approve. This seems to support other recent polls that show the public doesn’t like the administration’s Iran policy. A Quinnipiac poll shows that voters disapprove of the Iran nuclear…

In May, President Barack Obama donned a yarmulke and spoke in a Washington, D.C., synagogue. He reminded his audience that Jeffrey Goldberg, a member of the congregation, once called him the “first Jewish president.” He claimed to be flattered by the characterization. And perhaps he was—most Jews,…

John Kerry is bullish on the Middle East. He believes that the Iran deal will make it possible for the White House and Tehran to tamp down wars in places like Syria and Yemen. And—who knows?—maybe even solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

John Kerry’s visit to Asia this week – like Ashton Carter’s last month – is designed to offer reassurance that America’s commitment to the region remains unwavering in the face of increased Chinese aggression. Yet despite these visits, leaders in the region have profound doubts whether the United…

When the secretary of state says, as John Kerry did last week in his Senate testimony, that the Obama White House is “guaranteeing” Iran won’t have the bomb, you can be sure that—well, you can be pretty confident that he doesn’t mean it. And that someday soon he’ll pretend he never said it.

At the end of an exchange between Sen. Tom Cotton and Gen. Martin Dempsey regarding the number of American servicemen killed by the Iranians, Cotton asks if Quds Force chief Qassem Suleimani was responsible for the explosively formed penetrators that took the lives of several hundred Americans.…

Rep. Grace Meng of New York has come out against the Iran nuclear deal. Meng's statement reads as follows:

Secretary of State John Kerry testified on Capitol Hill today the U.S. government will not be revealing the contents of secret side deals with Iran to the American people. Senator Tom Cotton wanted to know why it can't be made public. 

Defense Secretary Ash Carter admitted in testimony Capitol Hill this morning that Iran will not be changing its bad behavior as a result of the nuclear deal.

Secretary of State John Kerry said on Capitol Hill today that Iran "may" kill Americans or Israelis. Watch here:

The following is an excerpt from a fact sheet prepared by Omri Ceren of the Israel Project that explains the significance of the Obama administration’s latest concession to Tehran—the reported collapse on the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program.

It's not hard to figure out why the Obama administration is lashing out at critics of the deal it signed with Iran last week. The White House has been pretending it’s a nuclear deal but knows that it really isn’t. Everyone from the president to the secretary of state and his negotiating team is…

Secretary of State John Kerry's warning that Israel will be "blamed" if Congress opposes the Iran agreement conjures up troubling memories of other instances in which Israel or Jews were warned they might be blamed for international conflicts.

As Reuters reports:

Secretary of State John Kerry told NBC's Chuck Todd that "the arms and the missiles" were "thrown in as an add-on to this nuclear agreement."

Secretary of State John Kerry defended the Obama administration's decision to take the Iran deal to the United Nations before the U.S. Congress votes on it. Kerry made the remarks in an interview this morning on ABC News:

Two big deals were signed this week, with one thing in common – can-kicking. The Eurozone countries, more precisely Germany, kicked the Greek debt can down the road for three years by lending the already over-indebted country another €86bn. And the P5+1, the permanent members of the UN Security…

"Without a deal, the international sanctions regime will unravel with little ability to reimpose them."

The State Department will hang the Cuban flag in the lobby of the State Department building on Monday in recognition of the imminent reopening of the communist nation's embassy in Washington. The AP's Matt Lee reports:

Just one day after the Iran deal was announced, the State Department tweeted a video in which Under Secretary Wendy Sherman, a lead U.S. negotiator, recounts something Secretary of State John Kerry said at the close of the Iran negotiations. 

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on the Iran nuclear deal and how it is worse than everybody expected it to be.

Secretary of State John Kerry says "progress" has been made with the Iranians. And some things have been "resolved."

As the negotiations over a nuclear deal with Iran drag on in Vienna, the Boston Globe's Matt Viser provides an inside look at how the United States delegation spends its time as the top diplomats confer. Among the details about snacks and American officials falling asleep is a nugget about the U.S.…

Americans are rightfully concerned about ISIS’s rampage across the Middle East. But one thing that even ISIS has not yet accomplished is what the president, the director of the FBI, and the director of the NSA all insist Kim Jong-un's hackers did last year -- suppress the release of a major motion…

Secretary of State John Kerry wants a "couple" more days to negotiate with the Iranians. And he wants privacy. 

Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif has released a YouTube message aimed apparently at his American negotiators. In the video, Zarif even suggests his nation and the United States are int he fight together against terrorism: "Our common threat today is the growing menace of violent extremism and…

Senator Chuck Grassley has written a series of letters to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew demanding answers about a shady uranium deal with a company tied to the Clintons.

