Free Republic

"What apparently happened was that the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight. ... We can give them training, we can give them equipment; we obviously can't give them the will to fight." Thus did Defense Secretary Ash Carter identify the root cause of the rout of the Iraqi army in Ramadi. Disgusted U.S. military officers say the 1,000 ISIS fighters who overran Ramadi were outnumbered by the defenders 10 to 1. Why did the Iraqi army run? And what motivated the fighters of ISIS to attack a city whose defenders so vastly outnumbered them? According to battle reports,...

PARIS -- Some warped minds believe that when a nation suffers a terrorist attack, it somehow deserved it and should set about doing some soul searching. Implicit in this argument is the notion that the attacker was somehow justified in his heinous actions -- there was no other option but to lash out violently. Except that there is. Even the Islamic State could choose to exercise unofficial diplomacy through a sympathetic Persian Gulf country. But it doesn't, because the Islamic State isn't interested in diplomacy -- yet some critics expect Western democracies to suck it up whatever terrorism comes their...

The Council on Foreign Relation's article on the Islamic terrorist organization, "Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades" [a U.S. recognized foreign terrorist organization], is not entirely accurate. Under the heading of "What is the Brigade's relationship to the Palestinian Authority Government?", the CFR has this: "Whether Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has a direct relationship with the leadership of Fatah is debated."-CFR Not hardly. In a March 2007 article, Aaron Klein of WND wrote the following: "Many Fatah security members from Force 17 are also openly members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. All Brigades leaders are members of Fatah. " If there was any...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretarySeptember 2, 2006 President's Radio Address       Audio      In Focus: National Security      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, I spoke to the American Legion in Salt Lake City. I thanked the military veterans for their lifetime of service to our country. And I gave them an update on the war that America is now fighting in defense of freedom in our time. We're approaching the fifth anniversary of the September the 11th attacks -- and since that day, we have taken the fight to the enemy. Yet this war is more than a...

Information about foreigners being held hostages by Chechen terrorists in the Moscow theatre is available by calling +7 (095) 244-4581; more information about all hostages is available by calling +7 (095) 239-5286 and +7 (095) 239-6921.