Free Republic

MUNICH — As the leaders of the West gathered in Munich over the past three days, President Vladimir Putin had a message for them: Nothing they’ve done so far — sanctions, condemnation, attempted containment — would alter his intentions to disrupt the current world order.Russia made its first major gain in Ukraine in nearly a year, taking the ruined city of Avdiivka, at huge human cost to both sides, the bodies littered along the roads a warning, perhaps, of a new course in the 2-year-old war. Alexei Navalny’s suspicious death in a remote Arctic prison made it ever clearer that...

THE DEATH of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s foremost opposition leader, in a Siberian gulag on February 16th would by itself have served as a shock to Europe. But for leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of defence and security bigwigs, Mr Navalny’s demise was just one of several ominous developments for the continent. On February 17th Ukraine’s army, starved of American ammunition by Congress’s failure to pass a supplemental aid bill, was forced to withdraw from the eastern town of Avdiivka. That handed Vladimir Putin his first military victory in almost a year.The deadlock in Congress reflects...

Outgoing Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte is imploring Europeans to "stop whining" about Donald Trump and focus on supporting Ukraine. "We should stop moaning and whining and nagging about Trump," Rutte said during the Munich Security Conference, according to Reuters. He didn't say who he would prefer as president in 2024, but said, "It's up to the Americans. I'm not an American, I cannot vote in the U.S. We have to work with whoever is on the dance floor." While Rutte will be exiting his role as prime minister soon, he is the leading candidate to be the next secretary-general...

"All of the internet free speech technology was initially created by our national security state. VPNs to hide your IP address, TOR and the dark web to be able to buy and sell goods anonymously, and encrypted chats. All these things were created as DARPA projects or joint CIA/NSA projects to be able to help intelligence-backed groups to overthrow governments that were causing problems to the Clinton administration, Bush administration, and Obama administration." "This plan worked magically from about 1991 to about 2014 when there began to be an about-face on internet freedom and its utility." "Later, NATO was publishing...

Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned this weekend that former President Trump will try to withdraw the U.S. from NATO if he wins re-election in November. Clinton made the claim during remarks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, telling U.S. allies that they should take Trump's claims to heart after the former president warned NATO countries to contribute their fair share. "We have a long struggle ahead of us, and the obvious point to make about Donald Trump is take him literally and seriously," she said. "He means what he says. People did not take him literally and...

To help the public move beyond the simplistic narrative of Biden and the mainstream media, I offer a brief chronology of some key events leading to the ongoing war. January 31, 1990. German Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich-Genscher pledges to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev that in the context of German reunification and disbanding of the Soviet Warsaw Pact military alliance, NATO will rule out an “expansion of its territory to the East, i.e., moving it closer to the Soviet borders.” February 9, 1990. U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III agrees with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev that “NATO expansion is unacceptable.”...

Denmark has pledged its "entire artillery" stocks to Ukraine, the country's leader has said, as Kyiv issued renewed pleas for all-important military aid in the face of Russian gains in the east of the country. "They are asking us for ammunition now, artillery now," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, said during the Munich Security Conference in Germany. "From the Danish side, we decided to donate our entire artillery." Artillery has dominated the nearly two years of war between Russia and Ukraine, but Kyiv has depleted its ammunition stockpiles and fires far fewer rounds than Russia each day. It has been...

Joe Biden stopped to chat with reporters while he was out and about in Delaware on Saturday. Biden suggested Ukraine is a member of NATO in shocking remarks to reporters. “It’s about time we make sure that Congress come home and pass the legislation funding NATO,” Biden said of the Senate’s stalled foreign aid bill which includes billions of dollars for Ukraine. Ukraine is NOT a member of NATO. Biden’s remarks are dangerous.

The European Union is good at coming up with inoffensive-sounding terminology to talk about unpleasant things. For example, the phrase “strategic autonomy” is a nice way of saying, “We don’t trust the Americans” — and, with Donald Trump leading the polls and boasting about encouraging Vladimir Putin to invade European countries, it is impossible to blame them. It is important to get the context of Trump’s remarks straight: Trump says he told an unidentified NATO counterpart whose country hadn’t met the organization’s target for defense spending, “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage [Russia] to do...

Speculation on what former President Donald Trump may do with NATO should he be reelected this November is running rampant as he appears poised to become the Republican nominee, and as President Joe Biden’s poll numbers hit record lows. A recent report from Bloomberg News cited anonymous sources who claimed Trump is considering a two-tiered NATO system where members would only come to the defense of members who met the goal of spending at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense. However, Breitbart News was told Friday the report was inaccurate and based on speculation. The idea was first...

