Editor's Note: Five Guantanamo Bay detainees with alleged ties to the 9/11 conspiracy, including accused mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be transferred to New York to go on trial in civilian court, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday.

Jill Dougherty and Elise Labott
CNN

A senior administration official spoke with CNN’s Jill Dougherty and Elise Labott about the resettlement of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

Here are some stats about Gitmo detainees and their transfers.

1. When President Obama took office there were 242 detainees at Guantanamo. Now there are 215. Of those, 115 have been approved for transfer.

2. Of those 115 approved for transfer, 25 have already been released.

• 9 of those have been repatriated to their own countries

• 16 have been "resettled" or transferred to third countries: France 1, Belgium 1, Bermuda 4, Portugal 2, Ireland 2, Palau 6

3. The Administration has lost six habeas cases (ordered released by the courts), and those have been repatriated

4. There are four more habeas cases the administration is expecting to lose – and the US has already found homes for them if and when that happens.

5. There are 90 more detainees approved for transfer.

• 40 will be resettled to a third country – the priority is the 7 remaining Uighurs and the others ordered released by the court or determined not to be enemy combatants

• The administration has either firm or soft commitments by about 15 countries to take 25 of these 40.

• The remaining 50 will be repatriated to their home country. Of this 50, the largest group are Yemenis and this presents what this official called the "hardest problem" for the administration, as Yemen is currently experiencing a major insurgency right now.

Sen. John Kerry, left, coordinated his discussions with President Hamid Karzai with Washington, sources say.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

Fresh from a trip to Afghanistan, Senator John Kerry warned against a narrowing of the US mission there, but suggested a plan by the commanding US general in the country is overly ambitious.

In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee warned a major US troop pullout could trigger a civil war could between the Taliban and the Afghan goverment and destabilize neighboring Pakistan.

He rejected the idea of a small-scale counter-terror campaign advocated by Vice President Joseph 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 General Stanley McChrystal, saying the general's request for 40,000 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 his election victory was found to be the result of widespread voter fraud.

By making the case for a middle-ground option: a limited counterinsurgency strategy with the potential for deploying more troops over time, Kerry treaded between fellow Democrats who oppose a greater stake in Afghanistan and Republicans who caution the Obama administraiton risks losing the war, and putting soldiers at risk, by rejecting McChrystal's request.

He also gave cover to President Barack Obama as he considers a greater troop committment to the eight-year war there.

Kerry said three conditions must be met before President Obama decides to deploy more troops to the region: assurances that there are enough reliable Afghan forces to partner with US troops and eventually assume responsbility for security, support from the country's local and tribal leaders and a civilian surge to match the military increase.

"Under the right circumstances, if we can be confident that military efforts can be sustained and built upon, then I would support the President should he decide to send some additional troops to regain the initiative," Kerry told the Council of Foreign Relations. "Absent an urgent strategic imperative, we need a valid assessment by the President and other appropriate civilian authorities – not just the military - that those three conditions will be met before we consider sending more soldiers and Marines to clear new areas."

Kerry's current assessment of the Afghan's ability to partner with the US was grim, saying the US does not have the ""critical guarantees of governance and development capacity."

"The bottom line is that deploying additional troops won't result in sustainable gains if the Afghan security, civilian and governance capacity isn't there. And right now, as our generals will tell you, in many places, too many places, it isn't," he said. "I also have serious concerns about the ability to produce effective Afghan forces to partner with, so we can ensure that when our troops make heroic sacrifices, the benefits to the Afghans are clear and sustainable."

Success, he said, will be when the US can ""empower and transfer responsibility to Afghans as rapidly as possible and achieve a sufficient level of stability to ensure that we can leave behind an Afghanistan that is not controlled by al Qaeda or the Taliban."

"Achieving our goals does not require us to build a flawless democracy, defeat the Taliban in every corner of the country, or create a modern economy-what we're talking about is "good-enough" governance, basic sustainable economic development, and Afghan security forces capable enough that we can drawdown our forces," he said

Kerry said increased development efforts could also help with counterinsurgency operations by winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people, a strategy advocated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. On Monday the State Department said it was on track to meet the goal of tripling its civilian staff in Afgahnistan, from 320 in January to 974 by early 2010. Kerry echoed comments made in the past by Clinton, saying it was important for civilian workers to be protected with the proper number of troops.

He also emphasized the importance of instensifying support and improve cooperatioin with Pakistan, saying, "given the balance of our strategic interests, it should give serious pause to military and civilian strategists alike that the current balance of our expenditure between Afghanistan, where there is virtually no Al Qaeda, and Pakistan, where there is, tallies thirty-to-one."

Blasting the Bush administration for its "gross mishandling" of the war in Afghanistan, Kerry said the Obama administration was left with "no great options for its handling today."

"One American officer captured well our lack of a strategy when he said, 'We haven't been fighting in Afghanistan for eight years. We've been fighting in Afghanistan for one year eight times in a row.' That is our inheritance," Kerry said.

Still, he said, "it was not a mistake to go in" after 9/11 to attempt to root al-Qaeda from the country.

""We now have to choose a smart way forward so that no one is ever compelled to ask whether we've made a mistake in staying," he said.

Workers of the Afghan Election Commission check ballots in Kabul earlier this month.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department producer

-While Senator John Kerry is getting most of the praise from the White House for convincing Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept an election runoff, senior State Department officials say Secretary Clinton also spent hours on the phone with Karzai, Kerry, US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and others both in Washington and in the region to bring about the result.

-Officials say when they realized Kerry was going to the region, Clinton and Special Representative Richard Holbrooke discussed how he could be a useful actor. Holbrooke briefed Kerry for two hours.

