Free Republic

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg attacked rival Joe Biden on Sunday over Biden's support for the invasion of Iraq, saying Biden had "supported the worst foreign policy decision made by the United States in my lifetime." Biden's Monday response was misleading -- both about his past position on the war in Iraq and about his past position on the war in Afghanistan. Before he addressed his past position on Iraq in particular, Biden touted his broader foreign policy record. Citing judgment calls he said had been vindicated, such as his opposition to US intervention in Libya, he told the editorial...

The Pentagon said in a statement late Tuesday evening that it had no corroborating evidence that Russian operatives offered bounties to the Taliban for American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. “The Department of Defense continues to evaluate intelligence that Russian GRU operatives were engaged in malign activity against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan. To date, DOD has no corroborating evidence to validate the recent allegations found in open-source reports,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Jonathan Hoffman.

No good deed goes unpunished: America's multibillion-dollar liberation of Afghanistan has resulted in bounties being placed on U.S. servicemen and other citizens. Anti-American bounty hunters in the eastern province of Paktia have handed out leaflets offering $50,000 for a Westerner delivered dead and $100,000 for a live one, said Maj. Iris Hurd of the U.S. Army's Information Operations division. "Even pro-West Afghans who support the coalition are threatened with violence in the pamphlets," Fox News Channel reported today. The "credible threats” could include attacks with rockets, mortars and car bombs, Maj. Bryan Hilferty said at Bagram air base in central...

The Defense Department said late Monday that there is “no corroborating evidence” to support the explosive New York Times report last week that said the Russian military offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The report sent shock waves through Washington and prompted President Trump to outright deny knowing anything about the intel cited in the report. “To date, DOD has no corroborating evidence to validate the recent allegations found in open-source reports. Regardless, we always take the safety and security of our forces in Afghanistan—and around the world—most seriously and therefore continuously adopt measures to...

An attorney for the whistleblower who sparked President Trump’s impeachment now says he has two clients prepared to sue if the Trump administration follows through with sanctions against the International Criminal Court. Mark Zaid told The Post he represents a pair of US law professors who intend to file a lawsuit if sanctions prohibit or criminalize their pro bono advisory work. Trump signed an executive order this month that allows sanctions against anyone involved in an ICC investigation of Americans or US allies. The order was issued in response to a decision from the court’s appeals chamber that authorized an...

Trump administration officials will brief members of Congress about intelligence regarding Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the White House confirmed on Monday. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” that a briefing would take place on Monday. She did not offer details regarding who would conduct the briefing and what members of Congress would attend. “There will be a briefing today,” McEnany said. “I think it will clear up a lot of the false reporting from The New York Times. The president has made clear that he’s never been briefed.” McEnany...

The other day, the New York Times was subtly and not so subltely promoting the claim that President Trump was standing callously by and coddling Russia's Vladimir Putin even as Putin was busily offering the Taliban bounties for the bodies of dead U.S. servicemen. It was the old 'Trump is a Russian agent' canard whipped out in a new form. The intelligence finding was briefed to President Trump, and the White House’s National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March, the officials said. Officials developed a menu of potential options — starting with making a...

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) accused President Donald Trump of “kissing up” to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Host George Stephanopoulos said, “I want to turn to that rather startling report in The New York Times [that] Russia secretly offered Afghan bounties to kill U.S. troops. It reports that American intelligence officials have concluded that Russian military intelligence units secretly offered bounties to Taliban linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan, including targeting American troops.” He asked, “Were you aware of these reports?” Pelosi said, “No, and we have called for a report to the Congress...

Hey! Anybody up for the “China Collusion” fantasy scam? – That’s what’s coming next from the Democrat/Media Axis of Disinformation, as was made clear on the Sunday morning talk shows. Democrat activist hosts Martha Raddatz of ABC and NBC’s weaselly Chuck Todd kicked off the festivities, with Fake Jake Tapper playing a supporting role. Hilariously, this entire scam will revolve around the media’s former whipping boy, John Bolton, who has suddenly become their newest turncoat hero now that he’s taking shots at President Donald Trump. Todd interviewed bug-eyed Adam Schiff on his gabfest, “Meet the Press.” There he practically begged...

