US Mission Geneva

The U.S. government says its intelligence assessments indicate “with varying degrees of confidence” that the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons against the Syrian people.

Defense Secretary Hagel announced the deployment of an Army headquarters element to help Jordanian forces defend their border with Syria, while warning Congress of potential consequences of direct U.S. military action in Syria.

The top U.S. commander in Europe emphasized the importance of NATO and the United States’ forward presence in Europe, while acknowledging that he continues to prod the allies to meet their financial defense commitments.

By a vote of 58–41, the U.S. Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel, a former U.S. senator from Nebraska, as the next secretary of defense.

“We share many interests across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond,” Panetta said, “from humanitarian assistance to concerns about weapons of mass destruction to terrorism to drug interdictions to trade to counterpiracy.”

Like its response to political unrest in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, the Obama administration’s reaction to the violence in Syria has been based on opposition to regime violence, support for universal human rights and for reforms.

We’ve got some very significant threats to confront, and that’s why we developed this new defense strategy, which we think represents a very effective force for the future.

“Through its repeated violations of human rights, the regime has lost its legitimacy and its right to rule the country,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in prepared testimony for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing March 7.

“We are going to be largely transitioning to a support role for the Afghan army as they take over these different areas in the future,” Panetta said.