Free Republic

Merry Christmas morning to you soliders in Iraq and other places where it is already Christmas morning, from those of us here at Freerepublic! I wish all of you and your families to have safety and comfort and good food today. And for those of you who do not, you are in our prayers. A I know that we have some of you soldiers who come by and post to us, so if you see this thread, let us know how you are doing on Christmas Day! By the way freepers, a few of our fellow freeper soldiers have been...

Iraqi Security Forces, Marines capture 72 Suspected Militants Forward Operating Base, Kalsu, Iraq -- Iraqi police and national guardsmen beat back an insurgent attack on a police station just south of Baghdad on Dec. 12, fueling optimism that the fledgling security forces are growing more confident and capable even in the face of a concerted campaign of intimidation and terror. The early-morning assault on the Rasheed station north of Mahmudiyah by an estimated 10 militants using mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and small-arms posed the biggest test yet for the 507th ING Battalion, which has been operating alongside the 24th...

Let there be no mistake - I am a strong supporter of GW Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. I am an even bigger supporter of our soldiers in Iraq. After reading stories of our troops and even their commanders pleading for adequately armored vehicles, I did an Internet search for modern armored vehicles designed for heavy armor. Upgrading Humvees with armor isn't a good solution since they aren't designed for the weight and the upgrades are moving too slowly, so I specifically searched for available vehicles worldwide designed for heavy armor. After only a few links, I found this interesting site:...

AP articles published on the internet at numerous news outlets, including CBS, tell the story of 8 US soldiers named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit over enlistment extensions they considered unfair. The AP article as published on the CBS website, Soldiers Decry 'Unfair' Extensions, states:The lawsuit contends the policy is a breach of the service contract because it extends the length of service without a soldier's consent. It also alleges the contracts were misleading because they make no reference to the policy, said Staughton Lynd, an attorney for the soldiers. No mention is made of Staughton Lynd's significant past and...

Weapons in this guarded pile are a sample of those in uncovered Nov. 22 in one the largest weapons caches ever found in northern Iraq. Huge weapons cache unearthed in northern IraqNovember 22, 2004 MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, Nov. 22, 2004) – Multi-national forces from the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) unearthed Nov. 22 one of the largest weapons caches ever found in northern Iraq, about 45 kilometers south of Mosul in the village of Shafa’at. During their patrol, Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment discovered huge stockpiles of weapons and munitions,...

Fallujah Yielding 'Significant Finds,' General Says By John D. Banusiewicz American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2004 – As soldiers and Marines in the Iraqi city of Fallujah provide humanitarian aid to citizens while still fighting pockets of resistance, they continue to make "significant finds" of weapons, U.S. Central Command's second-in-command told reporters here Nov. 19. Air Force Lt. Gen. Lance L. Smith said at a Pentagon news conference that over the past 10 days a single unit had found 91 weapons caches and 431 improvised explosive devices in one sector of Fallujah. "In contrast to that, the...

John Kerry Tax Plan Violates 2nd Presidential Debate PromiseFactcheck.org says plan "would hit some people making less than $200,000"Note:  Freepers Always Right, woodb01, and others first identified this in previous posts (see end of this post for threads).  I am posting additional supporting information to front page news, since the information is factual and well sourced and I believe that the story is certainly worthy of mainstream media attention.  Enlightiator.------Excerpt from 2nd Presidential Bush-Kerry Debate http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004c.html:GIBSON: Senator Kerry, the next question will be for you, and it comes from James Varner, who I believe is in this section. Mr. Varner? You need a microphone. VARNER: Thank...

Kerry is winning the online polls on the debate by such a huge margin, as with the last debate, that its quite obvious that poll spamming by www.DemocratsUnderground.com isn't the cause. In the past, Freerepublic provided online poll links, DU provided online poll links, and it was usually a spirited but decent contest. Tonights online polls, as with the last debate, indicate that there are certainly far more sophisticated techniques being used to falsely inflate the Kerry vote than DU's normal multiple voting techniques. I have watched CNN and MSNBC go dramatically into a huge (and unbelievable) lead in only...

Sept. 30, 2004 - Presidential Debate - Lehrer's Questions Based on transcript at: http://www.katu.com/printstory.asp?ID=71504 ------- LEHRER: Good evening, Mr. President, Senator Kerry. As determined by a coin toss, the first question goes to you, Senator Kerry. You have two minutes. Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States? LEHRER: New question, Mr. President, two minutes. Do you believe the election of Senator Kerry on November the 2nd would increase the chances of the U.S. being hit by another 9/11-type terrorist attack? [Loaded question. Note how different...

Last night after doing some research, I sent an email to Beverly Cocco concerning the CBS interview on her concerns about the draft: Beverly, I read the article about you posted on the CBS news website "The Issues: Reviving The Draft," after having seen a link to it on a conservative website, FreeRepublic.com. I did a search, and found that you are involved with a group called Parents Against the Draft and People against the draft. http://www.nodraft.info/ The website of People Against the Draft appears to be a non-partisan effort, and I fully support your right to be an advocate...

