Free Republic

What does it take to get a U.S. House member to...very publicly threaten to nuke American citizens who want to defend their constitutional rights under the Second Amendment? Nothing more than pushing back on Twitter against that congressman, Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.)'s proposal from earlier this year to fully ban and buy back every one of what he wants to designate as "assault weapons" with the added bonus of "criminally prosecut[ing] any who choose to defy it." Rep. Swalwell, willing to make sure the war against any possible American citizen resistance over gun confiscation doesn't fall into the endless quagmire of...

The United States must be ready for a nuclear war with China or Russia and seek new ways to deter both countries’ use of newly acquired advanced strategic weapons, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command is warning in a major new review of the global balance of nuclear forces. Adm. Charles Richard, writing in the current issue of the U.S. Naval Institute journal Proceedings, offered a blunt and detailed assessment that the luxury of living in a post-Cold War era when direct armed conflict with a rival nuclear power was not possible is over. “There is a real possibility...

The 20th century saw the development of many weapons that could have ended civilization as we know it, but nothing compares to the potentially devastating power of the Soviet Union‘s epic “Tsar Bomba.” It will be remembered as the most powerful nuclear bomb ever built, and it had a blast that was more powerful than 50 million tons of TNT.

Iran has announced that it is now enriching uranium to 20%. Joe Biden is about to be sworn in as President of the United States. If those two things don’t terrify you, I don’t know what will. Natural uranium is useless in the construction of an atomic bomb. In order for the uranium to be useable the concentration of the Uranium-235 isotope, a tiny fraction of what is found in uranium ore, must be dramatically increased. The precise level of enrichment necessary is a state secret, but most open sources use figures somewhere between 80 and 90 percent.

Just past midnight Thursday after one of the more surreal days in U.S. history, NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss all but donned a tinfoil hat on MSNBC to offer some utterly unhinged conspiracy theories, all cheered by 11th Hour host Lyin’ Brian Williams. Over the course of 11 and a half minutes, Beschloss suggested U.S. Capitol Police wanted and ensured violence took place inside the Capitol building, ruled he’s too scared to sleep at night, predicted President Trump will declare martial law, and use nuclear weapons before leaving office.

Russia is planning to flight test its new intercontinental ballistic missile which it claims is capable of destroying an area the size of France. The RS-18 Sarmat will be capable of unleashing ten large thermonuclear warheads or 16 smaller ones, or a combination of both, to overwhelm enemy missile defences, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence. The 100-ton strategic missile is said to be able to travel around 6,200 miles and has the capacity to wipe out areas the size of Texas or France. Each of the warheads are allegedly capable of being aimed at a different target. The...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran said Saturday it plans to enrich uranium up to 20% at its underground Fordo nuclear facility “as soon as possible,” pushing its program a technical step away from weapons-grade levels as it increases pressure on the West over the tattered atomic deal.The move comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. in the waning days of the administration of President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal in 2018. The International Atomic Energy Agency acknowledged Iran had informed its inspectors of the decision by a letter after news leaked...

Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen has released the following statement: “We understand that Pakistani authorities are taking steps to ensure that Omar Sheikh remains in custody while the Supreme Court appeal seeking to reinstate his conviction continues. The separate judicial rulings reversing his conviction and ordering his release are an affront to terrorism victims everywhere. We remain grateful for the Pakistani government’s actions to appeal such rulings to ensure that he and his co-defendants are held accountable. If, however, those efforts do not succeed, the United States stands ready to take custody of Omar Sheikh to stand trial here....

MELBOURNE, Australia — A paper published by the Chicago, Illinois-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has estimated that China has 350 nuclear warheads, significantly more than that estimated by the U.S. Defense Department.The report, written by Hans Kristensen, the director at the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, and Matt Korda, a research associate at FAS, arrived at the number by counting both operational warheads and newer weapons “still in development.”These weapons include hypersonic missiles, silo-based and road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles, and their submarine-launched equivalents, bringing the total number of nuclear warheads to more that the “low...

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists estimates that the PLA has increased the number of ballistic missile brigades by around a third Study also estimates that country has around 350 nuclear warheads, most designed for land-based missilesThe Bulletin of Atomic Scientists estimates that the PLA has increased the number of ballistic missile brigades by around a third Study also estimates that country has around 350 nuclear warheads, most designed for land-based missiles

Former MoveOn.Org head Karine Jean-Pierre praised lawmakers for boycotting pro-Israel confab Incoming president Joe Biden is reportedly close to selecting a vocal Israel critic to serve as his White House press secretary. Karine Jean-Pierre, a longtime campaign adviser and incoming vice president Kamala Harris's chief of staff, is currently the "top candidate" for the job, according to NBC News. Jean-Pierre was senior adviser and national spokeswoman for MoveOn.org, a far-left anti-Israel group that defends boycotts of the Jewish state, from April 2016 until August 2020, when she was hired as chief of staff for Harris. Jean-Pierre has been a vocal...

