Free Republic

In defiance of the international arms embargo, Iran last week placed an order with Moscow for a huge fleet of 100 Russian IL78 MKI tanker aircraft (NATO: Midas) for refueling its air force in mid-flight, thereby extending its range to 7,300 km. This is reported exclusively by DEBKAfile from its military and intelligence sources. The transaction runs contrary to the terms of the nuclear accord the six world powers and Iran signed in Vienna earlier this month. These tanker planes can simultaneously refuel six to eight warplanes. Their acquisition brings Israel, 1.200km away – as well the rest of the...

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Thursday that he'd do a better job than President Bush fighting the war on terror because he'd uphold the Geneva Convention, which prohibits pressuring detainees to talk to interrogators. "I will fight a more effective war on terror, because I would never have thrown out of the door or window the obligations of the Geneva Conventions," Kerry told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes." The Geneva Convention mandates that POWs be protected from "coercion," "insults," and "unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind." It also requires that detainees be provided with monthly medical...