Free Republic

Former NYPD Commissioner Howard Safir – who oversaw a historic decrease in crime in the late 1990s and left an indelible mark on the nation’s largest police force – died in Annapolis, Maryland, on Monday. He was 81. Safir, a Bronx native with a decades-long career in law enforcement, was named the city’s top cop by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 1996, and served until 2000 – establishing the NYPD’s Courtesy, Professionalism & Respect program, a motto that is still painted on the side of every police vehicle to this day. “A public servant for more than three decades, Commissioner Safir...

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on Friday formally declassified an image then-US President Donald Trump tweeted in 2019 of a highly classified satellite photograph depicting the site of a failed Iranian rocket launch. NPR reported that the NGA declassified the image after a “grueling Pentagon-wide review to determine whether the briefing slide it came from could be shared with the public” in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the radio network. Many details on the original image remain redacted – a clear sign that Trump was sharing some of the US government's most prized intelligence on social media,...

An Iranian attempt to launch a satellite into space failed when the missile carrying the satellite exploded shortly after liftoff, completely destroying the satellite. HIS Janes reported that the accident took place in May, and that Iran's space agency has made great efforts to hide it from the public's knowledge. The failure is expected to set back Iran's space program considerably. Western experts said that the mishap shows Iran is facing difficulties in ballistic missile development. Janes revealed that U.S. spy satellites followed the attempted launch, which took place at the space center near Tehran. Black spots were seen covering...

A Pentagon review of ballistic missile defenses highlights Iran’s missile programs and reveals that Iran test-fired a new medium-range missile late last year. “The threat posed by ballistic missile delivery systems is likely to increase while growing more complex over the next decade,” the Ballistic Missile Defense Review Report stated. “This judgment by the Intelligence Community is borne out by recent events, such as Iran’s launch of a new mobile, solid-propellant medium range ballistic missile (MRBM) in December 2009.” Iran has not said it plans to field an ICBM missile but continues to pursue missiles of longer-range and its space...

Iran is preparing to launch its second indigenous communications satellite aboard a Safir-2 (Ambassador) booster rocket, an event that will test the country's ballistic missile capabilities. And, if it's successful, it could impact significantly on U.S.-led negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear ambitions by demonstrating the Iranians' growing mastery of missile technology. Satellite launch vehicles such as the two-stage Safir-2, believed to be a modified Shehab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile, are generally considered to have a potential application as an intercontinental ballistic missile. Ten months ago Iran successfully launched the Omid 1 (Hope) satellite into orbit atop a 72-foot Safir from...