Free Republic

There is no doubt that President Obama’s remarks about Christianity at the National Prayer Breakfast last week were historically accurate. But they were also — let’s face it — glib, facile and patronizing. [snip of brief, gratuitous, misleading snark to burnish and retain his progressive credentials] My objection is that Obama — in drawing parallels between past atrocities perpetrated in the name of Christianity and current ones by terrorists acting in the name of Islam — constructed an all-too-pat narrative that lets everyone off the hook, including himself. The admonition not to “get on our high horse” about jihadist terror...

Dear President Obama, Please know that I am one of those who pray for you on a regular basis. The Scriptures command me to pray for those in leadership. Please also know that any criticism I have regarding your foreign policies are neither personal nor political. I have found some across the aisle from you who have equally questionable views regarding such policies. Although I don’t presume to enter into your mind nor know your motives, I think I understand the process of your thinking regarding radical Islam. Incidentally, I think also some of the President George W. Bush’s administration...

MaxUrderer wrote: You know what would be even BETTER? If we hadn't invaded a Iraq and destabilized the entire regime in the first place. If we had treated 9/11 as what it WAS, a crime, had caught the perpetrators and brought them to justice, and had left the evil but stabilizing dictator in place as we've done in Saudi Arabia. So no, John, Iraq was neither a "victory" nor a "war". It was a mistake. And it will NEVER be Obama's fault. It'll ALWAYS be Bush's fault. To summarize Conservative sentiment regarding Iraq: "That idiot Obama didn't fix our incredible...

Coalition is “adamantly opposed to Obama’s policy…and loath to lend their air strength for its support” The ongoing Syrian conflict, the fall of the Yemeni government, the burning of the Jordanian pilot, and other events make one wonder why even those Arab nations with significant military capabilities tend not to use them against a common enemy. The attacks on ISIS by the Jordanian air force have been a dramatic example of what could be done to eliminate this threat to the entire region if the other military forces would join in a united effort. This raises the question of why...

Last week, President Barack Obama chose to equate Christianity and Islam. In doing so, he suggested people needed to get off their "high horse" because many things had been done in the name of Christianity. He listed slavery and the crusades to name two. I would feel better about listening to the honest exegesis of the American resident on matters of faith if I were convinced he had faith in anything other than himself. He sat in Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years. But Rev. Wright is a preacher of black liberation theology, far removed from mainstream Christian discourse....

ANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s Shiite rebels proclaimed a formal takeover of the Arab nation Friday, dissolving parliament in a dramatic move that completes their power grab in the region’s poorest nation where an al-Qaeda terrorist offshoot flourishes. The unrest could strengthen Yemen’s al-Qaeda branch, considered the world’s most dangerous wing of the terror movement, and complicate US counter-terrorism operations in Saudi Arabia’s southern neighbor. While Houthi rebels are bitter enemies to al-Qaida, they also are hostile to the United States, and frosty to the predominantly Sunni Saudis. The region’s Shiite powerhouse, Iran, looms as a potential key backer. White...

Queen Rania of Jordan led protests on the streets of the capital Amman this morning as thousands took to the streets after Friday prayers to urge King Abdullah II to step up airstrikes against the Islamic State to avenge the brutal murder of pilot Moaz al-Kasaesbeh. Crowds massed near the city's main Husseini mosque, then marched chanting 'Death to Daesh', using a derogatory Arabic acronym for the terror group, in the latest sign of mounting public anger. The rally came three days after Islamic State released a video purporting to show Kasaesbeh being burnt alive in a cage as masked...

I would not watch the video of Jordanian pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh being consumed by fire, because to do so was exactly what the Islamist barbarians who produced it wanted. They wanted not only to kill their captive in the most horrific way imaginable, but also to burn the images of his immolation into the minds of those who oppose them. Terror is their most effective weapon. The only way they can achieve victory is by frightening people into submission. Scare off those who would join an alliance to fight the Islamic State, and ISIS wins. But barbarity also has a...

FORT HUACHUCA — A woman held a sign as she sat on a bleacher in the Barnes Feld House Wednesday night. It read: “I’d wait for you forever, but 292 days is long enough.” Little did she know the sign should have read 293 days, because that is the length of time she actually had to wait for her soldier to come back home, after spending more than nine months in the troubled areas of the Middle East and Afghanistan. It wasn’t until after midnight — precisely 15 minutes into Thursday morning — before the unnamed soldier was one of...

