Free Republic

Says Iowahawk, “To be fair, it did create jobs for Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright.” Via the Free Beacon, here’s the professor-in-chief doing what he loves to do, lecturing other regimes that he understands their national priorities better than they do. In a way, this reminds me of his infamous bitter-clingers comment during the 2008 campaign: In both cases, he resorted to economics to try to understand cultures that were antagonistic to him (albeit in very different ways). There’s a hint here that “death to America” is less a sincerely held worldivew among Iran’s rulers than a convenient scapegoat used...

President Obama chided Iran for focusing on violent rhetoric rather than doing work to advance its economic interests during his speech Monday before the United Nations General Assembly, saying that “chanting ‘death to America’ does not create jobs or make Iran more secure.” “That path is now available to a nation like Iran, which, as of this moment, continues to deploy violent proxies to advance its interests,” Obama said. “These efforts may appear to give Iran leverage in disputes with neighbors, but they fuel sectarian conflict that endangers the entire region and isolates Iran from the promise of trade and...

If ever there was proof of Russia’s intentions in the Middle East, it can be seen in a just announced 4 nation pact there: Iraq joined Russia, Iran and Syria in a new agreement to strengthen cooperation against extremist group Islamic State, extending the Kremlin’s reach in the Middle East as it rivals Washington for influence.[…]Iraq’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that the country had signed an intelligence and security cooperation pact with Russia, Iran and Syria, pledging to cooperate in collecting information about Islamic State. The deal effectively formalizes years of military collaboration among the four nations, which have...

President Obama took on a confrontational tone in his speech this morning to the United Nations General Assembly, specifically calling out Russia, China and Iran for destabilizing activities in various world conflicts. Obama opened his speech directly decrying "strong states that seek to impose their will on weaker ones," then alluded to Russian support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "On this basis, we see some major powers assert themselves in ways that contravene international law," Obama said. "We're told that such retrenchment is required to beat back disorder, that it's the only way to stamp out terrorism. In accordance with...

CHUCK TODD: ...let's start right with Iran. Is this a good deal? COLIN POWELL: I think it is a good deal. I studied very carefully the outline of the deal and what's in that deal. And I've also carefully looked at the opposition to the deal. And my judgment, after balancing those two sets of information is that it's a pretty good deal. Now, I know that there are objections to it, but here's why I think it's a good deal. One of the great concerns that the opposition has, that we're leaving open a lane for the Iranians to...

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell came out in support of President Obama’s agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program, calling it a “pretty good deal.” Powell, a retired general who led the State Department under GOP President George W. Bush, said he had vigorously studied the deal and listened to arguments from both supporters and opponents. “My judgment after balancing those two sets of information is that it’s a pretty good deal,” Powell declared on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The great concern from the opposition is that we’re leaving open a lane for Iran to create a nuclear weapon in...

Former Secretary of State and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell backed the Iran deal on Sunday. The retired statesman, who played a key role in the push for war in Iraq, later supported Barack Obama for president. Powell made his announcements on NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday. “My judgment…is that it’s a pretty good deal.” Powell said that while Iran could continue working toward a nuclear weapon when the deal expires, the agreement would at least slow that down. “We have stopped this highway race that they were going down.” Powell added that “they get nothing”...

Just saw him speaking while at a rest stop. Word has it he was calling out 0 by name. Is the translated text available yet?

A senior Saudi prince has launched an unprecedented call for change in the country’s leadership, as it faces its biggest challenge in years in the form of war, plummeting oil prices and criticism of its management of Mecca, scene of last week’s hajj tragedy. The prince, one of the grandsons of the state’s founder, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, has told the Guardian that there is disquiet among the royal family – and among the wider public – at the leadership of King Salman, who acceded the throne in January.

CBS News September 28, 2015, 12:52 PM Putin: "We can no longer tolerate the current state of affairs in the world" EW YORK - Russian President Vladimir Putin took a defiant tone in his highly-anticipated United Nations address on Monday, ahead of a planned meeting with President Barack Obama. Putin spent much of the speech delivering the Russian perspective on world affairs, which he said is nothing more than "honest and frank." Putin dismissed many Western officials' expressed fears about Russian expansionism, saying the Kremlin has been accused too often of "growing ambitions." "It's not about Russia's ambitions but recognition...

In his address to the United Nations in New York City Monday morning, President Obama defended his administration’s nuclear agreement with Iran in the vein of 'international togetherness.' The president said he is “mindful” of the dangers we face because they cross his desk every morning. “I will never hesitate to protect our country, unilaterally or by force when necessary,” he said. Yet, these dangers, he insisted, cannot be faced alone. “But I believe in my core, we cannot return to the old ways of conflict and coercion. We cannot look backwards. We cannot turn back those forces of integration.”...

