Free Republic

Russian and Ukrainian diplomats held four rounds of talks to try to resolve the crisis in February and March, but stopped meeting after Kiev pulled out of negotiations as US and European officials announced that the conflict must be decided on the battlefield, and sent tens of billions of dollars-worth of military hardware and economic aid to Kiev. The United States and its European allies are conducting “secret consultations” aimed at ending the Ukrainian crisis, Germany’s Welt newspaper has indicated. In an commentary published Friday, former US ambassador to Germany John Kornblum and German journalist Rudiger Lentz claimed that the...

Did United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan hightail it to Moscow to check in with his handpicked UN reform man Yevgeny Primakov within weeks of William Safire’s New York Times expose on alleged scandal in the Oil-For-Food Program? The first of Safire’s groundbreaking Oil-For-Food investigative stories ran in mid-March, 2004. Here’s Annan’s Moscow itinerary as documented by The Russian Federation: "Annan arrived in Moscow on Sunday, April 4, 2004 where he had an early working dinner with Evgeni (sic) Primakov, former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation." On the following day, Annan visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where...

Did United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan hightail it to Moscow to check in with his handpicked UN reform man Yevgeny Primakov within weeks of William Safire’s New York Times expose on alleged scandal in the Oil-For-Food Program? The first of Safire’s groundbreaking Oil-For-Food investigative stories ran in mid-March, 2004. Here’s Annan’s Moscow itinerary as documented by The Russian Federation: "Annan arrived in Moscow on Sunday, April 4, 2004 where he had an early working dinner with Evgeni (sic) Primakov, former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation." On the following day, Annan visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where...

Unresolved dilemmas in the age of global intervention 06aug03 THE decline of national sovereignty as an absolute concept has triggered a new global debate over the terms and conditions that justify the right to intervene with military force. The coming decades will witness far more military interventions in the name of humanitarianism, security and saving failed states. The stories of Rwanda, Iraq, Solomon Islands and Kosovo illustrate this diverse trend. This will have a profound effect on Australia. Our multiple roles as a US ally, proficient peacekeeper, supporter of the UN and as the metropolitan power in a highly...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Apr 08, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Pre-emptive military strikes against countries that sponsor terrorism or harbor weapons of mass destruction are likely to become more common, British Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon said Tuesday. U.S. President George W. Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive military action against perceived security threats has divided Europe. Germany and France oppose the doctrine, saying it could result in further destabilization worldwide. Britain, Italy and Spain, however, have supported the policy against Iraq. In a speech to the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen, Hoon singled out terrorism and weapons of mass destruction...

Australia warning terrorists Prime minister backs pre-emptive strikes on neighboring attackers 12/02/2002 Associated Press SYDNEY, Australia - Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday that he was prepared to act against terrorists in neighboring Asian countries and that the U.N. charter should be changed to allow nations to strike pre-emptively against terrorists planning to attack them. His comments were opposed by other governments across Asia. With a modern air force and experienced special forces, Australia has one of the most powerful militaries in its region. Mr. Howard's comments came as his nation observes how Southeast Asian countries deal with Islamic...

Blair: Iraq Is Real Threat Prime Minister Tony Blair has strengthened his support for a possible US-led attack on Iraq, saying the country "poses a real and unique threat".Mr Blair made the pledge whilst facing the Press at an open forum in his Sedgefield constituency. "I believe it is in the United Kingdom's national interest that the issue is addressed," he said. Constant dialogue The Prime Minister said "America should not face the issue alone" and promised "the fullest possible debate will take part in Parliament and elsewhere". "The rest of the world has a responsibility, not just America," he...

CAIRO, Egypt - A U.S.-British air raid in southern Iraq this weekend destroyed a major military surveillance site that monitors American troops in the Persian Gulf, witnesses said Tuesday. The Iraqi military said the allied warplanes on Sunday bombed areas in Basra province, 330 miles south of Baghdad, killing eight civilians and wounding nine others. The U.S. Central Command in Florida said coalition aircraft used precision-guided weapons to strike two air defense radar systems near Basra "in response to recent Iraqi hostile acts against coalition aircraft monitoring the southern no-fly zone." The witnesses, Iraqis who said they were at the...

<p>"September the 11th, 2001, cut a deep dividing line in our history, a change of eras as sharp and clear as Pearl Harbor," President Bush told the German Parliament on May 23.</p> <p>A week later, in his West Point commencement address, the president introduced a new concept into American foreign affairs, a policy designed for the new era. In combating terrorist threats, he said, the U.S. will take "pre-emptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives." Since "the only path to safety is the path of action, this nation will act."</p>