American Security Council Foundation (ASCF)

This year's event will be held Saturday, March 10th at Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club in Vero Beach, Florida.

 Proceeds from this event to benefit the Indian River County Veterans Council.



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Members of a U.S. congressional panel expressed concern Thursday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's ties to several Latin American leaders could pose a threat to U.S. national security. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs that senior Iranian officials are "now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States."  He said Iran is trying to penetrate and engage in the Western Hemisphere.

The chairwoman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, said some people might question whether the Iranian-Latin American connection is a threat, but she said there is cause for concern.

 

The U.S. says its labor market surged last month, with nearly a quarter million workers added to company payrolls, and that its unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent, the lowest in almost three years.

In its closely watched monthly report, the government said Friday that 243,000 jobs were added to the economy, a month after the world's largest economy recorded 200,000 new jobs. The January figure — the biggest addition in nine months — substantially exceeded the early estimates of economists. Analysts said the report signaled that the sluggish U.S. economic recovery might be advancing at a faster pace than first thought.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has faced a new round of Republican criticism over a controversial tactic in which U.S. authorities allowed gun buyers to move arms into Mexico, destined for drug cartels.

In testimony to Congress Thursday, Holder said “Operation Fast and Furious” was flawed. Holder said he never authorized the operation, and ordered it to stop after he found out about it.

The White House faced additional questions Thursday on U.S. and NATO discussions about potentially ending combat operations in Afghanistan by the middle of next year as foreign forces transition to an Afghan security lead.

Several times during the news briefing, reporters asked Press Secretary Jay Carney whether there has been any fundamental change in the U.S. and NATO timeline set at a NATO summit in 2010.

 

U.S. officials say Iran is increasingly active in backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's campaign of violence against his own people.

As opposition attacks against the Syrian government grow, U.S. officials say Damascus increasingly seeks help from Iran to hold onto power.