Free Republic

Were it Tom Coburn in the White House in 1981 instead of Ronald Reagan, we’d still be dealing with the Soviet Union. Ronald Reagan was in the minority who thought the Soviets should be fought and could be beaten. The majority of Republicans and Democrats alike had so thoroughly bought into detente and peaceful coexistence and containment that Reagan had to fight his own side and the left. Since Barry Goldwater was defeated asking “why not victory?” with Lyndon Johnson quoting the Bible “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further,” no one thought rolling back the Soviets was achievable. Reagan...

Weaponry: As the commander in chief calls for a one-third reduction in our nuclear arsenal, Russia builds new midrange missile banned under a 1987 arms treaty. How's that "reset" button working out, Mr. President? Trust but verify, said the president who won the Cold War. Ronald Reagan's "peace through strength" philosophy has been replaced with the "peace through parchment" strategy of Barack Obama. It emphasizes flexibility, not resolve, and relies on pacts such as the New Start Treaty and the pressing of imaginary reset buttons. Russia's playing host to Edward Snowden, arguably a traitor with secrets to share with Moscow...

“The Afghan War is coming to an end,” said Barack Obama on May 23, but it is not ending well. NBC News reported Tuesday that “U.S. and Taliban representatives will meet soon for the first time to begin what are expected to be long and complex negotiations for a peaceful settlement to the war in Afghanistan.” The U.S. entered Afghanistan to topple the Taliban from power and end their influence in the country. In light of that, these talks in themselves constitute an admission of failure. But these talks are far from the first of those.

Some call it wishful thinking, but President Barack Obama has all but declared an end to the global war on terror. Obama is not claiming final victory over extremists who still seek to kill Americans and other Westerners. Instead, he is steering the United States away from what he calls an equally frightening threat: a country in a state of perpetual war. In a landmark speech Thursday in which he sought to refine and recalibrate his counterterrorism strategy, Obama asserted that al-Qaida is "on the path to defeat," reducing the scale of terrorism to pre-Sept. 11 levels. That means that...

A new poll shows a willingness by 4 out of 10 Americans to give up some civil liberties to fight terrorism. But they don’t want the government eavesdropping on their cell phone calls or emails. … When it comes to security versus personal freedoms, 81 percent favor expanding use of cameras on streets and in public places. That's up 20 points since 2001. Seventy-nine percent favor using facial-recognition technology to search for suspected terrorists at public events. …

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s failure to recognize political Islam as a driver of jihadist terrorism is partly to blame for the FBI not identifying one of the Boston Marathon bombers in 2011 as a security risk, according to U.S. officials and private counterterrorism analysts. The FBI revealed last week that it was warned by a foreign government in 2011 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed Friday, was tied to “radical Islam” but the FBI was unable to confirm the links. “The fact is religion has been expunged from counterterrorism training,” said Sebastian Gorka, a counterterrorism specialist with the Foundation...

Senator Mike Johanns said on Saturday he would support fellow Nebraskan Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense, becoming the second Republican in the Senate to express public support for President Barack Obama's embattled nominee. The Lincoln, Nebraska, JournalStar reported on its website that Johanns, a former Nebraska governor who holds Hagel's old Senate seat, issued a statement supporting Hagel. An aide to Johanns confirmed the report.

(1918 Bolshevik Poster by Alexander Apsit reads "Citizens, hand over your weapons!") Why I gave up my guns • A former firearm enthusiast explains his personal epiphany Late one night in the spring of 2008, I was jolted awake by the sound of yet another a burglar trying to break into my Atlanta home. We’d already had a series of scary close calls, but this time I was ready: I had staged my shotgun and a box of shells in a broom closet right by the back door, next to the umbrellas. While my girlfriend called the police, I...

House Speaker John Boehner has been afforded no rest after the passage of the fiscal cliff bill. (Snip) President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has been vacationing on the sunny beaches of Hawaii - leaving Washington just hours after the deal made it through Congress on Tuesday night. The White House released a series of year-end photos of the President on Wednesday. The first picture in the series was of shot of a jubilant Obama frolicking in the warm Hawaiian waters. Scroll down for video

For all the pissing and moaning over the fiscal cliff, there was never much of a "cliff" in the first place. Worse yet, every delay made matters increasing irresponsible in terms of addressing the deficit. The final result, as passed by the Senate, watered down budget cuts from $600 billion to a mere $12 billion. Moreover, the extension of the tax cuts will add almost $4 trillion to the deficit over 10 years according to CBO analysis of the American Taxpayer Relief Act. Nonetheless, that was not enough for liberal democrats who thought they did not get enough out of...

