Free Republic

the president’s loyalty to the interests of the United States and its Constitution has been trumped by a different agenda or ideology. While many have suspected this since his initial presidential campaign, the Syrian Crisis makes it more obvious than ever for those who are informed and who understand the background of Barrack Hussein Obama. We know of Barack Obama’s past associations, we know that he was brought up a Muslim, and we know based on his policies over the last few years, that he wishes to empower the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. He’s been notably frustrated...

Secretary of State John Kerry said at Wednesday’s hearing that Arab counties have offered to pay for the entirety of unseating President Bashar al-Assad if the United States took the lead militarily. “With respect to Arab countries offering to bear costs and to assess, the answer is profoundly yes,” Kerry said. “They have. That offer is on the table.” Asked by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) about how much those countries would contribute, Kerry said they have offered to pay for all of a full invasion.

According to USAID (United States Agency For International Development), the federal agency in charge of distributing the vast majority of foreign aid monies to other countries, United States taxpayers have paid for over one billion dollars in foreign aid packages to help support the “Syrian Humanitarian Response." Despite the threat of continued chemical attacks against the Syrian people that has served as the focal point of rallying cries for advocates of US military intervention (including the Obama administration), The Daily Beast reported that gas masks were not among the items

NBC's Richard Engel reports the latest from the Turkey border town of Antakya as the world awaits possible US-led military strikes on Syria.

Good interview and worth listening to. Obama is actively backing the radical Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaida elements (approx. 20,000 strong) of the rebellion while leaving the Free Syrian Army (approx. 800,000 strong) high and dry, warns retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely. Listen to radio interview at http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/general-obamas-backing-wrong-syrian-rebels/

The President will deliver a statement on Syria at 1:15 pm today in the Rose Garden today.

The Kurdish Democratic Party (PYD), a branch of Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK), recently declared that they want to form a Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria... is there any place for Assyrians? Is there room in a future ruled by Kurds, considering what happened in northern Iraq? Analysts I talked to are optimistic and see a difference from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in north Iraq. Assyrians make up about 30% of al-Jazeera's population and should have better conditions, they say. But the biggest threat to Assyrians is emigration, since many are fleeing to seek a better life in the West....

Limited strikes in Syria are not enough, declares Turkey's Prime Minister as the U.S. mulls action in Syria. The goal of any military intervention in Syria should be to topple Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. Erdogan said that the limited strikes which the United States is reportedly planning against Syria would not be enough and pushed for a broader military offensive. "A limited operation cannot be satisfactory for us," he was quoted as saying by the NTV news channel. "An intervention akin to that decided for Kosovo must be launched. An operation of...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appears to have received the most expensive gift, described as “white gold jewelry with teardrop rubies and diamonds containing a necklace, a bracelet, earrings, and a ring.” Bestowed upon Clinton by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, the jewelry is valued at half a million dollars. It is pending transfer to the GSA, according to the State Department.... Descriptions of each of the gifts to White House, agency and military officials was accompanied by the blanket justification that, “Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.”

Hard to believe he would be this stupid.If in fact it was him.Possibly rebels?

Let's face facts people. Obama and his evil ilk know exactly what they're doing. We've heard, unequivocally, that if the US bombs Syria, Syria will attack Israel. This is the end goal for Obama. This is his way of destroying Israel without any direct attack. A big question is, where are ANY of the conservatives, in power, defending us? I know Ted has said something and Rand but, really...where's the rest of them?

Somehow we doubt that Putin just folded... Sky Sources: Russia to call for urgent meeting of five permanent members of UN Security Council — Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) August 29, 2013 Some more from BBG: RUSSIA CALLED FOR THE SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING, DIPLOMAT 5 PERMANENT COUNCIL MEMBERS U.K., U.S., FRANCE, CHINA, RUSSIA FIVE PERM. SEC. COUNCIL MEMBERS TO MEET AT 2:30P Hopefully Putin doesn't whip out incontrovertible proof the chemical gas attack was linked to Al Qaeda, Qatar... and the US of course.

