Free Republic

It is in many ways the weirdest shard of reporting from those years, and its testimony is from no less than the former president of France: The president of the United States, in a top-secret phone call to a major European ally, asked for French troops to join American soldiers in attacking Iraq as a mission from God. Now out of office, Chirac recounts that the American leader appealed to their "common faith" (Christianity) and told him: "Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East…. The biblical prophecies are being fulfilled…. This confrontation is willed by God, who...

Incredibly, President George W. Bush told French President Jacques Chirac in early 2003 that Iraq must be invaded to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible's satanic agents of the Apocalypse. Honest. This isn't a joke. The president of the United States, in a top-secret phone call to a major European ally, asked for French troops to join American soldiers in attacking Iraq as a mission from God. Now out of office, Chirac recounts that the American leader appealed to their "common faith" (Christianity) and told him: "Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East. ... The biblical prophecies...

ISAF mission in Afghanistan will find itself under Polish command. 14.08.2005 A Polish general will take command of the operation of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in July 2007. The name of the commander has not been revealed, yet it is known that he will serve this function until February 2008. The mission of the International Security Assistance force in Afghanistan began in 2001 and among its major tasks there are actions aimed at destroying the Al-Kaida net in this Asian country. At present 105 Polish soldiers are stationed in Afghanistan. Poland’s involvement there is planned to increase,...

I hesitate to suggest this, as I am fairly new around here, but I have noticed that there is quite a lot of interest in the Australian eleciton, so I thought I would make an offer here. I will be watching the election coverage and if people are interested, as the coverage proceeds, I can post updates in this thread, so people can follow what is happening in Australia. Just an offer. Coverage starts in 15 minutes. Oh and if any other Aussies want to post updates as well, of course, I wouldn't object. It's just I can see interest.

Four Jordanian men were freed but the fate of three others is unclear The US says all 32 countries in the multinational force in Iraq have agreed not to give in to the demands of hostage-takers. "We are united in our resolve to make no concessions to terrorists," the state department announced. This is a clear message to militants that seizing foreigners to put pressure on governments to withdraw their troops will not work, correspondents say. Six Jordanian and Turkish hostages were released earlier on Wednesday. The US announcement came as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the force...