Free Republic

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Thousands of Lebanese on Tuesday lined roads and cheered troops triumphant after crushing al-Qaida-inspired Islamic militants in a three-month-long battle that became the country's worst internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war. But military leaders warned that the war on terror is not yet over and asked the international community to help arm the country's military. The army started withdrawing units Tuesday from the area of the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared, close to the port city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, two days after crushing Fatah Islam fighters in a final battle that left more...

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, March 31, 2007 – Slovenia’s deployments to multiple countries for NATO, the United Nations and the European Union drew praise here yesterday from the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani met with Defense Minister Karl Erjavec, Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Albin Gutman and Gutman’s deputy, Maj. Gen. Alojz Steiner, at the Defense Ministry of this nation at the crossroads of central Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Balkans. “Slovenia has contributed substantially to a variety of operations across NATO,” the admiral said at a news conference. “Clearly, the most...

OAKLAND — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Legislative leaders barnstormed the state Monday to tout their agreement on a $37.3 billion infrastructure bond package likely to play a pivotal role in November's election. The tarmac at Oakland International Airport was awash in bipartisan praise as the "Big Five" — the governor and the Assembly's and state Senate's Democratic and Republican leaders — held their news conference before jetting to Burbank, Santa Ana and San Diego for similar events. "I think this is going to be terrific for the whole state of California," Schwarzenegger said of the plan lawmakers approved in the...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2005 – Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq today to hail the country's successful Dec. 15 parliamentary election in which more than 70 percent of Iraqis -- 11 million-plus voters -- participated. Meanwhile, the vice president's wife, an historian, took to the airwaves today to provide historical context for the elections. "It's an honor for me to be here to mark the tremendous success of the Iraqi people," the vice president told reporters in Baghdad. "The participation levels [in the election] all across the country were remarkable." In fact, the biggest change in...

When hundreds of Los Angeles high school students told administrators they planned to walk out of school to attend last week's protest by the liberal "World Can't Wait" group calling for President Bush's impeachment — the L.A. school district decided not to discipline them. Instead, the district provided school buses and a staff escort to transport some 800 students from 10 schools to the rally and back. School officials said students would attend the protest with or without their permission, and the district's chief operating officer told KNBC, "Our issue...was safety, and I think we fulfilled our mission." — FOX...