In a great article in the Independent, Robert Frisk points out that if Obama attacks Syrian leader Assad’s army, the US and Al Qaeda would be on the same side. However, Frisk incorrectly states that this would be the first time. Not so. As Gateway Pundit pointed out in prior posts, Obama was on the same side as Al Qaeda in Libya when bombing Gaddafi and his forces. Obama, also, sided with the terrorist organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, in Egypt, even providing them with $1.5 billion in aid, and then taking it away after they were overthrown. Pundits have tried...

Recent news of a chemical weapons attack in Syria smacks of desperation. The question comes down to who is most desperate right now, the Assad regime or the Muslim Brotherhood rebels? Consider that since June, Assad’s forces have been winning. According to a CBS News report from last month, victories for the rebels had become “increasingly rare” and that the Muslim Brotherhood-backed opposition fighters were sustaining “some of their heaviest losses” near Damascus. The New York Times echoed this sentiment, even saying that before gaining the upper hand, concerns were that Assad would use chemical weapons; he did not. In...

What many Egyptians cannot understand is: Why is the U.S. administration siding with the forces of oppression in their country and assisting with its transformation into a failed state under the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood? Egypt simply cannot be allowed to become another Somalia or Afghanistan, controlled by its own version of the Taliban. The Egyptian people are astounded. They simply do not understand the Obama Administration's efforts to bring the Muslim Brotherhood back to power. In an effort to make some sense of the Obama Administration's policies, Amr Adeeb, a prominent Egyptian commentator, argues that the U.S. is...

A Sunni group claims it was behind the car bomb attack in a Hezbollah stronghold, issues warning to the group's chief. A Sunni Islamist group took credit on Thursday for the car bombing in a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut which killed at least 20 people. Shortly after news of the attack broke, an online video surfaced showing three masked men, two of them holding rifles, in front of a white flag inscribed with the Islamic profession of faith, reported AFP. "You, the pig Hassan Nasrallah, we send you our second powerful message because you haven't understood yet," said one member...

Editor's Note:This column was coauthored by Bob Morrison. You probably cannot find a more scholarly, measured, and careful writer than Michael Barone. This Resident Fellow at the respected American Enterprise Institute is not given to exaggeration. Let others set their hair on fire to get a headline, Harvard-educated Michael Barone makes news because he’s one who knows. He has been the co-editor since 1968 of The Almanac of American Politics. It has been referred to as the “Bible,” but usually by those who don’t have another. Still, when Michael Barone says the Obama administration views “Christianity bad, Islam good,” people...

Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has warned shale oil and gas development poses a threat to the kingdom's economy, the Wall Street Journal's Summer Said reports. In an open letter to Saudi oil minister Ali al Naimi [in Arabic], Alwaleed also warns the kingdom must diversify its revenue streams in the face of flagging oil demand. A source translated the key portion of the note: With all due respect to your Highness’ viewpoint about shale gas and that it poses no danger on Saudi economy at ‘the present time’, I was hoping that your Highness would also shed light...

before the civil war the city of Qusayr, located in eastern portion of Syria near the Lebanese border, had around 40,000 people, including 7,000 Christians. “In late 2011, the Sunni townsmen came and told us to either join us in anti-regime demonstrations or leave the town. If we didn’t, we would be killed,” Fadul Abu Yohanna Kasouhah, a Christian resident of Qusayr, described to CSI. According to Fadul, the Sunni Islamists in his village used the loudspeakers from the Mosques to name the Christian families by name and told them to leave. Fadul told CSI how his cousin was gunned...

The Lincoln Memorial was shut down Friday morning after vandals splashed the statue of the nation’s 16th president and the marble floor around it with green paint, U.S. Park Police said. Police are reviewing surveillance footage from the popular tourist attraction on the west end of the Mall, but so far they have released no information about who may have been responsible. Authorities believe the vandalism happened around 1:30 a.m. The National Park Service will work to clean up the paint, police said, and the memorial will be closed to the public until cleanup is complete. Police said no words...