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On Thursday, October 28, supporters of the People's Mujahidin ‎Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the National Council of ‎Resistance of Iran (NCRI) held a large conference in Washington ‎DC. The conference, titled, "2021 Free Iran Summit: Holding ‎Ebrahim Raisi Accountable for Crimes Against Humanity, ‎Genocide, Regional Meddling, and Nuclear Defiance," ‎ This conference, however, was significantly different from similar ‎meetings that were previously held in the United States. In this ‎ever-important gathering, in addition to distinguished American ‎personalities such as Senator Joe Lieberman, US Vice President ‎candidate (2000), Senator Torricelli, U.S. Senator (1997-2003), ‎Honorable Judge Michael Mukasey, 81st U.S. Attorney...

Judging by the rhetoric coming out of Tehran, John Bolton’s appointment as America’s National Security Advisor is the worst thing that ever happened. The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council labeled Bolton’s appointment “a matter of shame.”  The Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy declared,  "The use of hardline elements against the Islamic Republic of Iran shows that the Americans seek to exert more pressure on Iran.”First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri opined, “They (US officials) are wrong to assume that the Iranian nation will give in to their threats against the Islamic Republic.”  ...

A former Marine Corps Commandant told an audience that President Obama’s strategy to defeat Islamic State militants doesn’t have a “snowball’s chance in hell” of succeeding. Speaking at a conference in Washington, General James Conway, who served as the 34th Commandant of the Marine Crops at the end of the Bush administration and beginning of the Obama administration, said that he was skeptical that the U.S. had reliable ground forces in Iraq, the Daily Caller reported Friday. In June, Gen. Conway blasted the White House over the controversial prisoner swap of five terrorism suspects for alleged deserter Bowe Bergdahl.

President Barack Obama's July 2011 date to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan has given a morale boost to Taliban insurgents, who believe they can wait out NATO forces, the top U.S. Marine said on Tuesday. But General James Conway, who is retiring this fall as commandant of the Marine Corps, said he believed Marines would not be in a position to withdraw from the fight in southern Afghanistan for years. Conway's unusually blunt assessment is likely to fan criticism by opposition Republicans of Obama's war strategy as public opinion of the nine-year-old war sours further. "In some ways, we think...

In his first speech to the Navy League, Defense Secretary Robert Gates laid out a grim portrait of a smaller fleet, one with fewer aircraft carriers, few or no new submarines and a sharply curtailed expeditionary capability for the Marines. Gates told a somber audience today that he did “not foresee any significant top-line increases in the shipbuilding budget beyond current assumptions. At the end of the day, we have to ask whether the nation can really afford a Navy that relies on $3 to $6 billion destroyers, $7 billion submarines, and $11 billion carriers.” On top of that, as...

WASHINGTON – The Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday that the ability of U.S. troops to fight and win wars must trump other concerns as the nation considers whether to let gays to serve openly in the military. In testimony before a House committee, Gen. James Conway said he supports a Pentagon assessment to determine how to lift the ban. But he also suggested that civil rights ultimately would have to take a back seat if it meant tampering with the military's ability to protect the country. "That's what they have been built to do under the current construct and I...

The Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday that the ability of U.S. troops to fight and win wars must trump other concerns as the United States considers whether to let gays serve openly in the military. In testimony before a House committee, Gen. James Conway said he supports a Pentagon assessment to determine how to lift the ban. He also suggested that civil rights ultimately would have to take a back seat if it meant tampering with the military's ability to protect the country. "That's what they have been built to do under the current construct, and I would argue that...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lt. Gen. James Conway, a former commander in Iraq who holds a senior post at the Pentagon, has been nominated to head the U.S. Marine Corps, the Defense Department said on Tuesday. President George W. Bush's nomination of Conway comes at a sensitive time for the Marines, with criminal investigations underway that could lead to murder charges in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in separate incidents in November and April. Conway, director of operations for the military's Joint Staff, would be promoted to the position of Marine Corps commandant to replace Gen. Michael Hagee, who had been...

May 31, 2003 Powell Defends Information He Used to Justify Iraq WarBy JAMES DAO and THOM SHANKER ASHINGTON, May 30 — Secretary of State Colin L. Powell today fiercely defended the intelligence used by the Bush administration to justify war against Iraq, saying he spent several late nights poring over the Central Intelligence Agency's reports because he knew the credibility of the country and the president were at stake.The C.I.A.'s prewar assessments have been sharply questioned by some intelligence officials and lawmakers in recent days, as American forces have uncovered only limited evidence of unconventional weapons programs and Iraqi...

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. Marine commander in Iraq said Friday that U.S. intelligence was "simply wrong" in its assessment that Saddam Hussein intended to unleash chemical or biological weapons against U.S. forces during the war, but he stopped short of saying there was an overall intelligence failure. "It was a surprise to me then, it remains a surprise to me now, that we have not uncovered weapons," Lt. Gen. James Conway, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said from Baghdad in a teleconference with reporters in Washington. "It's not for lack of trying," he continued. "We've been to...

Marine Force Commander Details Progress in Iraq By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 30, 2003 – The Marines based south of Baghdad made the transition from warfighting to peacekeeping with their usual aplomb, said Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway during a video press conference today from Iraq. "Our Marines were extremely innovative and adaptive during the campaign, and they've carried those characteristics into the aftermath," Conway told the Pentagon press corps. "Our current mission is to provide a safe and secure environment in order to eventually be able to turn Iraq back over to the Iraqis." The...

The United States general who will command British troops in battle told thousands of soldiers gathered for a desert parade yesterday that he was thankful for their presence in the looming conflict with Iraq. Lt-Gen James Conway, the commander of 1 Marine Expeditionary Force, addressed more than 4,000 men and women from the 7th Armoured Brigade and 16 Air Assault Brigade, who assembled with Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior armoured vehicles. "About 225 years ago in my country the expression 'The British are coming' was used to scare the children," he said at Camp Coyote in northern Kuwait "I can...