-Before Senator Kerry arrived in Afghanistan Secretary Clinton called Karzai and his chief rival, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. Secretary Clinton and President Karzai had what is described as a "very honest, wide ranging 40 minute conversation" where she laid out why it was important for him to accept the runoff. She made it clear the road ahead with the international community, particularly the U.S. would be more difficult if he didn't accept it.

-In this discussion, Karzai laid out hs concerns. Clinton also drew on her own political experience in the conversations, something she regularly does in her discussions with leaders.

-She told Karzai to listen to Kerry, adding that he speaks as much for the administration as anyone. She pointed to the fact Kerry himself went through a tough presidential election and the he understands Karzai's predicament.

-On Monday things looked like they were moving in the right direction but Kerry had to leave for several votes.  Senator Harry Reid needed him on the Senate Floor.  But Secretary Clinton asked Kerry to stay an extra day to push Karzai to make the announcement. The secretary called Reid herself to say she needed Kerry to stay.

-Officials say there were about a half dozen calls between Clinton and Kerry, sometimes with Holbrooke, Eikenberry or both joining the calll.

-On Monday Secretary Clinton again called Karzai and Abdullah to push the agreement through. She spelled out the likely outcomes of the runoff and the positive impact on the U.S.-Afghan relationship.

-State Department officials are going to great lengths to say Senator Kerry deserves plenty of praise. They say he was not "freelancing” and that this was a coordinated effort.

-One senior official said of Clinton's efforts "she is at the center of the complex web of relationships, negotiations, conversations, incentives, pressure, and strategy."

-This comes on the heels of Clinton's recent visit to Zurich, where she spent hours negotiating between Turkey and Armenia to sign an agreement normalizing relations.

-For all the talk about how Clinton has been "marginalized" in the Obama administration, it sure looks like she's found her diplomatic sea legs.

Sen. John Kerry, left, coordinated his discussions with President Hamid Karzai with Washington, sources say.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

– When Senator John Kerry arrived in Kabul Friday on a long scheduled visit he was told by U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry that there was a crisis brewing with President Karzai over the election. The concern was that Karzai was going to denounce the preliminary results based on the Election Complaint Commission’s audit showing that Karzai received less than 50 percent of the vote after fraudulent ballots were discounted. The Ambassador was worried that Karzai's declaration would throw the country into an extended period of uncertainty and severely complicate US efforts in Afghanistan.

– After having dinner with U.S. troops, at the request of Ambassador Eikenberry, Senator Kerry made an unplanned visit to the palace to meet with President Karzai, which lasted for several hours. The two men agreed that Kerry would return to the palace to see Karzai on early Saturday afternoon, at which point Senator Kerry cut short a trip to Jalalabad.

– Saturday morning, Senator Kerry met with Karzai’s chief rival, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah.

– Kerry later returned to the palace to see President Karzai. The meeting lasted for about two hours, during which Kerry heard Karzai's concerns that the election had been unfairly taken away from him and that 1.3 million Pashtuns (the number of disqualified ballots) had been disenfranchised. The two men discussed Senator Kerry’s own political experience with a failed presidential bid, which helped to build a rapport between the two men.

– Later that night Senator Kerry returned to the palace for five hours. The meeting started in a conference room with cabinet members and election experts to discuss methodology for discounting ballots. UN envoy Kai Eide was present, along election officials from the Election Complaints Commission. That was followed by dinner, where more experts from both the ECC and the International Election Commission were brought in to discuss technical aspects of the process.

– After dinner adjourned, Kerry went into a smaller meeting with Karzai during which they agreed to bring the experts back the following morning for further analysis of disputed ballots.

– Throughout the process Senator Kerry was consulting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke.

– During additional meetings on Sunday, Senator Kerry did not find President Karzai in a positive frame of mind. Karzai surprised Kerry and Eikenberry by bringing his own election officials to dinner. The meeting was delayed while the officials from the Election Complaints Commission were summoned. During the break, Kerry met privately with Karzai. The meeting ended with progress but without resolution.

– After a trip to Pakistan to meet with General David Petraeus, Senator Kerry postponed plans to return home to DC and returned to Kabul to help finalize the deal, arriving at about 5 p.m. and going straight to palace for further negotiations.

– After about two hours, it appeared that a tentative agreement had been reached with Karzai to accept a runoff. An announcement was scheduled for early Tuesday afternoon.

– When Kerry returned to the palace at noon the press conference was substantially delayed. Kerry and Ambassador Eikenberry worked with Karzai to resolve last minute issues related to certification.

– It took close to five hours to finalize the deal. Kerry took a long walk alone with Karzai around the palace, stopping at a mosque where Karzai goes to clear his head.

– At 4:50 pm the news conference began with Senator Kerry standing by President Karzai’s side.

President Bush, left, ducks a shoe as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki tries to protect him.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

"Certainly from our standpoint this gives us a sense of momentum when the United States has accolades tossed its way rather than shoes."

That's the take of Hillary Clinton's State Department on President Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, according to her spokesman, Assistant Secretary PJ Crowley.

Crowley was referring to an incident last December, when an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during his final visit to Iraq during his administration.

Muntader Zaidi, who worked for the Iraqi television station Al Baghdadiya, hurled both his shoes at Bush and called him a "dog," during a press conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, narrowly missing the president as he ducked.

The show-throwing, considered one of the highest insults in the Middle East, illustrated the deep anger toward the United States over its invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Crowley's comments suggested recognition by the Obama administration that the Nobel Prize was as much an indictment on the Bush administration as it was an effort to praise President Obama's outreach to improve the US image around the world.

Echoing comments by the White House, Crowley said the award was not just an "affirmation" of the Obama administration's foreign policy strategy of engagement, but also on its robust foreign policy agenda, which includes non-proliferation, dealing with Iran and North Korea and Middle East peace.

"There is an opportunity here," Crowley said. "The tone has changed but obviously we recognize that while the tone in the world has changed, the challenges remain they are very significant.

