Free Republic

...and refuse to be released until the US Congress rejects the Iran nuclear deal.

Senator Rand Paul is promising to file a resolution of disapproval to block an arms deal with Saudi Arabia as soon as the administration formally notifies congress, Senate sources tell Big League Politics. On Friday, it was reported that Trump is planning to announce the arms deal during his trip to the nation over the weekend. The terms have not been officially announced, and value ranges from being reported as $100 billion to as much as $300 billion. The action by the Kentucky senator will force a congressional vote on the executive action. He will reportedly be citing the war...

DAMASCUS, Syria — First of two parts A Syrian trading company with close ties to the ruling regime smuggled weapons and military hardware to Saddam Hussein between 2000 and 2003, helping Syria become the main channel for illicit arms transfers to Iraq despite a stringent U.N. embargo, documents recovered in Iraq show. The private company, called SES International Corp., is headed by a cousin of Syria's autocratic leader, Bashar Assad, and is controlled by other members of the president's Baath Party and Alawite clan. Syria's government assisted SES in importing at least one shipment destined for Iraq's military, the Iraqi...

Lithuania on Monday signed its biggest ever arms deal for German-made armored vehicles, as it seeks to allay concerns of a military resurgence of Russia on its doorstep. In its biggest-ever arms purchase, the Baltic NATO member will buy 88 Boxer armored fighting vehicles for €386 million. Produced by the German-Dutch ARTEC consortium, the vehicles are fitted with Israeli-made turrets. […] The largest of the three Baltic states that broke free from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991, Lithuania has increased its defense budget by about a third each year since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine....

The Obama administration has the power to sanction key Russian arms sales to Iran, but has so far abstained from exercising this right under U.S. law, prompting some in Congress to question whether the administration is “acquiescing” to the arms sales in order to appease Iran, according to conversations with sources and recent congressional correspondence to the White House exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. President Barack Obama has the authority under U.S. law to designate as illegal Russia’s contested sale to Iran of the S-300 missile system, an advanced long-range weapon that would boost the Islamic Republic’s regional...

Under the terms of the Iranian nuclear sellout, the United Nations Security Council must approve the sale of certain conventional weapons to Iran. Since the United States has a veto in the Security Council, this means that the United States can veto such sales. It was recently announced that Iran intends to purchase the latest Sukhoi-30 warplanes from Russia. Those warplanes would need to be approved by the Security Council under the terms of the nuclear sellout. But under questioning before the House Foreign Affairs Committee by Representative Brad Sherman (D-Ca) on Thursday, Secretary of State Kerry refused to...

<p>Hillary Clinton walks from her C-17 military transport upon her arrival in Tripoli Libya, Oct. 18, 2011.</p> <p>NEW YORK – Defense filings in the Department of Justice prosecution of arms dealer Marc Turi allege the Obama administration is willing to prosecute an innocent man to cover up the role former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton played shipping weapons to Libya illegally in 2011.</p>

In an announcement that seems certain to further inflame opinions about a proposed deal to limit Iran’s nuclear capacity, it was revealed today that Russia’s state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec has offered to sell advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Iran. Related Stories Kerry Says Iran Extension Worth It Only If Deal Almost Done Bloomberg Iran leader says no nuclear deal better than bad one AFP World powers 'united', Kerry says ahead of new Iran nuclear talks AFP 'Significant gaps' remain in Iran nuclear talks: Kerry AFP

Ambassador David Hale said the equipment includes more than 70 M198 howitzers and over 26 million rounds of ammunition and artillery "of all shapes and sizes, including heavy artillery." Islamic extremists have launched several attacks on Lebanese troops over the past months in areas near the Syrian border, killing and wounding scores of troops. The most serious attack occurred in August, when members of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State group captured two dozen Lebanese soldiers. They have killed four of them and still hold the rest. Lebanese and American officials attended a handover ceremony Sunday at Beirut's...

“We fully share Egypt’s active stance in combating international terrorism, especially in conditions of an unprecedented growth of a terrorist threat in the Middle East,” Putin said. Egypt signed a $2 billion arms deal with Russia, with financial support from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a senior official told Al-Masry al-Youm in February.