Vienna

The Obama White House thinks that when it comes to the Iranian nuclear program, we ought to let bygones be bygones. What’s past is past, and now it’s time to focus on the future. Sure, the administration once thought it was a problem that the Iranians refused to disclose their past nuclear…

Vienna

Kyle Balluck of The Hill reports: 

The State Department's practice of downplaying Palestinian incitement has reached a new low, with its latest report whitewashing not only the Palestinians' behavior but also Secretary of State John Kerry's own words on the subject.

In a speech today in South Korea, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the Internet "needs rules to be able to flourish and work properly." This, according to Kerry, is necessary even for "a technology founded on freedom."

John Kerry is hoping to offer North Korea "a more legitimate entry road to the global community and to the norms of international behavior." The example the secretary of state has for the rogue regime? Iran.

Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Vladimir Putin in Sochi, the State Department announced today. They are expected to discuss Iran, Syria, and Ukraine. 

In an editorial for the new issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD, Bill Kristol notes the "ludicrous" "guarantee" Secretary of State John Kerry made last week regarding Iran's so-called breakout capacity towards nuclear weapons. Kerry told Israelis:

On Syria:

In an interview with an Israeli media outlet, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accuses critics of the Iranian nuclear deal hysterical.

Despite issuing statements commemorating the National Days or Independence Days of nearly 170 countries in the past twelve months, Secretary of State John Kerry allowed the 67th anniversary of the establishment of the nation of Israel to pass without comment. This is the third year in a row Kerry…

Speaking Tuesday at the 45th Annual Washington Conference of the Council of the Americas, Secretary of State John Kerry said that "countries are far more likely to advance economically and socially when citizens have faith in their governments and are able to rely on them for justice and equal…

The inspector general of the State Department confirmed today in Senate testimony that the State Department network at some point was hacked. He made the comments in response to a question from Georgia senator David Perdue.

Is President Barack Obama right that the so-called framework nuclear agreement with Iran, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) announced on April 2, will “cut off every pathway Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon”? Some will assess the truth of his statement by crunching the…

Secretary of State John Kerry will be meeting with Cuba's foreign minister tonight. The meeting will occur in Panama.

Secretary of State John Kerry has often spoken to the Muslim world during his tenure, particularly during the past year as negotiations with Iran have intensified and conflict with the Islamic State has escalated. But what Kerry has not said during the past twelve months is also significant. A…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on why Congress needs to kill President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran.

In an interesting story in Bloomberg entitled "Iran's Charmer in Chief Wins Again," Eli Lake discusses the "charm" of Iran's top nuclear negotiator and foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior editor Lee Smith on the Obama administration's pending nuclear deal with Iran.

In an interview this evening on Fox News, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki would not promise that Americans would get to see the details of a nuclear deal with Iran before it's "signed, sealed, delivered."

Finally, a debate about Iran. Last week, 47 Republican senators released a public letter addressed to the leaders of the Iranian regime. The letter made what might have seemed a self-evident point: If the Obama administration reaches a deal with Iran, Congress will not be bound by parts of the deal…

Secretary of State John Kerry has released a statement mourning the death of the mother of Iran's president.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on Secretary of State John Kerry's Syrian mess.

While addressing the press during a visit to Egypt, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke about the ongoing negotiations with Iran over that country's nuclear programs. As he and President Obama have several times in the past, Kerry cited a report that Iran's "Supreme Leader" issued a "fatwa" against…

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke at the Atlantic Council Thursday morning as part of the Road to Paris Climate Series and he compared the certainty of human-caused climate change to the law of gravity and to the temperature at which water freezes. He also questioned the right of anyone to…

In a Capitol Hill hearing about President Obama's proposed Authorization of Use of Military Force, Secretary of State John Kerry was heckled by anti-war protesters:

"In 36 years in the United States Senate, I cannot recall another instance" in which senators intervened in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy,” Vice President Joe Biden declared, outraged by the "open letter to the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran," signed by 47 Republican senators. 

Secretary of State John Kerry contradicted National Security Adviser Susan Rice by saying that Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "welcome to speak in the United States" and by saying that the U.S.-Israel relationship is at an historic high. Kerry made the comments this morning on ABC:

Secretary of State John Kerry continued to beat the drum on the dangers of climate change Friday, noting that "there is no Planet B." The secretary made the remarks at the swearing-in ceremony for Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom David Saperstein. He drew a religious connection to the…

This week's three-day White House summit on "countering violent extremism" ended Thursday, but the community-focused spirit of the summit lives on. In a Friday blog post at the State Department's "Dip Note," the Obama administration asks readers a question: "What Solutions Do You Think Are Most…

In conjunction with the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, Secretary of State John Kerry has written an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal where he argues that when a government provides basic needs and a "chance at a better life," people are much less likely to "strap on an AK-47…

On its much maligned Twitter feed, Think AgainTurn Away, the State Department is denouncing higher taxes -- and even asserting they're evidence a utopian society is a pipe dream.