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Students say Raja Fayad, a University of South Carolina professor who died in an apparent murder-suicide on campus Thursday, made one of the toughest classes at the University of South Carolina fun. “He was a very kind-hearted and sweet person,” said Lacey Humphries, 23, who graduated in May. “Anatomy and physiology is not everyone’s favorite class. ... He would turn it into something that was enjoyable and give us ways to remember things. ... That’s something you appreciate in a professor.” Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2015/02/05/3972072_professor-made-tough-class-fun.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

Members of the House Armed Services Committee met with Jordan's King Abdullah Tuesday not long after news broke that ISIS had burned to death a Jordanian pilot captured in the fight against the terrorist group. In a private session with lawmakers, the king showed an extraordinary measure of anger — anger which he expressed by citing American movie icon Clint Eastwood.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." – Proverbs 16:18 God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." –James 4:6 No, the headline is not a joke. This is what the Narcissist-in-Chief actually said. In an interview on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS," Obama said that he was proud of his accomplishments while in office, and though he mentioned ridiculous statements like "saving the American economy," noticeably absent was his signature unconstitutional legislation, Obamacare. When asked what he thought his one line would be in history, Obama said he thought he would allow others to...

President Barack Obama‘s visit to Saudi Arabia this week with a heavy-duty delegation was a smart move. But nobody should have any illusions that this quick stop will fix what’s troubling U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia or other key allies in the region. These days, the United States’ two oldest and most important friends in the Middle East–Israel and Saudi Arabia–seem to have more in common with one another than they do with Washington. Throw Egypt into the mix and you have an unusual threesome–a Jewish state, a monarchy, and a military-controlled phony republic–that have, as a practical matter, aligned...

American Sniper, the film about Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who became the deadliest sniper in U.S. history while serving four tours of duty in Iraq, has broken box office records and is nominated for six Oscars, including best picture. To say that the film is a hit among American audiences (Michael Moore, and other haters aside) would be an understatement. What is receiving far less attention—though very interesting—is how the moving is faring in the Middle East. In Iraq, the theater at Baghdad’s Mansour Mall was “full and rowdy” during the film’s opening week—and the crowd was into it. When...

Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. Eight million Israelis are surrounded by some 400 million Muslims in more than 20 states. Almost all of Israel's neighbors are anti-Israeli dictatorships, monarchies or theocracies-- a number of them reduced to a state of terrorist chaos. Given the rise of radical Islam, the huge petrodollar wealth of the Middle East and lopsided demography, how has Israel so far survived? The Jewish state has always depended on three unspoken assumptions for its tenuous existence. First, a democratic, nuclear Israel can deter larger enemies. In the Cold War,...

SHEAR YASHUV, Israel (AP) — A missile fired by the Lebanese Hezbollah group struck an Israeli military convoy on Wednesday, an apparent retaliation for a deadly airstrike attributed to Israel that killed six Hezbollah fighters in Syria earlier this month.

President Obama will forego a visit to the Taj Mahal during his visit to India in order to travel to Saudi Arabia for King Abdullah’s funeral, the White House announced early Saturday morning. Vice President Biden was initially scheduled to lead the U.S. delegation, but he will instead now remain in Washington and Obama will add the stop onto his return from India, where the president is embarking on a three-day trip to foster economic ties with the nation. “President Obama and the First Lady will travel to Riyadh on Tuesday, January 27 in order to pay respects to King...

Tony Badran, Now Lebanon January 23, 2015 Israel dealt Iran a painful blow on Sunday when it struck a convoy of senior Iranian and Hezbollah commanders in Quneitra in the Golan Heights. Some Israeli former security officials have explained the strike as preemptive action against an imminent attack on northern Israel. They pointed to an interview by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah three days before, in which he talked about his fighters making incursions into the Galilee in the next war with Israel. Another anonymous Israeli official claimed that the presence of a high-ranking Iranian general in the convoy was a...

Yemen faced a dangerous power vacuum Friday after its president announced his resignation over a deadly standoff with Shiite militia controlling the capital and lawmakers called an emergency weekend session. President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda, said late Thursday that he could no longer stay in office as the country was in "total deadlock". Prime Minister Khalid Bahah also tendered his resignation, saying he did want to be part of the collapse of the country. The fall of Hadi's Western-backed government would raise fears of complete chaos engulfing Yemen, strategically located next to...

The longtime king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, passed away on Friday. But the death of the 90-year-old monarch didn’t seem to come as much of a shock to the Saudi establishment. When royal officials acknowledged Abdullah’s death, it was also revealed that Crown Prince Salman would succeed his brother. For the time being, the succession process seemed to have preserved stability in the Saudi Kingdom. Within hours, traders who speculated that the new king may take a critical look at Saudi policies, which have allowed crude prices to collapse in recent months, created a rally in the oil...