Excerpt from GW Bush Speech today at the Charlotte Convention Center: One of the interesting things about education is that as you increase your skill level, you increase your productivity. It means you're a more productive worker. And when you become more productive, you make more money. One of the interesting things about a changing economy is that our workers are more productive than ever before. That means instead of using a hoe, you use a backhoe. Or instead of using, you know, a regular old standard typewriter, you use a computer. In other words, that's an example of becoming...

D.C. Dispatch | February 19, 2003  Social Studies   America Can Beat Iraq. But Can It Vanquish France? There's nothing new about France's self-defeating line. What is new is that the administration isn't buying it by Jonathan Rauch  "Let's wait for the report of the inspectors," [French] Ambassador [Jean-David] Levitte said, referring to the report next Friday [February 14]. He said that if they said they were at a "dead end," a decision on using force would be discussed. -The New York Times, February 8, 2003 Discussed? Continuing Iraqi defiance will lead, at long last, to discussions of force? Casting...

FreeRepublic in the News Sunday, Feb. 16, 2003   Moreover.com Search results for... FreeRepublic: Rallies push for both peace and warNews 14   Feb 16 2003 11:14AM GMT  40 counter call for peace, support BushLansing State Journal   Feb 16 2003 11:04AM GMT  Smaller Group of New Yorkers Hold Counter, Pro-War RallyVOA   Feb 16 2003 0:25AM GMT  Group rallies to back BushLansing State Journal   Feb 15 2003 11:05AM GMT  Anti-war, pro-war protesters separated by a blockGainesville Sun   Feb 14 2003 1:06PM GMT    Google News Search results for-.... FreeRepublic: Rallies push for both peace and warNews 14...

I would like to hear freeper recommendations on military "war story" books. What are your favorites? I have read and highly recommend:1. "The Last Battle, The Mayaguez Incident and the End of the Vietnam War", Ralph Wetterhahn. The best read ever on the rescue of the crew of the ship 'Mayaguez' from the Khmer Rouge shortly after the Vietnam War proper ended. An absolutely fascinating story, I could hardly put it down (even stopped reading Blackhawk Down to read this). Politics, incredible combat, honor and sacrifice, huge governmental and IMHO military leadership blunders. And astoundingly, the story and shock of...

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-mailbox-bombs0506may05.story Police Find Another Mail Bomb in Neb. By AMY LORENTZEN Associated Press Writer May 5, 2002, 10:21 PM EDT OMAHA, Neb. -- Another explosive device was found Sunday in a mailbox in Nebraska, police said. Authorities had not determined whether the device was similar to 14 pipe bombs found in three states, including Nebraska, in the past three days. The device did not explode, police said. It was found in a mailbox Sunday evening at a home in Albion. The Nebraska State Patrol was investigating. Six people were injured by explosions in Illinois and Iowa on Friday. Six pipe...

U.S. Forces search, destroy al Qaida caves By Richard Tomkins From the International Desk Published 4/6/2002 1:42 PM SAHIDI LGAD, Afghanistan, April 6 (UPI) -- U.S. military forces in Afghanistan completed an operation Saturday, destroying scores of al Qaida and Taliban caves and caches of arms and ammunition close to the Pakistan border that was once a training area for both groups. The operation -- codenamed "Mountain Lion" -- involved three companies of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the first elements of which inserted into the mountain range last Monday and set up blocking positions just 1,000 meters...

NEW YORK- World Trade Center victim Salman Hamdani - initially labeled a possible terrorist after Sept. 11 - was remembered at his long-delayed funeral as a hero lost in the twin towers' collapse while trying to rescue others. The 23-year-old Muslim, his remains in a flag-draped coffin at a Manhattan mosque, was hailed at Friday's service for a selfless and fatal choice made on his way to work: heading to ground zero and aiding his fellow Americans."We don't know how many people he helped, how many lives he saved," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at the Islamic Cultural Center of...

(The following story is a pool report filed by a journalist traveling with U.S. forces.) SIRKANKEL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - One of the helicopter-borne U.S. servicemen killed in battles in eastern Afghanistan in recent days fell into the hands of al Qaeda fighters, U.S. officers said on Tuesday. The officers said the Navy SEAL, Neil Roberts, 32, was left behind when his Chinook helicopter made a rushed take-off after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. "We saw him on the Predator being dragged off by three al Qaeda men," said Maj. Gen. Frank Hagenbeck, referring to an unmanned reconnaissance plane mounted ...

MADISON, Wis. -- A federal judge Tuesday ordered the state's Department of Workforce Development to stop funding a faith-based Milwaukee program that helps troubled fathers with drug treatment, job training and placement. The order from U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which opposed money going to the Milwaukee program Faith Works. The program receives grants from the DWD and has a contract with the state Department of Corrections to operate a halfway house providing 24-hour supervised residential care. President Bush visited the program during his presidential campaign. ...

12/31/01 - MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- A U.S. Air Force RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle on a routine mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom crashed while returning to base in the U.S. Central Command theater of operations at approximately 3:30 a.m. EST on Dec. 30. RELATED LINKS Global Hawk Fact Sheet The crash was not the result of enemy fire and the aircraft will be recovered, officials said. The Global Hawk is an unmanned reconnaissance and surveillance system designed to provide military commanders with high resolution, near real-time imagery of large geographic areas.