Free Republic

Donald Trump’s surge in the polls has followed the classic pattern of a media-driven surge. Now it will follow the classic pattern of a party-backed collapse. Mr. Trump’s candidacy probably reached an inflection point on Saturday after he essentially criticized John McCain for being captured during the Vietnam War. Republican campaigns and elites quickly moved to condemn his comments — a shift that will probably mark the moment when Trump’s candidacy went from boom to bust. His support will erode as the tone of coverage shifts from publicizing his anti-establishment and anti-immigration views, which have some resonance in the party,...

For John Kerry, vindication came at midnight. As last Monday became Tuesday in Vienna, the U.S. secretary of state picked up the telephone in his first-floor room at the ornate, 19th-century Palais Coburg and dialed the White House. We have a deal, Kerry told President Barack Obama. After nearly 18 days of intense, often fractious and highly technical negotiations in the Austrian capital, he reported an agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. All that remained was cleaning up the written details, Kerry said, a task that would be completed in the wee hours of Tuesday...

Ames, Iowa - Donald Trump confirmed two things during a stop in this central Iowa town Saturday: He has no class and he may well run as an independent when he does not win the Republican nomination. There had been considerable public evidence of both long before his appearance here today at the Family Leader Summit but Trump, who is leading several national polls of the Republican primary, erased any doubt with comments he made about Senator John McCain and a prospective independent bid. Trump was answering questions from Republican pollster Frank Luntz on stage when he declared that John...

In the fall of 1967, when a 14-year-old Texan named John Ellis Bush arrived on the bucolic campus of Phillips Academy in Andover, great expectations preceded him. -snip- A few weeks after graduation, on July 16, 1971, Bush filled out an index card on which he registered for the draft. (A copy of the card was obtained by the Globe under the Freedom of Information Act.) On the line requesting a contact, he listed his father, who continued to serve as Nixon’s United Nations ambassador: “Amb. George H. W. Bush, Waldorf Towers . . . New York City.” Bush received...

Despite Donald Trump’s claim this week that he avoided serving in the Vietnam War solely due to a high draft number, Selective Service records show that the purported presidential aspirant actually received a series of student deferments while in college and then topped those off with a medical deferment after graduation that helped spare him from fighting for his country, The Smoking Gun has learned. During a TV interview Tuesday morning, Trump--who spent his high school years enrolled at the New York Military Academy--said, “I actually got lucky because I had a very high draft number. I’ll never forget, that...

(CNSNews.com) – In the closing minutes of the Iran nuclear negotiations in Vienna this week, Secretary of State John Kerry made a comment about having gone to war as a young man and not wanting to do so again, leaving everyone in the room, including the Iranians, with “tears in their eyes.” Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, the lead U.S. negotiator in the talks, recounted the moment while addressing the annual Generation Prague Conference at the State Department on Wednesday. Sherman said that in the final plenary session, with the media out of the room, each of...

C-Span has just aired a replay of the Wednesday ceremony held by the US Congress to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War. Congressional leaders and current members, the Secretary of Defense, and past members of Congress who had served in Vietnam spoke about the war, its significance in the history of the country, and the sacrifice of those who served as well as the debt of gratitude the country owes them to this day. When Boehner finally got around to presenting at the end of the program he announced that a lapel pin had bee...

Vietnam and Russia are in the final stages of negotiation for the sale of two Gepard-3.9 class (Project 11661) light stealth frigates. The Vietnam People's Navy is also considering the procurement of 4 more Tarantul-class (Project 1241.8). Vietnames People's Navy Gepard 3.9 class (Project 1166.1E) Frigate (picture: Zelenodolsk) Vietnam already has two Russian-made Gepard 3.9 class light frigates, with two more currently undergoing final systems outfitting. The extra procurement of two more frigates would bring the total inventory to 6 vessels of this class in the Vietnam People's Navy fleet. According to its builder, Zelenodolsk shipyard, the Vietnamese Gepard 3.9...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry does not agree with the Marine Corps general nominated to be America's next top uniformed commander that Russia poses an existential threat to the United States, a spokesman said. U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Kerry did not share the assessment, even though Russia's actions in Ukraine posed regional security challenges. "The secretary doesn't agree with the assessment that Russia is an existential threat to the United States, nor China, quite frankly," Toner told a regular news briefing. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Thursday that the administration was mindful of Russia's...

WASHINGTON --President Obama said Tuesday that despite differences between the United States and Vietnam over "political philosophy," the two countries are deepening cooperation on health, climate and other issues. Obama spoke following an Oval Office meeting with Nguyen Phu Trong, the head of Vietnam's Communist Party. Trong is the de facto leader of Vietnam despite holding no official government post.

