Free Republic

Former U.S. Army Special Forces member Jim Hanson said that the criticism President Trump is facing for meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is hypocritical to what the Obama administration faced in 2012. Hanson, during an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” specifically called out former President Barack Obama's hot mic incident with then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the lax media reaction to it. Obama told Medvedev that after the 2012 election, he'd “have more flexibility.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said an Obama-era nuclear weapons pact would lapse unless the US took an interest in renewing it. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) pact limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers and is due to expire in 2021 unless renewed. […] The treaty limits the US and Russia to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, well below Cold War caps. It was signed in 2010 by former US President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. It is one of the key...

The Russian military is considering the possibility of regaining its Soviet-era bases on Cuba and in Vietnam, the Defense Ministry said Friday, a statement that comes amid growing U.S.-Russia tensions over Syria. Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov told lawmakers Friday that the ministry is considering the possibility of establishing footholds far away from Russia’s borders. Responding to a lawmaker’s question if the military could return to Cuba and Vietnam, Pankov said the military is “reviewing” a decision to withdraw from them, but didn’t offer any specifics. “As for our presence on faraway outposts, we are doing this work,” he said....

For nearly eight years, the Obama Administration shamelessly exploited popular issues, turning them into major news stories whenever they suited a political purpose. It didn't really matter what the issue was (race, religion, or border), or where it occurred (Benghazi, Libya, or Ferguson, Missouri). The intention was always the same: to weaken America by damaging its image and resolve. [...] ... During a private conversation with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Obama carelessly exposed his administration's intent by making a historic blunder on tape before his second election. Simply put, he said, "I'll have more flexibility after election." What exactly...

U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week while both men are in New York for the United Nations General Assembly at Putin's request, a senior Obama administration official said on Thursday. "Given the situations in Ukraine and Syria, despite our profound differences with Moscow, the president believes that it would be irresponsible not to test whether we can make progress through high-level engagement with the Russians," the U.S. official said. "President Obama will take advantage of this meeting to discuss Ukraine, and he will be focused on ensuring Moscow lives up to the Minsk...

On Thursday, The New York Times reported a bombshell: Russia’s atomic energy agency, Rosatom, managed to acquire full interest in a Canadian firm, Uranium One, over a four-year period – a company that, at one point, owned one-fifth of all uranium in the United States. Uranium, you may recall, is the primary element necessary for the production of both nuclear power and nuclear weapons. What’s more, the Times noted, the evolution of this process – and sale – took place during a time when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, and at a time when money – millions of dollars,...

Barack Obama gave a short speech today on the attack on Malaysia Air Flight 17, in which he warned Russia to start using its influence with separatists more positively. His statement, delivered 25 minutes late, included plenty of warnings about isolation for Vladimir Putin, but zero mention of any specific consequences for the shootdown and for the obstruction of the investigation into the explosion that killed 295 people:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO “Now is the time for Russia and Putin to pivot away from the strategy he been taking and get serious about” about resolving the conflict in...

I am starting to lose this one. How dare anyone excuse a great power hurling brute force against a small one, justifying it with some nonsense about extremists and a "responsibility to protect". There should be no place for such cynical bullying in a 21st-century world order. And for what? So a leader with a virility complex can play to his domestic gallery. The whole thing is utterly unacceptable. There must be costs and consequences. But enough of Iraq. What of Ukraine? We can only gasp at the hypocrisy of a British foreign secretary and an American secretary of state...

Russian president Vladimir Putin claims President Barack Obama is planning to visit Russia, the outlet RIA Novosti reports. "US President Barack Obama has confirmed plans to visit Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Russian president’s spokesman said on Tuesday," the Russian outlet reports. "Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Obama made the statement when Putin called a second time to congratulate the US president on his reelection." RIA Novosti quotes Putin's spokesman as saying, "Obama thanked [Putin] for the congratulations and the invitation and confirmed his readiness to come to Russia at a date to be agreed...