Free Republic

00:00 – Why Hamas Is a Religious Movement, Not a Nationalist One 08:05 – Why Islam Claims Land Can Never Leave Muslim Rule 13:20 – Why Western Leaders Misread Hamas’s Intentions 14:45 – October 7: What Hamas Was Trying to Achieve 16:55 – Why Western Media Repeats Hamas Casualty Claims 18:58 – What Jihad Really Means in Islamic Doctrine 23:40 – Demographic and Cultural Jihad in the West 25:10 – Qatar’s Role in Supporting the Muslim Brotherhood 27:25 – How Qatar Became a Global Islamist Power Broker 29:40 – Iran, Hamas, and the Sunni–Shia Alliance Against Israel 30:35 – Debating...

European Union leaders have struck a late-night deal to lend Ukraine €90bn (£79bn; $105bn) over the next two years, after failing to agree on using frozen Russian assets. Ukraine was set to run out of cash by next spring, and European Council chief António Costa said the loan would be paid back only when Russia paid reparations for its full-scale war. "We committed, we delivered," said Costa, while Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko praised the deal as "a decisive step for economic resilience". A bid to use €210bn in Russian cash frozen in the EU, mainly in Belgium, ultimately failed...

"Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared “dead” the proposals to seize the $247 billion in frozen Russian assets within the European Union and use them to finance a reparations loan for Ukraine. Orban, a right-wing nationalist who has warm relations with Russia, and is also one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s closest political allies in Europe, made the remark to reporters on Thursday morning as he entered a European Council meeting for crunch talks on the assets issue."

President Trump and senior US officials said Monday they’re closing in on a sweeping peace framework to end the war in Ukraine — featuring “Article Five-like” security guarantees, a multibillion-dollar rebuilding plan, progress on tough territorial disputes, and a possible 50/50 split of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — but Kyiv has added that many key details remain unknown. The goal, officials said, is to create a package that stops Russia from pushing further into Ukraine and gives Kyiv the strongest-ever shield against future aggression — with Trump touting the negotiations as being “closer now than ever.” The proposed NATO-style guarantees...

Astonishing footage showed Vladimir Putin’s £300million Kilo class attack sub being obliterated by “Sea Baby” drones at a key Russian port. Ukraine’s state-of-the-art devices entered a sprawling Russian naval base completely undetected in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, 1,575km from Kyiv. In the dramatic footage, an enormous explosion sends chunks of debris showering over other parked ships moments after the sophisticated strike. The devastating blitz marks a huge blow to Mad Vlad’s bloody war in Ukraine. Putin’s multimillion-pound vessel suffered critical damage following the unprecedented attack and is now out of action according to Ukraine’s SBU special operations chiefs....

Folks, this is 45 minutes worth your time. I concur with Mr. Gardner this is the most important story in the last 100 years of our Republic. I am still digesting it. I think it is worth a permanent thread by itself. You may want to prepare your favorite beverage. The bottom line is the title. Here are the bullets, in no particular order: President Trump knows the extent of Venezuelan involvement in rigged elections, not only in the United States, but also other countries. The cabal includes Russia, China, Iran, the cartels, among others. Illegal immigration, drugs, and bribery...

A joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz read: "In response to the detonation of a Hamas explosive device that wounded our forces today in the yellow zone of the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz directed the elimination of the terrorist Ra’ad Sa'ad, head of Hamas’ force-build-up directorate." "Sa'ad was one of the architects of the October 7th massacre and had recently been involved in rebuilding the terror organization, planning and carrying out attacks against Israel, and reestablishing an offensive capability, in blatant violation of the ceasefire terms and...

The European Union on Thursday handed Ukraine a long list of reforms needed to join the bloc, determined to push the process forward despite the ongoing war and objections from EU member Hungary. Top EU officials and diplomats meeting in Lviv, in western Ukraine, said a list of demands covering roughly half of the required reforms would allow progress while formal negotiations remain blocked by Budapest. EU membership has become the central goal for Ukraine’s effort to anchor itself to the West as NATO prospects stall. Here’s a look at the main challenges on Ukraine’s road to the European Union....

Israel's Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter unleashed a pointed retort at NBC News anchor Kristen Welker on Meet the Press on Sunday, dismissing her citation of casualty figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry as unreliable propaganda. Welker referenced the ministry's reported death toll while grilling Leiter on civilian casualties during Israel's operations in Gaza and Lebanon. Leiter fired back: "Kristen, you just quoted the Gaza Health Ministry. That’s like quoting MS-13 Social Welfare Ministry." The analogy, equating the ministry to the brutal Salvadoran gang MS-13, quickly went viral via the Washington Free Beacon's X post. Link to...

