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Obama: Republicans 'Paint Horns on My Head' Daniel Halper March 1, 2013 12:37 PM President Barack Obama suggested today he'd be able to negotiation with the opposition better if they didn't "paint horns on [his] head": "I recognize that Speaker Boehner has got challenges in his caucus," said Obama. "I recognize that it's very hard for Republican leaders to be perceived as making concessions to me. You know, sometimes I reflect, is there something else I can do to make these guys -- I am not talking about the leaders now, but maybe some of the House Republican caucus members...

Chance to relax in clean surroundings over a meal out is worth the gambleBaghdad's embattled residents can finally get their milkshakes, chili-cheese dogs and buckets of crispy fried chicken. Original recipe or extra spicy, of course. A wave of new American-style restaurants is spreading across the Iraqi capital, enticing customers hungry for alternatives to traditional offerings like lamb kebabs and fire-roasted carp. Iraqi entrepreneurs and investors from nearby countries, not big multinational chains, are driving the food craze. They see Iraq as an untapped market of increasingly adventurous eaters where competition is low and the potential returns are high.

The terror group al Qaeda has found itself curiously in agreement with the "Great Satan" -- which it calls the U.S. -- in issuing a stern message to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: stop spreading 9/11 conspiracy theories. In the latest issue of the al Qaeda English-language magazine "Inspire", an author appears to take offense to the "ridiculous" theory repeatedly spread by Ahmadinejad that the 9/11 terror attacks were actually carried out by the U.S. government in order to provide a pretext to invade the Middle East. "The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it...

Has being born to a Muslim father made it more difficult for President Obama to deal with Islamic terror? The question must be asked. Prior to Barack Obama's election, the conventional wisdom -- not just among the left but a majority of Americans -- was that America's enemies in the Islamic world were motivated, fundamentally, by a hatred of George W. Bush. Thus, the expiration of the 43rd president's second term and the election of his successor, a young, black Democrat with an Islamic-sounding name, elicited ecstatic responses by legions of people in America and Europe who anticipated a virtual...

Al-Qaeda is reportedly planning a terrorist attack against the United States which will "outdo by far" the attacks of September 11 in 2001. Arab newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi in London reports a senior Yemen official close to Al-Qaeda as warning of a new wave of terror attacks against the western nation.

Iranians Turn Away from Their Own Ruler, and to the US -- On a recent afternoon, while riding a rickety bus down Vali Asr Avenue, Tehran's main thoroughfare, I overheard two women discussing the grim state of Iranian politics. One of them had reached a rather desperate conclusion. "Let the Americans come," she said loudly. "Let them sort things out for us once and for all." Everyone in the women's section of the bus absorbed this casually, and her friend nodded in assent. Although their leaders still call America the "Great Satan," ordinary Iranians' affection for the United States seems...

New York Times VideoIn Sadr City, Hashem Hadi Obaid translates sermons by preachers loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric, into sign language.Iraq's most anti-western demagogue is determined to bring the message to those who can't hear it. In Sadr City, Hashem Hadi Obaid translates sermons by preachers loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric, into sign language.

Provisional Friday Prayer Leader of Tehran Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami said here Friday in his second sermon confessions of three US agents proved Washington is after launching "soft and velvet coups' not only in Iran, but also in many other countries. According to IRNA Political Desk reporter from central campus of Tehran University, addressing thousands of Tehrani worshipers, this week's Friday preacher of Tehran added, "This policy has worked in some countries, but in Iran, it has faced defeat, just like the other failed US policies on Iran." Khatami reiterated, "In order to pursue its interferences in independent countries of...

Even though I live near and enjoy the friendship of several Muslims, I do not understand the Muslim intolerance for almost all things not their own. More fairly, I do not understand the extreme intolerance of the radicalized textbooks and teaching aids used in several Muslim nation; Iran chief among them. The Israel-based Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace just completed a study that reports on the lack of tolerance in Iran’s school textbooks. The study analyzed 95 textbooks and 20 teacher’s guides used at Iran’s state-run schools. The study found a systematic effort to denigrate western culture, traditions...

On the radio a couple of weeks ago, Hugh Hewitt suggested to me the terrorists might try to pull a Spain on the U.S. elections. You'll recall (though evidently many Americans don't) that in 2004 hundreds of commuters were slaughtered in multiple train bombings in Madrid. The Spaniards responded with a huge street demonstration of supposed solidarity with the dead, all teary passivity and signs saying "Basta!" -- "Enough!" By which they meant not "enough!" of these murderers but "enough!" of the government of Prime Minister Aznar, and of Bush and Blair, and troops in Iraq. A couple of days...

