Free Republic

In response to a threat by Iran to attack U.S. bases in the region, the State and Defense Departments have authorized the evacuation of dependents and non-essential staff from embassies and bases in the region, mainly Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain. The threat by Iran comes as negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over the fate of Iran’s nuclear program continue, with the U.S. insisting Iran give up enrichment to prevent attainment of nuclear weapons or face military attacks on its nuclear facilities by either the U.S. or Israel. In an interview earlier this week with Fox News anchor Bret Baier,...

Cuban President Raul Castro and US Vice-president Joe Biden are among the guests expected at the inauguration of President Tabare Vazquez this coming Sunday in Montevideo. According to HavaTimes, The encounter will come two days after the second round of negotiations between the US and Cuba set for Friday February 27 in Washington. The two countries are trying to pave the way to a reopening of embassies in their respective capitals. Also expected in Montevideo for the beginning of a new term of Vazquez (following Jose Mujica, the current leader) are the presidents of Brasil, Dilma Rousseff, Chile, Michelle Bachelet,...

Honduras hopes to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem before the end of the year, putting an end to its policy of neutrality - a move likely to further anger the Palestinians. "I have just talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu to strengthen our strategic alliance, we spoke to arrange the opening of the embassies in Tegucigalpa and Jerusalem, respectively," Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez posted on Twitter on Sunday. "We hope to take this historic step before the end of the year, as long as the pandemic allows it." Netanyahu said the intention was to open and inaugurate...

On second thought, hold that Champagne. After months of campaigning, a last-minute swap at the top of the presidential ticket and one of the closest-fought election races in recent American history, election day has finally arrived in the United States. But don’t expect Europe to join in the election night fun. In stark contrast to pre-pandemic ballots, U.S. election night 2024 promises to be a sober affair in Europe, with U.S. officials in most European power centers having ditched the usual festivities. Embassies from Brussels to London, Paris and Berlin have decided against holding their usual watch parties. The reason?...

From 2019 and 2022, Scott Pelley's investigation into neurological symptoms and serious brain injuries reported by U.S. diplomats, intelligence agents and troops around the world and even on the grounds of the White House.

The CIA has removed its top officer in Vienna following criticism of his management, including what some considered an insufficient response to a growing number of mysterious health incidents at the U.S. Embassy there, according to current and former U.S. officials.... The sidelining of the station chief in one of the largest and most prestigious CIA posts is expected to send a message that top agency leaders must take seriously any reports of “Havana Syndrome,” the phenomenon named after the Cuban capital where U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers had first reported unusual and varied symptoms, from headaches to vision problems...

At least two U.S. diplomats will be medically evacuated from Vietnam after “Havana Syndrome” incidents were reported over the weekend in the capital city of Hanoi ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’ arrival, according to two senior U.S. officials. ...The description of the incidents as “acoustic” indicates that the affected diplomats heard strange sounds. That was also the case with many of the original Havana Syndrome cases in Cuba, but there have been other incidents that did not involve sound. The weekend incidents in Hanoi occurred at the staffers’ homes, not at ...

The U.S. Marine Security Augmentation Unit has deployed twice in the past 30 days to support and protect embassies in Africa and the Caribbean. (excerpt) These two missions marked the 106th and 107th missions for the MSAU since the group was founded in 2013, Task and Purpose reported.

A Hawaii woman employed by the Department of Defense pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to removing classified material, which were discovered in her hotel room during a dinner party in which two foreign nationals were present, while temporarily assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. Asia Lavarello, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly removing classified information concerning U.S. national defense or foreign relations and retaining it at an unauthorized location, the Justice Department said. ... ...A search of her workplace at the Indo-Pacific Command revealed a notebook in her desk containing handwritten notes of meetings she...

U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide displayed the flag of Black Lives Matter — an organization founded by a self-avowed “trained Marxist” — on Tuesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd, who died while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota last May. The U.S. State Department authorized the BLM flag’s display at all U.S. “Diplomatic and Consular posts” on May 25 through a leaked memo published by Human Events. “The Department supports the use of the term ‘Black Lives Matter’ in messaging content, speeches, and other diplomatic engagements with foreign audiences to advance racial equity and...

An al Qaeda operative at Fort Bragg By JOHN SULLIVAN and JOSEPH NEFF Raleigh News & Observer November 13, 2001 FORT BRAGG, N.C. - A former sergeant at Fort Bragg who became a close adviser to Osama bin Laden obtained sensitive documents describing how U.S. special operations units function. Ali A. Mohamed, a trusted trainer in bin Laden's al Qaeda network, walked the halls of the U.S. military's top warfare planning center at Fort Bragg for more than two years as an Army sergeant. From 1987 to 1989, he acquired sensitive documents describing how special operations units work and a...

