Free Republic

Iranian agents have successfully infiltrated American think-tanks, universities, and our political system as part of a plot to keep the United States from attacking the Islamic regime as it continues to expand terrorism worldwide and pursue its nuclear weapons and missile programs. The infiltration goal is to mold American opinion and create doubt about the advisability of attacking Iran's nuclear facilities -- all part of a longstanding strategy to pull the strings of America and the West. Iranian leaders first successfully engaged U.S. forces in Iraq at a time when President Bush was in an offensive policy of confronting Islamists...

Our world is dangerous. China, a corrupt and chauvinistic one-party Communist regime, is becoming an economic superpower. Russia is drifting toward authoritarian imperialism, with a jealous eye towards those Soviet Socialist Republics lost when the USSR disintegrated. Radical Islam is still simmering throughout the Indian Ocean basin, and the democratization of this irrational and angry sentiment does not make it safer for the peaceful West. Except for America and Israel, none of the free nations takes national defense very seriously. The supercilious "deal" made between Obama and Republicans to reduce the deficit includes some automatic cuts in national defense. Many...

As we all know, free republic is a conservative website. So, I would like to know what views freepers have that can, correctly or incorrectly, be labeled as "extremely," or in the words of Mitt Romney, "severely" conservative. Note that I am not saying whether any of these views are right or wrong. I'm just interested in what freepers think. These are all designed to be yes or no questions. 1) Is Barack Obama the worst president ever? 2) Is Barack Obama intentionally destroying America? 3) Should the Kaaba be destroyed? 4) Should Mecca be nuked? 5) Should Mecca and...

As the 2012 presidential race continues, Mitt Romney might hope that key endorsements will ameliorate some of his weaknesses, including perceptions that he is too moderate, or unfaithful to the Republican party, or too East Coast, too elitist, or too “establishment” — but many of his endorsers seem just as likely to confirm that impression. 1. George Pataki: The former governor of New York may have fought the good fight, like Mitt, in a blue state, but his profligate spending, large amounts of state debt accumulated, and testy relationships with Albany Republicans make him unlikely to win over too many...

The question has been asked: "Why are President Obama and the Democrats spending so much time and effort on universal coverage of contraception?" Surely they knew that there would be religious objection. Surely they did not think that such a decision would not go unchallenged. Why waste time and resources defending a controversial stance with so many other things going on? Recent polls show President Obama's approval numbers dropping among female voters, despite the "War on Women" attributed to the Republicans, and religious leaders have spoken openly from the pulpit, decrying the legality and morality of the contraception mandate, despite...

A candidate’s strengths can also be his weaknesses. Take the case of Rick Santorum. One of his strengths is perseverance. For more than a year, he made hundreds of appearances in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, with no visible result in the polls. He persevered and ended up finishing first in the Iowa caucuses on January 3. Then, after poor showings in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, and Nevada, he finished first in Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado on February 7. Now he’s leading Mitt Romney in most polls nationally and in Romney’s native state of Michigan. Santorum’s other strengths...

Wish I had a nickel for every conservative who confidently predicted that the Arizona debate would, of course, feature obnoxious questions about birth control and the devil aimed at Rick Santorum. As it turned out, CNN’s John King did not ask “gotcha” questions and, for the most part, conducted a fair and informative debate. The debate moderated by King, along with other events of the past week, has resolved a question that has been swirling since the Missouri, Colorado, and Minnesota primaries: Why not Santorum? There is much to like and admire about Rick Santorum. He did fine work enacting...

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, thinks that Iran is a “rational actor.” He is indisputably correct. Iran has, quite rationally, concluded that if it spins thousands of centrifuges to enrich enough uranium, it will soon have the bomb. Just as rationally, it believes it can string the West along. Then there is its airtight chain of cause and effect in the alleged plot against the Saudi ambassador to the United States: If it hired a Mexican drug gang, and that gang blew up a Washington, D.C., restaurant, and the Saudi ambassador was dining there...

The Bush administration waged what it called a Global War on Terrorism. Yet against Iran, the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, no serious actions were ever taken. President Obama is waging what he calls a “war against al-Qaeda and its affiliates.” Yet he and his advisers are reluctant to articulate what has become indisputable: Iran and al-Qaeda are affiliated. Senior Obama officials have come closer to calling a spade a spade: Last week, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper described the relationship between Iran and al-Qaeda as a “longstanding . . . marriage.” But you had to listen carefully to...

Son of Islam? Let's get real. Aside from his childhood attendance at a Muslim school in Indonesia, a school that was selected for him by his parents, Obama has never shown much interest in Islam. Nor, some would say, has he demonstrated a sincere interest in Christianity. Obama's attendance at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago may have had more to do with political opportunism than religious devotion. In reality, there's little evidence that Obama as an adult has shown much interest in any religion. So to call Obama a "son of Islam" is true only in a particular...

Given the worrying over nuclear Iran, it is timely to review the rules of nuclear proliferation. NUCLEAR CRED Otherwise insignificant nations and failed states gain credibility by shorting their own people to divert billions of dollars to acquiring a bomb. Take away that fact from Pakistan, and the United States would probably have reduced aid to such a de facto belligerent long ago. Without the ongoing appearance of possessing nukes, North Korea would probably earn about as much foreign aid as Chad or Niger. What makes France a world player, in a way that the much larger and richer Germany...

