Free Republic

Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key position in his Administration:Roger D. Carstens of Virginia, to be the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.Roger D. Carstens is currently a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State, where he oversees the Bureau’s work in Near Eastern Affairs, Western Hemisphere Affairs, and the Office of Security and Human Rights.  Mr. Carstens previously worked overseas with international NGOs in Somalia and Jordan, where he provided humanitarian assistance and stability support to Syrian refugees and...

CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour spoke with Iranian vice president for women and global affairs Massoumeh Ebtekar on Tuesday but failed to mention Ebtekar played a key role in the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Amanpour began by asking Ebtekar if Iran would “respond” to American calls for de-escalation, and critics didn't appreciate her lengthy answer. “Ebtekar took that question and offered a long-winded answer that gushed over CNN showing ‘millions who are marching in support and in commemoration of...the Commander of the Hearts’ against the Americans having ‘taken a terrorist action’ in ‘assassinat[ing]’ Soleimani,” NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck wrote....

President Trump announced in a tweet on Wednesday that he will name Robert O’Brien to succeed John Bolton as his national security adviser. “I am pleased to announce that I will name Robert C. O’Brien, currently serving as the very successful Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department, as our new National Security Advisor​,” the president said. “I have worked long & hard with Robert. He will do a great job!​”​ ​The announcement comes a day after Trump released the five finalists on his list and called O’Brien “fantastic.”