A few days prior to the assault on Libya by coalition forces, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates strongly cautioned against imposing a “no fly zone” on that troubled nation because doing so would constitute going to war against Libya. He said a “no fly zone” he would mean attacking airfields, fuel dumps, and whatever else might be needed to keep Moammar Gadhafi from using his air force. And this, he asserted, adds up to war.

Both AFP and Reuters news services reported on January 13 that U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk had announced that the Obama administration hopes to win congressional approval of a free trade agreement with South Korea before July.

ABC News reported on December 16 that with the bill extending the Bush-era tax cuts having been passed by the Senate and headed to the House, Senators are now set to consider ratification of the START treaty, as well as passage of the omnibus spending bill to fund the government for the next year.

AP reported on November 17 that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking to reporters after a 90-minute breakfast meeting with members of Congress, was exerting pressure on the Senate to vote on a new U.S.-Russian nuclear weapons treaty. Clinton asserted that postponing the vote until the next session of Congress would undermine national security.

Voice of America news reported a statement made by Defense Secretary Robert Gates on November 9 that the United States is willing to keep troops in Iraq past the current 2011 deadline, if Iraq's leaders request an extension of U.S. troop presence. VOA noted that Gates made the comment to reporters in Kuala Lumpur following a meeting with Malaysia's Defense Minister.

Voice of America reported on October 22 that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced an Obama administration pledge to seek $2 billion annually in military aid to Pakistan over five years “to help that country defeat violent extremism.” The report stated that the pledge came at a bilateral dialogue held at the State Department attended by Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi (shown at a March meeting at left).

Americans remember today the suicide attack by al-Qaeda terrorists on the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden, on October 12, 2000. The bombers sailed a small boat near the destroyer and detonated explosive charges, opening a hole in the port side of the ship 60 by 40 feet in diameter. The blast killed 17 crew members and injured 39.

Voice of America and other news sources reported on October 4 that the Pakistani Taliban had claimed responsibility for an attack on about 20 tanker trucks carrying fuel bound for NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan. The report cited a police report that claimed that at least three people were killed when militant gunmen fired on the tankers and then set them on fire. The attack occurred at a truck depot near Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, before dawn on October 4. 

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman told reporters that the attacks would continue until the supply convoys are stopped. The militant group also said it was avenging NATO drone strikes on Pakistani territory.

The British Daily Mail reported on September 29 that U.S. CIA-directed forces had launched “a devastating series of missile strikes against militants in Pakistan to help foil Mumbai-style attacks on cities in Europe.”

On September 22, Voice of America and other media outlets cited material from Obama's Wars — a new book by Washington, D.C.-based journalist Bob Woodward — stating: “Key members of the Obama administration were divided about the president's Afghan war strategy, with some top national security advisors doubting Mr. Obama's plan will work.”