The world’s top security and defense officials are gathering in Munich, with uncertainty over the future of the Middle East and the implications of the financial crisis in Europe looming large.
The Munich Security Conference begins Friday with officials from more than 70 countries expected to include U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
It comes as Western diplomats try to overcome Russian objections to a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at halting the violence in Syria.
