Free Republic

The Pentagon Thursday said Islamic militants in Iraq might have captured U.S. equipment and vehicles as an al-Qaeda linked group advanced toward Baghdad. Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has seized control of two major cities, have been posting pictures on Twitter, claiming to have taken equipment given or sold by the U.S. to the Iraqi army. ADVERTISEMENT A defense official said claims the group had captured a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter were wrong, but that Humvees and armored vehicles might have fallen into the militants' hands. "I don't have any indication that the reports...

Then it got really rambunctious. In the room of downcast Cantor allies, a new energy suddenly erupted — but not the kind they wanted election night. A group of immigration activists stormed the ballroom, screaming and waving a flag. “What do we want? Immigration reform! When do we want it? Now!” A few Cantor supporters tried to block the protestors’ entrance into the ballroom, and pushing and shoving ensued. And before they reached the microphone, one Cantor supporter threw his glass of wine onto a female protestor. She swore at him in return.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said the Obama administration could be pushing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel as the "fall guy" for the controversial prisoner swap that freed Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl after five years in Taliban captivity. Administration briefers told his committee that Hagel was ultimately the one who decided to execute the swap, McKeon told Fox News on Tuesday. "It sounded like it was a presidential program all the way, [but] now that there's been a little pushback yesterday in our briefing, the briefers from the various departments were asked who made the final decision, and...

full title...‘We came out of the White House dead broke and in debt’: Hillary Clinton defends her $200,000 speaking fees to pay for their houses and Chelsea’s educationFormer First Lady Hillary Clinton isn't ashamed of the massive amount of money she and husband Bill Clinton have earned over the last decade through high-paying speaking gigs. Hitting the speaking circuit was a necessity in order to maintain their lifestyle after Bill's term as the 42nd President of the United States ended, Clinton told ABC's Diane Sawyer in a sit-down interview ahead of the release of her book Hard Choices.

The FBI was investigating Josh Powell for child pornography at least 17 months before he killed himself and his children, according to a published report based on FBI documents. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the bureau was investigating Powell for possession of child pornography as well as for the death of his wife, Susan, who disappeared in 2009 and has never been found. Anne Bremner, an attorney for Susan Powell's parents, said the family was never told the FBI was investigating Josh Powell for child pornography.

The generations-old debate over capital punishment has shifted to Washington, where President Obama’s Justice Department has launched a national review of the death penalty. ADVERTISEMENT Attorney Gen. Eric Holder’s inquiry, initiated last month following a mishandled execution in Oklahoma, is still in its early stages. The effort includes a look at state death penalty protocols, though its scope and ultimate implications are not yet clear. But by ordering up the review, Obama is raising questions about what role, if any, the federal government should have on an issue that is traditionally the province of the states. Some congressional Republicans are...

A senior White House aide said Thursday he had seen “no evidence” to confirm a report that rescued Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl converted to Islam, fraternized with the Taliban, and declared jihad during nearly five years of captivity. “We have seen no evidence of that,” deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken told CNN when asked about a Fox News report about Bergdahl’s conduct while imprisoned by the Taliban.

The Obama administration largely bypassed the intelligence community to green-light the risky swap of five Taliban leaders for American Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, officials tell Fox News, as new details emerge about concerns with the deal at the highest levels of President Obama's team.

CNSNews.com) - "This is what happens at the end of wars," President Barack Obama said Tuesday when he was asked about swapping American Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban terrorists. "That was true for George Washington, that was true for Abraham Lincoln, that was true for FDR. That's been true of every combat situation, that at some point, you make sure that you try to get your folks back. And that's the right thing to do." Speaking in Poland, Obama said it doesn't matter how Bergdahl ended up with the Taliban:

Miranshah (Pakistan) (AFP) - Freed US soldier Bowe Bergdahl developed a love for Afghan green tea, taught his captors badminton, and even celebrated Christmas and Easter with the hardline Islamists, a Pakistani militant commander told AFP Sunday.

At the end of brief event, the soldier’s father, Bob Bergdahl, recited the most frequent phrase in the Koran — “Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim” —which means “In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Compassionate.” After Bergdahl finished his statement and his praise for Allah, Obama hugged him. The Taliban echoed Bergdahl, saying the trade happened “due to the benevolence of Allah Almighty and the sacrifices of the heroic and courageous Mujahidin of the Islamic Emirate.”

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed and is back in U.S. custody after nearly five years of captivity, U.S. officials said Saturday. The officials said the Taliban agreed to turn over Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for the release of five Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The transfers happened after a week of intense negotiations mediated by

The troubling aspect of the directive outlines presidential authority for the use of military arms and forces, including unarmed drones, in operations against domestic unrest. “This appears to be the latest step in the administration’s decision to use force within the United States against its citizens,” said a defense official opposed to the directive. Directive No. 3025.18, “Defense Support of Civil Authorities,” was issued Dec. 29, 2010, and states that U.S. commanders “are provided emergency authority under this directive.”

Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday called National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden a fugitive and challenged him to "man up and come back to the United States." Kerry was asked about Snowden in a nationally broadcast interview in the wake of an interview in which Snowden said he never intended to be holed up in Russia but was forced to go there because Washington decided to "revoke my passport." Asked about this, Kerry replied on NBC's "Today" show: "Well, for a supposedly smart guy, that's a pretty dumb answer, after all."

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says the U.S. has deployed 80 military personnel to Chad to help located more than 200 girls kidnapped in Nigeria.

The Obama administration is moving military assets into place in preparation for a possible evacuation of Americans from Libya, as a political crisis threatens to touch off a new wave of violence in the unstable country.

<p>The White House is refusing to confirm whether President Barack Obama followed up on his pledge to take a 5 percent pay cut due to sequestration last year.</p> <p>Obama promised last April to take a 5 percent pay cut in "solidarity" with federal employees who were furloughed as a result of the automatic budget cuts, known as the sequester. The cut was meant to equate to the level of spending cuts imposed on nondefense federal agencies.</p>

As the embattled agency faces charges of record tampering and neglect of veterans, records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show the VA has not neglected upgrading and decorating its offices throughout the country. The VA has spent a total of $489 million to upgrade conference rooms, buy draperies, and purchase new office furniture during the past four-and-a-half years. A total of 15,010 contracts were awarded solely for office furniture by the VA for Fiscal Years 2010 through 2014.

Washington (AFP) - The White House has promised the United States will not use vaccination programs as cover for spy operations -- after the move was attempted during the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Last week Department of Veteran's Affairs Undersecretary for Healthcare Robert Petzel resigned as the fallout over multiple scandals within the bureaucracy continue. Petzel served directly under VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, who has been asked to resign by multiple veterans groups including the American Legion and Concerned Veterans for America. snip The problem with Petzel's "resignation?" He was already scheduled for retirement and simply left early. Meanwhile, Shinseki is still refusing to resign.