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This weekend in Springfield, Missouri, Mike Lindell is hosting “The Moment of Truth Summit.” On Saturday morning The Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft joined Steve Bannon on The War Room who is reporting live from the Expo Center. Steve agreed with our assessment that “nothing else matters” if we do not have fair and free elections. Steve also gave his assessment of how the midterms are shaping up for Republicans. The Gateway Pundit is also reporting live from the conference. We will be posting live video later today from the conference. Jim Hoft also dropped off a gift for Steve from...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Barack Obama will seek to corral panicked Democrats and win back disaffected voters this week in the debut State of the Union address of a presidency dragged down by crushing economic gloom. Suddenly, Obama is at a turning point, after Republicans snatched away the Democratic super-majority in the Senate and with his own party now viewing November's mid-term congressional elections with a sense of doom. The State of the Union address, beamed simultaneously on US television networks and cable news stations, offers a president his best annual chance to bypass the media and speak directly to Americans....

PARIS - France declared a state of emergency Tuesday to quell the country's worst unrest since the student uprisings of 1968 that toppled a government, and the prime minister said the nation faced a "moment of truth" over its failure to integrate Arab and African immigrants and their children. The extraordinary security measures, which began Wednesday and are valid for 12 days, clear the way for curfews after nearly two weeks of rioting in neglected and impoverished neighborhoods with largely Muslim communities. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, tacitly acknowledging that France has failed to live up to its egalitarian ideals,...

/begin my translation     The Coming Moment of Truth for Regimes in Both Koreas A recent defector, who  used to be a N. Korean intelligence agent, told me, "N. Korean people are like a powder-keg. Once catching fire,  they will explode in an instant. Kim Jong-il's regime would not go down gradually. (N. Korea would) go like Romania, and (Kim Jong-il would) die like Ceausescu. Once U.N. decides to impose economic sanction, it is quite likely that power struggle would erupt in the inner circle of Kim's regime. Many close associates of Kim no longer want to follow him to death....

TEXT-Bush says U.S.-led forces begin Iraq attack WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - Following is the text of remarks on Wednesday by U.S. President George W. Bush on the early stages of an attack on Iraq: My fellow citizens, at this hour American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger. On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and...

Bush says war on Iraq has begun WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday American and British forces had launched the early stages of an attack on Iraq. "These are the opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign," he said. "On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance... "A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict," he told the American people in a televised address from the White House Oval Office.

<p>WASHINGTON ((CNN) -- The "opening stages" of military action against Iraq have begun, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer announced Wednesday night. President Bush will address the nation at 10:15 p.m. ÉT, Fleischer said.</p> <p>A Pentagon official told CNN that cruise missiles were being fired against "a target of opportunity," but no explosions were heard in Baghdad.</p>

WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) -- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer Wednesday night announced the initial phase of the U.S. disarmament of Iraq had begun. "The initial phases of the disarmament of Iraq have begun," Fleischer told reporters gathered in the White House press room, adding that the president would address the nation at 10:15 p.m. EDT. Two bombing runs on Iraq are expected tonight, NBC News said. President George W. Bush received word shortly after 8 p.m. EST that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his sons had not heeded his warning to leave the country or face military action....

Now we return to finish the job. "This elaborately illustrated Gulf War PSYOP leaflet portrays a giant wave as a knife-wielding, war-ready, US Marine. Twelve thousand copies of the leaflet were placed in sealed bottles and dumped off the Kuwait coastline by a smuggler from the United Arab Emirates. Copies of this leaflet were also disseminated by F-16 air dropped leaflet bombs. This deception launched just days before the ground war played the Iraqi fear of an amphibious attack by the United States. As a result, this leaflet is credited with convincing the Iraqis to reorient their defenses in...

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10:15

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - War on Iraq has begun, and President George W. Bush will address the American people later on Wednesday night, the White House said. "The opening stages of the disarmament of the Iraqi regime have begun," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. He said Bush would speak at 10:15 p.m. EST (0315 GMT on Thursday).

White House-Saddam refusal paves way for war By Steve Holland WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's refusal to leave Iraq by a deadline on Wednesday night cleared the way for war, the White House said. Bush was informed of Saddam's refusal to accept the U.S.-imposed 48-hour deadline by White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card. Bush had just had dinner with his wife Laura after hashing over war plans with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer noted the passing of the deadline by...

Campbel Brown Announced that the White House said all the decisions have been made and the go codes given. The President has turned the operation over to the Generals and they will decide when to start.

We know that Free Republic is monitored at the White House. I am asking all of you to post your good wishes and support for the Commander-in-Chief on this thread, in the hope that one of our friends on the White House staff will select the best of the best of them and put them on the President's desk in the next few days. George W. Bush is an incredibly talented man, with great capacities. But he is human, and needs encouragement in trying times, like all of us do. This period of history is about as tryng as it...

Newsmax Wires Thursday, March 20, 2003 WASHINGTON -- All speculation about whether Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would flee and whether he would be tried for his crimes or forgiven if he did ended Wednesday as the time for the dictator and his two sons to leave expired. Saddam hasn't left Baghdad. But since Monday evening, when U.S. President George W. Bush gave him two days to surrender if he wants to avoid war, his possible departure was sought and discussed intensely around the world. At least two Arab states -- Saudi Arabia and Bahrain -- who have been asking him...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As a U.S. deadline passed for President Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or face war, the White House said the invasion of Baghdad would start at a time of President Bush's choosing. "The disarmament of the Iraqi regime will begin at a time of the president's choosing," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters as the 8 p.m. deadline passed.

Official says Bush could wait to give "go" order and let Iraqi military "stare up at the sky for a little bit"

Given that it's 5 minutes till the Iraq war deadline ends I thought it would be timely to recall the following quote: "I have just signed a bill that will outlaw Russia forever. The bombing starts in 5 minutes." - Ronald Reagan (Doing microphone check at 1984 GOP Convention) Here's an audio of it

With the formal rejection of U.S. President George W. Bush's offer to accept a peaceful surrender on al-Shahab (the Iraqi equivalent to the CBC), Saddam Hussein and his sons have given signal for the U.S. and allied invasion to begin. Mr. Bush will probably still wait the full 48 hours, which expire this evening. Time is being granted for non-combatants to get out of Iraq; the invasion becomes more likely to begin with each passing hour after 8 p.m. EST.Would that it were possible to temporarily remove the entire Iraqi civilian population, but Mr. Saddam won't let them go.For the...