Free Republic

Top News Story An Excerpt: Bush's Great Middle East Gamble Reuel Marc Gerecht,The Weekly Standard: Ahmadinejad, who is an unvarnished revolutionary, makes even the Europeans blanch (they still won't support sanctions, but they do blanch). The Iranian president's recently expressed desire to wipe Israel off the map was a vivid reminder that Iran's ruling elite are still, on the important issues, faithful children of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Ahmadinejad is, of course, fundamentally no different from former President Mohammad Khatami, who loathed Israel as only a very left-wing cleric can, or Iran's leader, Ali Khamenei, who often gives the impression...

Top News Story About 25 al-Qaeda leaders, including three of Osama bin Laden's sons, are running terrorist operations from their refuge in Iran rather than languishing under house arrest as Tehran claims, intelligence officials have said. A "top-ranking Western secret service agent" has told Cicero magazine that the senior al-Qaeda operatives, who fled from Afghanistan into Iran after the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001, have been provided with a secure hiding place, logistical support and equipment by the Revolutionary Guards. Iran had said it would put the al-Qaeda leaders on trial after they crossed the border....

Top News Story Ahamdinejad : The First 100 Days Amir Taheri As Iran’s new President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad prepares to mark his first 100 days in office his friends and foes are debating his performance so far and, as might be expected, reaching different conclusions. His political foes within the Khomeinist system, especially the mullahs he defeated in last June’s elections, have conducted a massive campaign of character assassination against him. This has come in the form of leaks, sound bites, and outright attacks in the media and pubic gatherings. Two mullahs, both former presidents, are leading the campaign against...

Top News Story Western Media Suddenly Get Tough on Iran's New President Richard Beeston, The Times UK reported that Ahmadinejad's recent tough talk and action make people wonder if he is a 'Little Short of Lunacy.'Paul Hughes, Reuters asked: How radical can Iran's President go?Haaretz reported on the similarities of Ahmadinejad and Hilter and the need to take his threats seriously.Bronwen Maddox, The Times UK reported Ahmadinejad has now made it impossible to argue that his threats are just for internal consumption.The NY Sun argued that with Iran now baring its 'Genocidal Intent' the next question to ask is...

Top News Story November 02, 2005, 8:57 a.m. A Rich Italian Dinner Feast Demonstrating against the anti-Semitism. In response to Iran's call for the elimination of Israel, Wednesdayevening in Rome, thousands, probably tens of thousands, will demonstrate in support of the Jewish state. The demonstration has been organized by Giuliano Ferrara, the larger-than-life editor of the feisty daily newspaper il Foglio, and the demonstrators will range from members of some Italian Islamic organizations to foreign minister Giancarlo Fini (long a bete noire of America's "leading" newspapers and networks), just back from a trip to the Middle East. It takes...

Top News Story Full text of the Cicero article on Iran by Dan Darling at November 1, 2005 07:59 AM Here is the full English text of the recent Cicero article on Iran as provided by the brave men and women of the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). As I think you'll see, it's well worth reading in full.German Article Examines Threat Posed by Iran's Radical Islamists EUP20051026072016 Potsdam Cicero (Internet Version-WWW) in German 27 Oct 05 [Article by Bruno Schirra: "How Dangerous Is Iran?"] [FBIS Translated Text] Mohamad Ali Abtahi is a man whose voice has grown weary....

Top News Story Tehran's 'rewards' for rocket attacks October 31, 2005 TEL AVIV: Iran has promised a reward of $US10,000 ($13,300) to Islamic Jihad if the militant group launches rockets from the West Bank towards Tel Aviv, a senior Palestinian intelligence official says. Speaking in his Ramallah office, the official produced a fat wad of $US100 notes which he said had been confiscated from a pro-Iranian Islamic Jihad activist. The money was said to have gone from Iran to Damascus, the Syrian capital, from where Ibrahim Shehadeh, Islamic Jihad's head of overseas operations, transferred it to the West Bank....

Top News Story Iran Focus Iran's President Solution to Stock Market Slide: "Hang two or three people" Iran Focus Tehran, Oct. 30 – Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the latest cabinet meeting in the Iranian capital that “if we were permitted to hang two or three persons, the problems with the stock exchange would be solved for ever”, according to a Tehran-based newspaper. Ahmadinejad was addressing a cabinet meeting held to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation at the Tehran Stock Exchange, the daily Ruznet reported on Sunday. Ministers and experts disagreed with all the different views and proposals...

