Free Republic

Half a century ago, George Orwell, writing on literary censorship, wrote that “unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban.” That dynamic now broadly extends to an opaque network of government agencies and self-proclaimed anti-misinformation groups that have repressed online speech. There’s no official ban on discussing the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines or criticizing American involvement in the Ukraine-Russia war, but editors and journalists have realized that writing on such topics can come at a cost. News publishers have been demonetized and shadow-banned for reporting dissenting views and the bureaucratic means...

Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine is accelerating a shift towards a bipolar "new world order" in which a bloc led by the U.S. faces off with one led by China, a former NATO secretary-general has warned.Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, urged democracies worldwide to "turn the tide" against powerful autocratic nations including Russia, as he warned that France and Germany appear to many as "weak links." "I think we are approaching a new world order, where we see two camps: an autocratic camp led by China, and a democratic camp led by the U.S.," Rasmussen—who is sanctioned...

In a video message posted to Facebook on Thursday evening, Anders Fogh Rasmussen appealed to the US to be the world’s “policeman” and to stop “leading from behind”. […] “Obama’s decision to draw the infamous red line to Assad’s use of chemical weapons in Syria and then not follow it up with action was, in my opinion, a disaster,” Rasmussen said in a video message posted to Facebook. …

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Sunday voiced concern about violence in Syria, but said the alliance has "no intention" of taking military action against the regime. "We strongly condemn the behavior of the Syrian security forces and their crackdowns on the Syrian population and we urge the Syrian leadership to accommodate the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people," he told a news conference during an alliance summit in Chicago. "But again NATO has no intention to intervene in Syria." NATO governments have come under criticism for backing an air war in Libya but ruling out military intervention in Syria,...

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Turkey blocked Europe's candidate to head NATO, souring a summit marking the military alliance's 60th anniversary and opening a new rift between Ankara and its Western European allies. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen had emerged as the front-runner to replace the outgoing NATO secretary-general but Turkey objected on Friday, criticising his handling of a row over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that offended Muslims. U.S. President Barack Obama, making his first overseas tour since taking office in January, had signalled to Europe that he would support Rasmussen. NATO officials put a brave face on the...

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO urged Russia on Friday to work with it on missile defense and proposed looking at ways eventually to link U.S., NATO and Russian anti-missile systems. One day after Washington scrapped a missile defense plan for Europe which Russia opposed, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia and the Western defense alliance should conduct a joint review of the security challenges they face. "I would like Russia and NATO to agree to carry out a joint review of the new 21st century security challenges, to serve as a firm basis for our future cooperation," Rasmussen said in...

Anders Fogh Rasmussen claimed that a new defensive 'shield' could be set up in cooperation with Russia Anders Fogh Rasmussen told The Sunday Telegraph he has full American backing for a proposed €200 million (£165 million) defensive "shield", which he hopes will be agreed in November at a summit of members in Lisbon. He was speaking after weapons inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned last week that Iran had passed a crucial nuclear threshold which took it nearer to being able to arm ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. "Based on their public statements we know that Iran...

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday urged the alliance to contribute more experts to train Afghan police and soldiers. The trainers were a "key element" in allowing the Afghans to take charge of their own affairs as soon as possible, Mr. Rasmussen said in a speech he gave in Madrid. NATO had the right strategy and resources in Afghanistan, but it needed more people to train a total of 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police, he stressed. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) might be able to start transferring responsibilities to the Afghans in 2011, Mr. Rasmussen said. NATO...

There will be no apologies for the Mohammed cartoons says NATO's next Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Turkey. Turkey should not expect any apologies when NATO's next Secretary-General and former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen makes a speech in Istanbul today. “Listen. In Denmark we do not apologise for having freedom of speech,” Fogh Rasmussen is quoted by Ritzau as saying. “You all know that a Danish Prime Minister cannot apologise on behalf of a newspaper,” he continues. The newly-appointed upcoming secretary-general for NATO is in Turkey to speak at a United Nations conference on intercultural dialogue and understanding....

Why Denmark Decided to Participate in the War Against Saddam Hussein by Frank Laybourn, Foreign and Security Policy Adviser to the Liberal Party of Denmark 24 September 2003 Americans should not forget that many nations of Europe supported the war in Iraq, including Denmark under the leadership of Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Limiting the Scope of TerrorismInternational terrorism is a threat to our peace and security, and can strike any country and any population group -- including Denmark and the Danes. While terrorism is not new, today's terrorist threat is different from that of the past. The terrorist attacks...

PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned fellow EU countries that joint defence is still realistic, but urged continued military cooperation with the US The Danish government will support a series of small steps to reinforce the EU's joint foreign and security policy this autumn, when member nations begin the dirty work of negotiating a new constitutional treaty for the European partnership. Denmark will neither contribute to majority-rule resolutions on defence, nor move to withdraw the military defence of Europe from the NATO alliance with the US, Rasmussen said Monday at an EU conference at Copenhagen's Industriens Hus. The prime minister warned...