Free Republic

Inasmuch as Barack Obama fancies himself alternatively the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a closer perusal of FDR’s policies is in order. Beyond the disastrous New Deal, a massive expansion of government bureaucracy and spending which extended the length of the Great Depression; FDR’s dealings with the homicidal Joe Stalin are revealing.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago -- President Obama endured a 50-minute diatribe from socialist Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega that lashed out at a century of what he called terroristic U.S. aggression in Central America and included a rambling denunciation of the U.S.-imposed isolation of Cuba's Communist government. Obama sat mostly unmoved during the speech but at times jotted notes. The speech was part of the opening ceremonies at the fifth Summit of the Americas here. Later, at a photo opportunity with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Obama held his tongue when asked what he thought about Ortega's speech. "It was 50...

THE world has rabies and our swooning media de liver headlines about the new Obama family dog. Yeah, the puppy's cute. But must journalists be lapdogs? The week kicked off with gushing media declarations that President Obama had "passed his first test" in a foreign "crisis." Three pirates held an American hostage far too long. It was an embarrassment, not a crisis. Our president was reluctant to authorize deadly force. Against pirates, for God's sake. Then, 24 hours after the Obama White House declared "Mission Accomplished," Somali pirates attacked another US-flagged ship. This time, the pirates used rocket-propelled grenades and...

The North Koreans, in violation of a U.N. Resolution, launch a rocket that flies over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, possibly with the capability of reaching the U.S. What do we do? We send it to the United Nations, which doesn’t even pass another U.N. Resolution, which would certainly be ignored. It agrees to meet again. Yes, the U.N. is so pathetically weak, it can’t even come up with another toothless tiger resolution. It can’t even say North Korea is in violation of a resolution adopted in 2006 after a North Korea missile launch of July 5 and a...

We now call terrorist attacks “man-caused disasters.” We now call the global war on terror “overseas contingency operations.” This neutered terminology will hardly strike fear into our enemies. But it will evoke anxiety in our friends − if we still have any.

North Korea's much-anticipated long- range missile launch on Sunday was a technical dud: The satellite it was trying to put into orbit apparently landed in the Pacific Ocean. But the nuclear upstarts learned something important about President Obama, so they're probably pleased. Speaking in Prague just hours after the launch, Obama responded to the provocation by pledging to negotiate reductions in America's nuclear stockpile. The launch underscored the need for "a world without nuclear weapons," he argued, pledging to do his best to reduce America's warhead inventory. Talk about pie-in-the-sky. Sure, nuclear proliferation poses a serious long-term security threat to...

The first step to figuring where and how we will end up in a war due to the actions and/or lack of actions taken by President Barack Obama is to look at some of the ways wars start from past examples. Wars start in a number of circumstances and motivations. Perhaps a list of some of the most obvious ones would be appropriate. Some wars start by over-reacting to a singular event. An example was WWI, which started by a spiral of events after the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. What should have...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The phrase "global war on terror" is finished, at least as far as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is concerned. The top U.S. diplomat told reporters Tuesday that the Obama administration has quit using that line to describe the effort to fight terrorism around the world. "The administration has stopped using the phrase and I think that speaks for itself," Clinton said. Clinton spoke as she headed to Europe for a week of diplomatic meetings. The phrase "war on terror" is widely disliked in Europe and elsewhere overseas, where even close U.S. allies suggested...

There are high hopes for my generation, the Millennials, born between 1981 and 2001. We are to be the ones to stop global warming, cure cancer, and solve most of the world's other problems. After all, the Millennials helped elect Barack Obama, who championed hope and change. Once America has weathered the current economic crisis, we Millennials will be called upon to bring the economy into the middle of this century -- to take risks, create jobs, and elevate the nation to the next level of achievement by replacing our retiring entrepreneurs. It's a shame we never learned the solid...

President Obama's stewardship of the national security portfolio to date amounts to a wrecking operation, a set of policies he must understand will not only weaken the United States but embolden our foes. After all, the communist agitator Saul Alinsky, a formative influence in Mr. Obama's early years According to this logic, the various steps Mr. Obama is taking with respect to the armed forces, the foreign battlefields in which they are engaged, our allies as well as our adversaries will not only diminish our power. They will encourage our enemies to perceive us as less powerful - with ominous...

