Free Republic

In December 2015 the American military was ordered to accept women in all jobs, including infantry and special operations. This decision involves about 220,000 jobs and about 20,000 of these are for special operations personnel, commonly known as commandos. While the politicians who pushed for this policy now consider the issue settled and done with, the officers and troops in infantry and special operations units are not pleased and concerned about how to deal with it. Senior officers are bracing for more retirements or troops simply walking away when their current term of service is done. Recruiting for these strenuous...

Barack Obama has pledged to restore America's ailing economy and its "moral stature in the world". He made the comments during his first major televised interview since being voted America's 44th president earlier this month. The President-elect told CBS programme 60 Minutes he would deliver a clear break in foreign policy from the Bush administration. Mr Obama confirmed reports he will pull troops out of Iraq and limit the offshoots of the "war on terror", including bringing an end to the notorious Guantanamo Bay. He said the moves were an effort to "regain America's moral stature in the world". But...

NEARLY half the British think that religion is harmful, according to a poll carried out by YouGov. Yet more than half also believe in God “or something”. The YouGov poll commissioned by John Humphrys, the broadcaster and writer, found that 42% of the 2,200 people taking part considered religion had a harmful effect. “One reason might be the publicity attracted by a handful of mad mullahs and their hate-filled rhetoric,” writes Humphrys in his new book, In God We Doubt, an extract of which appears in today’s Sunday Times News Review. Only 16% of those polled called themselves atheists; 28%...