Ann Coulter used to be one of the shinning voices of the Conservative movement. She could be counted on to verbally joust and destroy liberal opponents. Suddenly she isn’t doing this. Suddenly she is saying we should give in to Obama. What has happened to Ann Coulter?

Negotiations about how to avoid the fiscal cliff have resumed between the staffs of President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Late last week, in a conference call with donors, Governor Mitt Romney said what we all know to be the truth: that Obama's reelection plan was to divide Americans across various lines and dole out government freebies, such as health insurance, amnesty, and birth control. The promise of these "gifts" (or the fear of losing them) would then drive out turnout, specifically among those who did turn out: blacks, students, and Hispanics -- and lo and behold, it worked. For days now, Romney's been blistered by the media for telling a truth about a political tactic that the media itself...

Next week may be Black Friday but sweets lovers across the nation hung their heads in sorrow on a dark Friday yesterday as Hostess announced they would cease making their line of products, which include the iconic Twinkies brand, because of the Bakers Union Strike. But now as the brand heads towards liquidating and selling off their assets, a Mexican company may be angling to resurrect the golden Twinkies. According to the Christian Science Monitor, while food producers ConAgra and Flowers Food, the American company behind Nature Valley granola, have expressed interest along with Little Debbie baker McKee Foods, MexicoÂ’s...

Defense: The fruit of unilateral disarmament, appeasement and promised "flexibility" patrols our East Coast near one of our largest ballistic missile submarine bases. Defense cuts and Russian subs — a double whammy. 'On June 1 or a bit later, we will resume constant patrolling of the world's oceans by strategic nuclear submarines," Russian Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky said in February. Keeping that promise, a Russian Sierra-2 class nuclear attack submarine cruised within 200 miles of our East Coast on the eve of a U.S. presidential election in which defense spending and priorities were a key issue. This is the...

A new issue has popped up in the Presidential race. Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the state of the U.S. economy. It is about a new world order that has removed familiar (and in some cases pro-American) leaders from strategically important Arab countries. Further complicating matters is the recent terrorist strike on our embassy in Libya. A murdered ambassador and potential cover up as to the circumstances surrounding the attack have raised concerns about the resilience of al-Qaeda and its affiliates at a time the president is claiming the terror group is "on its heels."

After Hitler and Stalin, France bows to Islam. A new literary case easily explains what's going on in Paris. What eminent, now villified author Richard Millet has to say about it, talking to Meotti. The new French leftist government approved the mega project of the Islamic Emirate of Qatar to finance the disadvantaged suburbs, which are home to a significant number of France’s estimated 4-6 million Muslims. Is Paris on sale to the Gulf monarchies, which support - anywhere in the world - radical Islam and jihad? Qatar's $ 65 million objective is to peddle religious hatred and separation among...

(AP) TEHRAN, Iran - A senior commander in Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard warned that Iran will target U.S. bases in the region in the event of war with Israel, raising the prospect of a broader conflict that would force other countries to get involved, Iranian state television reported Sunday. The comments by Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who heads the Guard's aerospace division, came amid tension over Iran's nuclear program and Israel's suggestion that it might unilaterally strike Iranian nuclear facilities to scuttle what the United States and its allies believe are efforts to build a bomb. Tehran says its nuclear...

Half a century ago this October, for almost two weeks, the world dangerously slid toward war as the United States and U.S.S.R. played a nuclear chess match. The confrontation focused on whether Soviet missiles, secretly installed in Cuba, would be voluntarily withdrawn by Moscow. It was the closest the two Cold War adversaries would ever come to nuclear war. Washington was committed to not endangering its national security by the placement of missiles drastically reducing the distance required for Moscow to launch a surprise nuclear strike against the United States while also reducing U.S. reaction time to such a first...

TOKYO — Japan marked the 67th anniversary of its World War II surrender with a somber ceremony in the capital Wednesday, while renewed tension over territorial disputes and animosity over its wartime actions heated up across the region. Renewing Japan’s pledge to maintain its war-renouncing policy, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda mourned for the war dead and apologized to victims of Japanese wartime atrocities. “We have caused tremendous damage and pain to many countries, particularly the Asian people, during the war. We deeply regret that and sincerely mourn for those who were sacrificed and their relatives,” Noda said. “We will not...