This "call to action," Crowley said, will fall primarily on the shoulders Secretary Clinton and the State Department "to advance the president's agenda and confront the challenges of the 21st century."

Elise Labott

CNN State Department Producer

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi made the rounds in Washington just as President Obama's national security team shifted its attention to Pakistan.

This week Secretary of Defense Williams Gates called the Afghan border with Pakistan the "epicenter of jihad." And the renewed focus on Pakistan suggests that Obama has a new role for Pakistan in the battle against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

After all, in developing a strategy for "Afpak," Obama acknowledged the United States cannot win in Afghanistan without cooperation from Pakistan, the suspected hideout of Obama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders.

Which is why the buzzword of both Qureshi and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week was "partnership," as in the United States and Pakistan are united in a "strategic partnership" against a common enemy.

Keep Reading...

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

America’s preeminent political power couple made a rare joint appearance Friday, when Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton took the stage at the former President’s Clinton Global Initiative.

“I want to begin by expressing my extreme indebtedness to the Clinton global initiative, to all of you who participated, for giving me the first chance I have had in a week to see Hillary,” the former president told the audience of social activists and business leaders at the closing session of CGI, a week long conference designed to find solutions to global problems through public and private partnerships.

Secretary of State Hilly Clinton was at the session to unveil a new State Department initiative on food security.

As he introduced her President Clinton was effusive in his praise for his wife, saying that Hillary’s approach to food security, helping farmers around the world grow their own food to earn income and alleviate poverty, was much smarter than the decades-long policy of simply giving humanitarian aid and food to countries.

“It was a wrong headed policy. It persisted through Democratic and Republican policies alike, including mine. We were all wrong and she is determined to reverse it,” Clinton said, adding that while he was busy engaging in politics, Hillary had “become her own NGO.”

“Most of what I know about what I do today, I learned from her and she has become the best public servant our family has produced, he said. “I am very proud of her and honored that she came here."

Secretary Clinton, who received a standing ovation, had equally kind words for her husband.

“It won't surprise you to hear that I am very proud of my husband and I think what he has invented and brought to life here is extraordinary,” she said, adding the new State Department food initiative in part was an idea she developed by seeing the kinds of partnerships the Clinton Global Initiative produced.

The Clinton’s book-ended a photo op with State Department officials and executives from General Mills and other organizations, who pledged at the conference to start a program to help farmers around the world.

And then, for Bill and Hillary fans, a rare treat. As she walked off the stage, Hillary’s proud husband drew some more cheers when he gave his wife a kiss.

Bill continued to read million dollar commitments he received at the conference for additional social programs. And Hillary left to meet with 15 ministers from the Caribbean.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

Prodding Israel and the Palestinian Authority to restart talks aimed at a permanent resolution of their decades-old conflict, President Barack Obama dropped a US demand for an Israeli settlement freeze, US, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

“Simply put, it is past time to talk about starting negotiations. It is time to move forward," Obama told reporters before a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "It is time to show the flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that is necessary to achieve our goals."

Obama met first met separately with Netanyahu and Abbas on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in what he called "frank and productive" talks. The session was the first among the three leaders since Obama took office in January.

George Mitchell, Obama’s envoy for the Middle East, attended Tuesday’s talks. He said the talks were "at all times cordial," but "direct" and sometimes "blunt."

Obama told Abbas and Netanyahu that, "The only reason to hold public office is to get things done," and that everyone "must take risks for peace,"

Mitchell said.

Mitchell told reporters the US is “not identifying any issue as being a precondition or an impediment to negotiation.”

But the United States and Israel have publicly disagreed on Israeli plans to build more housing on land the Palestinians regard as theirs. Obama administration demands for a complete freeze have been ignored by the Netanyahu government.

Abbas has so far rejected resuming talks with Israel until the Jewish state halts all settlement building in the occupied West Bank and in

Predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem. Arab states also have balked at the US request to take confidence building measures toward Israel until Israel freezes settlement construction.

Sitting with Netanyahu and Abbas, Obama softened his regular language on a settlement “freeze,” saying that Israel has had meaningful discussions about “restraining” settlement activity.

“But they need to translate these discussions into real action on this and other issues," he said.

“Obama told Abbas that he couldn’t get the settlement freeze and promised to keep trying, but that it shouldn’t be a condition for talks and it was time to move on,” one Palestinian aide to Abbas said.

Several US officials said that President Obama told Abbas that although the US believe a settlement freeze would create a better atmosphere for talks to begin, the lack of one should not be used an as excuse not to talk.

“Let’s not have the perfect be the enemy of the good,” Obama told Abbas, according to the officials.

“It’s been apparent for some time that the Israelis were going to fall short of what is necessary on the settlement freeze,” one senior US official said. “But our view is let’s get to negotiations and settlements will be addressed within those final status issues”

US and Israel have been negotiating a settlement freeze for several months. The Obama administration demanded a complete settlement freeze but Israel would only agree to a freeze limited in time and scope.

A senior Israeli diplomat said Israel agreed to not building any new settlements, no outward expansion of existing growth and to only build for “natural” growth within existing settlements. He said Israel also agreed not to encourage Israelis to move to settlements, which would increase the population.

“A complete settlement freeze wasn’t physically or politically possible, especially in the absence of any Arab or Palestinian concessions,” the Israeli diplomat said. “There was a time the gaps had significantly narrowed, but now they were starting to widen. The administration recognized, rather than have them widen further, we should start negotiating.”

The Palestinian aide to Abbas said President Obama’s failure to secure a settlement freeze has weakened him in the eyes of the Palestinian delegation, because it casts doubt on his ability to move Israel during final status negotiations. The aide said that while Abbas would continue to push for a complete freeze, the Palestinian leader understands it likely will not happen and will begin “climb down” from his insistence for one before talks can resume.

