Free Republic

Harris is the future. Trump is the past. And on Election Day, American voters will embrace that change. Kamala Harris is going to be the next president of the United States. On January 20, 2025, she will become America’s first woman president, America’s first woman of color to be commander-in-chief and America’s first person of Asian heritage to become the country’s chief executive. Born in late 1964, she will bring the perspective of a new generation to the presidency. Whereas Joe Biden brought the experiences of growing up middle class in the industrial heartland of America, Harris will bring the...

GREENSBURG, Pa. – Former President Bill Clinton claimed Tuesday that Israeli leaders “don’t care anymore” about peace between the Jewish State and Palestinians and said Vice President Kamala Harris “can’t have” a plan to end the war in the Middle East. Clinton, 78, was stumping for Harris in western Pennsylvania at the University of Pittsburg-Greensburg when a pro-Palestinian protester interrupted his remarks, demanding an answer from him on what the vice president would do to stop “the genocide” in Gaza and end US military support for Israel. “That’s a fair question,” the 42nd president responded, before telling a 15-minute-long story...

This is the bizarre moment Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov started performing standing press-ups at a BRICS meeting in an apparent attempt to impress ministers with his strength. Video footage taken from an informal meeting between Putin and the president of the UAE at the BRICS summit, where the Russian leader tried to woo the leaders of around two-dozen nations into deepening ties with his country, Kadyrov was seen leaning on two chairs and repeatedly doing leaned press-ups. After a few press-ups, he was seen looking around in an apparent bid for approval. But no one, including Russian foreign minister Sergei...

Each country—while referencing “sovereignty” and “de-escalation”—chooses to avoid condemning Israel outright, instead placing emphasis on the broader threats to regional stability. In a region where alliances are as complicated as ever, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt have responded to Israel’s latest military strike on an Iranian base with words that speak volumes – not for what they say, but for what they leave unsaid. This wasn’t the usual wave of condemnations aimed squarely at Israel; instead, these responses were notably measured, almost neutral, hinting that a quiet shift may be underway among these regional powers. Each country...

The bases were intended for use by the Radwan Forces as part of Hezbollah's "Conquer the Galilee" plan...Inside the IDF discovered bunk beds, storage cabinets, food supplies, infrastructure for long-term stay, a large amount of equipment, weapons, and abandoned offensive positions.Troops located four Hezbollah weapons storage facilities, some of which were inside civilian homes.The uncovered storage facilities contained a significant number of weapons, including AK-47 rifles, ammunition, rockets, mortars, shoulder-fired missiles, RPGs, and advanced anti-tank missiles. All of which were seized by the IDF.

Nature might abhor a vacuum, but empires love them. The busy empire-builders in Tehran have spent the last two decades extending their reach into power vacuums in Iraq and Syria as part of their attempt to recreate at least part of the old Persian Empire that once covered almost the entire Middle East. Funding the Houthi rebels in Yemen keeps the Saudis conveniently distracted, too, as well as giving Tehran a way to attack the shipping that Western economies rely upon. Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and Lebanon respectively are Iran's imperial outposts even further west — and the Arab...

So says Al-Hurra, which is interesting of itself, but we'll get to that in a moment. According to Open Source Intelligence Monitor, Arab countries have sent back-channel approval for an Israeli strike on Iran in response to the ballistic-missile attack earlier this month. They understandably want the attack to remain focused and disciplined to prevent a wider war, and they want a heads-up before the attack to prepare a common defense. In fact, OSINT notes that this appears to be a case of getting the Nasrallah-hit band back together again: Al-Hurra is reporting that several Arab Counties have recently sent...

Will Israeli air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities spark a larger shooting war between the two belligerent countries? Any aerial attack by Israel against Iran would be difficult. Israel has no long-range bombers to hit the nuclear sites that are over 1,000 miles away. Jet fighters would require a significant number of bunker-busting bombs that may have limited efficacy. The Israeli jets would need to be re-fueled, and the air force has limited means to conduct these operations (except for re-fashioned 707 tankers). The Israelis would have to fly over Iraqi air space, which is anathema to Baghdad. Plus, the...

DUBAI, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Gulf states are lobbying Washington to stop Israel from attacking Iran's oil sites because they are concerned their own oil facilities could come under fire from Tehran's proxies if the conflict escalates, three Gulf sources told Reuters. As part of their attempts to avoid being caught in the crossfire, Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are also refusing to let Israel fly over their airspace for any attack on Iran and have conveyed this to Washington, the three sources close to government circles said.

