Free Republic

War On Terror: At the administration's request, a New York federal judge granted a "compassionate release" from prison for the radical lawyer convicted of helping a terrorist communicate with his followers in Egypt. Lynne Stewart's release last week by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl came after a request from the director of the Bureau of Prisons through the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, no doubt with the consent of higher-ups at the Department of Justice. The 74-year-old Stewart was not scheduled for release until August 2018, but prosecutors say she suffers from recurrent stage-four breast cancer and has...

For evidence of how quickly the tide of war can turn, look no further than Osama bin Laden's latest epistle to his al Qaeda underlings in Iraq. The theme of the audiotape, broadcast on al-Jazeera TV last week, is purportedly the need to avoid "division" in the prosecution of jihad. The not-so-subtle message: You guys are screwing up - big time. From his bloody-handed perspective, he's right to be worried. Both American and civilian casualties in Iraq are on track to drop drastically for the second straight month - a direct result of the sharp rise in Iraqi cooperation with...