Free Republic

Saudi Arabia has threatened to prop up embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak if the Obama administration tries to force a swift change of regime in Egypt, The Times of London reported Thursday. In a testy personal telephone call on Jan. 29, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah reportedly told President Obama not to humiliate Mubarak and warned that he would step in to bankroll Egypt if the U.S. withdrew its aid program, worth $1.5 billion annually. America's closest ally in the Gulf made clear that the Egyptian president must be allowed to stay on to oversee the transition towards peaceful democracy and...

Financial firms and other companies receiving billions of dollars in federal bailout money spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for meetings and charitable gifts on behalf of lawmakers. In the last six months of 2008, as a financial crisis enveloped the country and lawmakers voted on a $700 billion financial rescue package, eight companies that would benefit from that package spent roughly $366,000 on events and charities connected to members of Congress, according to a review of congressional lobbying records. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage companies, spent more than $330,000 in the period, but since...

When Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's entourage arrived in Washington last week, one member of that party - Limor Livnat - handed out a comprehensive report, which included documents seized by the IDF during Operation Defensive Shield, that she claimed proved Saudi Arabia was providing financial backing for Palestinian terror. The 85-page report raised several eyebrows in the American capital, with some American journalists wondering out loud what was the point of proving the Saudis supported the families of Palestinian victims, especially since Saudi Arabia has admitted this in public. It is possible, however, that the Saudi authorities are not comfortable...