John Kerry told NBC's Chuck Todd this morning that he won't say "never" to running for president again. But, Kerry said, he's been "pretty busy."

Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic congresswoman and Iraq war veteran, ramped up her criticism of the Obama administration on Tuesday for refusing to identify Islamist terrorists as Islamist terrorists. 

Secretary of State John Kerry argued that, as the Associated Press phrased it, "violent extremism is not Islamic" in a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos:

The Emergency Committee for Israel will host a reception for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits Washington, D.C. The reception for Bibi is because President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry refuse to meet with him.

Secretary of State John Kerry met with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini at the State Department Wednesday and afterwards addressed the press and took some questions. One question from a French reporter concerned problems with Muslim integration in Europe and the potential terrorism…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on John Kerry's visit to Paris.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Paris Friday in what was billed as a show of solidarity with the French people after terrorists attacked last week. The former Massachusetts senator brought fellow Bay Stater and singer-songwriter James Taylor to sing a slightly off-key rendition of…

John Kerry is going to France today to give "a big hug to Paris," a week after the brutal terrorist attacks there.

While the attention of much of the world Sunday was focused on the massive unity rally in France in response to the recent terror attacks in that country, Secretary of State John Kerry was in India for a "global business" summit where he spoke of, among other concerns, the "one enormous cloud…

In remarks this morning from Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry said he agreed with the French imam who called the victims of today's murderous rampage in Paris "martyrs for liberty."

Secretary of State John Kerry used the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the Indian Ocean region as a reminder about climate change. The earthquake released huge walls of water that inundated a number of coastal regions in both Asia and Africa…

Secretary of State John Kerry, who wrote an op-ed for the Miami Herald along with Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew, evoked Ronald Reagan's timeless challenge to Mikhail Gorbachev at the Berlin Wall in 1987, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." In reference to…

In John Kerry's statement on President Obama's Cuba policy changes, the secretary of state doesn't simply suggest the policies in place for five and a half decades are outdated. He seems to be suggesting they were a failure from the start. And in doing so, he apparently misstates his own age at the…

Republican senator Marco Rubio said a top State Department official was "dishonest" about the Obama administration's plans to change its policy on Cuba. Tony Blinken, the newly confirmed deputy secretary of State, told the Florida senator at his confirmation hearing in November that the…

Predictably, President Barack Obama and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have decided to extend again the Joint Plan of Action, the interim nuclear deal they concluded in November 2013. Unlike the last extension, which was for four months, this one is for seven months; the “political” parts of the deal,…

Secretary of State John Kerry has often spoken with some degree of optimism about the chance for peace between Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East. Wednesday, however, in remarks after a meeting with European Union representative Federica Mogherini in Belgium, Kerry acknowledged that the…

Today we learned that it has been impossible to reach an agreement with Iran over its nuclear weapons program. Even a short "framework" agreement or one-pager was beyond reach. And this, despite the extension of the talks from the original deadline last spring.

Contradicting reports that Secretary of State John Kerry has delayed a trip to Vienna to join the nuclear talks with Iran, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki tweeted Wednesday that the State Department "never set a specific day" for Kerry to be in Vienna. 

Secretary of State John Kerry called today's terror attack in Jerusalem the "pure result of incitement" and called on "Palestinian leadership at every single level to condemn this in the most powerful terms." Here's video:

President Obama told the president of China he wants to "take the relationship to a new level."

While the nation was focused on the mid-term elections Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies regarding U.S.-China relations. As he often does, Kerry brought up the subject of climate change, which he asserted is happening "faster…

Laura Barron-Lopez of the The Hill is reporting that:

The belief that the prime minister of Israel is "chickenshit" is "not the administration's view," a spokesperson for the National Security Council says in a statement. Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic reported Tuesday that a "senior administration official" viewed Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime…

After the latest terror attack in Israel, the State Department issued the following statement urging all sides -- which would include Israel, the victims here -- to remain calm:

While some in Congress have warned that Russian involvement in Ukraine portends a "looming" new cold war, Obama administration officials have for the most part brushed off the comparison. The president himself flatly said in July in response to a reporter's question regarding the Ukrainian…

John Kerry says the fight against Ebola could take "decades."

Following the lead of Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday began using the Arabic acronym "Daesh" at times when referring to the Islamic State (ISIL or ISIS). Kerry was in Egypt for a meeting with Egyptian foreign minister Shoukry, and spoke extensively about the…

Secretary of State John Kerry writes in his hometown paper, the Boston Globe, about how with U.S. leadership, "the world" will defeat the Islamic terrorist group ISIS. Kerry, who voted for the Iraq War in 2003 and later withdrew his support,tries to draw a distinction between the military actions…

"Mother Nature ... is screaming at us about" climate change, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the crowd at the opening event of Climate Week NYC 2014. While Kerry used a more measured tone than that which he attributed to Mother Nature, the apocalyptic nature of his warnings were in keeping…

Thirty-one U.S. senators have sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry to express concern that the U.S. might sign a bad nuclear deal with Iran.

