Free Republic

Tehran, Iran--Surrounded by yellow Hezbollah flags, more than 60 Iranian volunteers set off Wednesday to join what they called a holy war against Israeli forces in Lebanon. The group--ranging from teenagers to grandfathers--plans to join about 200 other volunteers on the way to the Turkish border, which they hope to cross Thursday. They plan to reach Lebanon via Syria over the weekend. Iran says it will not send regular forces to aid Hezbollah, but apparently it will not attempt to stop volunteer guerrillas. Iran and Syria are Hezbollah's main sponsors. Organizers said the volunteers were not carrying weapons, and it...

Since Front Line Views....No. 1 was posted at FR on 3/12/06, my son in Afghanistan who also served 8 months in Gulf War I in Saudi Arabia and Iraq has emailed additional observations. Subjects include: real casualty rates (KIA) vs. press reports, "appearance" of soldiers vs. actual military skills/performance, soldiers as civil servants vs. being warriors, and official prohibition against unapproved body armor. Remember, he is in Afgh. so some observations may not fit Iraq, but others do. Some of what he says is harsh, he never was one for pussyfooting. Paragraphs in quotes are HIS words. The rest is...

After spending 8 months in Gulf War I (Aug. 1990 to April 1991) with an elite unit, and now in Afghanistan this soldier has definite opinions on the Iraq/Afghanistan war, politicians and supporting our troops. The threat of civil war in Iraq and the outbreak of suicide bombing in Afghanistan heighten concerns here at home. Here is a front line assessment of implications for the future. Question: Recent reports indicate that Iraq Sunnis are turning on Al Qaeda. If they are driven out of Iraq, what are the implications for action in Afghanistan? Answer: "Most likely suicide bombers have made...

My son, who was with the 82nd Airborne, and spent 8 months in Iraq during Gulf War I, was scheduled to be shipped to either Iraq or Afghanistan this January 06. I decided to do some research on Iraq and discovered that very little has been done to restore the vast marshes at the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Saddam Hussein decided to destroy this haven for freedom fighters by draining and drying the marshes. He succeded in driving all but 50,000 of the original 300,000 population of this giant wetland away. He transported many to cities in...