Yesterday, an incident occurred in one of Russia’s bomber aviation regiments involving an aircraft that was parked inside a shelter. According to the Russian propagandist Fighterbomber, the ejection system accidentally activated on board. As a result, both the pilot and the navigator were killed, suffering fatal injuries. The incident likely involved either a Su-34 fighter-bomber or a Su-24 frontline bomber. Such cases occur due to improper maintenance of the ejection system or accidental activation.

Everyone knows that so called “double tap” strikes on land are legal, Obama did it all the time, but CNN keeps inviting land lawyers on to say narco terrorists have special privileges at sea. Let’s look at the admiralty law: 🧵 Source: International law studies @NavalWarCollege “Rudderless and Adrift: States’ Unwarranted Timidity Respecting Stateless Vessels Andrew Norris” Ships without a recognized flag, “stateless vessels”, are the outlaws of the ocean. They don’t have a clear nationality, so no country claims responsibility for them. International law already allows governments to stop, board, and enforce laws against these vessels.

"You know, when I was in this office and I talked about no cards. I said: 'you have no cards.' That was the time to settle. I thought that would've been a much better time to settle. But they, in their wisdom, decided not to do that. They have a lot of things against them right now."

President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia is ready to fight a war if Europe seeks one and claimed European countries are trying to make changes in President Donald Trump's proposal on ending Russia's war against Ukraine, ahead of his high-stakes meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Tuesday. The meeting is underway, Russian state media TASS reported Tuesday night local time. The Kremlin on Tuesday said that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was also expected to take part. Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the meeting had no time limit and would go on for "as long as...

Special forces went into hostile village of Beit Jan in Syria to arrest two known terrorists, ambushed, six IDF injured, three badly. 16 jihadis killed, two terrorists arrested. Airlifted, and lost humvee blown up on the way out to prevent it being taken by enemies. Footage from conflict. Friend of Ashkar, fellow vet, speaking from party similar to Burning Man. Transcript linked below video.

US President Donald Trump expressed optimism after a high-level meeting between US officials and a Ukrainian delegation in Miami on Sunday, suggesting there was a “good chance” of a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Talks were “going along, and they’re going along well,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I think that there’s a good chance we can make a deal,” he added. His comments came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cast the peace talks as fragile, and underscored that Russia would have a central role to play in any deal.

In a significant shift in the Middle Eastern power dynamics, Iranian officials have admitted that their once-loyal proxy force, the Houthis in Yemen, is increasingly defying Tehran's orders. Reports indicate that the Houthis, who have long served as Iran's strategic arm in the ongoing conflicts against the United States and its allies, are now acting independently, much to the dismay of their former benefactors. A senior Iranian official disclosed that the Houthis have distanced themselves from Iran. “They have gone rogue for a while and are now really rebels,” the official stated, reflecting concerns within the Iranian regime as they...

In a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv last week, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll delivered a grim assessment. Driscoll told his counterparts their troops faced a dire situation on the battlefield and would suffer an imminent defeat against Russian forces, two sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News. The Russians were ramping up the scale and pace of their aerial attacks, and they had the ability to fight on indefinitely, Driscoll told them, according to the sources. The situation for Ukraine would only get worse over time, he continued, and it was better to negotiate a peace...

California gubernatorial candidate and Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell claimed that members of the military are telling him they can be a “check” on President Donald Trump. On Don Lemon’s show Monday, Swalwell discussed the controversy over a video of six Democratic lawmakers urging service members to “refuse illegal orders” from Trump. […] Swalwell argued that the Trump administration “told on” itself by going after (Mark) Kelly for his call to resist “illegal orders” and revealed that some service members have been behaving as a “check” on the president. “What gives me hope, and I talk to service members all the...

According to the former head of European diplomacy, the EU should recognize the shift in American policy and respond accordinglyBRUSSELS, November 25. /TASS/. Europe can no longer consider the United States an ally after American President Donald Trump put forward his plan for the Ukrainian settlement without any input from the EU, former head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell said. As evidenced by the 28-point plan for a Ukrainian settlement, the United States under Trump can no longer be considered an ally of Europe, which is not even consulted on issues affecting its own security, he wrote on X. According...

• Ukraine has agreed to a deal to end the war with Russia with only “minor details” outstanding, a US official said, even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more work needed to be done. • It comes as US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll holds meetings with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi about a proposed plan for ending the war, according to a US official. • Russia though could reject an amended US peace plan if its terms are “fundamentally different” to the understanding reached during the US-Russia summit in Alaska, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.