Free Republic

The roughly 900 U.S. troops who are currently deployed to Syria are mostly invisible to Congress, the media, and the American public. Syria is just the latest forgotten battlefield in the Global War on Terrorism. The troops who went there have succeeded in destroying the Islamic State group’s former caliphate, but ISIS fighters are waging the type of insurgency that the American military has a bad track record of defeating. For the time being, American forces are keeping a lid on the situation and protecting their Kurdish allies from Turkey, who considers them terrorists. But the mission is stuck in...

HERZLIYA, Israel, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Israel's defence minister accused Iran on Sunday of providing foreign militias with drone training at an airbase near the city of Isfahan, a month after Tehran came under global scrutiny over a suspected drone attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off Oman. In what his office described as a new disclosure, Defence Minister Benny Gantz said Iran was using Kashan airbase north of Isfahan to train "terror operatives from Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon in flying Iranian-made UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)." Iran was also trying to "transfer know-how that would allow the manufacturing of UAVs...

The Taliban advanced toward Kabul more quickly than expected. By Sunday, the group has taken control of the presidential palace in Kabul. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Sunday that the Taliban had won, as the militants entered Kabul. Ghani left as the insurgents closed in on the capital, before ultimately entering the city and taking over the presidential palace, sealing a nationwide military victory in just 10 days. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration paved the way for the Taliban’s progress, which already displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Yet it was former President Barack Obama, back in 2011, that originally...

Former Iranian armed forces chief Hassan Firouzabadi, who once accused Western nations of spying on the country using lizards, has died of coronavirus aged 70, local media reported on Friday. Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami praised Firouzabadi's "continuous efforts" to defend "the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran", in a statement published on the Guards' Sepahnews website. A trained doctor, Firouzabadi joined the Basij Islamic volunteer militia during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88. Serving in administrative roles, he swiftly rose up its ranks before being named head of the armed forces in September 1989 by Iran's supreme leader...

The Biden administration’s abject incompetence and focus on anything except the well-being of Americans is leading numerous analysts to start talking about the decline and imminent fall of the United States. One among the chorus of voices in the Islamic world crowing about America’s supposed coming demise is Islam Al-Ghamri, an Egyptian political analyst and former senior official of Egypt’s pro-Sharia Building and Development Party. Al-Ghamri recently appeared on Turkey’s Channel 9, a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Arabic channel, to predict that the fall of the United States would happen fairly soon, possibly even during his lifetime. Thanks to Joe Biden...

Snip: Yellen also warned that not raising the debt limit would injure the economy in July. This issue was not addressed in the $5 trillion of spending pushed through last week. Newsweek reported in July: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned members of Congress on Friday that if the debt ceiling is not raised, it will risk “irreparable harm to the U.S. economy and the livelihoods of all Americans,” according to the Daily Caller. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Yellen expressed that she did not know how long the Treasury Department could keep the United States from defaulting...

Saudi and Russian officials Tuesday announced the signing of military cooperation pact between the two countries. Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman announced the agreement via Twitter, stating it would aid in “developing joint military cooperation between the two countries.” In a second tweet, he elaborated on his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Shoygu, in which the pair explored ways to “strengthen the military and defense cooperation between our two countries.” I signed an agreement today with the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Colonel General Alexander Fomin between the Kingdom and the Russian Federation aimed at developing joint military...

A huge explosion has been seen off the coast of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea, sending plumes of black smoke and flames into the sky. The blast, which erupted in an area full of oil and gas fields on Sunday, was caused by a mud volcano. None of the energy stations were damaged and no-one was hurt, it added. The blast took place about 10km (6 miles) from the Umid gas field, which is 75km (45 miles) off the coast of Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, state oil company Socar spokesperson Ibrahim Ahmadoc said. The fire continued to smoulder into Monday, but...

On Monday, June 21, Turkish President Recep Erdogan said that his recent meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels opens a "new era" in diplomatic relations between the two countries. According to Erdogan, there are no problems in relations between Turkey and the United States that cannot be solved, and there are much more areas for cooperation. Biden expressed the hope that countries can make real progress. At the same time, the parties did not agree on problematic issues, such as the acquisition by Turkey of Russian S-400 anti-missile systems, violation of...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a multistate public health investigation after at least 12 people were exposed to a dog, imported from Azerbaijan by a rescue group, that tested positive for a rabies variant. The dog was among a group of 33 canines and one cat that arrived at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on June 10. None of the other animals have tested positive, but all are considered to have been exposed... ...According to testing by the CDC, the dog was infected with rabies before it arrived in the United States. Other animals in the shipment...

