Free Republic

The director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Lieutenant General Vincent R. Stewart, warned during congressional testimony yesterday that the "security challenges" the US faces are "more diverse and complex than those we have experienced in our lifetimes." Stewart delivered his remarks to the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing devoted to assessing worldwide threats. While Stewart addressed diverse national security issues, much of his written testimony was focused on what was once called the global war on terror. Al Qaeda in Syria may "expand its territory," while threatening the West The Islamic State's advances in Iraq and Syria...

President Obama is rapidly replacing the Bush Doctrine with the Soros Doctrine, implementing the foreign policy tenets of the principal financier of the American left. When Charlie Gibson peered pedantically down his nose at Sarah Palin last fall, asking "Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?," I could not help but wonder whether anyone in our esteemed mainstream media would have the intelligence or the temerity to ask candidate Barack Obama whether he agreed with the Soros doctrines. Too late now. Soros doctrines reign in the Obama White House and we're about to learn firsthand whether they represent the ideology...

MANILA - The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order on Monday halting a territorial deal between the government and Muslim separatists, the latest setback for peace in the nation's volatile south. The agreement between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest Muslim rebel group, was set to be signed in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday after more than 10 years of stop-start talks. The government, whose commitment to a permanent political solution for the south has sometimes been questioned, said it welcomed the court's move. "I feel this is a relief," said Jesus Dureza, President Gloria...

Afghanistan, 2008: The Unknown War Part 1 By Andrew Lubin Sharing the Heat and Dust with Our Allies Kandahar—Everything in the camp is covered with a thin layer of dust—except when the wind blows, after which everything is covered with a thick layer of dust. The camp here at Kandahar Air Field is busy; American Marines, Army and Air Force walk past, as do Soldiers and pilots from Britain, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. Humvees lumber past, as do unidentifiable gun trucks from these few allies who actually fight, as the choking hot dust billows behind them. At 117 degrees...

In an obvious effort to diminish Huck, Fred gets off a line he wants Iowans to chew on in the weeks ahead: Citing a face-off with America's enemies, Thompson asks: "Who do you want sitting on our side representing you? "That ought to be who you elect president." Then, in an attempt to put his foot down on debate silliness, he refused to play along on the raise-your-hand-if line of questioning on global warming. "I’m not doing handshows today," Thompson said to applause. Not offered a full minute to respond, Thompson said, "Well, then I'm not going to answer it."...

Roger L. Simon, last seen cavorting with Pajama clad babes on the floor of the BlogWorld convention like a latter day Hugh Hefner, sat down with Fred Thompson to discuss the Global War on Terror. Bob Owens, proprietor of the excellent Confederate Yankee blog, joined Roger in conducting the interview. I linked to this yesterday in my Republican race Q&A, but the interview itself merits a little post of its own. In no particular order, a few observations: 1) The long form interview allowed Fred to express his knowledge and thoughts on the war on terror. He was impressive. Believe...

More important, though, the London bomb plot failed because open Western societies are more resilient than we sometimes think they are. One of the Piccadilly car bombs was discovered because an ambulance crew, responding to an unrelated call, saw smoke seeping from a car trunk and alerted the police. The other car was illegally parked, and London's super-vigilant, much-hated traffic wardens towed it to a parking lot, where someone noticed that it smelled of gasoline and alerted the police. That Britain has functional ambulance services and working traffic wardens, all of whom are civic-minded enough to call the police when...

Al Qaeda has a new opening graphic for its propaganda tapes: the U.S. Capitol under "attack." "The Islamic State of Iraq...March Toward Washington" reads the headline in English superimposed over a digitally created scene of the U.S. Capitol under attack in the introductory sequence of one tape released on the Internet this week. Another from al Qaeda's "as Sahab" production arm announces "Holocaust of the Americans in the Land of Khorasan" and shows an image of the U.S. Capitol to introduce a short clip of al Qaeda fighters. "This is a disturbing new trend," says Laura Mansfield, an Arabic expert...

The Democrats Blink By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY May 22, 2007 Iraq: When Democratic leaders dropped their demand for a withdrawal timeline this week, it was more than being outmaneuvered in negotiations. They left the president in firm possession of the moral high ground. Only a short time ago, Democrats were cockily promising they would send the president a pullout bill as many times as it would take, until finally he would have to relent. Just last Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were insisting on a timeline in negotiations with the White House on a...