Hamas militants are attempting to negotiate a new arms deal with North Korea for missiles and communications equipment that will allow them to maintain their offensive against Israel, according to Western security sources. Security officials say the deal between Hamas and North Korea is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and is being handled by a Lebanese-based trading company with close ties to the militant Palestinian organisation based in east Beirut. Hamas officials are believed to have already made an initial cash down payment to secure the deal, and are now hoping that North Korea will soon begin shipping extra...

Meanwhile, no one even knows where the president was the night a U.S. ambassador was murdered, or why the U.S. military sent no help. No one knows who inserted into official talking points a false story that an anti-Islam video led to the massacre. And no one seems to care — least of all the White House. But be warned, White House: Bob Woodward, who knows a thing or two about scandals and cover-ups, isn’t falling for the double head fake. “If you read through all these emails,” the Watergate reporter said, “you see that everyone in the government is...

The lawmaker leading the charge to investigate the Benghazi terror attack on Friday subpoenaed the co-author of a report that slammed the State Department but didn´t interview Hillary Clinton. House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) formally demanded that retired ambassador Thomas Pickering submit to being deposed by the committee next Thursday. The subpoena comes in the wake of a series of acrimonious public exchanges this week between the two men. Issa didn´t issue a subpoena to former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen, who co-authored the Benghazi report with Pickering.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Russia on Tuesday to work with the United States to "update" a decades-old agreement on dismantling nuclear and chemicals weapons that is set to expire in mid-2013. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in October that Moscow intended to end the 1992 agreement, the latest sign that the much-vaunted "reset" in relations between the Cold War-era foes may be running out of steam. Obama, attending a conference of nuclear anti-proliferation experts at the National War College in Washington, took note of Moscow's complaints and expressed optimism the pact would be extended. "Russia has...

Retired British businessman Christopher Tappin, extradited to the US accused of selling surface-to-air missile parts to Iran, pleaded guilty yesterday in court in Texas. Tappin, 65, of Orpington, Kent, changed his plea at a hearing in El Paso, as part of a deal with US prosecutors which should allow him to return to the UK. …

A 52-year-old Highland Park father is one of two U.S. citizens charged with agreeing to sell missiles and other weapons to the Taliban for their use against American troops in Afghanistan, according to a complaint unsealed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week. Oded Orbach, born in Israel, was among seven men arrested in an international sting operation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Paid informants posing as Taliban representatives conspired with the men to ship narcotics through West Africa — with a portion intended for the United States — and to use the proceeds to buy weapons for protecting Taliban-owned...

Barring unlikely 11th-hour objections, a 60-billion-dollar US arms sale to Saudi Arabia was set Friday to go into effect despite initial worries from US lawmakers over its impact on Israeli security. The Pentagon unveiled plans for the sale on October 20, and the US Congress had 30 days to move to block or change the terms of the transaction, which partly aims to help Saudi Arabia counter Iran's regional influence. "Thirty days are up at the end of today, after which the administration may proceed. There is no sign that Congress will block the sale," said a Senate Foreign Relations...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – In the largest US arms deal ever, the administration of US President Barack Obama is ready to notify Congress of plans to offer advanced aircraft to Saudi Arabia worth up to 60 billion dollars, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The newspaper said the administration was also in talks with the kingdom about potential naval and missile-defense upgrades that could be worth tens of billions of dollars more. [....] In its notification to Congress, expected to be submitted this week or next, the administration will authorize the Saudis to buy as many as 84 new F-15 fighters,...

China lashed out with a raft of reprisals Saturday after Washington announced a 6.4-billion-dollar arms package for Taiwan, escalating the biggest Sino-US crisis yet under President Barack Obama. Berating the year-old Obama administration for "crude interference" in its affairs, China said it was suspending military and security contacts with the United States, and imposing sanctions on US firms involved in the Taiwan deal. The furious riposte came a day after the Pentagon approved the sale of Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, mine-hunting ships and communications equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet of fighter jets among other weaponry. Chinese defence ministry spokesman...

US defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin is being awarded an 841.9 million dollar contract to produce 24 F-16 aircraft for Morocco, which ordered the jets in 2008, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Lockheed also won contracts to supply the Pentagon with "advanced counter measure system electronic warfare system, along with associated support equipment, alternate mission equipment and support elements," the Pentagon said in a statement. The total value of the contract between the United States and Morocco is estimated at around 2.4 billion dollars, not all of which will be handled by Lockheed. Other firms that manufacture or supply parts and equipment...