Free Republic

More than 400 members of an international aid convoy to Gaza declared a hunger strike on Sunday to protest Egypt's refusal to allow them entry into the Hamas-ruled territory via the Red Sea. Amongst the hunger strikers is an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who came from the U.S. to participate in the planned Gaza Freedom March to commemorate last year's Gaza war.

Maj. John Walton from Pine Bush, N.Y., operations officer, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, talks with an Iraqi child during a joint humanitarian aid delivery in the village of Sudoor, Dec. 18. Photo by Spc Anderson Savoy, 145th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. DIYALA — Iraqi Army Soldiers took the lead in planning and conducting a combined humanitarian aid delivery to displaced persons living in the village of Sudoor, Diyala province, Dec. 18. The supplies were delivered by the 20th Brigade, 5th IA Division to Sunni Arabs who were removed from their homes...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Students aren't the only ones benefiting from the billions of new dollars Washington is spending on college aid for the poor. An Associated Press analysis shows surging proportions of both low-income students and the recently boosted government money that follows them are ending up at for-profit schools, from local career colleges to giant publicly traded chains such as the University of Phoenix, Kaplan and Devry.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered aid on Tuesday to boost ties with the Muslim world and urged Israel, the Palestinians and Arab countries to move beyond recrimination in the search for peace. "We are determined and persistent in the pursuit of that goal," she said in a speech at a development forum in Morocco attended by Arab ministers. Hoping to cast the United States as a helpful partner in development for Muslim communities, Clinton outlined a series of small steps to increase funding for civil society groups, youth empowerment and job promotion. "We are committed to building ladders...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2009 – The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad strongly condemned today's terrorist attacks in Pakistan, vowing continued U.S. support to help Pakistan combat violence. The embassy issued the condemnation of the attacks as President Barack Obama signed a law that provides $7.5 billion in nonmilitary aid to Pakistan over the next five years. The funds are part of a comprehensive plan that recognizes the importance of confronting the root causes of extremism as well as extremists themselves. The new law will provide $1.5 billion each year from 2010 to 2014 for schools, hospitals, roads, agricultural aid, roadwork and...

THE top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, is right to warn that efforts to rebuild that country depend on winning the “struggle to gain the support of the people.” And few issues do more to stoke the resentment of ordinary Afghans than the tens of billions of dollars of foreign aid from which they have seen little or no benefit. Peter Bergen is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation. Sameer Lalwani is a research fellow there.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARRIOR, Iraq, Oct. 8, 2009 – U.S. soldiers provided humanitarian aid to Iraqis in an area locals refer to as the “Lost City.” A week after completing a clearing operation led by Iraqi forces, soldiers of Bravo Battery, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, delivered essential supplies Oct. 3 to the small, impoverished neighborhood of Huzzeran, near Kirkuk. In the “Lost City,” jobs are few and far between. Drinkable water is not readily available, and the school lacks running water. “Things are bad here; people here don’t have work or anything really,” said Mohammed Sadek, a teacher...

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Thousands of people jammed into Cobo Hall and lined up around the building to seek out housing aid from the federal government. It quickly turned into a mess with reports of fights and nearly a stampede. People started lining up around midnight, but the real chaos broke out near the front entrance that leads to the ballroom. Thousands of people jammed into too tight of a space. There were reports of fights and people passing out in the crowd.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2009 – As the U.S. military continues to provide assistance to victims of storms and earthquakes in the Philippines and Indonesia, tsunami relief operations in American Samoa are tapering off, a Defense Department spokesman said here today. The humanitarian-relief operation in American Samoa “is essentially winding down,” Bryan Whitman told reporters. The U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean was hit by an earthquake-caused tsunami Sept. 29. Eleven C-17 cargo-plane missions provided nearly 700,000 pounds of supplies, blankets, electricity generators, vehicles and other help to American Samoans, Whitman said. A 14-member civil-support team from the Hawaii National Guard...

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 5, 2009 – The Hawaii National Guard’s medical mission in American Samoa wrapped up over the weekend, but 14 Guardsmen with the state’s civil support team will remain there to conduct joint hazardous-material and damage assessment operations, Guard officials reported today. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Lisa Bartolome of the Hawaii Air National Guard's 154th Medical Group shows an American Samoan boy how to make a paper airplane at the Congressional Christian Church of American Samoa in the Fafatiua village, Oct. 2, 2009. The Hawaii Air National Guard provided basic medical care to residents after a tsunami struck...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, Japan, Oct. 2, 2009 – The U.S. military is providing critically needed disaster-relief supplies to mitigate suffering and prevent further loss of life in the wake of Tropical Storm Ketsana, which struck the Philippines on Sept. 25. "Marines and sailors are working with the Philippine government to rapidly deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the areas the Philippine government deems most in need," said Marine Corps Lt. Col. Douglas Powell, spokesman for the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force. U.S. military personnel are delivering relief supplies to remote areas by way of air and ground, providing...

