Free Republic

Can Rouhani be the new Gorbachev? Hardly. But if it will happen, it can only happen if we help him as we helped Mr. Gorbachev—if, by fidelity to our principles and by steady, determined statesmanship, we help him to eliminate himself, his regime, and the evil they have visited upon their people and set loose in the world around them.

With a fevered and frantic breathless pace, Obama via John Kerry has been pushing to sign a sell-out deal with Iran that would ease sanctions without shutting down Iran’s nuke program. Benjamin Netanyahu was furious when he found out that Kerry had misrepresented what the proposed agreement would be, not to mention Kerry running at the mouth to bash Israel on the talks with the Palestinians. Netanyahu was not alone. France was uncomfortable with the deal Kerry wanted to sign, even as Kerry huddled with the Iranians trying to get ‘er done.(VIDEO-AT-LINK) Thank you France for at least buying us...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will unexpectedly travel to Geneva on Friday afternoon to meet with Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, NBC News reports. Nuclear talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 nations resumed in Geneva Thursday morning. Word of Kerry's impending arrival is the strongest sign so far of an agreement on a first step toward a comprehensive final deal, according to NBC. Earlier, a senior American official and Zarif both said a deal could be reached Friday. The United States was pressuring Iran to halt its nuclear program in return for a limited and reversible reprieve on...

<p>The Syrian diplomatic and political debacle was bad enough, but last week at the UN President Obama embarked on a campaign for "progress" with Iran that will prove much more dangerous for American interests.</p> <p>Just as Vladimir Putin had played him for a fool over Syria, Barack Obama was initially snubbed by Iranian President Hassan Rowhani despite frantic White House efforts to produce a handshake.</p>

Rice told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that the Iranian delegation approached the Obama administration about a phone call between President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The request came after indicating earlier in the week that a direct meeting at the UN General Assembly would not be possible due to Iran’s internal political reality.

<p>“Wow, this is fantastic,” said Armin Kay, an engineer reacting to the news. “The most important thing is that Obama took the initiative. This will go down really well with our leadership.”</p> <p>It was the first direct conversation between leaders of Iran and the United States since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.</p>

Iran rejected an offer for President Obama to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday at the United Nations, the White House said Tuesday. Iranian diplomats told the U.S. that such a meeting was “too complicated for Iranians to do at this point,” according to a senior administration official. … Suzanne Maloney, an Iran researcher at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, said a meeting posed significant risk for Rouhani, a new leader grappling with the anti-Americanism that remains a core tenant of Iran’s political culture. “I don't think the moment is yet ripe for a handshake or any...

On December 18, 2011, the last convoy of US soldiers pulled out of Iraq, ending nearly nine years of war that left almost 4,500 American troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis dead. Marking the end of the combat mission in a speech at Fort Bragg (the same location where George W. Bush had declared war in 2003), President Barack Obama emphasized repeatedly that he was fulfilling his 2008 campaign pledge of an Iraq pull-out, while praising the courage of American soldiers and vowing that Iraqi forces were prepared to assume responsibility for their country’s security. “Of course,” he noted,...

Israel wants to see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad toppled, its ambassador to the United States said on Tuesday, in a shift from its non-committal public stance on its neighbor's civil war. Even Assad's defeat by al Qaeda-aligned rebels would be preferable to Damascus's current alliance with Israel's arch-foe Iran, Ambassador Michael Oren said in an interview with the Jerusalem Post. His comments marked a move in Israel's public position on Syria's two-and-1/2-year-old war.

JERUSALEM — The threat of US military action against Syria remains "real", Washington's top diplomat said on Sunday a day after striking a deal with Russia to destroy Damascus's chemical weapons stockpile. "The threat of force remains, the threat is real," US Secretary of State John Kerry said at a news conference in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We cannot have hollow words in the conduct of international affairs." Kerry's remarks were made following a four-hour meeting with Netanyahu at which the two men discussed the US-Russian agreement on eradicating Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons, and also talked...