The Palestinians did win an important point, however, with Obama making clear that the peace talks would not start from scratch, which Netanyahu had favored. Rather the talks would take into account progress made in previous negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, the sources said.

The Israeli diplomat said that Israel would “take into account” the previous negotiations, but stressed his country’s longstanding position that “nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to.”

Obama also addressed Abbas' desire to have the terms for negotiations more clearly defined, asking Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to come to Washington next week for further talks.

Next week’s talks, to be led by George Mitchell, will center on what issues will be addressed at negotiations, which will present the US with its next big challenge. Palestinians want negotiations to resolve the “final status” issues of the conflict, such as borders, Jerusalem and the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Israel wants to begin with talks on a “provisional” Palestinian state.

President Obama's is the latest in a long line of U.S. administrations to press for a settlement of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian population in territories it has occupied since the 1967 Mideast war. Recent hopes for renewed Israeli-Palestinian talks have dimmed despite Mitchell's diplomatic efforts.

But Obama told reporters that talks on a permanent resolution of the conflict, including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, "must begin and begin soon."

"My message to these two leaders is clear: Despite all the obstacles, despite all the history, despite all the mistrust, we have to find a way forward," he said. "We have to summon the will to break the deadlock that has trapped generations of Israelis and Palestinians in an endless cycle of conflict and suffering. We cannot continue the same pattern of taking tentative steps forward, and then stepping back."

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, shakes hands with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

Don't you just love a parade? Apparently the Obama administration does too, as evident by the steady stream of top US officials visiting Israel this week. A bevy of heavy hitters are there, the likes of which Jerusalem hasn't seen since the Persian Gulf War.

Just as Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrapped up his meetings there, Mideast peace envoy Mitchell arrived for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He will be followed later this week by National Security Advisor James Jones and Dennis Ross, the White House's point main on Iran.

Aaron Miller, a former Mideast peace negotiator under president Clinton and author of "The Much Too Promised Land: America's Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace," calls it "the big hug," a show of reassurance to Israel that the US Israeli relationship remains strong despite the current squabble over settlements.

To be sure, ties between the countries have been strained over President Obama's firm insistence that Israel halt all settlement as part of his drive for a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, including a Palestinian state. And Israel is concerned Obama's engagement policy vis-à-vis Iran will come at the expense of its own security.

But the flurry of diplomatic activity sends a strong signal that these disagreements are minor in comparison to how central the US-Israel relationship is, and how large Israel looms in every piece of the American policy puzzle in the Mideast.

Which is why Gates offered Israel security reassurances with talks on Iran and missile defense. And why Mitchell emphasized the enduring strength of the friendship between the US and Israel and has been working on a deal with the Israelis on settlements, which is expected to include a freeze on construction but would allow several hundred buildings already under construction to be exempted.

One question remains about this diplomatic A-team, though. Where is Hillary Clinton? The Secretary of State hasn't visited the Middle East March, when held one day of talks with Israeli officials. She has not been to Israel since Netanyahu took office.

To be fair, Clinton just returned from a 7-day trip to Asia and spent the beginning of the week hosting top Chinese officials for two days of strategic talks. Next week she leaves for a seven-nation tour of Africa.

But on Sunday Clinton appeared Sunday NBC's "Meet the Press," where she missed an opportunity to frame the week's visits within the context of the Obama administration's plans for Mideast peacemaking. She spent a fair amount of time insisting she was President Obama's chief diplomat and and deflecting criticism that she was "sidelined" by President Obama's team of foreign policy heavyweights and because of an elbow injury. "I broke my elbow, not my larynx," she told David Gregory.

Yet in the full hour President Obama's chief diplomat didn't mention the Mideast peace process, one of Obama's stated top foreign policy priorities, even once. Clinton already enjoys a healthy dose of Israeli respect from her days as a pro-Israel senator from New York. Now Clinton must also define herself, both in word and in deed, as a key player on the President's Mideast peace team.

President Obama, too, has to work at his relationship with Israel. His aides can only do so much to ease Israeli fears about his intentions. Candidate Obama got high marks for visit to Israel during the campaign. But if he wants to now been seen as the kind of honest broker that can achieve true Mideast peace, he needs to make his own trip to Israel. His Cairo speech in June established his credentials with the Arab world. Now it's Israel's turn.

The State Department said it revoked four visas of individuals and is reviewing the visas of all others serving in the de facto Honduran government which ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya last month.

The four individuals currently serve in the government of Roberto Micheletti. Each obtained "A-1" visas, diplomatic visas which allow them to travel to the United States on official government business, while serving under President Zelaya, but now serve in the de facto goverment led by Roberto Micheletti. The ban applies also applies to their families.

State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly called the move "consistent with our policy of the non-recognition" of the de facto regime.

"We don't recognize Roberto Micheletti as the President of Honduras. We recognize Manuel Zelaya," Kelly said.

Kelly said the US was supporting efforts by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to bring an end to the political standoff that escalated after the ouster of President Zelaya on June 28. The United Nations and Organization of American States condemned the coup that pushed Zelaya out of the country and have called for his reinstatement as president.

The move comes on the heels of a letter by Zelaya to President Obama in which he asks the US president to ratchet up diplomatic and economic pressure on the Micheletti regime, including canceling visas of leaders of the de facto government and freezing their bank accounts.

The United States has already suspended some programs but has not instituted a full suspension of aid pending a review of the situation. Kelly said the US is currently "reviewing all of our bilateral programs with Honduras."

President Raul Castro speaks to a crowd yesterday on the 56th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. He has taken down anti-U.S. billboards.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

It was the US government's version of the ticker in New York's Times Square, blasting Havana's main seaside strip with anti-Cuba propaganda in five-foot high crimson letters. It symbolized the tit-for-tat diplomatic row between Washington and Havana.

