Free Republic

CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona argued that the murder of American journalist James Wright Foley was due to the success of President Barack Obama’s Iraq policy.

Some call it wishful thinking, but President Barack Obama has all but declared an end to the global war on terror. Obama is not claiming final victory over extremists who still seek to kill Americans and other Westerners. Instead, he is steering the United States away from what he calls an equally frightening threat: a country in a state of perpetual war. In a landmark speech Thursday in which he sought to refine and recalibrate his counterterrorism strategy, Obama asserted that al-Qaida is "on the path to defeat," reducing the scale of terrorism to pre-Sept. 11 levels. That means that...

After struggling to quit smoking in the past, Sen. Barack Obama is trying a cessation aid not available over the counter: public attention. Obama (D-Ill.) resolved to quit his cigarette habit over the winter holidays, just weeks before his expected presidential campaign would make photographers and reporters an even more regular part of his life. He said in a Monday interview that, although he has never been a heavy smoker, he has quit for periods over the last several years but then slipped back into the habit. On the cusp of a potential presidential bid seemed the right time to...