Free Republic

The Iran nuclear deal has dramatically shifted Middle Eastern geopolitical tectonic plates, and has heralded a new reality in which Sunni Arabs need Israel more than ever. One of many misleading lines in President Obama’s address earlier this month heralding the Iran nuclear deal came when the statecraft salesman declared that “because this is such a strong deal, every nation in the world that has commented publicly, with the exception of the Israeli government, has expressed support.” The clear implication is that Israel stands alone and isolated in the international community in opposing détente and rapprochement with Iran. The American...

As intense discussions regarding the Iran nuclear agreement continue, President Barack Obama will address the North American Jewish community next Friday, August 28, at 2:10 p.m. Eastern Time. Obama will participate in a live webcast to deliver remarks to and take questions from participants across the United States and Canada in an event co-sponsored by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and The Jewish Federations of North America, according to a statement released on Thursday. Previously, the two groups have hosted webcasts and forums on the Iran nuclear agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary...

The No. 2 figure in ISIS, Haji Mutazz, is believed to have been killed in an August 18 drone strike near Mosul, Iraq, several U.S. officials told CNN. The U.S. intelligence community is in the final stages of confirming the man who died was Mutazz, a top deputy to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi, the officials said. The U.S. believes Mutazz was prominently involved in directing ISIS' financial operations. The reported death of Mutazz, who also goes by several other names, is a bit of a mystery. Several news organizations, including CNN, reported his death at the end of last...

Initial tests on mortar fragments from an Aug. 11 Islamic State attack against Kurdish forces in Iraq have tested positive for the chemical weapon mustard gas, the Pentagon said Friday. A few days after the attack near Makhmour, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces brought fragments from the mortar rounds to U.S. forces. Makhmour is just south of Irbil, where the U.S. has one of its training center sites. “We were able to take the fragments and do a field test on those fragments, and they showed the presence of HD, or what is known as sulfur mustard. That is a class...

Liberals are outraged. No, it isn't about Planned Parenthood sorting parts of babies in pie pans and selling them at a profit. And no, they aren't outraged over the abortion giant selling whole baby cadavers in order to keep body parts "intact." Nor are they outraged over Planned Parenthood cutting out the brains of babies while their hearts are still beating. They are, however, suddenly concerned about babies of illegal immigrants born in the United States being called "anchor babies" by GOP presidential candidates.

In an email sent to supporters of the progressive political group MoveOn.org, ice cream icons Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen asked recipients to join them in supporting the Iran deal to keep “America out of another war in the Middle East.” Lobbyists and billionaires plan to spend over $40 million to stop the diplomatic deal with Iran—the one the Obama Administration negotiated to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. That’s dangerous, because if too many Democrats listen to the flood of hawkish, misinformation-ridden TV ads—and if they vote with Republicans—they could override the president’s agreement in just about a month.

The first of this week’s Coach is Right, Friday Shorts From the Tehran Times Commentary by John Velisek USN (Ret), CiR staff writer “Inaugurating the 4-day gathering, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that enemy is seeking to create divisions in the region and portray Islam as the religion of violence and extremism, urging resistance against such plots. ‘The enemy intends to turn the religion of morality and brotherhood into a religion of violence, extremism, killing, discord and rift and we should stand up to such deviation and distortion,’ Rouhani told the participants, Press TV reported. ‘We should not allow enemies...

The United States said Thursday it was concerned by the number of illegal Palestinian residential structures Israel demolished this month in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. “We are also very troubled by the recent escalation of demolitions and evictions, which include the destruction of dozens of structures and the displacement of over 150 people in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this month alone,” US State Department Spokesperson John Kirby said on Thursday. “Such demolitions and evictions are harmful and provocative and indicative of a damaging trend, particularly given settlement-related activity and continued construction in the West Bank and...

Former Indiana Senator Richard G. Lugar became the first high profile Republican this week to endorse President Obama’s hugely controversial nuclear deal with Iran’s revolutionary Islamic government. If Congress is unable to override an expected presidential veto, in addition to $150 billion in immediate sanctions relief, the deal will guarantee the same radical Iranian regime that openly calls for the annihilation of an entire nation state both the legal right and practical ability to develop an industrial scale nuclear weapons infrastructure along with the intercontinental ballistic missile systems necessary to deliver nuclear payloads anywhere on earth. Speaking on MSNBC, the...

Sadly, not only is Iran cheating, it is proven by the side deal they will cheat with White House and United Nations approval. The text of the side deal signed by Iran and the IAEA is here. Further, Barack Obama has signed waivers on sanctions which allows the existing sanctions to be overlooked and violated by foreign countries where the United States will not apply any punishment. It is proven that Barack Obama, John Kerry and the other members of the P5+1 don’t have any red-lines with regard to Iran’s actions or violations. Contact your senators and demand they vote...

