Free Republic

President François Hollande said on Thursday that Islamist groups holding French hostages in Africa were not trustworthy and should not be taken seriously after Al-Qaeda accused Paris of blocking negotiations for their release. There are a total of nine French hostages on the continent. On Tuesday the Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said France was snubbing talks proposed by the group to free four French citizens abducted in Niger in September 2010. "The less one speaks, the better one can work," Hollande told journalists during a visit to Rungis, a giant wholesale food market just outside Paris. "There have been...

Israeli Operational Successes Roundup:These are all of the major successes Israel has had in the past few weeks fighting terrorism3/8 - Ibrahim Makdme - Assassinated by Helicopter (alt spellings: Makadmeh, al-Maqadma)"killing him and three of his bodyguards."3/5 - Abdullah Jamal Barghouti - Arrested"IDF troops arrested a senior leader of Hamas's military wing in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israel Radio quoted Palestinian sources as saying Wednesday. According to the reports, IDF troops nabbed Abdullah Jamal Barghouti in his apartment and hastily evacuated him from the city."3/3 - Sheikh Muhammad Taha - Arrested"Sheikh Mohammed Tsalah Hassan Abdullah Taha, 65, one...

At the top-of-the-hour newsbreak it was reported a "material witness" being held since Sept related to the 9/11 attacks has gone missing. His lawyer has reported he has no information on the whereabouts of his client. The client has not been seen since last Wednesday morning when he appeared in NY to give testimony. He was told then, apparently, that he faced charges back in San Diego for falsifying information on his application for asylum. The suspect is a student at San Diego State University.