But the ticker at the top of the US interests section in Cuba has gone blank, yet another signal the past half century of animosity between the two countries is easing

State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said the ticker was turned off in June because it was not considered an "effective" as a means of delivering information to the Cuban people.

The scrolling electronic sign, fitted across 25 windows of the US interest section, ran quotes from American heroes like Martin Luther King's, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up" and Abraham Lincoln's, "No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."

It also streamed news and political messages that blamed Cuba's everyday problems on the communist regime led by Fidel Castro and the island's socialist economy. A common complaint of the island's transportation woes was fueled by jabs such as, "Some go around in Mercedes, some in Ladas, but the system forces almost everyone to hitch rides."

The sign, erected in 2006 by the Bush administration and billed as a way to circumvent censorship and offer hope and freedom to Cubans oppressed by a brutal regime, fueled a propaganda war with Fidel Castro, who referred to the US interest section as "the headquarters of the counterrevolution."

Calling the ticker an assault on Cuba's sovereignty by an imperialist bully, an infuriated Fidel Castro marched a million Cubans past the interest section in protest, dug up the US mission's parking lot and blocked the ticker by erecting anti-US billboards and 138 huge black flags to commemorate victims of so-called US aggression. He promised there would be no contact between US-based diplomats in Havana and Cuba's foreign ministry until the sign came down.

Raul Castro, Fidel's brother who now rules Cuba, took down the anti-U.S. billboards earlier this year as ties between the two countries continue to improve. In April President Obama lifted restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling to the island and sending remittances to family members there. And earlier this month US and Cuban diplomats held their first talks since 2003 on Cuban migration to the United States.

Kelly acknowledged most Cubans couldn't even read the ticker because of the counter-propaganda erected by the Cubans. The "dueling billboards," Kelly said, was not promoting a productive US-Cuba relationship.

Kelly said measures also announced by President Obama in April to allow US cell phone networks and other telecommunication technology to operate on the island would do more allow the free flow of information to the Cuban people.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

The Obama administration is seriously considering not extending invitations to Iranian diplomats for July 4 celebrations overseas, senior administration officials tell CNN.

The officials said intense discussions on the issue were taking place, but the final decision had not been made.

Late last month the State Department sent a cable to its embassies and consulates worldwide informing them they "may invite representatives from the government of Iran" to their July 4th celebrations.

The U.S. receptions marking Independence Day usually feature symbols of Americana, such as hot dogs, red-white-and-blue decorations and remarks by U.S. officials about America's founding fathers.

The Obama administration had decided to invite Iranians to the celebrations at overseas posts as part of President Obama's policy of engaging the Iranian regime.

As part of that engagement Obama videotaped a message for the Iranian people on the Persian New year and U.S. officials have engaged members of the Iranian government.

In March Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan spoke briefly with Iran's deputy foreign minister, Mohammad Mehdi Akhondzadeh, at an Afghanistan conference in The Hague.

But officials said the violence against protesters that has ensued since the June 12 election has caused the administration to rethink the timing of such engagement.

One senior administration official said Wednesday the reconsideration of the July 4th invitations is consistent with Obama's comments Tuesday, in which he said he was "shocked and appalled" at the violence against demonstrators.

"The president said yesterday how this plays out will affect what we do," the official said.

Obama said Tuesday, "If Iran chooses a path that abides by international norms and principles, then we are interested in healing some of the wounds of 30 years in terms of U.S.-Iranian relations."

But he sidestepped questions on whether the offer to attend the celebrations still stand. "That's a choice the Iranians are going to have to make," he said.

Officials said if such a decision is made invitations that have gone out will not be rescinded, although it was unclear whether any Iranians had accepted an invitation.

On Tuesday Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said an invitation to Iranian diplomats would send the wrong message to Iranians "who are bravely standing up for the same rights and freedoms which Americans celebrate on this day."

"The Fourth of July is a day when we celebrate democracy and reflect on the gift of freedom which all Americans cherish," she said in a statement. "The Iranian people are no less worthy of freedom and self-governance than citizens of the United States."

Administration officials believe the U.S. will engage Iran at some point to address issues of US national security, including the nuclear issue, the idea of bilateral engagement is in a holding pattern while the violence continues.

"I wouldn't say engagement is off the table, but it is certainly on ice," a senior administration official told CNN this week.

Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell visited Syria two weeks ago, where he said he had 'serious and productive discussions' with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Elise Labott
State Department Producer

President Obama has decided to send a US ambassador back to Syria, a dramatic sign of reconciliation between the two countries, senior administration officials tell CNN. The announcement is expected to be made this week.

"It's in our interests to have an ambassador in Syria," a senior administration official told CNN Tuesday night. "We have been having more and more discussions and we need to have someone there to engage."

The official said that the decision was "not in any way" related to the election crisis in Iran, although the Obama administration has maintained engaging the Syrian regime could weaken Syria's strategic alliance with Iran.

Syrian Ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha said his country had not formally been notified of the decision, but told CNN "if this is true it reflects the genuine desire by the United States of America to correct the past efforts of the Bush administration and engage Syria."

"It's good for the United States, it's good for Syria and it's good for the region," Moustapha said.

The senior administration officials say President Obama has not chosen an individual to serve as Ambassador. Once he does, the name must go through an informal vetting process with the Syrians before the president's choice is nominated and confirmed.

The United States withdrew its ambassador from Syria four years ago in protest at the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Washington accuses Syria of being behind the killing of the popular statesman in a massive bombing that also left 22 others dead. Syria denies it, but an ongoing United Nations investigation has found indications of Syrian involvement.

A charge d'affaires has been the highest-level American diplomat in Damascus since 2005.

