Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Americans following this year's presidential campaign would never know it from mainstream media coverage, but the commander in chief we hired four years ago has set the United States on a course for unilateral disarmament. The following people hope you won't notice until after Nov. 6: Vladimir Putin, Liang Guanglie, Kim Jong-un, Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Sayyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, A.Q. Khan and of course, Barack Obama. The 10 individuals above share a common fascination: nuclear weapons. Vladimir Putin, Russia's modern czar; Liang Guanglie, minister of national defense for...

It’s been four years since a group of US Navy Seals assassinated Osama bin Laden in a night raid on a high-walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The killing was the high point of Obama’s first term, and a major factor in his re-election. The White House still maintains that the mission was an all-American affair, and that the senior generals of Pakistan’s army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) were not told of the raid in advance. This is false, as are many other elements of the Obama administration’s account. The White House’s story might have been written by Lewis Carroll:...

"My time in the Obama administration turned out to be a deeply disillusioning experience." It was close to midnight on Jan. 20, 2009, and I was about to go to sleep when my iPhone beeped. There was a new text message. It was from Richard Holbrooke. It said, "Are you up, can you talk?" When I called, he told me that Barack Obama had asked him to serve as envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He would work out of the State Department, and he wanted me to join his team. "No one knows this yet. Don't tell anyone. Well, maybe...

WASHINGTON — When the U.S. State Department announced this week that it finally is going to designate the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist organization, it was a nonevent for most of our countrymen. That's because few Americans know how deadly the organization is. For that we can thank those at Foggy Bottom who are wedded to the naive hope of a near-term "diplomatic breakthrough" in Afghanistan. Couple that misguided belief with the Obama administration's self-deception that the radical Islamic jihad against the West ended with the demise of Osama bin Laden and it's understandable why the Haqqani network...

Till 2004, Pakistan was a peaceful country and suicide bombing was unheard of. The figure of terrorism-afflicted casualties began to rise from 2005 onwards and by 2007 the number rose to 3599 killed. The death toll has now jumped to 35000. While the total fatalities of ISAF in Afghanistan from 2001 till 30 September were 2670, which includes 1800 US soldiers, Pak Army alone has suffered 3500 deaths and injuries to 10,000 soldiers. Wear and tear of weapons, tanks, APCs, helicopters, guns and vehicles is substantial. Given the acute resource constraints, it is very difficult for Pak Army to replace...

Q+A-U.S. cables show Pakistan military's political strength Thu Dec 2, 2010 By Augustine Anthony ISLAMABAD Dec 2 (Reuters) - U.S. diplomatic cables released by whistle-blower WikiLeaks underscore the clout Pakistan's army has in shaping politics in one of Washington's most strategic allies. Here are some of questions and answers on the issues raised by dispatches posted on the website of Britain's Guardian newspaper. HOW TIGHT IS THE PAKISTANI MILITARY'S GRIP ON POWER? Generals have led Pakistan for more than half of its 63-year history. The military has maintained wide sway foreign and security polices even during civilian rule. Although the...

Excerpt - ISLAMABAD, Sept 29: In a major reshuffle in the army’s top command, Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Monday brought in a new head of the all-powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), changed four of the nine corps commanders and appointed a new chief of general staff, besides giving key postings to a few others. The shake-up is the most wide-ranging since Gen Kayani took over as the COAS and perhaps even more significant since the former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf stepped down as the country’s controversial president. The move came within hours of the...

Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan By ERIC SCHMITT and MARK MAZZETTI WASHINGTON — President Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials. The classified orders signal a watershed for the Bush administration after nearly seven years of trying to work with Pakistan to combat the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and after months of high-level stalemate about how to challenge the militants’ increasingly secure base in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

via translation ALERT - The President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf resigns ISLAMABAD - President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan announced his resignation Monday, the eve of an impeachment procedure announced by his government.

RAWALPINDI: Pervez Musharraf stepped down Wednesday from the Army Chief post handing over the Army command to Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, who took charge as 14th Chief of Pakistan Army. Musharraf addressing the change of command ceremony in this garrison town, said he was leaving the Army in a best state. He said he knows Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani for last 20 years who is a best soldier and the Army officer. “After passing 46 years in the Army I am saying farewell to the institution,” President Musharraf said. “I am sad to leave the Army, which is like...