Free Republic

Cuba's Castro Brothers Get Big Present From Santa Obama Foreign Policy: Just as its patron Venezuela hit the rocks, Cuba got a last-minute rescue from none other than President Obama, who announced a Santa Claus-like package of wish-list goodies for the Castro brothers. Why? In many ways, President Obama's announced plan to normalize relations with Cuba, lift the embargo, extend trade credits and remove Cuba from the state sponsors of terror list is about on par with the rest of his foreign policy. It was done by executive order without consulting Congress, just like last month's decision to temporarily legalize...

(Reuters) - The United States will restore diplomatic relations it severed with Cuba more than 50 years ago, a major policy shift ending decades of hostile ties with the communist-ruled island, President Barack Obama said on Wednesday. Announcing the end of what he called a "rigid" policy of isolation of Cuba that had been ineffective, Obama said the United States would move toward normal ties and would open an embassy in Cuba. Obama discussed the changes with Cuban President Raul Castro on Tuesday in a nearly hour-long telephone call. Castro spoke in Cuba as Obama made his announcement on a...

John Kerry’s going to Cuba. The Secretary of State praised President Barack Obama’s announcement of the normalization of relations with Cuba, the neighboring country under an embargo for over fifty years, in a statement Wednesday. As Obama did in his noon remarks, Kerry likened the thaw of relations to those that followed with Vietnam after the Vietnam War, in which Kerry served. “This new course will not be without challenges,” Kerry said, “but it is based not on a leap of faith but on a conviction that it’s the best way to help bring freedom and opportunity to the Cuban...

This article represents the beginning of the end of the United States. Many who will read this article will find themselves in agreement, at least initially, because the developments which serve to threaten the future existence of the United States because the events are well-documented. However, many will reach a saturation point and will close their computer screen and write an angry response and accuse the author of “fearmongering”. I would rather be labeled a fear monger than be correct about the developments contained in this article. Americans need to deal realistically with the real reasons why America is about...

There may be disagreements on foreign policy among conservatives, but one thing that there's near universal agreement on is that President Obama's foreign policy has been an abysmal failure. That's why it was especially noteworthy that Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., already facing an uphill battle in winning over conservative primary voters on foreign policy, has embraced the disastrous, John Kerry-led negotiations with the radical Islamic Iranian regime. Speaking at a meeting sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, "Mr. Paul said he doesn’t favor increasing sanctions on Iran as the U.S. continues diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the Iranian nuclear weapons...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday Western sanctions have not halted Russia's support for separatists in Ukraine but have damaged the Russian economy, which is now projected to slide into recession next year. A senior State Department official, accompanying Kerry to a NATO meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, said he would talk to allies about imposing further sanctions on Russia if pro-Moscow separatists do not cease violence in Ukraine. Kerry told a news conference Russia could avoid further sanctions by agreeing to steps towards ending backing for the rebels, who seized mainly Russian-speaking areas of eastern...

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday responded to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to disband the Knesset. Kerry said that whatever government will be formed, he hoped it would be able to "negotiate and move towards resolving differences between Israelis and Palestinians." In April, Kerry's push for peace talks were torpedoed right ahead of their nine-month deadline by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which formed a unity agreement with Hamas after breaching the Oslo Accords by making unilateral moves to join international conventions. The PA has been inciting and praising the recent spree of high-profile terror attacks concentrated in...

US Secretary of State Adivses Russian Counterpart Not To Take US President's Words At Face Value Though it went entirely unnoticed in the Western press, all major Russian news outlets – RIA Novosti, Sputnik, RT, and others – were only too happy to report on what US Secretary of State John Kerry said last week to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in private: “Just ignore Obama’s statements.” According to Mr. Lavrov, John Kerry advised him not to pay too much attention to the US President’s harsh rhetoric directed toward his state. As recently as September, during his speech to...

Though it went entirely unnoticed in the Western press, all major Russian news outlets – RIA Novosti, Sputnik, RT, and others – were only too happy to report on what US Secretary of State John Kerry said last week to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in private: “Just ignore Obama’s statements.” According to Mr. Lavrov, John Kerry advised him not to pay too much attention to the US President’s harsh rhetoric directed toward his state. As recently as September, during his speech to the 69th UN General Assembly in New York, Mr. Obama puzzled and shocked Mr. Lavrov by...

Photo (of Lurch and Zarif not shaking hands) The United States suggested to Iran on Sunday that it consider extending nuclear talks, The Associated Press (AP) reports. Iran and six world powers are holding talks in Vienna in an attempt to reach a lasting agreement on Tehran's disputed nuclear program before a deadline on Monday, but little progress has been made. A senior U.S. official told AP that with the Monday evening cutoff date a little more than a day away, Secretary of State John Kerry proposed to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that the two sides start discussing...

