Free Republic

Discussion covers Ukraine/Russia conflict, NATO involvement, illegal immigration and military age men, what attacks on our infrastructure could look like and discussion of his new book to be delivered any day. Matt was also on another show, FR thread Matt Bracken on the Alex Jones Show also from Friday, May 17.

Adolf Hitler started World War II by attacking Poland on September 1, 1939. Nazi Germany moved only after it had already remilitarized the Rhineland, absorbed Austria and dismantled Czechoslovakia. Before the outbreak of the war, Hitler's new Third Reich had created the largest German-speaking nation in European history. Well before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Imperial Japanese government had redrawn the map of Asia and the Pacific. Japan had occupied or annexed Indochina, Korea, Manchuria and Taiwan, in addition to swaths of coastal China. Attacking Hawaii, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia was merely the logical 1941 follow-up...

LONDON -- British politics has a familiar look to Americans, with a center-right Conservative Party and a center-left Labour Party resembling America's Republicans and Democrats. Britain's parliamentary system, however, presents a contrast with the U.S. Constitution on the surface. A prime minister whose party has a majority in the House of Commons can pass any law he or she likes, since members of Parliament almost always vote on party lines. The House of Lords can delay or amend legislation, but can be overridden by a Commons majority. The monarch theoretically has a veto, but it has not been exercised for...

In several eastern Ukrainian towns over the past week, the military opened fire on its own citizens. Dozens may have been killed in the violence. Although the U.S. government generally condemns a country's use of military force against its own population, especially if they are unarmed protesters, this time the U.S. administration blamed the victims. After as many as 20 unarmed protesters were killed on the May 9th holiday in Ukraine, the State Department spokesman said "we condemn the outbreak of violence caused by pro-Russia separatists." Why are people protesting in eastern Ukraine? Because they do not believe the government...

President Obama’s most recent visit to Asia probably struck many Americans as simply the latest round of executive-level diplomacy -- basically the kind of trip abroad that chief executives have been making for decades. He’s been to the region six times as president, after all -- not much different than President Bush at a comparable point in his presidency. But there was more to it than that. The unstated mission seemed to be to reassure our nervous allies that we remain committed to their security, and that we’re ready, willing and able to defend them against escalating threats. Unfortunately, it’s...

Iran’s rulers brutalize their own citizens, sponsor terrorism on several continents, and openly vow “Death to America!” They are determined to acquire the ability to develop nuclear weapons and deliver them to targets anywhere in the world. Can President Obama stop them? That’s not the question. Or rather, that’s not the question now being asked by the keenest observers of the diplomatic dance underway between Iran and the U.S. What they are asking instead: Is Obama serious about trying to stop Tehran’s revolutionary theocrats from becoming nuclear-armed – or is that not really his goal at this point? “The fear,”...

PARIS -- The good news is that the Obama administration plans to create a lot of new jobs. The bad news is that those jobs will mostly be in Asia. President Obama's recent trip to Asia revived debate about the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, the cornerstone of this administration's so-called pivot to Asia. The controversial agreement -- not likely to be finalized anytime soon -- currently involves the U.S., Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Singapore, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. Other countries expressing interest include China, India, Taiwan, Indonesia, Laos, Colombia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and the Philippines....

The Obama Administration’s attitude toward the 9/11/12 attack on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya is summarized in one phrase:“Dude, this was two years ago.” This was the disgracefully glib response former National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor gave to FOX News after being pressed on his role in editing talking points to help the Obama Administration save face, rather than address questions surrounding the most serious attack on an American diplomatic mission since the takeover of the U.S. embassy compound in Tehran in 1979. Like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who bellowed, “What difference, at this point,...

Earlier this month, CIA-operated drones killed as many as 55 people in Yemen in several separate strikes. Although it was claimed that those killed were “militants,” according to press reports at least three civilians were killed and at least five others wounded. That makes at least 92 U.S. drone attacks against Yemen during the Obama administration, which have killed nearly 1,000 people including many civilians. The latest strikes seem to contradict President Obama’s revised guidelines for targeted killings, which he announced last May. At the time he claimed that drones would only be used against those who posed a “continuing...

The FBI reports on its website that "not only is human sex trafficking slavery but it is big business. It is the fastest-growing business of organized crime and the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world." I noted in Part 1 of my series on human trafficking that ABC News reported in July on a National Geographic undercover investigation about sexual slavery, saying that "it's actually 10 times more likely for an American girl to be trafficked inside the U.S." than it is for a foreigner. According to the FBI, ABC reported, "they range in age from 9 to 19, with...

Margaret Thatcher, who served as prime minister of Britain from 1979 to 1990, is most famous for teaming up with my father Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II to peacefully end the Cold War and bring about the collapse of the Soviet Union. But at home, the “Iron Lady’s” intellect, political will and love of freedom and capitalism also saved Britain from its long, slow death by socialism. Prime Minister Thatcher freed up Britain’s economy by deregulating business, privatizing government-owned industries and breaking the back of the powerful unions that were smothering her country to death. Not that The...

The political think-tank Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) says that Finnish membership in NATO would not be a permanent blot on the country's relationship with Russia. Nonetheless Finland should be aware of what would be required if the country joins the alliance. The Institute published a long-awaited report on NATO's place in Europe, its role in crisis management missions, and what it might mean for Finland to become a member. The report stopped short of making a recommendation on whether to join. "Finland should only seek NATO membership if it is ready to assist other members if they are...