Ukraine is signing bilateral defence deals with France and Germany on Friday, cited as a “historic step” Olaf Scholz, and as creating a “NATO light” in the press. Germany signed a ten-year defence agreement with Ukraine on Friday, with President Volodymyr Zelensky visiting Berlin and inking the document with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The agreement will see Germany give Ukraine more funds, military assistance, and apply more sanctions on Russia. Germany said in the document that they are “unwavering in its support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within borders, which have been internationally recognised since 1991”. Zelensky Headlines at...

A deal cut between the government in Northern Belgium (Flanders) and farmers organizations. This follows protests... Tonight in the UK results of two Special Elections for House of Commons seats...Labor Party taking both seats... The drama in Washington over a "national security threat" now identified as a potential Russian weapon in space... The US Defense Department leaking...cyber-attack on an Iranian vessel more than a... Greece's parliament passing a law establishing civil same-sex marriage... Pushing back on criticism from President Donald Trump, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg... The Biden Administration Justice Department indicting a former FBI informant who alleged wrongdoing by...

I'm hearing a lot of chatter tonight that the Ukrainian position in Avdeevka has all but collapsed. Evidently the air defense base anchoring their southern defenses was flanked and rapidly overrun, with the Russian flag planted on it. I'm also hearing: The Neo-Nazi Azov brigade (disingenuously referred to simply as the 3rd Brigade in Washington/MSM propaganda today) was sent to bolster Ukrainian defenses on the flanks while troops in forward positions retreated, but they were caught in the open field, massacred, and are refusing to follow orders. This would help explain the general collapse scenario. Maybe it is not so...

Former President Obama stood by President Biden’s commitment to the NATO alliance on Wednesday, days after former President Trump sparked concern around the globe by saying the U.S. should not defend NATO allies who fall short of their defense spending targets. “President Biden is absolutely right,” Obama wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “The last thing we need right now is a world that is more chaotic and less secure; where dictators feel emboldened and our allies wonder if they can count on us. Let’s keep moving forward.” Obama was responding to a statement from Biden saying the NATO alliance keeps...

For many months, President Biden has been rallying global leaders to provide more military aid to Ukraine and pressing Congress to pass a multibillion-dollar aid package to help the country beat back Russian aggression. Former President Donald J. Trump has been undermining that effort, pressing Republicans to thwart it. But on Wednesday, Mr. Trump tried to flip the script, suggesting that he would do more to protect Ukraine than Mr. Biden, who he said would effectively cede Ukraine as a gift to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Speaking at a campaign event in North Charleston, S.C., Mr. Trump said...

Secretary of State John Kerry said this morning that the Obama administration is "open" to considering the extradition of a Poconos scholar accused by the Turkish regime of being behind Friday's coup attempt.Kerry said on NBC's Meet the Press that the U.S. has asked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to become more authoritarian in response to the coup.Hurriyet Daily News reported that Erdogan has detained some 6,000 soldiers, judges and prosecutors in less than 48 hours. They're being charged with “membership of an armed terrorist organization” and “attempting to overthrow the government of the Turkish Republic using force and violence...

There has been a load of harrumphing and indignation from the left over something Donald Trump said a few days ago when he said that he would not run to the aid of countries who did not meet their financial obligation to NATO. And one of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, well, sir, if we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us? I said, you didn't pay. You're delinquent. He said, yes, let's say that happened. No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever...

The European Union should form its own combined army that could play a role in peacekeeping and preventing conflict, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said. In an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, Tajani said that closer European cooperation on defence was a priority for the Forza Italia party that he leads. "If we want to be peacekeepers in the world, we need a European military. And this is a fundamental precondition to be able to have an effective European foreign policy," he said in an interview published on Sunday. "In a world with powerful players like the United States,...

NATO is expected to announce Wednesday that a majority of its members are set to hit their defense spending goals for 2024, days after former President Donald Trump told those who don’t pay their share that he wouldn’t protect them if re-elected. It is estimated that 18 of the 31 NATO members will hit their minimum goal of spending 2% of total gross domestic product on defense budgets for 2024, compared to roughly one-third of the alliance who hit that goal in 2023, according to three alliance officials who spoke to The Financial Times. Trump warned in a speech on...

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted his predecessor Donald Trump's comments on NATO, saying they have raised the stakes for Congress to approve new funding to support Ukraine. Biden called "dangerous" and "unAmerican" Trump's comment that he would not want to protect NATO members from a future attack by Russia if those countries' contributions to the defense alliance were lagging.