Free Republic

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) let slip a terrifying reality when it comes to the power of our nation's president over "executive branch" agencies like the CIA. In an interview Tuesday with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, Schumer said President-elect Donald Trump is "being really dumb" by taking on the intelligence community because if he does "they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you." Just let that soak in for a minute. One of the most powerful senators just admitted that it is "stupid" for a president to oppose the intelligence community, which he is in charge of,...

In the final days before states submit their primary and caucus plans to the Republican National Committee, the GOP is sweating bullets over the possibility that a gang of rogue states could still wreak havoc on the 2012 presidential nominating process. One state, Arizona, has already announced that it will violate RNC rules and hold its primary on February 28 - a full week before joint RNC-Democratic National Committee rules permit states to do so. Michigan's legislature is also moving toward scheduling its vote for the same date. Then there's Florida, a repeat offender when it comes to calendar mischief,...

Let's call the movement "Leaving Arizona." In fits and starts, Americans are looking to hurt Arizona -- which last month passed a draconian immigration law -- where it hurts the most: the pocketbook. Major League Baseball, with large numbers of Hispanic players, is being pressured to move the 2011 All-Star Game from Phoenix. Some teams, including the White Sox, are being urged to move spring training from Arizona. And on Wednesday, the Phoenix Suns' jerseys read "Los Suns" "to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona and our nation," said owner Robert Sarver,...

AMONG the benefits from President Obama's effort to "reset" relations with Russia, we're told, is that the Kremlin will join us in pressuring rogue nations from seeking to build nuclear weapons. But even as Obama was making nice in Moscow this week, Russian diplomats in New York have been stonewalling an effort to slap Pyongyang over its weapons proliferation. A UN committee has struggled for a month now to meet this weekend's deadline for drawing up a sanctions list on North Korea. The list is supposed to put the teeth in last month's Security Council resolution to punish Pyongyang for...

Barack Obama will seek to befriend Syria and enlist the rogue state's help in fighting terrorism, in what US officials see as the first test of his plans to talk to America's enemies. Diplomats and Democrats in Washington have confirmed that Mr Obama wants to persuade the Syrian leader, Bashar Assad, to cooperate with the West, in the hope that he will loosen his country's close ties to Iran, forcing Tehran to the negotiating table as well. During his presidential campaign, Mr Obama pledged to speak to states like Iran and Cuba without imposing preconditions as the Bush administration did...

The moral and political cost of Libya's rehabilitation. SECRETARY OF STATE Condoleezza Rice's visit to Libya last week represents the final step in a decades-long U.S. effort to reform and rehabilitate the rogue state. A charter member of the U.S. Department of State's list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, after its nuclear program was disclosed in 2003, Tripoli demonstrated contrition and agreed to compensate American victims of a 1988 terrorist attack. Libya was scratched from the list in 2006, and this past August Washington struck a deal with Tripoli that removed the final hurdles in normalizing the bilateral relationship. The...

Democrat presidential hopeful Barack Obama cast himself as the leader the US needed to stand up to and engage renegade nations such as North Korea. ’We need a president who’ll have the strength and courage to go toe-to-toe with the leaders of rogue nations, because that’s what it takes to protect our security,“ the Illinois senator told Democrats at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. “That’s what I’ll do as your next commander in chief.” Obama and rival Hillary Clinton have had a running argument since clashing in last week’s debate over how far the US should be willing to...

US bombers to practise in NT Brendan Nicholson July 24, 2006 UNITED States bombers will pound a test range in the Northern Territory this week, practising the pinpoint strikes they would use on targets such as nuclear weapons sites, missiles or terrorist bases. The bombers will fly non-stop from their base on Guam and back, and be refuelled in the air by American planes operating out of the RAAF base in Darwin. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said it was important for Australia to work more effectively with its major ally to meet new threats, including those from terrorism and weapons...

No surprise here. The Syria/Iran axis has long been established. The Alawite leadership of Syria owes a debt of gratitude to the Shi'ite mullahs for certifying the Islamic bona fides of the Alawites; the cordial relationship stems from that, as well as, of course, a mutual hatred of Israel. From AP, with thanks to Report: DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Syria asserted Thursday that Iran had a right to atomic technology and said Western objections to Tehran's nuclear ambitions were not persuasive. President Bashar Assad of Syria, a longtime Iranian ally facing its own international criticism, said he backed Tehran's moves...

2005 Iran Became Most Dangerous Nation (F-16I to play major role!)Hal Lindsey, Jan. 3, 2006 In reviewing the most important events of 2005 related to prophecy, I believe that the most important is what happened in Iran. Because of certain developments, Iran became the most dangerous nation in the world during 2005.First, Iran’s continuing pursuit of nuclear weapons despite the warnings of the international community is one factor that has elevated it to the title of “most dangerous.” Iran already has Shahab 5 Missiles that are capable of delivering nuclear warheads to Israel and many places in Europe. Not to...

