Free Republic

While the memo didn't strictly forbid “fun” it did attempt to ban dominos, cards, and video game tournaments before the Army made an about-face last week. ... The Army has canceled a memo that would have directed a defense contractor to cease providing ping-pong and other “recreational activities other than sports and fitness” for soldiers at Camp Arifjan and Camp Buehring, Kuwait, said Lt. Col. Christina Wright, a spokeswoman for U.S. Army Central Command. “All activities remain in place,” Wright told Task & Purpose on Monday, in response to a query about the letter of technical direction, or LOTD. “The...

US decision to amass B-2 bombers at Diego Garcia is result of Gulf Arab monarchs closing airspace to American warplanes in event of war with Iran Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have imposed a ban on US warplanes using their air fields or skies to attack Iran after US President Donald Trump over the weekend threatened to bomb the country. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait have all told the US they will not permit their airspaces or territories to be used as a launchpad against Iran, including for refuelling and rescue operations, a senior US official told...

America bends over backward to financially support Islamic expansion within its borders, while Kuwait and other Islamic nations would never allow the same for Christianity. This isn’t religious freedom—it’s a one-way street to submission to Islam. The United States is allowing a foreign, Islamic government to plant its flag in Utah—of all places. A state known for its conservative values and strong Mormon heritage is now home to a Kuwaiti-funded Islamic center, openly acknowledging its financial and ideological ties to a foreign nation. The Islamic Center of Kuwait in Utah, previously known as the North Utah Islamic Center, was fully...

According to Baram, the current ceasefire proposal would allow Hezbollah to regain its strength within a year or two. While the ceasefire proposal brokered by the US between Israel and Hezbollah would allow a temporary cessation of hostilities, a more permanent solution could be found within Lebanese politics, Middle East expert, professor Amatzia Baram told Radio 103FM on Friday. While he affirmed that the proposal was "not bad," Baram added, "From a more analytical perspective, the implication is that within a year or two, Hezbollah will return to what it was, and it will be better, more updated, more technological,...

Kuwaiti media figure attacked for telling the truth: Some Gaza women are forced into prostitution by aid workers to get food. A Kuwaiti influencer named Meshal Al-Nami is under huge criticism for making a video where he quote a witness who visited Gaza that some Gaza women are forced to turn to prostitution in order to get much needed food and aid.

A military enthusiast bought a tank on eBay recently and discovered $2.5 million of gold bars hidden inside, in one of the most unexpected and intriguing places where gold has ever been found. Nick Mead discovered the five gold bars stashed inside the diesel tank of the ex-Iraqi Army Type 69, a Chinese copy of the Soviet T-55, back in 2017. It’s believed the bullion was looted by plundering Iraqi soldiers during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait but forgotten about inside the 36.7-ton tank. Man regrets handing in the gold found in the tank from eBay Stunned by the discovery,...

The Tennessee National Guard has been tasked with assisting citizens struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, but they’re doing so without the help of over 700 of their men. They were deployed to Kuwait by the Biden-Harris regime. As independent journalist Nick Sortor reported from the ground, civilians are having to help each other in Eastern Tennessee where catastrophic flooding continues to put lives at risk. Sortor posted to Twitter: The Tennessee National Guard is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND in Eastern TN, despite MASSIVE flooding and missing people Why? BECAUSE BIDEN & HARRIS DEPLOYED THEM TO THE MIDDLE EAST...

The delegation sought to deliver messages to Tehran in order to de-escalate the tensions in the region between Iran and Israel. An unnamed source in Iran's Supreme National Security Council told Kuwaiti newspaper al Jarida that a high-ranking American security delegation, mediated by Oman, secretly traveled to Tehran, the Kuwaiti paper wrote on Wednesday. Fox News reported that the delegation allegedly sought to deliver messages to Tehran in order to de-escalate the tensions in the region between Iran and Israel, al Jarida noted in their reporting of the story… Allegedly, the American delegation presented a list with the names of...

Tareq Al-Suwaidan: "There are no civilians in Israel. Neither men nor women – there are no civilians. According to the Israeli military system, they are all soldiers, who take an 11-month break every year, in order to work. They return [to the army] when they are summoned. We are talking about soldiers here, not about innocent people. "Should women be taken captive? Yes, of course. If God forbid, Oman is attacked by women, would you not take women captive? What kind of mentality is this? "We draw a distinction between innocent people and criminals, and between combatants and civilians. The...

