Free Republic

Wars rarely unfold the way leaders expect. They begin with plans for quick victories, decisive strikes, and controlled escalation. But once the shooting starts, wars develop their own momentum. Political pressures rise, adversaries adapt, and the logic of escalation begins to shape events in ways few decision-makers initially anticipate. The early phase of the Iran war is already displaying several recurring strategic patterns that have appeared repeatedly across modern conflicts. These patterns do not predict every event. But they help explain why wars that begin with expectations of rapid success often expand into much larger and more dangerous confrontations.

"Israeli Special Ops veteran Aaron Cohen breaks down President Donald Trump’s ‘uncertain warfare’ strategy against Iran, detailing how U.S. pressure and the Navy’s Fifth Fleet presence are rattling Iranian leaders on ‘Kudlow.’"

This post and story should be immediately retracted by ABC News for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people. They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip. The email even states the tip was based on *unverified* intelligence. Yet ABC News left out this critical fact in their story! WHY? TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.

When Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, brutally murdering more than 1,200 Jews, and kidnapping over 250 Israelis, the images on TV and the internet of thousands rallying in support of the carnage made it hard to believe that Muslims and Jews could ever have a future of peaceful coexistence. Overnight, the 2020 Abraham Accords — which raised hopes for recognition and economic relations between the Jewish state and multiple Muslim countries — suddenly seemed like a distant memory. This bold, courageous project by the first Trump administration gave rise to the prospect of peaceful and prosperous relationships...

Army investigators are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of two masked men who stole the drones from Fort Campbell in November. The drones were stored in a secretive engineer battalion building on the base. All four drones were taken from the supply between November 21 and 24 from the Army installation situated on the border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee.

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MS NOW’s “The Briefing,” Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) said that “the core of that message” Host Jen Psaki asked, “[Y]ou took part in a video message to members of the military…kind of reminding them that they can refuse to obey illegal orders. As you’re watching what is happening now, how does that message apply to what you think the men and women who are being asked to serve — people from the best military in the world are being asked to serve for a war that this administration really hasn’t explained, how does it apply to...

When it comes to the queer bar in the wild, so many threats exist, and it's only gotten worse in the past few years. Higher upfront costs combined with lower foot traffic have caused a nationwide problem for the service and food industries, which is exacerbated in queer spaces, which deal with smaller demographics than the average bar or restaurant. And of course, there’s the fact that many people, especially younger people, just don’t go out or have a third space anymore.

Retired Special Agent Bassem Youssef, who ran the FBI’s Communications Analysis Unit from late 2004 until late 2014, witnessed agents hired under Jim Comey's watch, for political leanings and warned of potential for abuse of surveillance programs. Those warnings were ignored. The former FBI agent who ran the bureau’s warrantless spying program said this week that he personally witnessed the director and other senior officials recruiting agents based on political leanings, not qualifications, during Director James Comey’s tenure. Bassem Youssef, a retired special agent who ran the FBI’s Communications Analysis Unit from late 2004 until his retirement in late 2014,...

Kelly Clarkson called out 'lying' American Idol over a shock snub - over two decades after being the first winner of the reality singing competition. The 43-year-old star - who recently broke her silence on quitting her daytime talk series - got candid about the topic during Tuesday's episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. She had been joined by guests Daniel Radcliffe as well as the season four winner of The Traitors, Rob Rausch. When Clarkson asked Rausch about his prize of $220,800, the Love Island alum revealed to the Breakaway songstress that he is still awaiting the payment. 'You...

🚨 BREAKING: The red state of Florida is about to pass its OWN SAVE AMERICA ACT and send it to Gov. Ron DeSantis for signature The bill FORTIFIES citizenship verification for all voters and marks pen and paper as the default method of voting 🔥 FLORIDA does it right again! ☀️ CFO BLAISE INGOGLIA: "The state of Florida is on the verge of passing its own version of the SAVE Act, which is going to look for voter ID and also to verify that the people that are voting in our elections are indeed actual U.S. citizens." "Florida should have...

