Matthew Lee

Read the latest stories and analysis from Matthew Lee.

Kerry to chair UN Security Council meeting on Iraq

Matthew Lee · September 15, 2014 6:43 pm

FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2014, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at Nordea Concert Hall in Tallinn, Estonia. The first President Bush had one, so did President Bill Clinton, and the second President Bush had two. Now, Obama wants to build a coalition of nations to join the U.S. to combat the threat posed by the Islamic State group in the Middle East and beyond. The diplomacy of coalition building is time-consuming, and questions about who can or should join are often messy. And in this situation it is complicated by the fact that the U.S. and its allies share an interest in defeating the extremists with some governments they otherwise oppose. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Analysis: Coalition building can be tricky

Matthew Lee · September 9, 2014 7:09 am

Secretary of State John Kerry looks out from the stage during the groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Diplomacy Center, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014, at the State Department in Washington. Kerry hosted five of his predecessors in a rare public reunion for the groundbreaking of a museum commemorating the achievements of American statesmanship. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Kerry hosts rare reunion of secretaries of state

Matthew Lee · September 3, 2014 6:30 pm

US diplomats barred from ice bucket challenge

Matthew Lee · August 21, 2014 5:17 pm

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waves to bid farewell in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2014. Kerry ended his vist in Australia for an annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) meeting. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, Pool)

National Security

Kerry visits Solomon Islands, sees WWII memorials

Matthew Lee · August 13, 2014 4:59 am

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, second from right, along with U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, right, addresses the start of the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) talks at Admiralty House in Sydney, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014. Kerry and Hagel are meeting with their Australian counterparts at the annual AUSMIN, which will focus on regional security and enhanced military co-operation. (AP Photo/Dan Himbrechts, Pool)

National Security

US urges speedy formation of new Iraq government

Matthew Lee · August 12, 2014 11:39 pm

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry right, chats with school children while visiting the National Maritime Museum in Sydney, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. Kerry and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel are in Sydney for the annual Australia-United States Ministerial (AUSMIN) talks. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

National Security

Kerry urges calm in Iraq

Matthew Lee · August 11, 2014 7:35 am

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a press conference, concluding his visit to Myanmar for Ministerial Meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Aug 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Nicolas Asfouri, Pool)

National Security

Kerry tries to ease Asian territorial disputes

Matthew Lee · August 10, 2014 4:48 pm

Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi, left, gestures as Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, center, smiles and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, watches before posing for a group picture with foreign ministers of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), representatives of ASEAN Regional forum, and invitees in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Saturday, Aug 9, 2014.(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Kerry presses Myanmar on democratic reform

Matthew Lee · August 9, 2014 6:31 pm

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry address during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and U.S. Ministerial meeting in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Saturday, Aug 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Kerry seeks to calm South China Sea tensions

Matthew Lee · August 9, 2014 10:28 am

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, meets with Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, left, at a hotel during their meeting outside the venue of the 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Naypyidaw Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry is in Myanmar seeking to calm tensions in the South China Sea between China and its smaller neighbors. (AP Photo/Nicolas Asfouri, Pool)

Kerry aims to calm South China Sea tensions

Matthew Lee · August 9, 2014 5:08 am

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, from left, speaks as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and another candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai listen during a joint press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Aug. 8, 2014. Abdullah called the agreement on the disputed presidential election "another step forward in the interests of strengthening national unity in the country, strengthening rule of law in the country and bringing hope to the people for the future of Afghanistan." (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghan candidates agree to resolve dispute

Matthew Lee · August 8, 2014 3:49 pm