Free Republic

China , Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Pakistan... US president Barack Obama ran through the gamut of nations as he articulated another elegant Asia policy speech in Tokyo this week. Conspicuous by its absence was India. Was India not on his radar? Or was it such a close ally that he skipped naming it at a public function? It left New Delhi wondering. Just two days later, bam! He did something even more astonishing by acquiescing in a Chinese demand to let Beijing assume the role of a monitor in South Asia, an area where China is seen by India as...

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's decision to close the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military prison by Jan. 22 was followed by a series of mistakes and missteps by his administration that will delay the prison's closure for months, according to a report from a policy organization with close ties to the White House. Those mistakes — which ranged from initially having too few people on board to handle the workload to misreading Congress — have put the timetable months behind schedule and will push the prison's closure well beyond the January deadline, which Obama announced with great fanfare two days after...

HALIFAX, N.S. - Canada's latest contribution to the war on terrorism and piracy slipped out of Halifax harbour in driving rain Sunday on a six-month deployment to the Middle East. Before it left, family and friends gathered on the deck and in the helicopter bay of HMCS Fredericton for a couple of hours to bid an emotional farewell to the 245 crew members who won't be returning until next spring. As Evan and Bianca Entwhistle hugged, their 20-month-old son Finn sandwiched between them, it was hard to distinguish the tears from the rain. "The sad part with this little guy...

Japan has told the United States it will end a naval refueling mission [in the Indian Ocean] that supports the war in Afghanistan, a top defence official said...Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who took office last month, has said he wants "more equal" relations with the United States and that he opposes plans to build a new US air base on the southern island of Okinawa...

UPI) -- President Nicolas Sarkozy of France says he wants to see victory in Afghanistan but has no plans to send more French troops to that country. Speaking to the Le Figaro newspaper, the French leader said he believes there should be a build-up of more Afghan troops, CNN reported. As for staying on in Afghanistan, Sarkozy told the newspaper: "I answer yes -- and stay to win. "But France will not send one more soldier," he added. "My belief is that more Afghan soldiers are needed. It is them who will be the most efficient to win this war...

The Dow Jones reached a significant milestone yesterday, and news outlets were abuzz with excitement. Olympia Snowe's vote for the Baucus bill was plenty fodder for the 24-hour news cycles. But, for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists in the United States, an epochal event transpired at the White House afternoon that should not slip notice. Lead me from Untruth to Truth. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality. (from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad -- I.iii.28) As the ethereal sounds of a Hindu priest's chanting of this Sanskrit prayer from ancient Hindu scripture filled the East Room,...

For over 50 years, one party ruled Japan virtually uninterrupted. During that time, Japan remained a loyal ally and supporter of U.S. policy. This month, a historic event took place. Japan has new leadership. In a landslide victory, a new party has done the seemingly impossible. A new freshman class of leaders now governs the Land of the Rising Sun. The effects are already rippling across the Pacific toward America. Yukio Hatoyama is Japan’s new leader. He officially took office last Wednesday, and he is already threatening to split with the United States. Hatoyama blames America for the global economic...

The eleven, according to a European source: Argentina, Australia, Britain, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand … and the United States. I assume our guys wouldn’t have bolted without the White House’s approval, so kudos to The One for showing a bit of principle. Every year this degenerate does his same Jew-baiting shtick — “It is no longer acceptable that a small minority would dominate the politics, economy and culture of major parts of the world by its complicated networks” — and every year our moronic media lines up to interview him. And every year, it’s the...

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – France on Wednesday led a walkout of a dozen delegations, including the United States, to protest a fiery speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the UN General Assembly. "It is disappointing that Mr Ahmadinejad has once again chosen to espouse hateful, offensive and anti-Semitic rhetoric," Mark Kornblau, spokesman to the US mission to the United Nations, said in a statement. Delegations from Argentina, Australia, Britain, Costa Rica, Denmark, France Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand and the United States left the room as Ahmadinejad began to rail against Israel, a European source said. Israel had already...

No longer content with destroying our nation on the domestic front vis a vis his healthcare reform proposals, President Obama today unleashed one helluva whopper today, essentially giving the finger to two American allies in eastern Europe. Demonstrating Democrats' staggering inability to forget anything that happened prior to this morning, our head of state and commander-in-chief decided to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland by, well, giving Poland the finger. Our glorious leader, in all his wisdom, has decided to kill a planned missile defense system in that country as well as the Czech Republic. All...

Poland and the Czech Republic, which only shed Moscow's yoke 20 years ago, had hoped that the missile shield would provide tangible, if symbolic, evidence of the United States' commitment to their interests and the defence of the region. Now deprived of that, many in Central Europe fear that Russia's influence in the region will go unchecked. This has rekindled latent fears across Central Europe that its security has been sacrificed at the altar of great power politics.

For the Czech prime minister Jan Fischer, the news came in a call hastily placed by President Barack Obama, shortly after midnight on Thursday in Prague. In Warsaw, his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk initially declined to answer the phone from the White House - as he guessed the purpose, from the unusual timing, and wanted to prepare a response. Mr Obama last week unveiled the most dramatic national security reversal of his presidency by scrapping his predecessor George W Bush's planned anti-ballistic missile shield in eastern Europe. With this volte face, the Obama administration has brought the curtain firmly down...

It was the worst thing that the American government could do. This decision was announced on 17 September, when Poland was commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Invasion Day, when the Soviet Union allied with Nazis and stabbed our country in the back. This was an effect of the Nazi- Soviet Pact that was signed on 28 August in Moscow. After this day, all dreams about resisting Hitler's invasion perished -- two evil empires combined their powers to destroy our freedom and sovereignty. At the same day, 70 years later, Obama bowed to the Kremlin. It was something that...

