Free Republic

Mojtaba Atarodi, arrested in California for attempting to acquire equipment for Iran’s military-nuclear programs, was released in April as part of back channel talks, Times of Israel told. The contacts, mediated in Oman for years by close colleague of the Sultan, have seen a series of US-Iran prisoner releases, and there may be more to come

It’s on a par with the deal Neville Chamberlain made with Adolph Hitler’ - WASHINGTON, DC, Nov 27 – The deal the White House made with Iran, giving that country a reprieve from sanctions, is an historic event of potentially “horrific proportions.” It’s on a par with the deal Neville Chamberlain made with Adolph Hitler to appease that megalomaniac before the outbreak of World War ll, conservative activist Dan Weber said. “The only difference is that the NAZI’s did not have a nuclear weapon,” Weber, who is president of the Association of Mature American Citizens. Few believe the Iranians will...

Even before any comprehensive agreement was reached on the nuclear file, Washington appears to have begun to dismantle the carefully assembled diplomatic structure seeking to contain Iranian regional ambitions. A report by respected Washington-based journalist Hussein Abdul Hussein in the Kuwaiti Al-Rai newspaper this week revealed details of an indirect US channel with Hezbollah. … News items are also surfacing suggesting a stark split between the US and Saudi Arabia over regional policy in general, and policy toward Syria in particular. Saudi officials are going on the record expressing their alarm at the direction of American policy. … So is...

<p>KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Police in Jamaica say authorities have seized 3,300 missile warheads and a machine to make missiles and bullets.</p> <p>Deputy Police Superintendent Steve Brown said Friday that custom officials discovered the weapons late Thursday aboard a ship at Kingston Wharf.</p>

While Americans enjoyed their day of thanks and feasting yesterday, news emerged from the Arab world about a shocking dimension of the cave-in to Iran at Geneva. If true, this report from Al-Arabiya is highly disturbing: Iran and the United States are to establish a joint chamber of commerce within a month, with direct flights also planned, an Iranian official said Wednesday in a newspaper report. "Iran-U.S. chamber of commerce will be launched in less than one month," Abolfazl Hejazi, a member of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, told the English-language Iran Daily. In the wake of...

Those of us being accused of hyperventilating, over the bloody “hand shake” between Sec Kerry and Iran’s FM Zarif, are not only correct in our assessments, but hardly take pleasure in being right. Too much is at stake. And since this blogger’s valued contacts are hardly timid in nature, they are not exactly bowled over by ceremonial trappings, handshakes included. Histrionics are NOT their forte. Oh no. But as qualified experts, they certainly do NOT depend upon tea leaves to foretell what’s on the horizon. It is not part of their assessment protocol. Years of experience and expertise are more...

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What would you do next if you had successfully brokered a “Neville Chamberlin” style deal with a rogue state that wants to annihilate America and her Middle East allies? Well. . . You’d downgrade diplomatic ties with the Vatican, of course. At least, that’s what you would do if you were working in the Obama White House. The White House has recently announced that they will shut down the US Embassy to the Holy See, and relocate it to a “safer” location on the grounds of the American Embassy in Italy. Officially, the US is explaining the relocation effort as...

The U.S. State Department is blaming its decision to close the U.S. embassy at the Vatican on the Benghazi terrorist attack, saying that the Vatican—which is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church and the home of the pope—is not safe enough for U.S. diplomats. “Security is our top priority in making this move,” the State Department said in a statement sent to CNSNews.com by department spokesperson Nicole Thompson. … “This move will also save the U.S. government money,” said the department’s statement. “The Embassy to the Holy See will move into unused space on the U.S. government compound in...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/26/obamas-call-close-holy-see-embassy-slap-face-catho/ It’s a “massive downgrade of U.S.-Vatican ties,” said former U.S. Ambassador James Nicholson in the National Catholic Reporter. “It’s turning this embassy into a stepchild of the embassy to Italy. The Holy See is a pivot point for international affairs and a major listening post for the United States, and … [it’s] an insult to American Catholics and to the Vatican.” Mr. Nicholson — whose views were echoed by former envoys Francis Rooney, Mary Ann Glendon, Raymond Flynn and Thomas Melady — also called the justification for closing the existing facility a “smokescreen,” Breitbart reported. “That’s like saying people...

