Free Republic

DES MOINES -- Sen. Ted Cruz said here Saturday that the 2016 presidential race has entered a more serious phase following the shooting massacre in San Bernardino, Calif., and escalated his rhetoric on foreign policy with a vow to kill Islamic State terrorists."If I am elected president, we will utterly destroy ISIS," the Texas senator and Republican presidential candidate told reporters. "We won't weaken them. We won't degrade them. We will utterly destroy them. We will carpet bomb them into oblivion. We will arm the Kurds. We will do everything necessary so that every militant on the face of the...

A new, Islamist mini-state was emerging in the Gaza Strip yesterday, as victorious Hamas forces surrounded and blew up their secular rivals’ last strongholds in bitter fighting that threw the entire future of the Middle East peace process into doubt. Supporters of the Fatah movement fled to Egypt or surrendered as Hamas leaders predicted that they would control the entire coastal strip by the end of the week. European Union chiefs said that the deployment of an international force should be urgently considered to curb the bloodshed. In Gaza, Hamas strengthened its grip as its fighters surrounded die-hard Fatah supporters...