723 new deaths reported by the Centers for Disease Control following COVID-19 vaccination... The CDC holding an emergency meeting of advisers next Thursday regarding 226 cases of heart inflammation... Vaxx makers Moderna and Pfizer expect to make coronavirus vaccines available to children 5 to 11 by September... Police in Calgary, Alberta Canada continuing to move against churches trying to operate in spite of coronavirus restrictions... The Sun newspaper in the UK reporting that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is delaying easing of coronavirus restrictions... Two 'fully vaccinated' guests on a Royal Carribean cruise ship testing positive for COVID-19... In Oregon...

President Biden and his allies raked in campaign cash from a top Russia lobbyist in 2020, just months before his administration’s decision to scrap sanctions on a controversial firm building a Russian oil pipeline to Germany. Richard Burt, a managing partner at McLarty Associates and a former U.S. ambassador to Germany during the Reagan administration, ponied up $4,000 for Joe Biden in October 2020 and dropped another $10,000 in the lefty-aligned political action committee Unite The County in March 2020, FEC records show. In addition to violating Biden’s own campaign pledge not to take lobbyist cash, the money from Burt...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office with 95.1% of the votes in an election that will extend his rule over a country ruined by war but which opponents and the West say was marked by fraud. Assad’s government says the election on Wednesday shows Syria is functioning normally despite the decade-old conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven 11 million people – about half the population – from their homes. Head of parliament Hammouda Sabbagh announced the results at a news conference on Thursday, saying voter turnout was around 78%, with more...

Construction of Europe’s Biggest Mosque (in France) Highlights Turkey’s Expansionist AimsThe project, undertaken by the radical Muslim organization Millî Gorüs in the French city of Strasbourg, headquarters of the Council of Europe, has generated concern up to the highest spheres of French politics. Political and Symbolic StakesPARIS — A national scandal erupted in France after the municipal council of Strasbourg (located in the northeastern region of Alsace) voted March 22 to grant 2.5-million euros in funding to the construction of a mosque led by Islamist movement Millî Görüş.By virtue of the 1918 Concordat, the Alsace-Moselle region is not subjected...

@ChadPergram McConnell: I am encouraged that the President has committed to refilling Israel's Iron Dome stockpiles. I hope his budget proposal, coming Friday, will make room for increased military assistance to Israel

An update on the gasoline situation in the eastern US tonight a very slow improvement with 43 percent of Virginia's gas stations dry... 63 percent of gas stations in Metro Atlanta were dry this afternoon... 4,057 deaths following vaccination now reported in the US through May 7th with 17,190 serious injuries... 28 blood clot cases stemming from the AstraZeneca vaccine... Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga extending coronavirus restrictions to additional parts of Japan... The general heading logistics for vaccine distribution in Canada is out tonight... The Conflict In Israel-Rockets and Riots Continue Friday... Rocket fire continued from Gaza into Israel...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday told Russian President Vladimir Putin the international community should “give Israel a strong and deterrent lesson” as punishment for responding so strongly to deadly Palestinian terror rocket attacks. AP reports the Turkish Presidential Communications Directorate said the two leaders talked by phone about the escalating conflict with Erdogan calling for an international strike back against Israel. The statement said Erdogan stressed the need for “the international community to give Israel a strong and deterrent lesson” and pressed for the United Nations Security Council to rapidly intervene with “determined and clear messages” to Israel....

A YouTube Live Stream of the Gaza skyline. Not much too see at the moment of this post, but it may become interesting in the hours to come considering the following:Netanyahu and IDF are set to speak at 5:00 pm Jerusalem Time. It will probably be carried Live on i24NewsAlso reported on Israeli news, Hamas has stated it will attack with more rockets at 6:00 pm.As reported by a fellow Freeper, Israelis are moving tanks and APCs into position. This can be confirmed in a video on Israeli News Live.

A statement issued by the Turkish Ministry of Defense regarding the ownership of the Incirlik base and all the weapons systems at its disposal! The announcement came as a blow because US Pentagon officials themselves did not expect any Turkish moves or statements involving the Incirlik base. And yet the announcement of the Turkish Ministry of Defense does not simply involve the Incirlik base but refers to the Turkey-US Defense Treaty that was first revealed by WarNews247 a few days ago. The Turkish media clearly state that this is Ankara’s response to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Iran is in its worst economic situation in 42 years, and the threat of a widespread uprising that may lead to the regime’s overthrow has become more serious than ever. When Khomeini was alive, no authority dared to dispute his orders and decisions, and everyone had to obey him. In today’s Iran, Khamenei still has the final say on all internal and international matters. But unlike Khomeini, he has not been able to keep all political factions in Iran at bay. Although Khamenei has not wasted a moment in suppressing its opponents, even those very close to him and his...