Top News Story Financial Times Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Sunday night condemned international reaction to last week’s speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad calling for Israel to be “wiped off the map”. In remarks reported by state media, Ayatollah Khamenei said the “leaders of the west and Europe should be ashamed of being so much under the influence of Zionists” But recognising the furore sparked by Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s remarks, he also warned officials against “negligence vis-à-vis the enemy”. Ayatollah Khamenei rejected any link between Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s speech and Iran’s nuclear programme. “Nuclear weapons cannot be employed to...

Top News Story Why Haven't We Seen This? If you follow the news you may have seen this picture, of Iran's President Ahmadinejad speaking at the "World Without Zionism" conference where he spoke of wiping "Israel off the map."But in this photo you can only see a portion of the graphic. The rest of the graphic speaks a thousand words. The Iranian government produced sophisticated visual props for this important speech, designed to send a message to the USA and the English speaking world. Those who produced this graphic were sophisticated enough to know that it would provide a...

Okay, it's not the best one I ever cobbled together, but hey... it's late. AB

The Al Qaida network in Iraq has launched efforts to strike targets in Western Europe. Western and Iraqi intelligence sources said the Al Qaida organization headed by Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi has moved operatives to Europe for a series of attacks against NATO states. The sources said the strikes were meant to pressure members of the U.S.-led coalition to leave Iraq. "Osama Bin Laden has asked the head of Al Qaida in Iraq, Al Zarqawi, to organize an attack in Europe, more devastating than that of Sept. 11, 2001," Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Al Bayati said. Al Bayati told...

Insurgents kill 5 to bait trap for policeClick the PicStay Angry U.S. hits suspected terror base in Iraq BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. warplanes launched multiple airstrikes Friday against a suspected "terrorist safe house" in the western Anbar province, destroying the building where up to 50 militants were believed to be hiding, the U.S. military said. Coalition ground forces were alerted by local residents that a number of members of the terror group Al-Qaida in Iraq had gathered in an abandoned building northeast of Husaybah, near the Syrian border about 200 miles west of Baghdad.More.. Saudi says arrests militants, stops...

According to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S) many celebrations of Israeli retreat are being organized by the Palestinian Authority, but numerous terror organizations are holding their own, separate celebrations. According to the report, the terror groups are awarding themselves and their terrorist activities the prize for having brought about the evacuation of the Israeli settlements. The report says that while PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas is speaking about further withdrawals through negotiations, both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are reiterating that they have no intention of disarming, that their weapons are legal and...

~The Koran & Jihad~ Arab militants from the military wing of Islamic Jihad movement hold the Koran as they march during a protest in Jabally refugee camp north Gaza Strip June 10th, 2005. An Arab Muslim militant from the military wing of Islamic Jihad movement holds a Koran as he marches during a protest in Jabally refugee camp north Gaza Strip June 10TH, 2005. Members from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement marched through the streets of Jabally after Palestinian accusations that guards had ripped pages of the Koran, while Israeli prison officials said preliminary checks found no evidence an Islamic...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The terrorist believed to have flown a hijacked airliner into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, obtained a California driver's license without providing the required Social Security number for identification, officials are acknowledging for the first time. Nawaf Alhazmi then used that license when he registered for the flight training that enabled him to pilot the doomed airliner. Alhazmi used a loophole, since closed, in California law that allowed hundreds of thousands of foreign drivers without Social Security numbers to use a generic number in its place. Even some foreign citizens with Social Security numbers skirted the...

Charlie Daniels Angers Arab Community Email this Story Aug 5, 9:47 AM (ET) DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - Charlie Daniels, the man who wrote and sang "This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag," is drawing heat from Arab-Americans who say it refers to a derogatory term used against them. Daniels, 67, is scheduled to perform Saturday in Dearborn, the center of southeastern Michigan's 300,000-member Arab-American community. After the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Daniels wrote and recorded the song, which became a country hit. It begins: "This ain't no rag, it's a flag and we don't wear it on our heads. It's...

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Charlie Daniels, the man who wrote and sang "This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag," is drawing heat from Arab-Americans who say it refers to a derogatory term used against them. Daniels, 67, is scheduled to perform Saturday in Dearborn, the center of southeastern Michigan's 300,000-member Arab-American community. After the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Daniels wrote and recorded the song, which became a country hit. It begins: "This ain't no rag, it's a flag and we don't wear it on our heads. It's a symbol of the land where the good guys live. Are you listening...