For 11 days in late August and early September 1995, U.S. and NATO air power defended Bosnian Muslims, who were being attacked by Bosnian Serbs, who were supported by Serbian Serbs. This was merely the overture to something much more ambitious — a grand concert of nation-building that began when the Dayton agreement reached in December of that year calmed the Balkan furies of revanchism and revenge, for a while... Political scientists Patrice C. McMahon and Jon Western note that Bosnia was “once the poster child for international reconstruction efforts” and was considered “proof that under the right conditions the...

British diplomats in Khartoum have demanded that the vehicles, computers, office equipment, medical stores and cash be returned so that it can be redistributed. But Sudanese officials have scoffed at this, saying that neither the British government nor the aid agencies have "the right to control these assets". In total, Oxfam and Medecins Sans Frontieres' French and Dutch operations have reported that they lost roughly £3.25 million of equipment. They had also been forced to pay another £5.6 million to Sudanese staff as lay-off payments because of the shutdown. Sudan has demanded the right to redistribute the materials to its...

(IsraelNN.com) The United States is funding a Palestinian Authority project to place non-Hebrew road signs throughout Judea and Samaria. The PA plans to implement it in exclusively Israeli-controlled areas as well. The project is part of American aid “towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” as a top official of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) in the PA, Howard Sumka, told the Al-Hayat Arabic daily.

I am outraged at our government withholding aid from a country that simply was following their constitution in removing a corrupt dictoator who was trying to subvert the rule of law. Freepers, how can we contribute to Honduras as individuals? Is there an organzation like "Americans for a Free Honduras" that we can support and send money to? I'm as tight with finances as anyone in this economy, but I'll give up some small luxuries to support this movement! SARAH PALIN, WE'RE NEEDING YOUR LEADERSHIP HERE, PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

7/28/2009 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Whether Joint Base Balad servicemembers have a wingman or a battle buddy, the ethos of helping a comrade in need arose during a basketball game here July 14. Headed by their coach, Army Sgt.1st Class Anthony Jones of the 699th Maintenance Company, a basketball team compiled of Airmen and Soldiers aided their fellow team member, Army 1st Sgt. Eric Colvin of the 699th Maintenance Co., after he showed heart-attack symptoms during a game at the west side gym. "I knew he had a heart attack years ago," Sergeant Jones said. "Actually, it...

Prime Minister Gillani Petitions Envoy for Drone Technology, Real-Time Data ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 22 -- Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani on Wednesday called on the United States to provide real-time intelligence, unmanned aircraft technology and other military assistance to help his country combat the Taliban without relying on attacks from U.S. drones. Gillani raised the issue with Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, who is on his fourth visit here since becoming the U.S. envoy to the region, according to a statement from the prime minister's office. Pakistan has asked before for the capability to carry out its own drone strikes,...

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2009 – U.S forces delivered new skills, and hope, to Iraqis in recent training and humanitarian operations, military officials reported. Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, and the 19/5 Military Transition Team recently provided training to their counterparts from 5th Iraqi Army Division’s 19th Brigade. "Our main goal with these events is to provide these medics with the knowledge they need to save lives," said Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Mackey, a transition team medic. "Beyond the actual training, we are coaching the [Iraqi] brigade's medical leadership in planning and implementing brigade-level training." Mackey said the soldiers...

What kinds of assistance should the U.S. provide other nations? A Weekly Poll.

In a gesture of charity, the Canadian government has released the Republic of Haiti of its entire $2.3-million debt to Canada, Jim Flaherty, the finance minister said Thursday. The move, a part of the Canadian Debt Initiative, brings the total debt of impoverished countries cancelled by Canada to $965-million, including debt owed by Latin American and Caribbean nations. "Today’s announcement frees up valuable financial resources that can be better spent on Haiti’s priorities, not its liabilities," Mr. Flaherty said. "At a time of unprecedented hardship in the global economy, Canada continues to eliminate financial burdens faced by Haiti and other...