Free Republic

New Book Demolishes Arab Armies of Sand “Arab armed forces consistently underperformed, and underperformed in the same ways time and again, regardless of who they fought or where, the state of their politics, or the relative state of economic development between them and their foe.” So concludes scholar Kenneth M. Pollack in his magisterial book on the cultural roots of disastrous post-1945 Arab military performance, Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness. Pollack presents an encyclopedic, withering critique of Arab militaries across decades in numerous varied conflicts, to substantiate the conclusion that: Arab militaries were...

The Israeli people understand the importance of national sovereignty better than most, having had to defeat numerous invasion attempts just to secure their right to exist as a nation.The recent re-election of Benjamin Netanyahu — a forceful proponent of Israeli sovereignty — to a fifth term as Prime Minister shows that Israelis remain as committed as ever to their independence. At long last, they have an ally in the White House who feels just as strongly about Israel’s right to exist.For 52 years, Israel’s national security has depended heavily on its control of the strategically vital Golan Heights. Shamefully, not...

Demonstrations by angry people in flood-affected areas of Iran are on the rise, according to a statement by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which highlights the call by Maryam Rajavi, president of the NCRI, for army and IRGC facilities to be made available to the population to save victims of the floods. The statement refers to the demonstration of angry people in Malashiyeh, a suburb of Ahvaz, Khuzestan province, against the presence of a Revolutionary Guard Commander (IRGC), Mohammad Reza Naghdi, in the region. The people affected by the floods shouted: “Get out! Ahvaz will remain free,” forcing...

Iran: Imam of Tehran’s Friday prayers wears IRGC uniform, says its missiles can level Israel to the ground “And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may strike terror in the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know, whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.” (Qur’an 8:60) “Movahedi-Kermani also threatened Israel, saying that the IRGC missiles are capable to level Israel to the ground. (Supplied),”...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) applauded the boycott of The New York Post being organized by corner stores in the city following the tabloid’s front page cover calling out Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for her comments about 9/11. Omar has faced criticism this week for comments she made at a speech in March, notably from colleague Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and President Donald Trump. “CAIR was founded after 9/11, because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties,” she said, in comments that her critics said minimized the...

With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reelection victory secured, the Trump administration is preparing to roll out Jared Kushner's "peace plan" as early as this month, sources familiar with the plan tell ABC News. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the plan, which Kushner and a small "peace team" have been quietly working on for months. The text itself remains a closely guarded secret -- even within the White House -- and has only been seen in its entirety by four people within the administration, the sources said.

The Israeli Air Force attacked Syrian targets near the city of Hama, killing two Iranians, according to Syrian media outlets and foreign accounts reported on Saturday. The reports attributed the attacks to Israel, noting that it was carried out from Lebanese airspace. Following the attack, and allegedly two Iranian soldiers were killed and several buildings were destroyed. The attack was reportedly carried out on a military base under the control of Iranian forces, and was attacked several times in the past. In the social networks, the surfers posted a record of the attacks and missiles fired at the site, accusing...

On her Twitter page last week, Omar demanded that U.S. President Donald Trump push for the release of a senior member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Hoda Abdelmonem. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is calling for the release of a terrorist. On her Twitter page last week, Omar demanded that US President Donald Trump push for the release of a senior member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Hoda Abdelmonem. Omar posted a photo of herself meeting with pro-Muslim Brotherhood campaigners and retweeted an Al Jazeera video that calls for Abdelmonem’s release. “We must work to #FreeHoda,” she tweeted. The Muslim Brotherhood is...

The victory of Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s election is a defeat for the New York Times. The Times threw everything it had against Netanyahu. The Times’ tone was set in a March 1 column by Bret Stephens, a Pulitzer prize-winning former editor of The Jerusalem Post whose hiring by the Times in April 2017 was interpreted as an attempt by the Times to bolster its faltering credibility among pro-Israel readers. “Time for Netanyahu To Go” was the headline over the Stephens column, describing Netanyahu as “toxically flawed.” The same column described Netanyahu as “a man for whom no moral consideration...

A military council has taken control of Sudan and arrested longtime President Omar al-Bashir, the country's military said Thursday. The move comes after opposition protesters recently gained new momentum in demanding al-Bashir leave office. Sudan's defense minister, Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf, said the "regime" had been removed and its head arrested, as he announced the coup in a televised statement. The minister said a transitional military council will rule the country for two years. Protesters have been calling for al-Bashir's ouster for months. Thousands swelled the capital Khartoum's streets as the military promised to make an important announcement earlier...