Israeli strikes on Syria left up to six people died on Friday as Israel escalated its military response to four rockets landing on its territory a day earlier. Up to five men were killed in a car after it was struck while travelling near the frontier of the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, the Syrian army said, in what appeared to be a second wave of Israeli retaliatory action following a series of late night raids on Thursday. Syrian state television said the strike had killed "five unarmed civilians", but hte UK-based Syrian Conservatory for Human Rights said the...

By MG Paul Vallely, U.S. Army (Ret) And LTC Dennis B. Haney, USAF (Ret) August 20, 2015 Since 1979, a cabal of nations has aided and abetted Iran in its efforts to develop a robust nuclear program under the guise of generating a nuclear energy system. This cabal is mainly comprised of Russia, China, and North Korea. Since sanctions began being placed on Iran in 1979, with more added since, Iran still had enough free reign to develop its capabilities despite the sanctions regime because of this cabal. All the moving parts are in place, the material is there, and...

Israel strikes Damascus’ military targets in retaliation for rocket fire by ‘Iran-funded militants’ Smoke rises during fighting in the Druze village of Khadr in Syria "Israel has pounded with artillery and launched airstrikes against 14 Syrian military positions in Golan Heights, holding Damascus responsible for failing to prevent a rocket attack on Israeli territory which the IDF pinned on an “Iran funded Islamic Jihad” group. .... IDF also targeted Syrian 137th Regiment near Damascus. “We attacked with tanks, artillery, and one target from the air... We attacked several kilometers into Syria, five or six sites with multiple targets within each...

The four rockets fired on Galilee came from the new Iranian terror front on the Golan "Israel’s top government and military went on a high level of preparedness Tuesday, Aug. 18 in expectation of the first terrorist attack to be orchestrated by Iran from Syrian or Lebanese borders. ... Iranian Al Qods and Hizballah officers were building a new terrorist network raising Israeli suspicions that one of their plans was to seize an Israeli location or part of one and try and hold out against an Israeli counter-offensive of tanks and assault helicopters. .. three radical terrorist movements staff the...

In an exclusive interview with the FARtz News Agency, President Obama today voiced firm support for any deal bewteen Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency permitting Iran to know for sure what it hasn't been doing at its alleged military sites.Editor’s note: This is a guest post by my (imaginary) colleague, the Very Honorable Ima Librul, Senator from the great State of Confusion Utopia. He is a founding member of CCCEB (Climate Change Causes Everything Bad), a charter member of President Obama’s Go For it Team, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Chairman of the Meretricious Relations Subcommittee. He is also...

After former President Jimmy Carter criticized “the government of Israel” during a Thursday press conference for having “no desire for a two-state solution” with the Palestinians, MSNBC Hardball host and former Carter speechwriter Chris Matthews hailed his old boss: “...he stuck it to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. Why not?...He might as well stick it to the guys who’ve caused him trouble, as he’s seen it, especially Netanyahu. Why not stick it to Netanyahu? He deserves it.” Matthews added: “So I think Carter is still that guy, that gutsy guy who knows how to stick it to guys he’s quite...

What could go wrong? Don’t worry. This is fine. Everyone has known for years that Iran was working to develop weapons at its Parchin nuclear site, so when Iran sends in its own inspectors to gather soil samples, take pictures and send everything to the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency . . . dude, why would they lie? You don’t think a super-tough negotiator like John Kerry would accept a provision that would make it that easy for the mad mullahs to thumb their noses at the vaunted deal and just keep right on doing what they’ve been doing, do...

Confirmation of Iran’s intention to develop nuclear weapons comes in the form of the announcement that the sale of Russia’s sophisticated and state-of-the-art S300 air and missile defense missile system has now reached the delivery stage. One does not need such weaponry to defend reactors generating nothing but electricity. In touting his deal with Iran over its nuclear program, which at best merely kicks the can past the end of his presidency so others can be blamed when it fails, President Obama has said that if Iran breaks the agreement we will know it. That sale and delivery of the...

Has Obama registered as an agent of the Islamic Republic of Iran yet? Why not? What would he be doing differently if he were one? “Senators: Obama Admin Hiding Secret Iran Deal Letters,” by Adam Kredo, Washington Free Beacon, August 19, 2015:Two leading U.S. senators are calling on the Obama administration to release secret letters to foreign governments assuring them that they will not be legally penalized for doing business with the Iranian government, according to a copy of a letter sent Wednesday to the State Department and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.Sens. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.) and Marco...

Will enough Democrats put country over party and defy Obama? As the congressional vote on President Barack Obama’s disastrous nuclear deal with Iran draws closer, the Iranian regime appears to be doing everything it can to show that it has the upper hand as a result of the deal it negotiated with the United States and its five partners. It is either dishonestly twisting certain terms of the deal to justify its misbehavior or simply defying the terms outright. President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry are not pushing back. Instead, they are pushing hard to avoid a veto-proof...