A military enthusiast bought a tank on eBay recently and discovered $2.5 million of gold bars hidden inside in one of the most unexpected and intriguing places where gold has been found. Nick Mead discovered the five gold bars stashed inside the diesel tank of the ex-Iraqi Army Type 69, a Chinese copy of the Soviet T-55, back in 2017. It’s believed the bullion was looted by plundering Iraqi soldiers during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait but forgotten about inside the 36.7-ton tank. Man regrets handing in the gold found in the tank from eBay Stunned by the discovery, Mead...

In a three-part interview with Kuwaiti podcaster Amar Taki, posted during the second week of January 2024, Khaled Mashal, the leader of Hamas abroad, rejected the two-state solution. He said that there is a consensus among Palestinians that they will not give up their rights to Palestine from the Mediterranean River to the Mediterranean Sea. Mashal said that October 7 has renewed this dream and hope and shown that it is a realistic idea, not merely a dream. He stated that taking control of the Gaza Strip following the 2006 elections was necessary in order to build up the resistance,...

It is déjà vu for major oil producers, who are again considering steeper production cuts. It took only a month after the Hamas attacks on Israel unleashed a punishing war for oil prices to fall below their pre-Oct. 7 level. The steep drop in oil prices last week, with Brent crude briefly dropping to $77 per barrel, led to speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers (OPEC+) will decide to cut production at its next meeting. OPEC’s last-minute decision to delay the meeting, now scheduled for Nov. 30, will only add to the speculation. U.S....

Democrats across Congress are calling on President Biden to allow Palestinians entry into the U.S. on humanitarian grounds as war drags on in Gaza. Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., together with Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Pramila Jayapal, D-Was., led a letter of 103 colleagues to the president asking him to grant the Palestinian territories Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and/or authorize Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Palestinians already living in the U.S. The TPS program allows those from war-torn or crisis-wracked countries to legally live and work in the U.S., but does not give them permanent residency. It allows...

At first glance, Thursday’s first-ever phone call between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi might suggest the two predominantly Muslim nations are coming together to support Hamas and its war on Israel. But a closer look shows the two leaders were talking past each other. The Saudi prince, known as MBS, wants peace with Israel and his country’s full integration into the world economy, an agenda that puts him fundamentally at odds with Tehran’s drive to destroy Israel and dominate the Middle East through a network of clients and proxies. According to the Saudi readout...

Confirmed... China has ships as of now in the Mideast...44th Chinese naval escort taskforce arrives in Kuwait - Ministry of National Defense https://t.co/cwcNsmbWAn— EndGameWW3 🇺🇸 (@EndGameWW3) October 21, 2023

The United States and Qatar have reached an understanding not to allow Iran to access the $6 billion funds reserved for humanitarian assistance. U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Democrats behind closed doors on Thursday that the U.S. and Qatar had reached a “quiet understanding” not to move the money, a person familiar with his comments told Semafor. The news comes as U.S. officials probe whether Iran was directly involved in the Hamas attack on Israel over the weekend. Adeyemo told the lawmakers the funds would not be moving anytime soon, the person said.

The Barbie film has been banned in Kuwait and faces calls for a ban in Lebanon amid criticism in the Arab world of the movie's social values. Kuwait acted to protect "public ethics", the state news agency said. Lebanon's culture minister accused the film of "promoting homosexuality".

The Bahrain-based U.S. fleet continues to monitor the situation in the Persian Gulf. Over the past two years, Iran has attacked, interfered with or harassed the navigational rights of 15 internationally flagged commercial vessels, U.S. officials have revealed. Late last month, Iran’s state television showed footage of the country’s navy commandos in a helicopter operation boarding the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet. The Turkish-operated, Chinese-owned tanker was reportedly bound for Houston, Texas carrying Kuwaiti crude oil for U.S. energy giant Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX). Iran claimed that the tanker collided with an unidentified Iranian vessel hours prior to its seizure, with...

The U.S. Navy said Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday amid wider tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program. The Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Advantage Sweet. Satellite tracking data for the vessel from MarineTraffic.com showed it in the Gulf of Oman just north of Oman’s capital, Muscat, on Thursday afternoon. It had just come from Kuwait and listed its destination as Houston, Texas.

According to Stars and Stripes, some members of the United States military have a new hobby: hunting one of the most dangerous scorpions on earth. And the hobby has become so popular that there is now a waitlist to get in on the scorpion hunts. The scorpion they are hunting is called Androctonus crassicauda, known as the Arabian fat-tailed scorpion. Although the venom of the scorpion is extremely dangerous, it is generally regarded as not aggressive towards humans; rather, members of the military hunt these creatures because they are a danger to the service dogs the military relies upon. In...