Free Republic

GENEVA (AP) – Iran´s foreign minister arrived Friday for talks with top European diplomats in Geneva about the crisis that centers on concerns about his country´s nuclear program, a week after the long-simmering dispute erupted into war between Israel and Iran. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived at a hotel in the Swiss city for a meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany and the U.K. and the European Union´s foreign policy chief. It is the first face-to-face meeting between Western and Iranian officials since the start of the conflict.

The terrorist plot foiled by German security services makes abundantly clear that far-right extremism is not a uniquely American problem, but a pervasive threat to Western democracy. In a series of raids across Germany, 3,000 members of law enforcement apprehended 25 people suspected of plotting a coup. Eerily reminiscent of certain aspects of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. capitol, the plan called for storming the Bundestag (parliament), murdering the chancellor and seizing ministers. The plotters are associated with the Reichsbűrger movement, an anti-government group with approximately 21,000 followers that denies the legitimacy of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic...

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2009 – U.S. forces offered their support to Afghan forces June 18 in two separate missions: one aimed at boosting military skills and the other at providing aid to school children. An Afghan commando from the 1st Company Commando, 203rd Corps Commando Kandak, slides down a rope during “fast-roping” training at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, June 18, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Armstrong  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. A company of Afghan commandos, aided by U.S. soldiers, conducted a two-day “fast-roping” training course at Forward Operating Base Salerno, southeast of Kabul. Helicopter-borne insertion,...

LONDON, Oct. 11, 2007 – The United Kingdom is a close ally of the United States that has made major contributions to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates listens to a question during a news conference in London, Oct. 11, 2007. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “This is our fifth meeting this year, which is a sign of the close cooperation we have on security matters,” Gates told American and British reporters during a brief news conference with British...

U.S. soldiers assigned to Company B, 589th Brigade Support Battalion, Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, take a moment to mingle with their Iraqi counterparts from the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, based at Forward Operating Base Constitution. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Malec U.S. Army Mechanics Train Iraqi Counterparts U.S. soldiers will show their Iraqi army counterparts how to repair one vehicle, assist them with the next, and then let them finish the job with the remaining vehicles. By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Malec Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division BAGHDAD, May...

Counterparts have `cordial' meeting By Shea Andersen Tribune Reporter CIUDAD CHIHUAHUA, Mexico - Despite numerous sources of tension between them, the governors of New Mexico and Texas tried to focus on common concerns rather than differences in a meeting this morning. The two were attending the annual Border Governors Conference with the governors of eight Mexican states in this northern Mexico city. Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, and Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, are far apart on political matters at home, and tension between the two simmered just below the surface over the 11 Democrats from the Texas Legislature who...