Breaking with a long tradition, Jimmy Carter runs around the world bad-mouthing President Bush and the USA. He seems to think that those of us who were alive and conscious during his failed presidency have forgotten. I haven’t. I remember 15 to 20% interest rates at the same time that unemployment stood at 7%. I remember inflation at 12%.

In addition to coming under vituperation and threats against his life from the left for waging pre-emptive war in Iraq in order to save our children from death and destruction from Islamic terrorists, President Bush is also being criticized for relative inaction with regard to the threats from North Korea and Iran. These critics have the advantage of not knowing anything. It is always easy to criticize and offer simplistic solutions when one is essentially ignorant of the facts, some of which I have set out below:

Tourists and thrillseekers in Iran could have a new attraction in downtown Tehran: the former United States Embassy being converted into a "Great Satan Park." A gruesome image of the Statue of Liberty on the outside of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran A top Iranian commander is calling for the creation of such a theme park at the one-time location U.S. facility, which has seen a troubled history dating back to the Carter administration of the 1970s. "We would be able to nicely show off the American crimes to citizens strolling in the park," General Mir-Faisal Bagherzadeh told...

PREPARED TESTIMONY OF DR. MICHAEL A. LEDEEN, RESIDENT SCHOLAR IN THE FREEDOM CHAIR AT THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE, TO THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS I am delighted and honored by your invitation to discuss American policy toward Iran, but before I do that, I hope I will be permitted a few personal words in appreciation of the welcome contribution that you, Chairman Hyde, have made to our country and to the tenor of life in Washington. Our national political debate has long been very fractious, and this moment is especially nasty. But you are a rare man, Mr. Chairman....

Some other Americans expressed concern that perhaps this means America is losing its edge. Does this mean that we are NOT the Great Satan this week? Now Denmark is the Great Satan? Is America losing its greatness? Can we get it back? Is this a result of our failing competitiveness in the maths and sciences? (sigh) Americans, Americans, Americans. You have nothing to fear. Being "The Great Satan" -- just like being the original Satan -- is not a position you can apply for. Either you are the Great Satan or you aren't. You want proof? Who was the Great...

Fresh protests are expected on Friday by Muslims angered by the publication of newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Iraqi, Egyptian and Palestinian Islamic groups have called for demonstrations as Muslims attend prayers on Friday. The cartoons - first seen in Denmark and then reprinted in European papers - have provoked protests and a debate over the limits of freedom of speech. Denmark's prime minister has appeared on Arabic TV to appeal for calm. Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the Dubai-based al-Arabiya channel he was sorry for any offence caused but insisted his government was not responsible for newspaper articles. Sackings...

A busy time in the U.S. Senate, the "world's greatest deliberative body." Judging from the 2006 conference report, the Senate subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education -- Chairman Arlen Specter (R), ranking member Tom Harkin (D) -- has been deliberating especially hard: "Sec. 221. (a) The Headquarters and Emergency Operations Center Building (Building 21) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is hereby renamed as the Arlen Specter Headquarters and Emergency Operations Center. (b) The Global Communications Center Building (Building 19) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is hereby renamed as the Thomas R....

When American bombs were raining down on what is left of Afghanistan, fellow Muslims in the neighbouring Islamic republic of Iran took out to the Streets. Contrary to our expectations in the West, they did not rally to denounce the 'Great Satan' - the name given to America by the late Ayatollah Khomeini. Instead, ordinary Iranians, in one of the most extraordinary shifts in the geopolitical landscape since September 11, challenged their own hard-line Islamic clerics who swept Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi from power in 1979. Tens of thousands of men and women also demonstrated, in several cities, after World...

Friday Sermon in Kerman City, Iran: If Jesus Were Alive He Would Not Justify America's Atrocities The following are excerpts from a Friday sermon in the city of Kerman by Hojjat El-Eslam Yahya Ja'fari. The TV channel of the district of Kerman aired this sermon on April 17, 2005 Hojjat Al-Eslam Yahya Ja'fari: As you know, the biggest problem of the Islamic world today is global Zionism and the Great Satan – America. They are our enemies, especially the enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. They do not understand [the language of] reason, they do not follow international law,...

Iran's press hit back at George W. Bush as Washington increases the pressure on the Islamic Republic, with one hard-line daily accusing the US president of being a war-monger. Jomhouri Eslami, in an editorial alluding to the US-led invasion of neighbouring Iraq two years ago, said an assault on Iran would be like "falling out of the frying pan into the fire". It said: "Iranians do not seek war, but if Bush Junior fancies invading Iran, they will face him with an iron will to bury him and his remaining superpower government. The editorial called Bush "stupid, wicked, a war-monger"....