Free Republic

In more than one campaign speech, President elect Donald Trump declared that his number priority was “to dismantle the disastrous deal” with Iran, which he said was “the worst deal ever” He was referring to the 2015 accord negotiated with Iran by the 5P+1 (five Permanent Security Council members plus Germany), which the Obama administration presented as putting the lid on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Trump vowed to use force if necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring the bomb. So does Tehran have more to fear from Donald Trump than from Barack Obama in the way of US military intervention?...

As the Syrian civil way went into its third year this week, signs abounded of increasing readiness for the use of chemical weapons on both sides of the conflict. Since February, the US, Israel, Ankara and Amman have been aware of Bashar Assad’s resolve to override their threats and resort to deadly poison gas if the rebels closed in on the heart of Damascus. On April 3, an unnamed Syrian army officer made the warning clear. By continuing to advancie on Damascus, he said, “the rebels and their leaders” were assured of “certain death.” At about the same time, debkafile...

Have Israel and the Islamists joined forces against Iran? According to DEBKA the answer is yes. But do we believe DEBKA? On Nov 23rd DEBKA reported Obama’s pledge of US troops to Sinai next week won Israel’s nod for ceasefire....it will be a great victory for PM Netanyahu and Israel. But if that is true, why hasn’t Netanyahu mentioned it in concrete terms and why has no one corroborated the report. The article explains: “When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Jerusalem from Bangkok Tuesday, she tried assuring Netanyahu that President Obama had decided to accelerate the construction of...

The repeated delays and contradictory statements about the two Iranian warships' transit of the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean is accounted for by a standoff between the Iranian flotilla and five US warships deployed in recent days at the waterway's southern entrance and along its course, debkafile's sources disclose. Thursday night, Feb. 17, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, escorted by missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf and the fast supply ship USNS Arctic, headed south through the canal. By Friday morning, they were through and taking up position opposite the Kharg cruiser and Alvand missile destroyer of the Iranian Navy's 12th...

Despite Iranian claims in October that their nuclear systems were cleansed of the Stuxnet virus, Iranian sources confirm that the invasive malworm is still making trouble. It shut down uranium enrichment at Natanz for a week from Nov. 16 to 22 over breakdowns caused by mysterious power fluctuations in the operation of the centrifuge machines enriching uranium at Natanz. The shutdown was reported by the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano to the IAEA board in Vienna on Tuesday, Nov. 23. Rapid changes in the spinning speed of the thousands of centrifuges enriching uranium to weapons-grade can...

A terrorism symposium featuring leading experts will begin with presentation of "tangible proof" al-Qaida not only has developed an arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons but also has begun to deploy them for use in its jihad against the United States and Israel. Paul L. Williams, author of "The Al Connection" and "The Dunces of Doomsday," will present his findings at the National Press Club in Washington at the conclusion of a public debate with Wall Street Journal correspondent Richard Miniter on al-Qaida's nuclear weaponry. The debate, Friday at 10 a.m., will be moderated by Fred Barnes, executive editor of The...

Pictures of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il are being removed from public places in Pyongyang and other parts of country. No word so far on who gave the order or its meaning. =================== Russia’s state-run communication agency ITAR-TASS reported from Beijing quoting a diplomat in North Korea yesterday that pictures of the chairman of the DPRK National Defense Committee Kim Jong Il are being removed from public places in North Korea. The news reported that foreigners who were recently invited to the People’s Palace of Culture in Pyongyang noticed that only the late President Kim Il Sung’s picture remains...