Free Republic

Tue May 4,12:18 PM ET Ambassador Sichan Siv, the United States Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and a female aide, left, walk out of the group's meeting to protest a vote giving Sudan a third term on the UN's Human Rights Commission, the world body's human rights watchdog, Tuesday, May 4, 2004, at the UN in New York. Siv called the vote an absurdity. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

A long time ago, in a country that now seems far, far away, the United States of America was feared and respected, especially by its enemies. No nation or terrorist group considered attacking America on its own soil, and most people thought twice before harming an American overseas.On the day of Ronald Reagan's inauguration in 1981, Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini released 52 American hostages he had held for 444 days. He had kept them that long because he realized a weak and indecisive President Jimmy Carter (who now advises President Bush to follow a similar path) wasn't going to employ force...

Greek Cypriots will now have a free hand to become EU members and block even the proposed accession talks for Turkey. The Turkish and Turkish Cypriot hardliners have won a "victory" with the collapse of the United Nations effort to find a solution to the Cyprus problem... Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas, with the blessing of the hardliners in Ankara, has rejected to hold a national referendum among Turkish Cypriots on a plan prepared by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. Annan has announced the failure of the Cyprus talks held at the Hague and he also said he is withdrawing...