Free Republic

Is this a Obama Administration mistake, asking Congress to pay for their F-16'S? The United States has told Pakistan it will have to finance the purchase of U.S. F-16 fighter jets itself after members of the U.S. Congress objected to the use of government funds to pay for them. The U.S. government said in February it had approved the sale to Pakistan of up to eight F-16 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp LMT.N, as well as radar and other equipment in a deal valued at $699 million. However, Republican Senator Bob Corker said he would use his power...

California politicians have voted down a proposal to designate May 26 - the actor's birthday - as John Wayne Day. The idea was rejected after some said Wayne had made racist comments against blacks and Native Americans. The resolution for John Wayne Day was submitted by Assemblyman Matthew Harper, who described Wayne as the "prototypical American Hero, symbolizing such traits as self-reliance, grace under pressure, resolve and patriotism." But Harper's colleague Lorena Gonzalez said Wayne's movies showed a lot of Native Americans being killed and that they sanctioned the white occupation of the continent. Assemblyman Luis Alejo also complained that...

Iraqi officials have reportedly revoked the broadcaster's license, marking the third time Al Jazeera has been banned in Iraq. The news organization says it was told it had violated codes of conduct and other rules. The Qatar-based news organization on Wednesday said its bureau in Baghdad had been shut down after the government accused it of violating laws. According to the pan-Arab broadcaster, Iraq's Communications and Media Commission (CMC) accused the company of "violations of the official codes of conduct and broadcasting rules and regulations." Those rules and regulations were issued in 2014 to regulate media coverage of the "war...

again another country moves their troops into Syria without Syrian approval. Norway will send some 60 troops, including special forces soldiers, to train, advise and give operational support to Syrian fighters battling Islamic State militants, the country's prime minister said on Monday. The troops will be based in Jordan. The Norwegian Parliament will need to be consulted if the troops are to operate within Syria, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said. Norway had previously sent 120 soldiers to Iraq to help to train Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State in northern Iraq. Those troops are still in Iraq. Norway's decision...

A Russian official has criticized Washington's lack of authorization from Syria to deploy troops. The UN warned Damascus and Moscow of increased violence against civilians after a hospital was bombed, leaving 30 dead. Moscow sees the deployment of an additional 250 US military personnel in Syria as an affront to Damascus' territorial sovereignty, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russia's state-owned TASS news agency on Friday. "If we are talking from the position of the foreign minister, we - of course - cannot not be concerned over the fact that the US carries out such actions without coordination with...