Free Republic

This is what happens when we wage lawfare instead of warfare. ** NATO-led forces are investigating the death of four Marines in eastern Afghanistan after their commanders reportedly rejected requests for artillery fire in a battle with insurgents, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. Tuesday’s incident was “under investigation” and details remained unclear, press secretary Geoff Morrell told a news conference. A McClatchy newspapers’ journalist who witnessed the battle reported that a team of Marine trainers made repeated appeals for air and artillery support after being pinned down by insurgents in the village of Ganjgal in eastern Kunar province. The U.S....

Najibullah Zazi, the once-chatty suspect at the center of the probe, was silent and downcast as he arrived at FBI headquarters in Denver for a second round of questioning...The day before, Zazi, 25, fielded detailed questions for eight hours from two of FBI agents. His Aurora, Colo., home was raided by feds and local law enforcement. (Zazi's lawyer, Arthur) Folsom said there was no word of any bomb-making materials being found in the apartment, although agents carried away several boxes of evidence after going through the home with bomb-sniffing dogs. Zazi had taken video with his cell phone camera inside...

Suicide attackers breached security at the African Union base in Somalia’s capital by using vehicles with United Nations logos to carry out a deadly double car bombing, the organization told CNN. “The vehicles had U.N. logos on them and they entered inside the headquarters and then exploded,” said Gaffel Nkolokosa, spokesman for the African Union mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM. “We do not know if they were, in fact, U.N. vehicles.” Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union Commission, issued a statement strongly condemning the attack on the base in Mogadishu, saying it had killed “a number of peacekeepers.”...

As the Islamic holy month of Ramadan winds down, Rami Nashashibi sees a promising fundraising trend for the Chicago charity he runs. Online donations ranging from $50 to $2,500 to his Inner-City Muslim Action Network have increased over the past weeks as part of an aggressive Ramadan Internet marketing push on the group's Web site and through social networking sites, he said. But Nashashibi also credits the influx of online donations to his organization becoming one of the nation's first to be accredited by the Better Business Bureau's newest charity wing tailored for Islamic nonprofits. Those involved in the accreditation...

A Roadmap for Terrorists By Lori Lowenthal Marcus MEMORANDUM TO: THE OFFICE OF LEGAL COUNSEL, WORLDWIDE FEDERATION OF TERRORISTS FROM: MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS RE: OPERATIONS IN AFTERMATH OF GOLDSTONE REPORT CLASSIFICATION: HIGHEST PRIORITY The Goldstone Commission, appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations to investigate "all violations of international international human rights law and international humanitarian law that might have been committed at any time in the context of the military operations that were conducted in Gaza during the period from 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009," has issued its report. Please review the...

BELGRADE -- Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman have signed an agreement to abolish visas between the two countries. The two ministers welcomed the signing, stating that it was an important step in the development of bilateral relations. “This removes the obstacle to Serbian businesspeople and tourists that want to come to Israel,” Lieberman said. Jeremic and Lieberman said that only new negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina could yield a permanent solution to the Kosovo status question. The Serbian minister said that he thanked Lieberman for Israel’s firm position regarding Kosovo. “I am very thankful...

Friday, September 18, 2009 Document: 4 examples how Goldstone Commission ignored that Palestinians lied to them when testifying On June 28 and 29, 2009, the Goldstone Commission recorded Palestinian statements at the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City, and posted the questions and answers on the commission's website.1 The following is an analysis of the four main statements, the way the commission interpreted them, and reports from other Palestinian sources which contradict the testimony presented to the commission:Blocking the Truth of the Gaza War:How the Goldstone Commission Understated the Hamas Threat to Palestinian CiviliansJerusalem Issue Briefs Vol. 9, No. 10...

In an apparent sign of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his ruling party flexing their muscles ahead of next week's UN General Assembly, the hard-line leader again denied the Holocaust, while two top reformists were attacked in Teheran. Tens of thousands of Iranian government supporters and dozens of opposition activists poured out onto the streets of the capital for coinciding marches marking Quds Day - an annual event dedicated to condemning Israel and expressing support for the Palestinians. Quds is Arabic for Jerusalem. Addressing government supporters, Ahmadinejad called the Holocaust "a false pretext to create Israel." He said that "confronting...

Students of history know it’s never a good policy to bet against the United States military. American warriors have a knack for turning the tide toward victory just when things look bleakest. Consider Pearl Harbor. A devastating sneak attack damaged 21 Navy ships and killed some 2,400 Americans. Yet within six months, our crippled Navy was able to prevail at the Battle of Midway, sinking four Japanese carriers and beginning a trans-Pacific push to V-J Day. More recently, many had given up on our chances for success in Iraq. In April of 2007, just three months after Bush ordered a...

TEHRAN — Iranian opposition supporters fought running battles with riot police and hardliners on Friday as tens of thousands mounted the first protest in two months against the re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Protesters defied dire warnings from top officials against demonstrating during the annual mass display of solidarity with the Palestinians that is one of the setpieces of the Islamic regime. As Ahmadinejad himself gave the keynote speech at Tehran University renewing comments about Israel and the "myth" of the Holocaust that have sparked an international outcry, tens of thousands chanted "Death to the dictator" in nearby streets,...

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said it would be "best" for the country's troops to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible after six were killed in a car bombing in Kabul. Berlusconi, speaking to reporters Thursday, gave no timeline for a withdrawal and said any pullout would have to be coordinated with Italy's allies. "There is no idea," Berlusconi said about a possible date for leaving Afghanistan. "It is an international problem. It is not a problem that a country present there can take on its own. Doing so could betray the accord and trust of...

One Canadian soldier killed and 11 injured in an explosive device strikeCEFCOM NR - 09.025 - September 17, 2009OTTAWA – One Canadian soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated in the vicinity of his vehicle while on patrol in Panjwai District. The incident occurred approximately 25 kilometres South-West of Kandahar City at around 10:15 a.m., Kandahar time, on 17th September, 2009. Killed in action was Private Jonathan Couturier from the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, based in Valcartier, Quebec. He was serving as a member of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment Battle Group. Eleven other soldiers on...

A terror plot that came to light this week following raids in New York may have been targeting a major transportation center, sources close to the investigation told CNN on Thursday. There was planning and preparation for an attack, presumably in the New York area, where there would be a large number of people and where security screening is lax such as a large railroad or subway station, essentially where there is no airport-style screening, the sources said. Authorities are taking the plot seriously, because, the sources said, they think it involves "real-deal terrorists" operating and planning an attack in...