NEW YORK — CBS ordered "60 Minutes" correspondent Lara Logan and her producer to take a leave of absence Tuesday following a critical internal review of their handling of the show's October story on the Benghazi raid, based on a report on a supposed witness whose story can't be verified. The review, by CBS News executive Al Ortiz and obtained by The Associated Press, said the "60 Minutes" team should have done a better job vetting the story that featured a security contractor who said he was at the U.S. mission in Libya the night it was attacked last year

Personnel working at the CIA annex in Benghazi were well aware that the 9/11 anniversary last year could be a flashpoint, according to recent testimony, and a notice was even posted on a bulletin board at the annex warning of potentially increased hostilities against western targets during that period. The new details emerged during recent closed-door briefings by CIA personnel including former contractors, according to those familiar with the testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. The witnesses also voiced concern about Ambassador Chris Stevens’ visit to Benghazi right before the 9/11 anniversary; Stevens was killed in the attack. Given an...

A federal judge has ruled in favor of the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice by requiring Louisiana to allow federal oversight of its school choice program, a decision that suggests the court’s acceptance of further involvement by the federal government in local school choice policies. A full 90% of the children who benefit from the voucher program are black. The remaining 10% came from 22 school districts under desegregation orders handed down five decades ago, which prompted the DOJ to state, “the voucher recipients were in the racial minority at the public school they attended before receiving the voucher.” As...

(Reuters) - Clashes between Libyan troops and militants in the eastern city of Benghazi on Monday killed at least three people and wounded a dozen more during a military operation, security and medical officials said. Still in training, Libya's new military is struggling to curb Islamist militants and militias who fought in the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi but refuse to disarm and control parts of the country. Gunfire and explosions could be heard in Benghazi and thick smoke rose from the Ras Obeida area. The army ordered residents to stay off the city streets, witnesses said. Fighting broke out when...

The Dallas FBI's Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kevin, F. Kolbye, served as the On-Scene Commander for the investigation into the deaths of the four Americans killed on September 11, 2012, following the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya. He insists that FBI officials were already on the scene in Benghazi within two days following the attack, despite news reports saying the FBI did not arrive until weeks later. “We have people in a lot of other foreign countries who are legats. We have investigative teams that are well equipped,” Kolbye told a small...

CAIRO: Egypt decided on Saturday to expel Turkish ambassador Huseyin Avni Botsali after remarks made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Cairo deemed as being "provocative," the foreign ministry said. Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty said Cairo took three decisions on Saturday concerning its diplomatic ties with Ankara. "First to expel the Turkish ambassador and downgrade our ties to the level of charge d'affaires, second to declare the Turkish ambassador persona non grata and third we will not send our ambassador to Turkey," Abdelatty said. He said the decisions were taken after Erdogan made remarks in Russia on Thursday that...

Clockwise from top left: Ambassador Christopher Stevens; Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith; former Navy SEALS Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. Rest in Peace This makes me weep . . . . Americans trapped in Benghazi that awful night of Sept. 11, 2012, were pleading for their lives — for someone to rescue them. But their Commander In Chief was thousands of miles away that night in the White House and disappeared for hours – hours about which the White House refuses to account. Their Commander In Chief was so blasé, he actually went to bed and slept,...

MB Carrying Out Assassinations Series Against Witnesses Of Morsi’s Espionage Case With CIA – National Security Martyr Officer Mohamed MabroukOn Sunday evening 17/11/2013 Nasr City Cairo, Egyptian National Security Officer Mohamed Mabrouk 34 years old, was assassinated by masked gunmen who opened fire on the Officer’s car and shot him dead.Mohamed Mabrouk was leaving his residence and headed to work. Eyewitnesses informed the DA Investigators that they saw two white cars were parking earlier on both sides of the road, then started to drive in the direction of the Officer’s car which was moving slowly. Both cars cut the...

Several schools in Decatur, Morgan County and Limestone County are dismissing due to a suspicious situation at the Daikin facility on Highway 20. Police say a suspicious device was found attached to a rail car at the facility. The rail car contains hazardous material. No other information about the train car involved or the nature of the device was immediately available. Police say the estimated potential danger zone is 25 miles. Current weather conditions indicate that the greatest danger area would be to the northeast should an explosion occur. The intersection of State Docks Road and Highway 20 West can...

The documents surfaced last week in a U.S. Court of Federal Claims lawsuit stemming from a dispute over a more than $5 million contract to provide library and seminar services to detainees at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Thanks to a multimillion-dollar federal contract, Guantanamo Bay prisoners can enroll in seminars to learn all about basic landscaping and pruning, calligraphy and Microsoft PowerPoint while the U.S. figures out what to do with them. “At a minimum, the art seminar shall include water color painting, charcoal sketching, Arabic calligraphy, acrylic painting and pastel painting,” contract records reviewed by The Washington...