Republican presidential aspirant Bobby Jindal has sought steps by the United States to take the mantel of global leadership saying even non-aligned nations like India and Vietnam are desperate and hungry for American leadership. Trashing the foreign policy of the Obama Administration, Jindal, told the Fox News, “We would work not only with our allies, like Japan and South Korea and Taiwan. We'd work with non-aligned countries like India and Vietnam that are desperate and hungry for American leadership." Jindal, who last month announced his bid for the 2016 presidential elections, was responding to questions on addressing the challenges being...

The powerful head of Vietnam’s Communist Party will travel to the United States for the first time next week, and said he expects President Barack Obama will visit Vietnam later this year. Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said he hopes to build trust and create more opportunities to improve relations. Trong’s visit comes as the former battlefield foes mark the 20th anniversary of normalized diplomatic ties. The White House said Trong would arrive on July 7, and the leaders would discuss trade, human rights and defense cooperation. It did not confirm a visit by Obama to Vietnam, which would...

When Sergeant Major Michael Jarnevic finally retires from the Army on July 8, it will be the end of a career that began in 1973 when he enlisted as a Marine and was deployed to Vietnam. He is now nearing his 60th birthday and has spent three quarters of his life fighting for his country. In fact, Sgt Major Jarnevic appears to be the last Vietnam veteran on active duty in the whole of the Army. During his 42 years of service he has served in Honduras during the Contra wars in the 80s and Kuwait in the 90s during...

China has vowed to never back down from its aggressive territorial expansion into the South China Sea because it would shame their ancestors. What their ancestors would say about angering all their neighbors by building fake islands in the middle of the ocean is still unknown. China is locked in territorial conflicts with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia over what amounts to $5 trillion dollars a year in shipping lanes. And sharing does not seem to be an option.

WASHINGTON, DC – The leaders of the United States Congress will hold a ceremony next month to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, July 8 at 3:00 pm in Emancipation Hall of the United States Capitol Visitor Center. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will take part in the event. More than 58,000 Americans were killed in action during the Vietnam War, and more than 153,000 were wounded. All told, 658 U.S. prisoners...

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Penn.) expressed surprise that the U.S. State Department describes Vietnam as an “authoritarian state” ruled by the Communist Party when asked by CNSNews.com on Thursday whether the United States should form a free-trade zone with a Communist regime under the umbrella of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that the Obama administration is now negotiating with Vietnam and 10 other countries. […] Rep. Kelly responded: “Are you saying the State Department’s saying this?” CNSNews.com answered: “The State Department says that Vietnam is an authoritarian state under Communist rule.” Kelly then said: “So this is part of an executive agency,...

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told CNSNews.com on Thursday the United States should “definitely form a trade agreement” with Vietnam, which is an authoritarian state governed by a communist regime. […] On Thursday on Capitol Hill, CNSNews.com asked Foreign Relations Chairman Corker: “The State Department says that Vietnam is ‘an authoritarian state’ that is ruled by the Communist Party. But it’s part of President Obama’s proposed trade partnership. Should America form a free trade zone with a communist regime?” Corker responded: “We definitely should form a trade agreement with Vietnam. I don’t know about all the other adjectives...

John KerryVerified account ‏@JohnKerry Feeling good a week after surgery. Good chats today w/@AmbassadorRice & @StateDept senior team. The work continues!

A rare and elusive rabbit has been found, held and photographed by a researcher from the University of East Anglia (UEA). The Annamite Striped rabbit, found in the forests of Laos and Vietnam, was first documented by rabbit expert Dr Diana Bell and colleagues from UEA’s School of Biological Sciences in the journal Nature in 1999. It has rarely been seen since. Researcher Sarah Woodfin, who is studying for a Masters in Applied Ecology and Conservation at UEA, set out on a three-month expedition to track the recently-discovered rabbit and study its habitat. But she didn’t expect to see one...

SINGAPORE: Vietnam is in talks with European and US contractors to buy fighter jets, maritime patrol planes and unarmed drones, sources said, as it looks to beef up its aerial defences in the face of China's growing assertiveness in disputed waters. The battle-hardened country has already taken possession of three Russian-built Kilo-attack submarines and has three more on order as part of a $2.6 billion deal agreed in 2009. Upgrading its air force would give Vietnam one of the most potent militaries in Southeast Asia. The previously unreported aircraft discussions have involved Swedish defence contractor Saab , European consortium Eurofighter,...