Free Republic

Ronald Reagan, together with Margaret Thatcher, stood up to Moscow, and brought the Soviet Empire to its knees. In contrast, Barack Obama has gone on his knees to grovel before the Russians. The exchange between President Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Seoul was a display of supplication before a major strategic adversary on an issue of great importance for US national security – missile defence. -excerpt- Barack Obama’s comments are disturbing on several levels. First, they display a willingness to placate America’s enemies, and cede ground over issues of national interest. Second, Obama is linking foreign policy...

Asked what President Obama knew about the spy swap, a senior administration official tonight said that "the president was kept fully informed of developments and approved the recommendations of his national security team on how the matter should be handled." On the PBS NewsHour this evening, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel elaborated, saying, "It was not the decision of the president. It was the decision, obviously, of the law enforcement community and the intelligence community." Did the president sign off on it? Jim Lehrer asked. "The president was briefed about it," Emanuel said.

US President Barack Obama knew about the FBI operation to smash an alleged Russian spy ring before meeting President Dmitry Medvedev last week, but did not raise it at the talks, an aide said. But the White House said the revelations, which were condemned by Russia, would not interfere with the effort by both sides to 'reset' their relations, which has been pursued ever since Obama took office last year. The alleged operation was busted just a few days after a warm summit between Obama and Medvedev at the White House at which both sides made an elaborate effort to...

The Obama administration is urging the Senate to ratify the US-Russia Strate gic Arms Reduction Treaty -- but it won't release the negotiating record for "New START" to senators who've asked for it. Denying the Senate's requests raises all sorts of suspicions about the treaty, which would reduce the US strategic nuclear arsenal by about 30 percent and cut our missile silos, bombers and submarines by nearly 20 percent. Is there is something in the blow-by-blow transcript of the talks with the Russians that the White House doesn't want senators to see? Some fear the administration did some winking and...