Whereas the Resistance mob tried to paint Trump as a maniacal genius, Hill saw what most non-crazy people suspected: that Trump treats his presidency like a business and diplomacy like dealmaking. "He just wants to go in and shoot the breeze with these guys, because he thinks he's got great chemistry with them," Hill said. BINGO! In short, Hill knows that in Trump's case, it's incorrect to ascribe to malice what mannerism and shortsightedness can easily explain. If the nation's leading expert on Russian interference in our politics (and one with every reason to loathe the Trump administration) doesn't buy...

American intelligence officials have concluded that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan — including targeting American troops — amid the peace talks to end the long-running war there, according to officials briefed on the matter. The United States concluded months ago that the Russian unit, which has been linked to assassination attempts and other covert operations in Europe intended to destabilize the West or take revenge on turncoats, had covertly offered rewards for successful attacks last year. Islamist militants, or armed criminal elements closely associated with them, are believed...

Link below. Fake news strikes again. I knew this story was boving excrement the moment the Slimes ran it. https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3272352001?__twitter_impression=true

Almost 900 Afghan security personnel and 150 civilians were killed or wounded in a wave of Taliban attacks across Afghanistan last week. The insurgents' onslaught made for the deadliest week in the history of the 19-year conflict, but it hasn't stopped the government, the insurgents, or the U.S. from pushing publicly for a peace deal. The Afghan government accused the Taliban of carrying out 422 attacks over just seven days, leaving 291 Afghan National Defense and Security forces dead and 550 more wounded. In the same period, the insurgents are accused of killing 42 civilians, including women and children, and...

Over 18,000 people who came to Sweden during the height of the 2015 migrant crisis have been granted Swedish citizenship — and by extension EU citizenship — since being initially accepted for asylum status. The Swedish migration board has revealed that a total of 18,420 people who came to the country in 2015 as asylum seekers are now Swedish citizens, granting full citizenship rights including the right to Free Movement around the EU — including Britain, until the end of the 2020 transition period — and the right to vote. Around 60 per cent of them come from Syria, followed...

A veteran who helped stop a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train in 2015 is running for Congress in Oregon, telling "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday that liberal Democrat Peter DeFazio "doesn't represent" the rural district anymore. Alek Skarlatos, a veteran of the Army National Guard who served in Afghanistan, said he became interested in politics after speaking with his state senator on a plane to Washington, D.C. and was encouraged to consider running for office. "I did some research and the more I learned about the [4th Congressional District] and everything that happened to it under the tenure of...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that the situation with respect to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its illegitimate assertions of jurisdiction over personnel of the United States...

A positive sign for the US economy today with the unemployment rate dropping to 13.3 percent last month, an improvement from April's 14.7... The Mayor of Washngton DC, Democrat Muriel Bowser, renaming the plaza near the White House "Black Lives Matter Plaza" with the name "Black Lives Matter" spelled out in large yellow letters on the street there. Her move not looked upon positively by the "Black Lives Matter" organization which said her move was: "a performative distraction from real policy changes" and "a way to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands"...... Questions being asked about the federal law...

Strange feeling. An endless war on the other side of the world, communism ravaging the world like/with a virus, race riots in U.S. cities, and a spectacular spacefaring feat developing before our eyes. It's party like it's 1969 all over again!

Defense Department officials are reportedly planning to brief President Donald Trump on several options to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan, including one to pull them out before the 2020 US presidential election in November.

I had decided to go for dinner early - at six o'clock - with my friend, another pilot called Michael Poulikakos. It was the first time in the three or four months that I had been coming to the Intercontinental that I'd done this - usually I had dinner at around 8.30pm. We finished dinner about 7.30pm and then I went up to my room - room 522 - on the top floor, to make some calls. At 8.47 p.m. I was on the phone to Athens when I heard a big explosion down in the lobby. I went out...