In anticipation of sending an ambassador back to Syria, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Eric Boswell recently traveled to Syria to examine the security situation there. The United States also is interested in building a new embassy in Damascus.

The decision comes on the heels of a visit two weeks ago to Damascus by Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell to Syria, where he said he had "serious and productive discussions" with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad about President Obama's goal of a "comprehensive peace," which includes peace between Israel and Syria and Israel and Lebanon.

"We intend to pursue this as vigorously as possible," Mitchell said.

The visit was part of a series of actions between the two sides that could pave the way for dramatically improved ties.

Last week U.S. General Ray Odierno, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, told reporters that "Syria has been taking some action" to stop the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq.

Jeffrey Feltman - an assistant secretary of state who is the department's top official on the Middle East - and National Security Council official Daniel Shapiro traveled to Damascus twice in recent months in an effort to improve ties with Syria.

The talks, which have been the start of more regular contacts between Washington and Damascus through normal diplomatic channels, focused in part on getting Syria to seal its border with Iraq. Washington has criticized Damascus for turning a blind eye to foreign fighters traveling through Syria into Iraq.

Mitchell's recent visit took place on the heels of President Obama's Cairo speech to the Muslim world, where he pledged to pursue a broad-based, comprehensive peace agreement in the region

While Mitchell was in the region, Syria also hosted a delegation of US military commanders in Damascus to discuss joint efforts to stem the insurgency in Iraq.

"All of theses talks, the quality of the discussion and the level of engagement has been unprecedented, at least for the last eight years," Moustapha said

The United States also wants Syrian support in achieving a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, and appears willing to nurture indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel, which began last year, over the disputed Golan Heights.

Those talks were suspended after Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip that ended in mid-January. Damascus wants the United States to become involved if the talks resume.

And the U.S. is interested in getting Damascus to use its influence with Hamas, which Syria views as a legitimate resistance movement and whose leaders take refuge in Syria.

Celebrity Pakistani Imran Khan visited Washington this week to urge the U.S. to pull out of Afghanistan.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

Most people remember Imran Khan as the former Pakistani cricket player and international playboy – Pakistan's version of David Beckam, leading his country to victory in the 1992 cricket World Cup.

Khan left the cricket field in 1992 and traded his signature leopard print satin pants for a career in politics. His Tehrik-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice) party is small, but growing at a fast pace in the tribal Frontier province.

Still displaying his trademark swagger, Khan made the rounds this week in Washington, arguing in meetings with Congressional leaders like Senate Foreign Relations chairman John Kerry that there will be no peace in Pakistan's tribal area until the US begins to end its military campaign in neighboring Afghanistan.

Yes, the crowds at his speeches around town were heavily sprinkled with women, many of whom came out to get a glimpse of the once-famous heartthrob. But Khan's fresh approach to the situation in Pakistan is finding resonance among AFPAK experts looking at a region spiraling out of control.

While most Pakistanis have supported the Pakistani military campaign against the Taliban in the scenic Swat valley, Khan told me at a coffeehouse in D.C he opposed it from day one.

The seven-week battle began when Taliban guerrillas advanced perilously close to the capital Islamabad, ten days after the Taliban signed a peace agreement with the government

"Clearly they hadn't exhausted all of their options after ten days," he said. "War is not the first option, it should be a last resort."

Khan had suggested the government send a team of parliamentarians to bring the Taliban back to the table. In fact he argues both Pakistan and the United States should have engaged the Taliban after 9/11.

"These Taliban they are fighting are basically Pakistani tribesman. They were never enemy. Most had nothing to do with terrorism," he said. "The real enemy was always Al-Qaeda and the eye has been taken off the ball."

What's worse, he argued, a campaign against thousands of guerrillas militants in Swat has displaced more than 2.5 million people and has left a political vacuum in the area, which the military is struggling to hold.

Once an opposition member of Parliament, Khan boycotted the 2008 elections which brought President Zardari to power – charging they should have never been held so close to the assassination of Zardari's widow Benazir Bhutto. He dismisses Zardari as an "incompetent American stooge."

The most recent poll by IRI in Pakistan showed Zardari as having a 19 percent approval rating.

"What is happening is that this government doesn't reflect the aspirations of the people of Pakistan," he said. "Zardari campaigned on dialogue with the militants and not using the military option and here we are with more military than even during (former President Pervez) Musharraf's time. "

He argues Pakistan's political system – parliamentary rule with lead authority in the hands of the president – results in a corrupt system where genuine democracy cannot flourish. And he says Zardari's only policy to prop up his country's flailing economy is "asking for US dollars."

"People in Pakistan want a change," he said. "They want justice, and that also means economic justice. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting squashed. It's an untenable situation. We are seeing more unrest, a rise in crime and lawlessness and this has nothing to do with the war on terror."

He says that Pakistan's once-disaffected middle class has experienced an awakening, as evident by the thousands of Pakistanis that turned out for protests against Zardari's refusal to re-appoint the chief justice. His reinstatement, he says, was the result of true "people power."

"The country is changing," he said, "The media is as vibrant as anywhere in the world and has raised a level of public awareness that has never existed. The revolution is coming.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

Yesterday's groundbreaking move by President Obama to provide some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees came to fruition in large part due to Secretary of Clinton, who first put the issue on the table.

It is unclear whether the Obama administration came to office planning to offer government-wide benefits to domestic partners of civil service employees, but Clinton, a longtime advocate of gay rights, was on it day one. Since President Obama named her as his pick for Secretary of State in November, Clinton's transition staff and the State Department had been working with members of the American Foreign Service Association and the group GLIFAA (Gays & Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies) on what could be done to extend benefits to domestic partners of diplomats serving abroad.

At her very first senior staff meeting Clinton instructed the State Department to review whether she had the authority to extend benefits to same-sex domestic partners. About a week later a gay employee asked Clinton during a town hall with employees to eliminate discrimination against same sex partners. The Secretary of State drew loud applause when she said the issue was "of real concern" to her, and that she was already working on it.