Iranian lawmakers opened a new session of the country’s Parliament on Tuesday with chants of “Death to America.” The taunt was meant as a response to the White House’s designation of Iran’s elite paramilitary Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council also registered its displeasure by calling the U.S. Central Command, known as CENTCOM, and all its forces as “terrorists”, and labeling the U.S. a “supporter of terrorism.” Iran’s parliament then played its part, with members dressed in the IRGC uniform as they chanted:

In a historic move on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization. This is the first time the U.S. has given the designation to part of a government. The designation will enable the U.S. to further ramp up sanctions against Iran’s tyrannical regime under the administration’s “maximum pressure” policy. The Revolutionary Guard Corps is both the sword and shield of Iran’s Islamic revolution, dating back to 1979. It is charged with attacking Iran’s enemies overseas, supporting Iran’s network of foreign terrorist proxies, and crushing political opposition to...

Netanyahu urged everyone at home and at the beach to vote for the Likud using the slip that reads "Mahal," which represents Netanyahu's party. Warning of the rise of the Left, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a planned campaign event in Ashdod on Tuesday and returned to Jerusalem, where he said he was going to work to "save the Right" and ensure that a right-wing government comes to power following the elections. "I received a dramatic update that there is low turnout in Likud strongholds but that there is high turnout in left-wing strongholds," Netanyahu said. "We have to save...

Why our president did it - and why he is right. President Trump has decided to designate the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) to counter Iran’s global campaign of terrorism. “This unprecedented step, led by the Department of State, recognizes the reality that Iran is not only a State Sponsor of Terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft,” President Donald Trump said in a statement Monday morning. “This designation will be the first time that the United States has ever named a...

In a now-deleted Facebook post Saturday, a Columbia University professor likened Israel to ISIS, but with more mainstream media support. Hamid Dabashi, the Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia, shared the post in reaction to the United States recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. According to Fox News, Dabashi went on a bizarrely capitalized rant before removing the post. "What's the difference between ISIS and ISRAEL?" he asked. Neither, he said, has a claim to the Golan Heights. "All of Syria belong to all Syrian people, not an inch it either to ISIS or...

The United States is to classify Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard as a foreign terrorist group in a move that will escalate tensions between Teheran and Washington. It will be the first time that the armed forces of a sovereign government had been placed on the US terrorist list and would enable the Bush administration to move aggressively to block funding and investigate anyone conducting business with the 125,000-strong unit.   The Revolutionary Guard operates outside Iran's conventional army The Revolutionary Guard was formed in 1979 to protect the theocracy established after the Shah was deposed. US officials have said...

US Considering Terrorist Label for Iran's Revolutionary Guards By VOA News 15 August 2007 The Bush administration is reported to be ready to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a "specially designated global terrorist" organization. If the move goes forward, it would be the first time the United States has added an armed forces unit of any sovereign government to its list of terrorist groups. The designation allows the U.S. to freeze any assets the group, its members, or subsidiaries may have in the U.S. According to the reports published late Tuesday on the web sites of the Washington Post and...

The United States has decided to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a "specially designated global terrorist," according to U.S. officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group's business operations and finances. The Bush administration has chosen to move against the Revolutionary Guard Corps because of what U.S. officials have described as its growing involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as its support for extremists throughout the Middle East, the sources said. The decision follows congressional pressure on the administration to toughen its stance against Tehran, as well as U.S. frustration...

President Donald Trump announced Monday the US will formally designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. "This unprecedented step, led by the Department of State, recognizes the reality that Iran is not only a State Sponsor of Terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft," Trump said in a statement that described the IRGC as "the Iranian government's primary means of directing and implementing its global terrorist campaign."

A general view shows the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 7, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun Palestinians voiced alarm while Israelis weighed the gravity on Sunday of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s sudden election promise to annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.Some Israeli commentators saw the right-wing leader’s pledge on Saturday, as Tuesday’s national ballot approaches, as mainly a bid to siphon votes from ultranationalist rivals long advocating annexation. But after years of resisting far-right calls to formally put West Bank land captured in the 1967 Middle East war under permanent Israeli hold, Netanyahu...