WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) – The United States on
Tuesday urged the Syrian opposition to unite and pledge to
respect minority rights in a future Syria should President
Bashar al-Assad be driven from power, and warned armed rebels
and government forces against committing human rights abuses.

Disunity among the Syrian opposition to Assad has fed fears
that Syria could slide into sectarian and ethnic conflict, much
as Iraq did after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam
Hussein.

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. ambassador to
Syria, Robert Ford, said on Tuesday he had received reports that
armed Syrian opposition groups had engaged in human rights
abuses as well as Syrian government forces, and had warned both
sides against committing such acts.

Ford also expressed skepticism about reports that Syria had
accepted the peace plan of U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan,
saying it would be best to look for action, not words from
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers on
Friday released $88.6 million in development aid for the
Palestinians that they had held up since last summer, a move
that should help ease a fiscal crisis in the aid-dependent
Palestinian economy.

Representative Kay Granger announced she was ready for the
entire $147 million in U.S. assistance that had been frozen
since August to go to the Palestinians.

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) – An influential U.S.
Republican lawmaker, Representative Kay Granger, said o n F riday
she was releasing $147 million in U.S. development aid for the
Palestinians that she had blocked since last August.

But it was unclear whether the money could be spent, because
another senior Republican, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has also had a
“hold” on the funds for months. A spokesman for Ros-Lehtinen
could not be reached for comment.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will allow U.S. military aid to Egypt to continue despite Cairo’s failure to meet pro-democracy conditions, a senior State Department official said on Thursday, a move sharply criticized on Capitol Hill.

The office of Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on foreign aid, revealed Clinton’s decision and made clear his deep unhappiness with it, arguing that Clinton should now limit the amount of military aid that is released.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to allow some U.S. military assistance to Egypt to go forward despite its failure to meet pro-democracy conditions, a Democratic senator said on Thursday, while sharply criticizing the move.

The office of Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on foreign aid, announced the decision and made clear his deep unhappiness with it, arguing Clinton should now limit the amount of military aid that is released.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s top commander in Afghanistan will make recommendations about how quickly the United States should pull out of that long and costly war late this year, probably after November’s elections, according to a timetable given on Tuesday.

General John Allen, who commands U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said he would present recommendations for Obama on troop levels in 2013 and beyond during the last three months of this year, after assessing the military campaign following the departure of 33,000 U.S. troops due by October.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Thirteen members of the NATO-led Western military coalition in Afghanistan have been killed this year in what appear to be “insider” attacks by members of the Afghan security forces, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces there said on Tuesday.

U.S. General John Allen said that despite a series of recent setbacks the United States and its allies remain on track to ensure Afghanistan will not once again be a safe haven for al Qaeda and will not be terrorized by the Taliban.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. congressman asked the Pentagon on Tuesday to explain why the soldier accused in the massacre of 16 Afghan villagers was sent back into combat after earlier suffering a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, as lawmakers questioned how seriously the military deals with the mental health of troops.

The Army staff sergeant accused in Sunday’s shooting served three deployments to Iraq before he was sent to Afghanistan last year. The soldier, whose name has not been disclosed publicly, was treated for a traumatic brain injury suffered in a vehicle rollover in 2010 in Iraq, according to a U.S. official.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A congressman asked the Pentagon on Tuesday to explain why the soldier accused in the massacre of 16 Afghan villagers was sent back into combat after earlier suffering a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, as lawmakers questioned how seriously the military deals with the mental health of troops.

The Army staff sergeant accused in Sunday’s shooting served three deployments to Iraq before he was sent to Afghanistan last year. The soldier, whose name has not been disclosed publicly, was treated for a traumatic brain injury suffered in a vehicle rollover in 2010 in Iraq, according to a U.S. official.