American intelligence analysts have been pressured into giving a more positive assessment of the progress of the war against ISIS, it has been reported, confirming what was obvious to everyone not subject to influence from the White House: the anti-ISIS campaign is failing. To devise an effective strategy involves understanding where ISIS came from, and that involves examining the Saddam Hussein regime. Saddam is commonly regarded as the quintessential secularist, and he was initially. But the Saddam regime Islamized over its last 15 years, effectively creating a religious movement under Saddam's leadership, giving additional space and power to the non-governmental...

Putin to UN: let us help you crush ISIS MARK FRANCHETTI, DAMIEN MCELROY The Times September 28, 201512:00AM Vladimir Putin is to use his speech to the UN tonight — his first in a decade — to insert Russia into the Syrian conflict by offering Moscow’s firepower to break the stalemate in the West’s fight against Islamic State. The Russian push comes as Iraq announced late last night it would begin sharing “security and intelligence” information with Russia, Syria and Iran in a bid to combat the terrorist group. The countries would “help and co-operate in collecting information about the...

Russian Media Abuzz With Anticipation of Putin's UN Speech By The Associated Press MOSCOW — Sep 28, 2015, 9:05 AM ET Russian media are abuzz with anticipation of President Vladimir Putin's speech at the UN. Putin is in the United States for the first time since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and threw its support behind separatist rebels in Ukraine. What is more, Russia's recent military buildup in Syria has raised concern in the West about Putin's future steps there. A state-owned news channel has run a countdown to the opening of the UN General Assembly on...

Russia Surprises U.S. With Accord on Battling ISIS By MICHAEL R. GORDONSEPT. 27, 2015 UNITED NATIONS — For the second time this month, Russia moved to expand its political and military influence in the Syria conflict and left the United States scrambling, this time by reaching an understanding, announced on Sunday, with Iraq, Syria and Iran to share intelligence about the Islamic State. Like Russia’s earlier move to bolster the government of President Bashar al-Assad by deploying warplanes and tanks to a base near Latakia, Syria, the intelligence-sharing arrangement was sealed without notice to the United States. American officials knew...

When Venezuelan Oil Minister Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso resigned in 1963, he blasted the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, at the time torn by internal rivalries, for failing to produce any benefits for his country. Half a century later, OPEC is still split and Venezuela is again unhappy, this time at the unwillingness of the organization’s top producer, Saudi Arabia, to rescue oil prices from a six-year low that’s dragging the battered Venezuelan economy into an even deeper crisis. On Sept. 10, Venezuela’s oil minister, Eulogio del Pino, tweeted appeals for OPEC and non-OPEC countries “to have a discussion on...

Anyone watch Charlie Rose didn't get in Vlad's face about homosexuality in tonight's interview. For YEARS now, the American media has screamed bloody murder about Russia not celebrating homosexuality. Laws to protect children were passed....but the media called it oppression. Charlie Rose must not have thought such questions worthy of asking Vlad during their televised interview.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday branded U.S. support for rebel forces in Syria as illegal and ineffective, saying U.S.-trained rebels were leaving to join Islamic State with weapons supplied by Washington. In an interview with U.S. networks recorded ahead of a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Putin said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad deserved international support as he was fighting terrorist organizations. Obama and Putin are scheduled to talk on Monday after Putin addresses the United Nations, although White House and Kremlin officials have disagreed on what the two leaders will discuss and even who initiated the meeting. "In...

...In an interview with American media ahead of Putin's meeting with US president Obama tomorrow, the Russian leader said: "In my opinion, provision of military support to illegal structures runs counter to the principles of modern international law and the United Nations Charter." US-Russian relations have slumped to a post-Cold War low over the Ukraine crisis, though the two sides share concerns about the threat posed by Islamic State, while disagreeing on the approach. Putin says Damascus should be included in international efforts to fight ISIS - a demand the America rejects, and he heavily criticised US plans to train...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday branded U.S. support for rebel forces in Syria as illegal and ineffective, saying U.S.-trained rebels were leaving to join Islamic State with weapons supplied by Washington. In an interview with U.S. networks recorded ahead of a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Putin said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad deserved international support as he was fighting terrorist organizations. Obama and Putin are scheduled to talk on Monday after Putin addresses the United Nations, although White House and Kremlin officials have disagreed on what the two leaders will discuss and even who initiated the meeting. "In...