President Donald Trump asked senior advisers last Thursday about potential options for attacking Iran's main nuclear site, US media report. The advisers warned him that military action could spark a broader conflict, officials were cited as saying. The White House has not commented on the accounts of the meeting. It took place a day after the global nuclear watchdog said Iran's enriched uranium stockpile was 12 times what was permitted under a 2015 nuclear deal. The landmark accord saw the US and five other world powers give Iran relief from crippling economic sanctions in return for limits on sensitive activities...

President Trump’s long rants and seemingly erratic behavior last week — which some doctors believe might have been fueled by his use of dexamethasone, a steroid, to treat Covid-19 — renewed a long-simmering debate among national security experts about whether it is time to retire one of the early inventions of the Cold War: the unchecked authority of the president to launch nuclear weapons. Mr. Trump has publicly threatened the use of those weapons only once in his presidency, during his first collision with North Korea in 2017. But it was his decision not to invoke the 25th Amendment and...

Dust off the Daisy ad! Looks like the liberal media is launching an attack on President Trump similar to the one run against Barry Goldwater in 1964: that his control of the "nuclear codes" threatens the world! On today's Morning Joe, JoeScarborough was "seriously" suggesting that Trump's decision to suspend talks on a new stimulus package was "the steroids talking." It soon transitioned to Scarborough asking Kasie Hunt whether she's heard from Republicans worried about Trump, given the virus-treatment drugs he's been taking, and if they're "concerned about a president acting irrationally with the nuclear codes?" Get the rest of...

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned Friday that the world is living “in the shadow of nuclear catastrophe,” fueled by growing distrust and tensions between the nuclear powers. […] As examples, Guterres has expressed deep concern at the escalating disputes between the Trump administration and China. Relations between the U.S. and Russia are at a low point. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are feuding over Kashmir, and India just had a border skirmish with China. And North Korea boasts about its nuclear weapons. […] Guterres also pointed to the only treaty constraining the size of the world’s largest nuclear arsenals — the...

An eagle eyed plane spotter in Hawaii raised suspicions that the president could be incapacitated moments before news broke that he had tested positive for coronavirus. Two E-6B Mercury jets – known as the Navy’s doomsday planes – were launched off both the east and west coast in the early hours of the morning.The planes are designed to fly aerobatic-like manoeuvres over the sea that allows them to send messages to ballistic missile submarines hiding below, effectively safeguarding the country in the event that the White House is immobilised. In an atomic war, the E-6s would relay directions to help...

Democrat Joe Biden leaves little doubt that if elected he would try to scale back President Donald Trump’s buildup in nuclear weapons spending. And although the former vice president has not fully detailed his nuclear priorities, he says he would make the U.S. less reliant on the world’s deadliest weapons. The two candidates’ views on nuclear weapons policy and strategy carry unusual significance in this election because the United States is at a turning point in deciding the future of its weapons arsenal and because of growing debate about the threat posed by Chinese and Russian nuclear advances. […] Biden...

Jordan’s King Abdullah warned on Monday that any unilateral Israeli moves to annex territory in the occupied West Bank would fuel instability and dim hopes of a final settlement of the decades-old Arab-Israeli conflict. The monarch told British lawmakers the only path to a comprehensive and lasting Middle East peace was the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on land captured by Israel in the 1967 war, and with East Jerusalem as its capital. “Any unilateral Israeli measure to annex lands in the West Bank is unacceptable, as it would undermine the prospects of achieving peace and stability in...

I remember watching this as a kid, everyone was freaking out. Had an almost War of The Worlds radio broadcast feel to it. Before Nicholas Meyer's made-for-television film The Day After had its official airing on November 20, 1983, then-President Ronald Reagan and his Joint Chiefs of Staff were given screening copies. In his diary, Reagan recorded his reaction to seeing Meyer's graphic depiction of a nuclear holocaust that devastates a small Kansas town, writing: "It's very effective and left me greatly depressed. So far they [ABC] haven't sold any of the 25 spot ads scheduled and I can see...

section class="post-body"> For the third time in three weeks, an explosion has rocked the Iranian capital of Tehran, leading many to conclude that these were coordinated attacks probably planned by Israel and the United States. Iran is denying that the explosion even occurred, although social media postings and “unofficial” news agencies say it did. They are accusing the west of mounting a disinformation campaign to undermine the regime. That’s a good idea. Why didn’t we think of that?The blast yesterday was so powerful, it knocked out power to thousands of residents. The Jerusalem Post reports that the blast may have...