A man who died after cutting off his own penis on a downtown Los Angeles street has been identified. Ryan Sutherland, 31, died from “sharp force injuries” after police found him self-mutilating near the intersection of Figueroa Street and Pico Boulevard early Saturday morning, according to the LA County Medical Examiner. His death was ruled a suicide. Sutherland, who was discovered near the Los Angeles Convention Center, also slashed his own throat, stabbed himself and tried to cut off his own arm, law enforcement sources told TMZ.

DECORAH, Iowa (KTTC) – A Decorah woman is charged in Winneshiek County for allegedly lacing a family size pan of lasagna to cause a miscarriage to another pregnant woman. Amber Snow, 36, is charged with several felonies including delivering a controlled substance, intentionally terminate a human pregnancy, and administering a harmful substance. In January 2026, the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office was contacted regarding a pan of lasagna that had allegedly been laced with a controlled substance. Snow and a co-conspirator were identified to be behind the laced lasagna. Search warrants revealed communication between the defendants showed that the lasagna...

Bill and Hillary Clinton had to get hauled in to testify by the House Oversight Committee about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Bill denied knowing anything, but his hands shook throughout his deposition. While he was certainly competent, he couldn't remember a lot.(snip) But he didn't seem in great physical shape.(snip) However, when Bill and Hillary were out on the street in New York City on Tuesday, they were walking around after an event with what looked like the Secret Service and others in their coterie. There was even a woman there who looked a bit like Huma Abedin, but...

TEHRAN — Rumors of the Ayatollah regime's nefarious plot to launch an assault on the west coast of the United States hit a snag on Wednesday, as Iran canceled plans to attack California after seeing Gavin Newsom had already destroyed it. The Iranian government had issued threats that it was prepared to take revenge on the U.S. by launching attacks against California, but leaders were said to have reconsidered their plan after intelligence reports showed that the state had been completely decimated under Newsom's leadership. "You can't destroy something that's already destroyed," said a spokesman for the supreme leader. "We...

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has been injured but is feeling well, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper. More than 1,800 people have died and at least 12,500 have been injured in Iran, Lebanon, and Israel since the escalation of the Middle East conflict began, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. - Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is feeling fine after being wounded, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. - He noted that three or four individuals had vied for the post,...

The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is tired of hearing that his church is doomed. The denomination has lost about half of its baptized membership since the 1960s, declining to about 1.5 million adherents today, and still faces shrinking congregations and aging demographics. But the church is not ready to give up. “I believe that — as a final word and as a final story — is a lie from the pit of hell,” a feisty Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe told church leaders in the opening session of Episcopal Parish Network’s annual conference on Wednesday, March 4, in a...

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), battling a runoff challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), is touting support for his Senate campaign from pastors who are signatories of the Evangelical Immigration Table, a group linked to George and Alex Soros’s Open Society Foundations, and which has a record of backing amnesty for illegal aliens living in the United States. This week, Cornyn rolled out his campaign’s Faith Advisory Council, which comprises five pastors across Texas. Among those pastors are Max Lucado of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Dr. Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, and Dr. Gus...

Analilia Mejia, a congressional candidate in New Jersey’s 11th District, has a record of social media posts and public statements criticizing police and Israel, defending socialism, and comparing migrant detention centers to concentration camps. Mejia is seeking to represent New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. Kamala Harris won the district by less than ten points in the 2024 presidential election, and it is one of the most highly educated and wealthiest districts in New Jersey. Before launching her congressional bid, Mejia served as a staff member for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who has since endorsed her campaign. She has also been...

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., warned of what he characterized as an encroaching threat from Sharia law in the United States, which he said is incompatible with the U.S. Constitution, during a press briefing Tuesday in Florida. Asked to respond to a controversial X post from Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., who tweeted Monday, "Muslims don't belong in American society. Pluralism is a lie," Johnson suggested to reporters that while he might not necessarily agree with Ogles' tone, he appreciates the concern he expressed.

This morning I went to buy gas in Los Angeles. The price at the pump per gallon was as follows:Unleaded ... $5.3999Plus ... $5.4999Premium ... $5.5999Yet some people here are complaining about gas in their states being $3.50 or $3.60.