At the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary of State John Kerry will make "climate change ... a foreign policy priority," the State Department announced in press release. "Secretary Kerry Elevates Climate Change at UN General Assembly," the press release is titled.

Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, later this afternoon at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. Matt Lee of Associated Press reports on Twitter:

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke at U.S. Aid's 2014 Frontiers in Development Forum Friday and gave a stark warning about "500-year" drought conditions around the world that he says are a result of climate change. He went so far as to say that "[t]here are people killing each other over water in…

Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that to counter the ideology of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and its claim of a "religious foundation" for its actions, part of the strategy of the international coalition he is attempting to assemble must be to "begin to put real Islam…

The Obama administration is behaving like a prisoner under interrogation: eventually, if unintentionally, it ends up talking most about the subjects it least wishes to discuss.

John Kerry argued that it doesn't really make a difference if we call U.S. action against ISIS a "war." He criticized the "tortured debate" this morning on CBS:

Secretary of State John Kerry insists that we not call the thing by its proper name.  The “thing” being U.S. military actions against ISIS (or ISIL, if you wish) and the name being “war.”

Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the press in Baghdad, Iraq today before rushing off to a meeting in Amman, Jordan for "bilateral meetings with counterparts to discuss regional issues and the current situation in Iraq." Kerry said that tonight, President Obama "will lay out with great…

President Obama spoke about ISIS at length in his Meet the Press interview this morning, but he didn't offer much clarity as to what he's going to do about ISIS. One might say he's learned from bitter experience not to lay down red lines, and that he 's being purposefully vague. But I'm afraid the…

Secretary of State John Kerry's speech at the groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Diplomacy Center in Washington, D.C. Wednesday included an intriguing aside that appeared to reference the upcoming 2016 presidential election. Kerry spoke after remarks by each of the five former secretaries of…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is joining five of his predecessors on Wednesday at a groundbreaking ceremony for the United States Diplomacy Center, a new 40,000 square foot facility dedicated to "bringing the story of American diplomacy to life." The "state-of-the-art museum and education…

State Department spokewoman Jen Psaki reiterated her boss's claim that ISIS must be "destroyed." But she wouldn't say when.

Writing in the New York Times over the weekend, Secretary of State Kerry argues forcefully for the creation of a strong and committed coalition of nations to resist and defeat ISIS. 

John Kerry chose the third anniversary of U.S. citizen Amir Hekmati’s "detention on false espionage charges" during a visit with his family in Iran in 2011 to "respectfully" call on the government of Iran to release Hekmati and several other U.S. citizens held or missing in that country. Saeed…

Comforting as it is to speak of the world in the language of policy and politics, strategy and tactics, there is this other element. This chord of madness that stirs the enemy as, for instance when, as Reuters reports:

Matthew Continetti, writing for the Washington Free Beacon, on how Israel can win this war—if the Obama administration gets out of the way:

The Emergency Committee for Israel has just released a statement in response to President Obama's call for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Fox News Sunday reports on a hot mic that caught John Kerry mocking Israel's "pinpoint operation" against Hamas in Gaza:

Elliott Abrams, writing for the Council on Foreign Relations:

Reuters is reporting that:

As John Kerry travels from country to country on various diplomatic missions as secretary of state (almost half a million miles so far), he often addresses the staff and their families at the U.S. embassies in the countries he visits. Remarks at these informal gatherings are often more casual than…

The boss, joined Cokie Roberts, Ana Navarro, and David Plouffe, joined George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week to discuss the border crisis, attacks on Israel, and more. Watch the video below:

Agence France-Presse State Department correspondent Jo Biddle is claiming on Twitter that members of the media traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry to China "have had their bank accounts hacked."

Lee Smith, writing for Tablet:

Secretary of State John Kerry tells Fox News's James Rosen that the Obama administration does not "do foreign policy by polls." That, the sescretary of state said, is "a good thing."

With much of the Obama administration's foreign policy in tatters, John Kerry is clear on at least one goal he hopes to achieve by the end of his time as secretary of state: having lesbian, bisexual, and transgender ambassadors representing the United States.  In remarks to a GLIFAA (formerly Gays…

Hillary Clinton raised eyebrows recently with her assertion that the five Taliban commanders transferred to Qatar in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl are "not a threat to the United States." John Kerry, in remarks Thursday to the U.S. Embassy staff in London, seemed to take issue with Clinton's…

In an interview with Yahoo's Katie Couric, Secretary of State John Kerry says "we have the security we need for our Embassy" in Iraq. This comes just as some Americans are leaving the embassy.