British MP George Galloway at Damascus University to Support Bashar Al-Assad: If the U.S. Invades Syria, the People Will Fight the U.S. Occupation Like the Brits Were Ready to Fight the Nazis The following are excerpts from a speech by British MP George Galloway at Damascus University. The speech aired on Al-Jazeera TV on November 13, 2005. TO VIEW THIS CLIP, visit http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=923. On U.S. Secretary of State Rice's Mideast Visit and the Behavior of Slave GovernmentsGalloway: "Condoleezza Rice has been touring the Arab countries to speak about Syria, so I have come to Syria to speak about Condoleezza...

Starting this week, the Bush doctrine of drying up support for terrorists by democratizing Islamic nations will be put through another wringer. The US wants the UN Security Council to hold Syria "accountable" for its role in killing a top Lebanese leader. A UN report last week implicated high-level Syrian officials in the bombing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14. The report found the assassination "could not have ... [occurred] without the approval of top-ranked security officials and could not have been further organized without the collusion of their counterparts in the Lebanese security services." The...

THE Bush Administration has offered Syria’s beleaguered President a “Gaddafi deal” to end his regime’s isolation if Damascus agrees to a long list of painful concessions. According to senior American and Arab officials, an offer has been relayed to President Assad that could enable him to avoid the looming threat of international sanctions against his country. The matter could come to a head as early as next week when Detlev Mehlis, the head of the United Nations team investigating the murder of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister, is due to submit his report to Kofi Annan, the UN...

WASHINGTON - President Bush and his top aides are weighing new steps against Syria, according to U.S. officials involved in Middle East policy. Bush's national security team is due to meet Saturday to review policy toward Syria, the officials said. Options range from tougher economic sanctions to limited military action. The meeting comes as a United Nations investigator nears completion of a report that's expected to provide evidence that Syrian security agencies were involved in the February assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The investigator, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, is drawing on debriefings from one or more defectors...

Arab leaders and citizens from across the region are coming to the defense of Syria as it faces increased American pressure and a probing UN inquiry. In the latest efforts, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Cairo for two hours, after which Egypt publicly denounced the idea of Syrian isolation. "The Egyptian proposal rejects isolating Syria and calls for achieving stability in the region and not opening a new focus of tension that adds to an already complicated situation," Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad said. Egypt and Saudi Arabia, both US allies, have united to...

US President George W. Bush refused to rule out the use of force against Iran over the Islamic Republic's resumption of nuclear activities, in an interview with Israeli television aired Friday. "The use of force is the last option for any president. You know we have used force in the recent past to secure our country," he said in a clear reference to Iraq, which the United States invaded in March 2003. "I have been willing to do so as a last resort in order to secure the country and provide the opportunity for people to live in free societies,"...

Excerpt - The Bush administration is planning new measures that would target the U.S. assets of anyone conducting business with a handful of Iranian, North Korean and Syrian companies believed by Washington to be involved in weapons programs, U.S. officials said yesterday. The latest action is outlined in a draft executive order administration officials are hoping President Bush will sign before attending the Group of Eight summit in Scotland on July 2. Officials who agreed to discuss the details only on the condition of anonymity said the order's success would rely heavily on U.S. intelligence and that it is modeled...

By Susanna Loof Associated Press Writer Published: Jun 17, 2005 VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The U.N. atomic watchdog agency Friday approved setting up a committee to crack down on rogue states seeking to develop weapons and their black market suppliers, but the group will not have any of the enforcement powers sought by President Bush. The document creating the committee did not contain any U.S. proposals floated at an agency meeting, including giving the group authority to recommend U.N. Security Council action against - and special inspections for - suspected proliferators. The United States has accused North Korea and Iran...

"No one knew about us," Abu Ibrahim said. "But September 11 gave us the media coverage. It was a great day. America was defeated. We knew they would target either Syria or Iraq, and we took a vow that if something happened to either country, we would fight." Worried that it would be Washington's next target, Syria opposed the military coalition invading its neighbor. State media issued impassioned calls for "resistance." The nation's senior Sunni cleric, Grand Mufti Ahmad Kaftaro, undid his reputation for moderation by issuing a fatwa endorsing suicide attacks. "Once the Americans bombed a bus crossing to...

Railways chief: Russia could supply oil to N.Korea by rail 12:17 2005-03-21 Russian investors are in talks with North Korea on supplying the energy-starved country with oil by rail, Russia's railways chief said Monday in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk. Head of the state-run Russian Railways, Gennady Fadeyev, said that a project was under consideration to build a railway line linking the Russian border crossing of Khasan to an oil refinery in the nearby North Korean port of Najin, the Interfax news agency reported. "As far as I know, plans are being considered to build a railway line linking...