Free Republic

The black prophecies of the anti-war camp, and their affiliated media, failed to come to pass: No new Vietnam, no new Stalingrad, no heroism from the 'elite' Republican guard, no fierce resistance from the Iraqi people to their 'invaders' and no clash of civilizations. Just Iraqis welcoming the coalition troops, yelling 'Thank you, Mr Bush', crushing the statue of their bloody tyrant Saddam Hussein, explaining how his regime was awfully cruel, and hoping for more freedom and democracy. So far, it looks like a historic success for the Americans and the British. One would be tempted to think it is...

A ROYAL Marines sniper told yesterday how he felled an Iraqi gunman in a strong wind from more than half a mile with an astonishing shot in a million. Crackshot Corporal Matt Hughes, 28, was ordered to take out the Iraqi, who was firing at his pals and holding up an attack. Matt pulled off the incredible feat of marksmanship by perfectly gauging the wind speed to bend the bullet to its target. And amazingly a second sniper alongside him hit a second Iraqi at the same moment with another wonder shot. The 7.62 calibre round from Matt’s L96 sniper...

American special forces were reported to be in Baghdad as thousands of elite troops still loyal to Saddam Hussein prepared for a final bloody showdown in the Iraqi capital. The prospect of coalition forces fighting street by street for control of the city emerged after thousands of Saddam's troops withdrew to the city following a day of sweeping advances by US and British soldiers pushing north from Kuwait. US forces advancing towards Baghdad up the Euphrates river were reported early today to be fighting Iraqi troops near the holy city of Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad. Iraqi TV said...

"...He recognized their black robes and turbans, and saw their weapons in the debris of the flattened barracks. He counted nearly a hundred corpses, he recalled. Among them appeared to be Afghans and Pakistanis, Chechens and Arabs. Writing in Persian script in his notebook, he gathered details for his daily report. The U.S. bombing campaign was reaching a climax in the capital, and he knew the deaths of so many fighters was an important story. The next day, when he heard his story on the Taliban's Voice of Shariat radio, Mehrin was disgusted but hardly surprised. The radio said that...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - IOC president Jacques Rogge rejected calls by Iran for Israel to be expelled from the Olympic movement for its military campaign against the Palestinians, saying politics should not interfere with sports. The dispute over the status of Israel emerged Wednesday as the world's 199 national Olympic committees opened their general assembly in the predominantly Muslim country of Malaysia. Despite pressure from Iran and some Arab countries, Israeli delegates were granted visas and allowed to attend the meetings. However, in a sign of the political sensitivities here, no high-ranking Malaysian government official attended the opening ceremony,...

NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal judge said Tuesday that material witnesses cannot be detained for a grand jury investigation, a ruling that may affect the government's roundup of witnesses since Sept. 11. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin made the finding as she threw out a perjury case against a Jordanian college student accused of lying about his associations with two Sept. 11 hijackers. The judge said Osama Awadallah, 21, had been unlawfully arrested after he was taken from his San Diego home several days after the terrorist attacks. ``Awadallah was effectively seized,'' she wrote. The judge also said the...

LONDON -- Scientists have discovered vast quantities of hydrogen gas, widely regarded as the most promising alternative to today's dwindling stocks of fossil fuels, lying beneath the Earth's crust. The discovery has stunned energy experts, who believe that it could provide virtually limitless supplies of clean fuel for cars, homes and industry. Governments across the world are urgently seeking ways of switching from conventional energy sources such as coal, gas and nuclear power to cleaner, safer alternatives. Energy specialists estimate that oil production will start to decline within the next 10 to 15 years, as the economically viable reserves start...

JENIN, West Bank -- Lukea Tomei could only watch through a peephole as one neighbor was shot, his arms in the air. She cried out when she saw an elderly woman blasted by a sniper. But she could stay still no longer when she saw a little girl wandering through a mine-filled street. "The soldiers told me not to go out, but I didn't listen to them," said Tomei, a Palestinian nurse who rushed outside to snatch the girl to safety. "I could not sit by any longer." ... Of course the idiot reporters never tell us who mined and...

A British mother whose four children are trapped in the West Bank town of Nablus after a bitter custody battle spoke last night of her fears for their safety. The children from Barry in south Wales are caught in the crossfire between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen, holed up in their Palestinian father's flat, which has been seized by Israeli forces. "My children are very frightened," said Eileen Sutton, 41. "Israeli soldiers have taken over the top two floors of my ex-husband's house and are using it as a command post. "The kids are not prepared for anything like this....

This war tells us more about Europe than the Middle East"The whole world is demanding that Israel withdraws," said Kofi Annan in Madrid last week, standing alongside various panjandrums from the EU, UN, US and Russia. "I don't think the whole world, including the friends of the Israeli people and government, can be wrong." Oh, I don't know. The "whole world" has a pretty good track record of being wrong, especially where Jews are concerned. Fifty million Frenchmen can be wrong, and never more so than when they're teamed with Chris Patten, Mary Robinson, the European Parliament (which has demanded...

WASHINGTON — Although Israel's military operation in the West Bank may seem like an emotion-driven reaction to terrorist attacks, it is in fact based on precise intelligence and well-defined military objectives. Thus, while the government appreciates the depth of American strategic support to Israel's security, it has to continue certain aspects of the operation despite American expectations and Secretary of State Colin Powell's mission to the region. The reason is simple: To cut short the operation now, with Israeli Defense Force troops scoring important accomplishments in numerous places, would limit the benefits of the operation and only make more likely...