Free Republic

What does "stay the course" mean? At one time it meant "regime change." Then it came to mean "weapons of mass destruction," then it meant "war on terror." Now apparently it means an Iraq that is "democratic and free." ...that is nonsense. How many Arab countries are currently both free and democratic -- from Mauritania to Saudi Arabia? Not a one. Does that not suggest that it would be impossible for the United States to impose on Arab culture what we mean by freedom and democracy? In fact, how many Muslim countries can boast of Western-style civil society and democracy?...

Writing about Vietnam in the foreword to David Halberstam's book "The Best and the Brightest," Senator John McCain said: "It was a shameful thing to ask men to suffer and die, to persevere through god-awful afflictions and heartache, to endure the dehumanizing experiences that are unavoidable in combat, for a cause that the country wouldn't support over time and that our leaders so wrongly believed could be achieved at a smaller cost than our enemy was prepared to make us pay." That point is no less relevant now. The administration is not willing to commit to an all-out effort to...

Looking at this nomination and the way that things are shaping up, it is hard to escape the feeling that the “no more Souters” vow has faded. John Roberts public record doesn’t demonstrate him to be the kind of candidate conservatives have advocated for the past decade. He may well prove to be the anti-Souter; he may be a true stealth conservative. But the fact of the matter is that what we don't know about him outweighs what we do know. Given these reservations and conservative vows to never again support a stealth nominee, why are most conservatives veritably drooling...

“Who is John G. Roberts Jr., really?” asks freelance journalist Paul Green in a recent column printed on GodSpy.com. And that, it seems, is precisely the same question forming on more and more lips these days, and not just those of liberals and Democrats. “There’s a lot of people saying things about [Roberts], negative and positive,” observed American Life League President Judi Brown, “and frankly, I’ve read everything that he’s said, and I’m very confused about where he stands. I have no idea.” Although many conservatives have come out lauding president Bush for what many have called “brilliant” politicizing, in...

CAIRO, Egypt - The framers of Iraq's constitution appear likely to enshrine Islam as the main basis of law in the country — a stronger role than the United States had hoped for and one some Iraqis fear will mean a more fundamentalist regime. Arab constitutions vary widely over the role of Islamic law, ranging from Lebanon, where the word "Islam" never appears, to Saudi Arabia, which says the Quran itself is its constitution. Culture weighs far more heavily than the constitution and law, particularly when it comes to women. In Gulf nations — where the constitutions spell out a...

I was lectured on Freerepublic that I was supposed to "feel safer" because we captured Saddam -- even though there's no evidence that he was behind 9-11. Osama is the guy that Bush promised to get "dead or alive" -- but four years later, he's still out there, free as a jail bird.Maybe it's time to refocus on the mastermind and culprits who were behind 9-11? Prediction: I'll get flamed as a "DU provacateur" for advocating that we go after somebody who killed 3000-plus people on American soil.

Do I feel safer because we've spent $300,000 ousting a tinpot dictator from a country that didn't threaten American freedom? No --- but I feel a h-ll of a lot less safe in my home because the Supreme Court says it's ok for government to seize it and give it to some politically connected friends of politicians. Has Bush said ANYTHING about the Supreme Court's outrageous eminent domain decision last week? I want to hear about THAT, not another speech about the mess in Iraq.

With military recruitment shortfalls reaching a near-crisis, a new Gallup poll suggests further troubles, as far fewer American adults express support for their children enlisting. Gallup also has found that Americans opposed the return of the military draft by overwhleming numbers, with 85% against it, the highest level ever. In what it calls a “significant decline,” Gallup found that by a bare majority, of 51% to 48%, parents would support a decision by one of their children to join the military. This is down from 66% positive to 29% negative in 1999. Surprisngly, there is only slight difference among parents...

In a startling example of mixed messages, Gen. John Abizaid, the top US commander in the Persian Gulf, gave testimony to Congress Thursday that directly contradicted recent statements by the vice president and the secretary of defense. Canada's Globe and Mail reports that Gen. Abizaid "conceded yesterday that the Iraqi insurgency is as strong as it was six months ago, countering declarations by Vice President Dick Cheney that the revolt is 'in its last throes.' " "In terms of the overall strength of the insurgency, I'd say it's about the same as it was," he said, declining to specifically criticize...