Free Republic

A friend of mine suggested I try Netflix's new series; The Diplomat, with Kerri Russell, and Rufus Seawell. It had an interesting plot and premise and tonight I decided to give it a try. In the first 10 minutes of this show they had managed to find a way to include every Diversity Demographic possible, including what appeared to be a non-binary character. Part of the plot concerns the President appointing a career Foreign Service official as the Ambassador to England, and she is female. As most know that plum job usually goes to a high political donor. In this...

In Italy, China is no longer thought of as the origin of COVID-19, but as a friend in a time of dire need.Medics and paramedics from China salute as the board a Red Cross vehicle upon arrival at the Malpensa airport of Milan, March 18, 2020. Italy has been an alluring geopolitical prize throughout the ages because of its strategic location in the middle of the Mediterranean, its wealth, and the useful skills of its people. Now it’s the turn of today’s rising power, China, to seek to extend its influence there. Last year, Italy signed a Memorandum of Understanding...

It's past time the United States did some soul-searching and accept responsibility for exacerbating an unwinnable war in Afghanistan. This will require a rethink of Washington's current handling of Afghanistan and indeed its entire view of the region. Steve Coll recently made a cogent argument in the New York Times that the U.S. should seriously engage with China and other regional powers. However, this is impossible so long as Washington remains convinced that Pakistan alone is the primary impediment to peace rather than its own mistakes... Both Islamabad and Washington compete to wear the cloak of victimhood. Pakistan remains in...