In arriving at their decision that America should withdraw its forces from Iraq, the Democratic Party and the Left around the world regularly make reference to what they regard as America's initial error -- invading Iraq. Perhaps the Left is correct in its contentions that bringing freedom to a Muslim Arab country at this time in history is impossible and that an Iraq under Saddam Hussein would be better for American and world security. But even if the war was a major blunder and even if everything the Left charges -- including "Bush lied" -- were true, none of these...

While the war between Israel and Hezbollah raged in Lebanon and Israel last summer, it became clear that media coverage had itself started to play an important role in determining the ultimate outcome of that war. It seemed clear that news coverage would affect the course of the conflict. And it quickly transpired that Hezbollah would become the beneficiary of the media's manipulation. A close examination of the media's role during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon comes now from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, in an analysis of the war published in a paper whose subtitle should give...

(2007-04-07) — President George Bush this week allegedly plans to address efforts by Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee to remove references to the so-called “global war on terror” from the 2008 defense budget. Below is a draft of his speech, reportedly leaked by an unnamed White House official. Spokesmen for the major TV networks and cable news channels have already told the White House that no time is available to broadcast these remarks. PRESIDENT BUSH: Lately, some in Congress have attempted to alter the language of our fight. They don’t like the phrase “global war on terror” and...

SAN FRANCISCO -- The lawyer and parents of American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh asked President Bush to commute his 20-year prison term, citing the case of an Australian man who was sentenced to less than a year for aiding terrorism.

Ask most Americans if they were aware that Iraqis, by almost a 2-to-1 margin, believe that life today is better than it was under Saddam Hussein, and you'd most likely elicit incredulousness, blank stares or outright laughter. Not because it isn't true, though. It is. The mainstream media just forgot to mention it. In the past month, two surveys that involved face-to-face interviews with thousands of ordinary Iraqis have been released. While each contained significantly different results, both provided substantial evidence that Iraqis are not nearly as gloomy as Americans have been told to believe. To the extent the mainstream...

Al-Sahab Expected To Release New Bin Ladin VideoTerrorism: Al-Sahab Reportedly To Release New Bin Ladin Video MessageOn 4 April, a jihadist website carried the following posting: "After a long absence by the shaykh of mujahidin, whom we have missed as well as his speeches, some news is being leaked indicating that Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin, God protect and preserve him and make him a thorn in the throat of the enemies, will make an appearance. The news indicates that Al-Sahab Media Establishment, which specializes in publishing Al-Qa'ida leaders' speeches, has recently finished producing a video featuring Bin Ladin's speech to...

House Democrats Offer Plan to Ban Use of 'Global War on Terror' Wednesday, April 04, 2007 WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader John Boehner blasted a Democrat-backed plan on Wednesday to ban the use of "global War on Terror" and "long war" in the 2008 defense budget bill. A memo sent to Democratic staffers on the House Armed Services Committee instructed the aides not to use the specific phrases, the Military Times newspaper reported. Boehner accused Democrats of launching an "absurd effort to deny the fact that America is battling terrorism on a global scale," according to a statement released Wednesday...

It was another amazing evening outside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. The faithful Freepers started gathering to show their support for our troops in the early evening, and before long we had all four corners covered. And once again, the good citizens of Washington DC showed their support by honking and waving from their cars as they drove by on Georgia Avenue. At first I thought that it was my imagination, as we seemed to be getting more support from the passers-by than usual, but as I spoke with other Freepers they got the same impression...

Screening airline passengers of a certain ethnic or religious background to uncover those who pose a potential terrorist threat would risk alienating the Muslim community, prominent Muslims cautioned today. The Times reported this morning that the Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to select people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or are from certain ethnic or religious backgrounds. It is understood that officials at the Department for Transport believe that this system would not only be more effective at identifying terrrorists, but would also greatly relieve...

IRA 'has ceased its criminality' The IRA is no longer involved in any centrally organised criminality, the British and Irish governments believe. Speaking after meeting Irish ministers, NI Secretary Peter Hain said cross-border intelligence indicated the IRA was living up to its commitments. Mr Hain said individual IRA members may still be involved in criminal activities, but that should not prevent political progress from being made. However, the DUP's Nigel Dodds said Mr Hain was "living in fantasy land". "This latest assessment from the secretary of state lacks credibility and will be treated by the vast majority of people in...

IRA murdered mother 'not an informer' 07/07/2006 - 12:34:40 A mother of 10 who was abducted and shot dead by the IRA nearly 34 years ago was officially cleared today of allegations that she was an informer. Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan said her investigators had found no evidence Jean McConville passed information to the security services. The IRA claimed Mrs McConville, who was seized as she went to the aid of a fatally wounded British soldier outside her front door in December 1972, worked for the intelligence’s agencies. Public pressure forced them into making an apology for the...