A Black Lives Matter banner has been taken down from the US Embassy building in South Korea three days after it was unfurled there in solidarity with demonstrators seeking racial justice after the police killing of George Floyd. The embassy — which didn’t mention an LGBTQ pride flag that also was taken down — said the BLM banner was removed to avoid any perception that it meant “to support or encourage donations to any specific organization.” CNN quoted an anonymous source as saying that the request to remove the BLM banner came from the office of Secretary of State Mike...

The European Union (EU) tried to prevent the continued trend of member states opening representative offices in Jerusalem but the initiative failed, Kan 11 News reported on Wednesday. According to the report, the EU did not like the decision of some European countries to open economic offices in Jerusalem and senior officials tried to lead to the drafting of an official document that would obligate all EU member states and determine, “Until a final agreement on Jerusalem is reached, the EU and its member states will continue to respect the international agreement on the location of the diplomatic missions.” Israel...

Vice President Mike Pence confirmed reports that Pride flags had been banned from U.S. embassies, and expressed his support for the administration's decision. June is Pride Month, and in an interview with NBC's Kristen Welker, the vice president said four embassies' requests to fly rainbow flags, which symbolize LGBTQ pride, were denied. "I'm aware that the State Department indicated that on the flagpole of our American embassies, one flag should fly, and that's the American flag. And I support that," Pence said. Welker pressed him about President Trump's tweet in support of LGBTQ Pride Month, and whether it contradicts the...

On Sunday, President Barack Obama traveled to Afghanistan to do a photo op with the troops amid fallout from the burgeoning Veterans Administration scandal. Announcing his visit, the White House promptly released a list of guests, including the name of the top CIA officer in Afghanistan. That officer is responsible for intelligence and drone warfare. The information was sent to over 6,000 email addresses. Oops. This is not the first time the Obama administration has compromised national security with leaks, either purposeful or inadvertent. SEAL Team Six. After the killing of Osama Bin Laden, the Obama administration steadfastly refused to...

The attacks on US targets culminating in the September 11 suicide hijackings were only a fraction of the onslaught planned by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, it emerged yesterday. Over the past three years, US intelligence detected plots against US embassies in 14 countries, mostly in Asia and Africa, and there were over 600 more "credible threats" of attacks. Some were thwarted by arrests or stepped up security. Others appear to have been suspended or may still be pending. The global extent of al-Qaida's terrorist ambitions is revealed in a new book by Peter Bergen, CNN's terrorism analyst, who interviewed ...

President Obama will announce Wednesday that the U.S. and Cuba have reached an agreement to open embassies in Havana and Washington, an administration official confirmed to Fox News. The announcement marks a major step in ending hostilities between the longtime foes and an opportunity to re-establish formal diplomatic relations. The U.S. and Cuba have been negotiating the reestablishment of embassies in each other’s capitals following the Dec. 17 announcement that they would move to restore ties. …

It’s an Obama world.The US Embassy in London recently draped gay rainbow flags over its entry. Via NY Young Republicans Club:Draped Rainbow Flags Hang from American Embassy in London The American flags were somewhere off to the side. And, it wasn’t just London… The US Embassy in Tel Aviv also flew the gay flag recently. At least they flew the gay flag beneath the US flag at the Tel Aviv embassy.

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton’s State Department is spending $5.4 million to buy fine crystal stemware for American embassies — but it won’t give the US economy much of a boost. The contract was given to a tiny Washington, DC, interior designer, which in turn subcontracted the crystal work to a Swedish firm — snubbing such US companies as the famous manufacturer in Clinton’s own back yard, Steuben Crystal of upstate Corning. The firm didn’t even get a chance to bid on the contract, which will outfit embassies and ambassadors’ residences with fancy crystal for ritzy functions. Ironically, under the...

The federal shutdown has disrupted a training program for diplomatic security officers that was ramped up after last year’s attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, U.S. officials confirmed Thursday. The prolonged closing of a key training facility could mean significant delays in efforts to beef up protection for U.S. diplomats abroad, enhancements that were ordered after an independent review board criticized the State Department for its handling of the Sept. 11, 2012 attack, officials said. The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, a facility operated by the Department of Homeland Security in Glynco, Ga., was shuttered Tuesday due...