"Liberty" isn't a word you'll find in President Obama's Iranian New Year message to "the people and leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Nor is "freedom." Nor "democracy." Nor "human rights." Nor will you find any expression of solidarity with the people of Iran--though you'll find plenty of solicitude for their rulers. The president bends over backwards to reassure the mullahs that our government wishes them well. You'll find a paragraph addressed to "the people and leaders of Iran," as if the people and leaders were in harmony, and shared a need to be reassured that we seek "a...

Israel's ambassador to the U.S. called for "immediate and serious action" Friday after a United Nations report showed Iran has enough uranium to build a nuclear bomb. The White House also said the international community must work together to address Iran's uranium enrichment activities, calling the rogue nation's nuclear capabilities an "urgent problem." Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor, in an interview with FOXNews.com, said the report only emphasizes the threat Iran poses to the rest of the world. "It's an extremely worrisome report. ... It emphasizes that with every day passing, Iran is getting closer to a nuclear military capacity," he...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday offered North Korea a peace treaty, normal ties and aid if it eliminates its nuclear arms program and stressed her desire to work more cooperatively with China. Speaking ahead of a trip to Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China next week, Clinton also said North Koreans deserved political rights, urged Myanmar to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and, in a comment that may irk Beijing, said Tibetans and all Chinese deserved religious freedom. Searching for a way to end North Korea's nuclear programs is likely to be...

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea appeared to be gearing up Wednesday for another long-range missile test, the latest in a series of provocative acts seemingly aimed at stoking tensions with South Korea and winning the attention of the new U.S. president. In recent weeks, Pyongyang has declared it will scrap peace agreements with Seoul and warned of war on the Korean peninsula. Reports that it could be preparing to test a missile capable of reaching the western United States have added to the anxiety. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Wednesday that a vehicle carrying radar equipment was seen...

US President Barack Obama's offer to talk to Iran shows that America's policy of "domination" has failed, the government spokesman said on Saturday. "This request means Western ideology has become passive, that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed," Gholam Hossein Elham was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency. "Negotiation is secondary, the main issue is that there is no way but for (the United States) to change," he added. After nearly three decades of severed ties, Obama said shortly after taking office this month that he is willing to extend a diplomatic hand to Tehran...

As I've said before, Muslim extremists respect strength. Iran no longer respects the United States, and they want the whole world to know it. US President Barack Obama's offer to talk to Iran shows that America's policy of "domination" has failed, the government spokesman said on Saturday. "This request means Western ideology has become passive, that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed," Gholam Hossein Elham was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton took charge of the State Department on Thursday, proclaiming the start of a new era of robust U.S. diplomacy to tackle the world's crises and improve America's standing abroad. Before a raucous, cheering crowd of about 1,000 people, the nation's 67th secretary of state pledged to boost the morale and resources of the diplomatic corps and promised them a difficult but exciting road ahead. "I believe with all of my heart that this is a new era for America," she said to loud applause in the main lobby of the department's headquarters, which President Barack...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba – President Obama's request to suspend all war crimes trials at Guantanamo prompted a judge Wednesday to halt the case against a young Canadian in what may be the beginning of the end for the Bush administration's system of trying alleged terrorists. The judge, Army Col. Patrick Parrish, issued a one-sentence written order for the 120-day continuance, and the lawyer for Toronto native Omar Khadr didn't object. But five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks want their trial to continue, hoping for a death sentence that could bring them martyrdom. "We should continue so...

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to prohibit the use of waterboarding and harsh interrogation techniques by ordering the CIA to follow military rules for questioning prisoners, according to two U.S. officials familiar with drafts of the plans. The proposal Obama is considering would require all CIA interrogators to follow conduct outlined in the U.S. Army Field Manual, the officials said. The plans would also have the effect of shutting down secret "black site" prisons around the world where the CIA has questioned terror suspects — with all future interrogations taking place inside American military facilities. However, Obama's changes...

reporters during his meeting with Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, … * Raw Video: Biden's surprise Iraq visit Play Video Barack Obama Video: Raw Video: Biden's surprise Iraq visit AP * Bush Wishing Obama 'All the Best' Play Video Barack Obama Video: Bush Wishing Obama 'All the Best' ABC News * Harding short of fundraising goal Play Video Barack Obama Video: Harding short of fundraising goal WCNC Charlotte WASHINGTON – Advisers to President-elect Barack Obama say one of his first duties in office will be to order the closing of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. That executive order is...