Several weeks ago, a memo to employees from Clinton instituting the changes was leaked to the press. Clinton's aides at the time said the memo was a draft, and that Clinton couldn't change policies without an "interagency review" of the issue to make sure State Department actions wouldn't negatively affect other agencies. But the memo seemed to light a fire under the administration, which quickly caught up to Clinton's lead.

Still, the health benefits announced Wednesday for same sex partners of non-State Department civil employees is a drop in the bucket compared to the long list of other benefits the State Department extended to the gay partners of US diplomats serving abroad. In addition to health benefits and access to medical and emergency evacuation, domestic partners will also get diplomatic passports, training at the Foreign Service Institute and housing allowances. Same sex partners will get the same preference for US embassy jobs that spouses currently enjoy, and the State Department will now work with foreign governments to provide same-sex domestic partners, to the extent possible, with diplomatic visas, work permits and other privileges, including diplomatic immunity. The State Department will even pay for them to fly home if a relative is gravely ill. Few of these benefits are currently offered to domestic partners.

Although the Foreign Service has difference rules and regulations which allow the State Department to do more in the first place, Clinton extended the full range of legally available benefits and allowances to same sex partners of members of the Foreign Service. In a statement issued Thursday acknowledging the support partners provide to overseas posts, Clinton said, "domestic partners of federal employees have for too long been treated unequally."

Clinton knows the move is also good business. Today's US diplomats serving around the world are increasingly having to shed their pinstripe suits and get dirty in the field, which requires a whole different skill set. These days the State Department is competing for the same Arabic and Farsi speakers and technology gurus as top notch multinational companies, where domestic partner benefits and allowances are increasingly the norm. Clinton herself noted if the State Department wants to remain a "word class employer" which attracts and retains high caliber personnel, the change is "the smart thing to do."

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

The halls of Foggy Bottom are ringing with the Tweets coming with Iran and the State Department is working to ensure they keep coming.

Senior officials say the State Department is working with Twitter and other social networking sites to ensure Iranians are able to continue to communicate to each other and the outside world.

By necessity, the US is staying hands off of the election drama playing out in Iran, and officials say they are not providing messages to Iranians or "quarterbacking" the disputed election process.

But they do want to make sure the technology is able to play its sorely-needed role in the crisis, which is why the State Department is advising social networking sites to make sure their networks stay up and running for Iranians to use them and helping them stay ahead of anyone who would try to shut them down.

For example, senior officials say the State Department asked Twitter to refrain for going down for periodic scheduled maintenance at this critical time to ensure the site continues to operate. Bureau's and offices across the State Department, they say, are paying very close attention to Twitter and other sites to get information on the situation in Iran.

Because the US has no relations with Iran and does not have an embassy there, it is relying on media reports and the State Department's Iran Watch Offices in embassies around the world. The largest such offices are in Dubai, Berlin and London, all home to large Iranian expat communities.

But officials say the internet, and specifically social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, are providing the United States with critical information in the face of a crackdown on journalists by Iranian authorities.

"There are lots of people here watching," one senior official said. "There are some interesting messages going up."

While officials would not say whether they were communicating with Iranians directly, one senior official noted that the US is learning about certain people being picked up for questioning by authorities through posts on Twitter.

"It is a very good example of where technology is helping," the official said.

The situation in Iran is a real world example of the State Department's efforts to increase use of technology in diplomacy, including social networking sites, Web Video and text messages to reach large numbers of people who would otherwise be difficult to reach.

The fighting in the Swat Valley region of Pakistan has forced thousands of civilians to abandon their homes.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

Ambassador Richard Holbrooke the Special Representative for Afghan and Pakistan has a beef with the term "internally displaced persons," or IDPs. Holbrooke just returned from Pakistan, where he witnessed firsthand the humanitarian crisis brewing as a result of the Pakistani military's offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley.

The United Nations estimates about 2 million Pakistanis have been displaced by the fighting, which Holbrooke called the largest flow of refugees or displaced people in Pakistan and India since partition. Most are currently staying either in "overburdened" private houses or schools, but many are living in refugee camps. Although Holbrooke said there are no epidemics of cholera or other diseases which typically are found in such conditions, the situation could get worse as the rainy season approaches.

"It's not a good sight," he said in his first Washington press briefing since President Obama appointed him in January. "The longer this goes on, the more critical it’s going to be."

Typically, when people are displaced from their homes, but don't cross the border into another country, they are called IDPs. But Holbrooke gave a heartfelt explanation Wednesday why he dislikes the term, which he considers a mere "bureaucratic euphemism."

Already calling the Pakistanis "refugees," he said, "takes away their individuality." In his mind, these people can't be further reduced to a mere "initial."

"These are human beings," he said. "They’re farmers, they’re pharmacists, they’re jewelers, they’re school teachers."

"What’s the difference between a person who crosses a border because he or she has lost their home in fighting, to a person who doesn’t cross the border," he asked

Holbrooke said that until 10 years ago the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees didn't even consider protecting IDPs as part of its mandate. As President Clinton's Ambassador to the United Nations, the always formidable Holbrooke made it a personal mission to ensure refugees became the UN's responsibility, regardless of their international status determined whether they crossed the border or not.

During his trip Holbrooke met with Pakistanis living in tents refugee camps, who he said by and large appreciated the importance of the Pakistani military's campaign to root out the Taliban.

"They really understand why the military came in, he said. "They want the Taliban out. They hate them, and they think they have destroyed this piece of heaven which was Swat."

Holbrooke emphasized the importance of reconstruction of the areas destroyed by the fighting. In addition to the $200 in emergency aid for refugees the Obama administration requested from Congress, Holbrooke said the US was committed to aiding with reconstruction of the areas destroyed once the Pakistani operations were complete..

