Free Republic

A NEW “LODGE ACT” FOR THE U.S. ARMY – A STRATEGIC TOOL FOR THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM . . . This paper proposes new legislation that would authorize the U.S. Army to recruit overseas from critical strategic areas in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. Based on this bill, the U.S. Army would conduct a program to recruit, screen, assess, select, train, and deploy these non-citizens as soldiers. . . This paper discusses how a new Lodge Act would be an effective strategic tool in the GWOT. New Lodge Act soldiers would be useful in combat operations,...

DHARAMSALA, India (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama said on Wednesday the most senior Buddhist in Tibet had obviously wanted to please Chinese authorities by praising Tibet for its political stability and prosperity. In an interview with Reuters, the 70-year-old Nobel Laureate painted a very different picture of Tibet saying that torture and human rights abuses were still the norm. The Dalai Lama, the head of Tibetan Buddhism and its political struggle, said he was saddened by reports monks had been killed and tortured by Chinese authorities for refusing to denounce him as a "separator" bent on damaging China. "I had...