Maybe Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin really did discuss the idea of putting Syrian chemical weapons under international control last week on the sidelines of the G20 conference. Putin sure doesn’t care that Obama’s taking credit for the proposal, or that the administration is posturing like a Mob enforcer. “The only reason why we are seeing this proposal,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney, “is because of the U.S. threat of military action.” Right, Putin is laughing to himself. Whatever. If Obama wants to sell it like a Christmas miracle on Pennsylvania Avenue that’s fine with Putin, because Putin won....

Cairo: The Arab League will back a Russian plan to place Syrian chemical weapons under international supervision for eventual destruction, its secretary general said on Tuesday. Nabil al-Arabi told reporters in Cairo the League will 'soon issue a statement announcing its support officially' for the Russian plan... "If you remember, I always insisted that (the Syrian conflict) needs a political solution" Arabi said. But they fell short of calling for military strikes as proposed by Washington, with several members opposed to foreign intervention in Syria.

As Congress continues to debate the authorization of use of force against the Assad regime, President Obama addresses the nation from the White House on the situation in Syria.

Write a new chapter in the diplomatic handbook. Dedicate it to the off-the-cuff remark – the gaffe, even – which averts a war. We don't yet know if John Kerry's apparently unplanned comment in London, suggesting Syria could avoid a US military strike by turning over its stash of chemical weapons, has set in train a process that will ultimately prevent armed American action. But Barack Obama described it as a "possible breakthrough" and the relief can be felt across multiple world capitals. Of course the practical problems are legion – one report claims that getting rid of Syria's chemical...

As President Barack Obama kicks off an all-out push for a strike on Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry came under fire on Monday for saying any attack would be “unbelievably small” and suggesting the Syrian ruler still had a week to give up his chemical weapons to avoid a U.S. assault - a remark Kerry’s spokeswoman later attempted to clarify. The off-key comments came in a joint press conference in London with Britain’s foreign secretary, where Kerry said the strike would be able to harm Assad without putting American troops on the ground and with a “very limited, very...

President Obama, John Kerry, John McCain and Lindsey Graham are all peddling the anti-Syrian government line and now they have a beloved “red line,” whereby they can assist the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and various al-Qaeda terrorist groups. Of course, when Carla del Ponte stated earlier this year that the United Nations believed that terrorist forces had used chemical weapons; then, of course, this was conveniently ignored by America, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Similarly, it appears that Obama, Kerry, McCain and Graham don’t believe in a red line when it applies to al-Qaeda affiliates, the Free...

Barack Obama-backed Syrian rebel terrorists this week have dismembered a girl while she was alive along with other similar atrocities in a Christian village in Syria, according to Russia Today. Hit-and-run attacks on the ancient village of Maaloula, one of the few places in the world where residents still speak "the original language of Christ," Aramaic, has intensified fears among Syria’s religious minorities about the growing role of U.S.-backed rebel extremists among those fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.. President Barack Obama has aimed to topple Assad with support from Congress and the public, first using US-backed rebels to...

Maybe it's jet lag. Maybe it's the sleeping pills. Whatever. Barack Obama has melted down. Reality has slipped his grip like a wet salmon. Obama has always been one to take credit for everything ("I got Bin Laden") and own everything ("my military") yet never, ever take responsibility for anything. At his news conference in Sweden he said things that a rational person could never utter. STEVE HOLLAND, REUTERS: Have you made up your mind whether to take action against Syria whether or not you have a congressional resolution approved? Is a strike needed in order to preserve your credibility...

Vanity: a very long time ago a man wrote a book titled "Alas Babylon". Although it was written long ago and in a much different time, it is revealing much to us during the current crisis. It told the story of a nuclear war that started in Syria, due to a US fighter accidently attacking a Russian military base. In the story, the two main characters used the words "alas babylon" as code for the last day. Is Babylon about to fall within the space of half an hour? Is that last day upon us? Many authors, both of novels...

For the first time in a long time, the President will consult Congress instead of unilaterally ordering an attack against Syria. This is a big deal, and the President only made the big decision last night against the better judgement of his entire senior staff. It seemed like a sure bet that the U.S. would launch a "limited" strike against Syria at some point this weekend. The U.N. pulled their team of inspectors out early, a surprising and unprecedented move seen as a clue that an American attack was incoming. But there won't be any U.S. missiles in Damascus this...