Free Republic

US Senator Lindsey Graham has warned that President Donald Trump will impose steep tariffs on countries that continue to import oil from Russia, specifically naming India, China and Brazil. Graham made the remarks during a recent interview on Fox News. “Trump is going to impose tariffs on people that buy Russian oil – China, India, and Brazil,” Graham said. These three countries account for around 80 per cent of Russia’s crude exports, which Graham argued is helping to fund the war in Ukraine. He said Trump plans to impose a 100 per cent tariff on oil-related imports from those nations...

The war in Ukraine has thrust advanced air defense systems like the Patriot missile into the spotlight, creating a unique confluence of geopolitical urgency and defense sector opportunity. As Russia's relentless drone and missile strikes escalate, Ukraine's reliance on Western military aid has exposed both the strategic importance of advanced air defense systems and the fragile global supply chains supporting their production. For investors, this dynamic presents a compelling narrative of growth for defense contractors—but also risks tied to production bottlenecks and shifting geopolitical alliances. The Demand Surge: Patriots as the New “Must-Have” Asset The U.S. decision to pause Patriot...

John Bolton, former national security adviser to Donald Trump, applauded the president's decision to strike Iran, explaining to CNN's Kasie Hunt why he believes it was "clearly the right thing to do."

Isolationists seek to discredit warnings about the great dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran as “warmongers” or “neocons.” Yet history proves the opposite: Isolationism allowed Nazi Germany to arm and vastly expand its war machine, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. In reality, isolationists are the most dangerous war-mongers. Their intent to keep the U.S. out of military conflict (short of a direct attack on the U.S. homeland), virtually ensures a catastrophic war.

Dorothy Day founded an ongoing series of weekly talks at the Worker, dedicated to “the clarification of thought”. These talks continue to the present. Now, however, some Catholic Workers complain, most of the talks are immersed in the hard left and the thinking expressed is actually “The Calcification of Thought”, one wag has quipped mournfully. Today, attendees of these weekly lectures have encountered the following ideas: - Anti Israel, Anti-“Zionist”, Anti “Usury”, Anti “NEOCON” and pro-Iranian, pro-Assad, pro-PLO propaganda. - Support for violent riots in American cities - The return of antiquated Marxist terminology, like castigating peoples' opinions as "bourgeois"....

President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he is an “easy target” and “our patience is wearing thin,” before demanding Tehran surrender in its conflict against Israel. “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” he wrote after declaring “total control” over Iran’s airspace. “But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.” Trump in a subsequent...

Mike Pence: "If Israel needs our help to ensure that the Iranian nuclear program is destroyed once and for all, the United States of America needs to be prepared to do it." ... [Video at URL]

If someone uses big words to sound smart, they’re probably not. If someone speaks in clichés, they might be lacking original thought. Understanding human communication isn’t always simple. In fact, navigating the labyrinth of human conversation requires more than just a good ear. It also requires an understanding of certain speech patterns and phrases. Now, some folks have a knack for this. They can hear a few words and immediately gauge the intelligence of the speaker. In this article, let’s delve into 8 phrases that, more often than not, are used by people with below-average intelligence in everyday conversation.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) wrote a letter to the editors of The Wall Street Journal that was published on Tuesday in which he vowed that the U.S. Senate was ready to “grind” Vladimir Putin’s “war machine to a halt” if President Donald Trump is unable to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine soon. Graham, one of the most hawkish GOP senators, wrote his letter in response to a scathing Journal editorial titled, “Time for a GOP Senate Revolt on Sanctions Against Putin.” In the editorial, the Journal’s board argues for the GOP to advance Graham’s bill that would “hit...

In what can be called a victory speech over failed neoconservative foreign policy, President Donald Trump proclaimed the end of 30-some years of existing foreign policy in the Mideast. The ideology dragged the U.S. through pointless wars from Libya to Yemen is now dead. At an investment conference in Riyadh, in a speech little-commented on by the mainstream media, Trump said, “In the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more nations than they built. And the interventionalists [sic] were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand.” For the first time since the First Gulf War in...

With four hats, including national security adviser, the former Trump rival is defying predictions he’d be a weak player. Marco Rubio is doing big things under President Donald Trump — way more than nearly anyone expected. The secretary of State was once thought of as one of the weakest players in the Trump orbit, a man who wouldn’t last long in the Cabinet because he faced many internal rivals and had major policy differences with Trump and the MAGA base. But Rubio has deftly earned the president’s trust, enough so that Trump this week gave him another powerful job as...