The grotesque foreign policy of the Obama administration has now achieved its pinnacle of battiness. After three and a half years of bowing low to Dark Ages tyrants and shafting our democratic friends, with Iranian nukes well on the way -- so close that even the CIA is willing to see the obvious -- the Deep Thinkers of Foggy Bottom are now worried sick that Israel might attack Iran. Let's see. Israel has 7 million people who yearn for peace, because their lives are reasonably good, other than having to live with blood-thirsty maniacs surrounding the country with an estimated...

John McCain and Lindsey Graham both think it's time the US began to arm the Syrian rebels. New York Times: The senators, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both Republicans, laid out a series of diplomatic, humanitarian and military aid proposals that would put the United States squarely behind the effort to topple President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. The senators, both of whom are on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that rebel fighters deserved to be armed and that helping them take on the Syrian government would aid Washington's effort to weaken Iran. Syria relies...

Mitt Romney--71.4% Rick Santorum--14.3% New Gingrich--3.9% Ron Paul--2.6% Jeb Bush--3.5% Mitch Daniels--1.0% Chris Christie--1.2% Paul Ryan--0.6% Sarah Palin--0.5% Mike Huckabee--0.2% John Thune--0.4% Bobby Jindal--0.2% Marco Rubio--0.3% Colin Powell--0.1% Rudy Giuliani--0.1% Rick Perry--0.1% John Huntsman--0.1% Buddy Roemer--0.1% Michele Bachmann--0.1% Herman Cain--0.1% Gary Johnson--0.1% Tim Pawlenty--0.1% Tom Coburn--0.1% John Bolton--0.1% George Pataki--0.1% Thad McCotter--0.1% Jim DeMint--0.1% Rand Paul--0.1% Donald Trump--0.1% Eric Cantor--0.1% Joe Scarborough--0.1% Lindsay Graham--0.1% David Petraeus--0.1% Roy Moore--0.1% Mike Pence--0.1% Haley Barbour--0.1% Dick Cheney--0.1% Judd Gregg--0.1% Scott Brown--0.1% Michael Bloomberg--0.1% Charlie Crist--0.1% Fred Thompson--0.1% John Kasich--0.1% Bob Corker--0.1% Joe Lieberman--0.1% Lou Dobbs--0.1% Mark Sanford--0.1% Carley Fiorina--0.1% Meg Whitman--0.1% Stanley McChrystal--0.1%...

Is it a conservative position that only women are qualified to comment on abortion? A writer named Leann Horrocks certainly seems to think so. In a piece titled, "Contraception, the New Useful Passion," Horrocks does make some good points about how the left could turn the birth-control issue to its advantage and expand contraception to include even abortion. Yet she also makes this claim: "As a woman, I am qualified to state the following very clearly: there is no issue less suited to public discussion than abortion. Like it or not, it is a personal decision." Actually, the above proves...

Images can be powerful. We have all seen films of the Nuremburg rallies. The torchlight processions, the banners, the chanting crowds: all purposely staged to elevate one man to a status as something more than human, a benevolent leader who promised fairness and payback against the evil enemies of the people. All things were possible through him. The trains would run on time, the capitalists and bankers would pay for taking advantage of the people. Social justice would finally be achieved if only the people would pledge themselves to him. Juxtapose those images with a 2008 party rally in a...

Capitalism itself is under attack by the Left once again, and will be an issue in the presidential election. Before conservatives commit to a full throated defense, they should consider a few political realities. When William Jennings Bryan made his famous "Cross of Gold" speech in 1896, I think it's fair to say the conventioneers who then nominated him did not hear the speech as an argument for a monetary policy (free silver coinage). The speech, which every historian or political hack should read and listen to until committed to memory, was a moral outrage against those who would sell...

When it comes to analyzing non-interventionism, it's helpful to identify the two extremes of the spectrum of debate. On one hand, the United States could mind its own business, withdraw its troops entirely from military bases worldwide, cash in the savings, and live prosperously as America once did in its infant years. On the other hand, the U.S. can continue the advancement of freedom and democracy through its imperialistic ideals, spend money into oblivion, and dominate the world in a fashion indicative of a hegemony. The friction between these two paradigms has been present for many years, and more so...

This column has tended to agree with the conventional wisdom that among the Republicans running for president, Mitt Romney is the safest choice, the most "electable." See, for example, our rebuttal of Richard Miniter's contrarian column from late last month. We still think Romney, on balance, would be a stronger general-election candidate than Newt Gingrich for reasons of the latter's personal and political character. But Rick Santorum's surge has us thinking second thoughts about the electability question. That is despite the obviousness of the case against Santorum in the abstract, which is that moderate voters are more likely to abandon...

The recent Obama mandate for universal birth control gave the Republicans an opportunity to fight for individual liberty -- and they missed it by a mile. Instead of attacking government-imposed health care as a violation of liberty, they only selected a minute fraction of the leviathan and subjected it to very narrow criteria. This was an opportunity to aim for the heart of ObamaCare, but critics asked for only a minor adjustment -- and that's all they got. Government-mandated health care violates individual rights. The objection of Catholics to the funding of contraceptives is just one example of forcing people...