President Biden said Thursday that the US is “discussing” the possibility of Israel bombing Iranian oil facilities as payback for a volley of nearly 200 rockets fired at the Jewish state on Tuesday — causing a spike in global crude prices. Biden said the oil strike option was under consideration when asked directly by a reporter as he left the White House. “We’re discussing that. I think that would be a little… anyway,” the retiring 81-year-old president said ... Within 45 minutes of Biden’s remark, crude oil futures spiked to about $74 per barrel from its opening price of $70.10,...

The US airman-turned-social media influencer and his brother — sentenced to jail in Dubai last month after claiming they were lured and drugged at a yacht party — were freed from prison Tuesday, putting an end to the siblings’ four-month “nightmare.” Joseph and Joshua Lopez arrived home in their native Ohio, Detained in Dubai, an organization dedicated to helping people facing legal issues in the United Arab Emirates, announced late Tuesday... Detained in Dubai thanked Ohio Senator and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance for his “help and support” in ensuring the brothers’ safe return.... Vance had been in “constant...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The oil-rich United Arab Emirates on Thursday announced the completion of the Arab world’s first nuclear power plant, calling it a “significant step”. Abu Dhabi’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant will produce 40 terawatt-hours of electricity annually after its fourth and final reactor has entered commercial operation, the state-owned Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) said in a statement. It will generate 25 percent of the electricity needs of the hot, desert Gulf state, where air-conditioning is ubiquitous — nearly the equivalent of New Zealand’s annual consumption, ENEC said.

PARIS/MOSCOW, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire founder and owner of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly after landing on a private jet late on Saturday and placed in custody, three sources told Reuters. The arrest of the 39-year-old technology billionaire prompted on Sunday a warning from Moscow to Paris that he should be accorded his rights and criticism from X owner Elon Musk who said that free speech in Europe was under attack. There was no official confirmation from France of the arrest, but two French police sources and...

Telegram founder Pavel Durov detained on arriving in France from Azerbaijan

Middle East update on the Third World War, currently in progress ... three upstart powers — Communist China, Nationalist Russia, and Radical Islam* — who mean to reshape the global order to suit their interests and aren't shy about using any means at their disposal (including violence) to achieve that end. ... The members of this new Axis also make fantastic allies of convenience, if not ideology. A bit like Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia allying for the brief and brutal business of carving up Poland ... China wants the western Pacific (that's everything on the other side of Hawaii)...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged four Iranian nationals over an alleged plot to kidnap a Brooklyn-based journalist and human rights activist who published material critical of the Iranian government. A superseding indictment from the U.S. District Court from the Southern District of New York was unsealed Tuesday, revealing charges against an Iranian intelligence official, Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani, as well as "Iranian intelligence assets" Mahmoud Khazein, Kiya Sadeghi and Omid Noori.

Salemi) Officials in the US-led multinational coalition that is reportedly preparing to assist in repelling an expected Iranian attack have preemptively warned Israel not to respond too strongly to such an assault, according to a Tuesday report. “Don’t push it,” the unnamed officials told Jerusalem, according to Kan news. “Think carefully before you attack in return. The goal at the end of the day is not to lead to an all-out war.” In April, a massive drone and missile attack from Iran was foiled by a coalition that reportedly comprised Israel, the United States, Britain, France, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran and Sweden carried out a prisoner swap Saturday that saw Tehran release a European Union diplomat and another man for an Iranian convicted in Stockholm of committing war crimes over his part in 1988 mass executions in the Islamic Republic. The arrest of Hamid Nouri by Sweden in 2019 as he traveled there as a tourist likely sparked the detentions of the two Swedes, part of a long-running strategy by Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution to use those with ties abroad as chip in negotiations with the West.

Custom made Mansory Rolls Royce worth over half a million dollars with U.A.E. license plate spotted at the @UCLA protests. Still think these are grassroots protests? Think again. May 29, 2024.

The Biden administration is urging Arab states to join a "peacekeeping" force which would control Gaza once the war ends, the Financial Times reported. The initiative aims to fill the vacuum which would be created in Gaza once Hamas is toppled and until a "credible Palestinian security apparatus" could be established. Among the countries the US has been discussing its plans with are Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco, all of which are "considering" the initiative. The US has also spoken to Saudi Arabia about the plan, but the Saudis are unwilling to deploy their own forces to the...