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, arrived at nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna on Thursday, insisting negotiators were focused on reaching agreement by the Monday deadline. Kerry was responding to remarks on Wednesday by his British counterpart, Philip Hammond, who suggested that the deadline would have to be extended. “We are not discussing an extension. We are negotiating to have an agreement. It’s that simple,” Kerry said in Paris before boarding the flight to Vienna. “I know that secretary Hammond is concerned about the gaps. We all are. Both sides are taking this process seriously and both sides...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry threatened to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority (PA) if it goes ahead with unilateral moves, such as asking the United Nations Security Council to set a deadline for Israel to withdraw from Judea and Samaria, the London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper reported on Monday Speaking on condition of anonymity, official sources confirmed to the newspaper that Kerry called PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and warned him against taking any unilateral measures, threatening to impose financial and political sanctions on the PA. He said the most effective way forward would be to resume negotiations. The sources...

<p>From Jordan... a dramatic steps backward, 50-day war in July and August, and numerous recent clashes at a key religious site in Jerusalem.</p>

Gun Control: To some, concern over a U.N. Arms Trade Treaty set to take effect Dec. 24 is much ado about nothing. But a president unconstrained by Congress or the Constitution may try to impose severe limits on gun rights. All treaties must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate, and that's not about to happen in the case of the unratified Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), particularly after the 2014 election that gave the GOP Senate control. The same, of course, could have been said about the Kyoto Protocol and other climate change deals that mandate that governments tie their...

The United States Wednesday sharply condemned Israeli plans to build 200 new Jewish homes in Jerusalem's Ramot neighborhood, according to AFP, warning such moves would only "exacerbate" spiraling tensions in the city. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki also denounced the alleged torching of a mosque blamed on suspected Jewish extremists calling it a "hateful and provocative" act and urging officials to investigate. "We are deeply concerned by this decision, particularly given the tense situation in Jerusalem, as well as the unequivocal and unanimous position of the United States and others in the international community opposing such construction in east Jerusalem,"...

A top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may join talks in Oman between the United States and Iran in the coming days, in a sign that a breakthrough may be imminent in reaching a nuclear deal, Al-Monitor has learned. Ali Akbar Velayati, longtime foreign policy adviser to Khamenei and a former Iranian foreign minister, may join the talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union negotiator Catherine Ashton, in a signal that the Supreme Leader may be preparing to sign off on a deal, sources told Al-Monitor on...

President Obama spent his first term pushing from power long-standing Arab allies in Egypt and Tunisia; seeking to engage the now blood-soaked Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad; pulling his punches against Iran’s nuclear program; and putting “daylight” between his administration and Israel. Now for his second term, he has nominated for the highest posts bearing on the Middle East three figures who give the strongest indication we can expect much more of the same – John Kerry for State, Chuck Hagel for Defense and John Brennan for the CIA. Kerry opposed Congress’ 2009 hold on appointing an ambassador to a regime...

The insider-account of the damaging divisions between the White House and the State Department comes as diplomats around the world wait to see if John Kerry, the new US secretary of state, can persuade Mr Obama to greater engagement on Syria, Egypt and the wider Middle East. Vali Nasr, a university professor who was seconded in 2009 to work with Richard Holbrooke, Mr Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, records his profound disillusion at how a "Berlin Wall" of domestic-focused advisers was erected to protect Mr Obama. "The president had a truly disturbing habit of funnelling major foreign policy...

“The bottom line is that our planet is warming,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement on Sunday -- the same day he braved the cold and and the snow to watch the New England Patriots play football in his home state of Massachusetts. Sunday's snowstorm in Foxborough was the strongest early-November snowstorm in over a century. Groundskeepers had to clear the field before the Patriots could play. “The bottom line is that our planet is warming due to human actions, the damage is already visible, and the challenge requires ambitious, decisive and immediate action,” Kerry said in...

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) hints that Secretary of State John Kerry may be ousted sometime after the November elections are over. “At best, his performance at this job has been underwhelming,” Blumenthal asserted. “Many of his public statements evince a poor and almost dimwitted perception of the issues. He has grievously embarrassed both himself and President Obama.” Anonymous White House officials complain that “Kerry is out of sync with the Administration. It’s not so much a case of being wrong about the President’s policies as it is too openly expressing them. On issue after issue Kerry’s candor is repeatedly disclosing...