Senator Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) admitted Tuesday that he secretly met with Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif at an international security conference. 
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg refused to say whether he supports current levels of military aid to Israel or keeping troops in Afghanistan, two of the many important foreign policy questions he dodged in a New York Times survey. 
A spokesman for the Charles Koch Institute said Wednesday that accusations a new think tank supported by Koch is harboring anti-Semites are “absurd” and “grossly mischaracterize the positions” of the organization. But he declined to defend the statements of affiliated scholars questioning the loyalty of American Jews, suggesting that some of them comprise a “fifth column” inside the United States, and promoting a conspiracy theory that Israel conducted a “false-flag” chemical attack on Syrian civilians. 
Launched in early December, the Quincy Institute entered the fray to a cavalcade of press from outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Politico. While much ink has been spilled on the organization’s financial backers and its attempts to chart a new direction in U.S. foreign policy, less attention has been paid to whether it has managed to distance itself from the anti-Semitic bigotry that was intertwined with the America First Committee, of which Koch’s father, Fred Koch, was a prominent member, and that dogged the most extreme parts of the Bush-era antiwar movement. 
Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) on Thursday discussed a new bill that would discourage foreign leaders from taking Americans hostage.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) on Sunday said she is excited Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) will "fight against western imperialism." 
Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) said the recent drone strikes that have been blamed on Iran may be "the thing that calls for military action" during an appearance on Fox & Friends Monday morning. 
John Bolton is out as national security adviser, President Donald Trump said in a tweet Tuesday. 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "conditions are about to get worse" for the Taliban in Afghanistan after President Donald Trump called off a meeting between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Taliban leaders, and the United States. 
It is especially important to remember World War II at a time when most Westerners—especially Americans—have forgotten what real tragedy is. 