"The highest priority is for these people to be able to return to their homes as quickly as possible," Holbrooke said. He said a Pakistani mechanic he met in a refugee camp embodied the tragedy he found in Pakistan.

"One man sitting in an unventilated tent with one of his wives and about seven of his 15 children said to me that – quite memorably, he said, “I used to live in heaven and now I live in hell.” These are people from the highlands and it’s much cooler up there. And he went on to describe this beautiful house he had which is now being used temporarily by the army, and he said, “I’ve just got to get back.”

The health of ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, here in a TV image in April, complicates matters.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

When North Korea conducted a nuclear test in 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised tough consequences for North Korea's actions but said the door was still open for negotiations.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said pretty much the same thing last month when North Korea lobbed a long-range rocket, prompting fears that it could hit Japan or even Hawaii.

The broken record was replayed this week when President Obama called for "stronger international pressure" after North Korea turned pyrotechnics into an extreme sport, with an apparent nuclear test followed by a series of missile launches.

Fifteen years after the Clinton administration signed the Agreed Framework, essentially bribing North Korea to give up its weapons program with a nuclear power plant, the U.S. has been riding a merry-go-round of deal-making, provocation and punishment with the North.

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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

If anyone needed a better visual that the State Department is back under Hillary Clinton, today's AFPAK meetings provided one. In the State Department's ornate Ben Franklin diplomatic reception room, Clinton presided over the opening session of the two-days of talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. Flanked by the two leaders, Clinton spoke at length to the foreign, defense, intel and agriculture ministers from both countries and a team of heavyweights from the Obama administration, including US envoy Richard Holbrooke, CENTCOM Chief General Petraeus, CIA Director Leon Panetta, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak.

The diverse group, Clinton said, reflects the fact that "promoting peace must be an all-government effort." But it was clearly Clinton who was running the show, on her own turf. The Secretary of State, who came respectably close to being president herself, addressed the leaders with authority about the Obama administration's strategy for stabilizing both countries.

Since taking office Clinton has been adept at featuring the State Department as once again being the center of US diplomacy, a traditional role that was often in doubt during the Bush administration. Just two days on the job, President Obama traveled to the State Department to announce his appointment of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke as his point man for Afghanistan and Pakistan and former Senator George Mitchell as Mideast envoy. She also has fought for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development to take back duties and resources for development that have fallen to the Pentagon over the past eight years.

Obama's foreign policy team is not one of shrinking violets, with Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor Jim Jones and Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice. Not to mention Mitchell and Holbrooke, who is a diplomatic tour de force of his own. During the first 100 days of the administration, we've all wondered whether Clinton would be able to stand out among these players. Today she demonstrated, once again, that she is large, and in charge.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah.

Elise Labott
CNN State Department Producer

Today I attended an interesting conference about US-Saudi relations called "US-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium".

The event took place in an enormous ballroom at the Four Seasons, yet there was still standing room-only for a crowd of close to 500 oil executives, current and former diplomats, academics and journalists twittering away. Another 4,000 or so followed the conference on line by video stream. It was a real testament to just how important the relationship with Saudi Arabia is.

The New America Foundation's Steve Clemons, who organized the conference, assembled quite a line-up. The Saudi Ministers of Finance and Commerce were there, as well as Prince Turki al-Faisal, former Saudi Ambassador to the US and intelligence minister. Undersecretary of State William Burns spoke to the group about the importance of the US-Saudi relationship.

The people who couldn't make the conference, and why, said just as much about how critical US-Saudi ties are today. Adel Al-Jubeir, the current Saudi Ambassador traveled home to Riyadh to attend a meeting between Saudi King Abdullah Ambassador and Dennis Ross, the current shepard of US policy toward Iran who just left for the region. Special envoy for the Middle East George Mitchell is about to take a trip to the Kingdom himself.

All this diplomatic activity is evidence that Saudi Arabia is at the center of many key issues facing not just the Middle East, but the world. Most people think closer to home: such as King Abdullah's Arab peace initiative and the Saudi role in helping mediate between Palestinian factions, stabilizing Iraq and serving as a counterweight in the region to Iran's rising influence and nuclear ambitions.

But it doesn't stop there. Saudi Arabia is seen as critical to stabilizing Afghanistan and Pakistan and has a growing role in helping solve the world financial crisis as a member of the G-20.

Which is why there is serious talk within the Obama administration about putting more stock in the US-Saudi alliance, which took a serious beating during the Bush years. By the end of the Bush administration the Saudis were so disappointed with the United States policy in the Mideast that Riyadh ignored Washington's pleas to increase oil production when oil prices were at their highest. King Abdullah even declined President Bush's invitation to the White House for a State dinner.

Commerce Minister Abdullah Alireza described the Bush years as a "long hibernation," referring to what many Arabs viewed as a hands off approach by President Bush to Mideast peace making. He said the Saudis wanted to get past the "trials and tribulations of the past," and he and other Saudi officials spoke favorably about what they see as a positive change in tone by President Obama.

Since 9/11 there has been a tendency for peoples in both countries to reduce each other to stereotypes: the Saudis as Islamic fanatics who fund terrorism and the US as occupiers and torturers of Muslims.

The truth is far more complex than these convenient labels. To be sure Washington and Riyadh have serious disagreements. And although many people at the conferenced today said the US and Saudi Arabia have "simliar values," that is certainly a stretch. The US has concerns about Saudi Arabia's record on human rights and its adherence to the Wahabi brand of Islam. Saudi Arabia wants the US to do more to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reduce its military footprint in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But today's conference went a long way toward showing that despite those issues, the US-Saudi partnership is critical to help solving many of the major problems facing the United States today and needs to be nutured.