In a recent piece in The Atlantic, Reuel Marc Gerecht, a senior fellow with the neoconservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies, urged the United States to confront Turkey. According to Gerecht, Turkey has emerged, under the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “as perhaps the greatest danger to Israel in the Middle East, escalating the threat of a conflict he won’t be able to avoid.” Gerecht charges Erdogan with setting the stage for a clash with Israel as a key tactic in his power projection strategy abroad. To reduce the risk of “yet another regional war,” Gerecht urges President Donald Trump...

Neocon Bill Kristol is urging his Never Trump allies to “Stand with trans,” describing President Donald Trump’s criticism of transgender ideology as “unjust and dangerous.” In a post on X, Kristol — who left the Republican Party over the embrace of President Donald Trump — shared a link to an article written by Marc Solomon, a partner at Civitas Public Affairs Group. Solomon writes about supporting transgender Americans and calls for people to “stand with trans Americans.” “Stand with trans Americans,” Kristol wrote in his post on X. “You don’t have to understand everything about the transgender experience to know...

A band of moderate Republicans in Congress sharply criticized the Trump administration this week for siding with Russia at the United Nations on resolutions regarding the war in Ukraine, even as the majority of the G.O.P. turned a blind eye to the United States’ sudden embrace of a longtime adversary.“The Trump Administration royally screwed up today on Ukraine,” Representative Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, wrote on social media on Monday night. “The vast majority of Americans stand up for independence, freedom and free markets, and against the bully and invader.”The reproach from Mr. Bacon and others came after the United...

Let's send American troops to Ukraine! Bear with me.Let’s be honest: If Democrats and neoconservatives truly believe in “saving democracy” in Ukraine, they should either push for direct U.S. military involvement—meaning American soldiers fighting and dying alongside Ukrainians—or admit that this war is unwinnable. Right now, Ukraine is losing. The territory map tells the story, the desertion rates confirm it, and even mainstream media outlets can’t deny it anymore. Russia has already secured its key objectives—a land bridge to Crimea and control of the separatist regions. Short of a full-scale war with NATO, those gains aren’t going anywhere. Yet, instead...

Fox News host Mark Levin, a longtime supporter of President Trump, is breaking with the commander-in-chief over his recent attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, warning Trump that “MAGA doesn’t support Putin.” Speaking on the Mark Levin Show on Wednesday, Levin offered a rare criticism of the president as he backed Zelensky for maintaining order in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022. Levin’s segment appeared to be a direct response to Trump’s claims that Zelensky is a dictator that the Ukrainian leader is stopping free elections and only has a very low approval rating. The Fox News host said both...

The biggest War Hawk in the Senate, Lindsey Graham, is now chair of the Budget committee. At the same time, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell are in control of key funding committees. The swamp RINOs control the Senate, wars, and borders. Expect billions and billions to go to the war unless the DOGEs can do something or the House starts using their powers over appropriations. Lindsey is mostly a Democrat when it comes to Liberty and voting. Global elites will run the Senate. There is not one actual conservative. Barrasso and Cotton are on some things. They are all warmonger...

President-elect Donald Trump is considering Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general who has presented him with a plan to end the war in Ukraine, to serve as a special envoy for the conflict, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. Kellogg, who was the chief of staff for the White House National Security Council during Trump's 2017-2021 term and national security adviser to then-Vice President Mike Pence, would likely play a central role in attempting to resolve the conflict if he is selected. Kellogg's plan for ending the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukrainian sovereign territory, involves...

US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which is set to take effect at 4:00 a.m. (Israel time) Wednesday morning. “I am very pleased to hear that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been reached regarding the conflict in Lebanon. Well done to all those involved in reaching this agreement,” said Graham. “I appreciate the hard work of the Biden Administration, supported by President Trump, to make this ceasefire a reality,” he added. “This ceasefire will protect Israel from another October 7th and will give the people of Lebanon a break from the fighting....

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) pushed back against the idea that the Russian war in Ukraine could end in peaceful negotiation, saying those who hold that view “may be deceiving” themselves. In a speech at the Halifax International Security Forum this weekend, Rounds called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “tyrant” and suggested he would be surprised if Putin were satisfied with any concession from the West. “It’s time to take a hard look at this thing and really ask ourselves, do you believe that this tyrant, if you offer him a part of a free country, do you think he’s going...