The gist of the article is this: Obama's line of reasoning may be off but the outcome is still useful from an isolationist perspective. Isolationist do not want USA in Poland or anywhere else for that matter. Then we argue that, if you have to have an ally with someone, may as well make it Russia, because at least they fight. Has a cool picture (from Wikimedia) of a bunch of Russian soldiers at Stalingrad with Poposhovs.

President Obama blinked first and the Russians took advantage. Not that he really tried anyway...He has no stomach for confrontation. Our allies, Poland and The Czech Republic won't be receiving the missile shields promised under the previous administration. Iran will be pursuing it's nuclear ambitions, Russia is free to do pretty much whatever it wants and Israel is just pissed and who could blame them. And to top it all off, Joe Biden makes the statement, "there is no threat there", referring to Iran. It's obvious foreign policy is not one of Obama's strong points, so we're going to dig...

The very worst foreign-policy move an American president can make is to reveal a willingness to back down to an aggressive tyrant. The second-worst move is to back the wrong horse during an internal dispute in a foreign county — or, for that matter, to back any horse without gathering all of the pertinent information. A third wrong move is to disregard the legitimate sensibilities of foreign peoples. President Obama has managed to commit all three blunders in three short months, and the world is a less safe place for it. As has been well documented, Mr. Obama performed his...

In August an editor from Kazakhstan was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for “divulging state secrets” in an article which dealt with the relationship between the state security service KNB and a local distillery owner. Therefore the European Union has issued a declaration which states that journalists should be free to report on all issues of interest to the public, including commentary on how the state is run. All member states have signed as well as candidate countries Croatia and Macedonia, potential future members Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro together with Island and Norway. The only country which has...

of Americans: 59%: 29% U.S. should offer military assistance to defend Israel if attacked Toplines - Which Countries Would US Defend - September 3-6, 2009 See Article See Crosstabs Daily Snapshot National Survey of 1,000 Adults Conducted September 3-6, 2009 By Rasmussen Reports www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/econ_survey_toplines/september_2009/toplines_which_countries_would_us_defend_september_3_6_2009 1* Sometimes, when a country is attacked, the United States provides military assistance to help defend that country. Now, I'm going to read you a short list of countries. For each, please tell me if the United States should offer military assistance to defend that country if it is attacked? France 45% Yes, the U.S. should...

The next 100 years George Friedman Published 27 August 2009 Japan and Turkey form an alliance to attack the US. Poland becomes America’s closest ally. Mexico makes a bid for global supremacy, and a third world war takes place in space. Sounds strange? It could all happen. . . In 1492, Columbus sailed west. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. These two events bracketed the European age. Once, Mayans lived unaware that there were Mongols, who were unaware there were Zulus. From the 15th century onwards, European powers collectively overwhelmed the world, creating the first truly global geopolitical system in...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Senate panel urged the Air Force on Thursday to start developing an export model of its F-22 Raptor, the most advanced U.S. fighter jet, even as it voted to end U.S. purchases. Japan, Israel and Australia have shown interest in buying the supersonic, radar-evading F-22 Raptor, designed to destroy enemy air defenses in the first days of any conflict and clear the way for other missions.

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that German troops would stay in Afghanistan until their goals were achieved, dismissing the possibility of setting a timeline for withdrawal. In an interview with ZDF television being aired Sunday night, provided in advance to the AP, Merkel said she could not commit to bringing the troops home in a specific timeframe. She said she wanted them home “as soon as possible” but not until the mission was complete. “We have a goal, and that is self-sustaining security for Afghanistan,” she said. She would not speculate on when that goal might be reached....

"Irresponsible" To Identify Secret Sites, Says CIA; Lithuania Denies Allegation A third European country has been identified to ABC News as providing the CIA with facilities for a secret prison for high-value al Qaeda suspects: Lithuania, the former Soviet state. Former CIA officials directly involved or briefed on the highly classified program tell ABC News that Lithuanian officials provided the CIA with a building on the outskirts of Vilnius, the country's capital, where as many as eight suspects were held for more than a year, until late 2005 when they were moved because of public disclosures about the program. Flight...

AFTER two days of intense preparation in searing 45-degree desert heat, Australia's newest band of brothers went to war under the command of 22-year-old Lieutenant Todd O'Callaghan. The troops from the Townsville-based 1st Battalion's Pioneer Platoon will face the most intense enemy threat of the seven-year campaign just 10 days out from crucial national elections. The Taliban launched four roadside bomb attacks against Diggers from the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force in Oruzgan Province over just 24 hours, wounding two men and damaging two armoured vehicles. The threat from the insidious weapons, known as improvised explosive devices (IEDs), has featured...

Prepare, Before it is Too Late by Ari Bussel One often relies on government at all levels to protect one’s long-term interests, to be ready for unforeseen eventualities. In an emergency, all that needs to be done is open a manual and follow the instructions. Preparedness and training support this readiness assumption. Yet, real emergencies and disasters never resemble those we anticipate and for which we train. Thus, improvisation, flexibility and thinking outside the box must all be exercised for real-time events. Israel is said to have the necessary “drawer plans” for almost all eventualities. Its readiness is constantly tested,...

Several hundred Bundeswehr soldiers, backed by heavy “Marder” tanks and fighter jets, are currently helping about 1,200 Afghan National Army forces conduct major anti-terrorist operations near the Taliban stronghold of Chahar Dara, southwest of the city of Kunduz, where the bulk of Germany’s roughly 4,000 troops are stationed. The fighting--which started on Sunday and involves looking for Taliban / Al Qaeda fighters “village by village and house by house”--is expected to go on until at least next week. The Bundeswehr soldiers are part of the German-led NATO Quick Reaction Force (QRF), which provides force protection and serves as emergency back-up...

THE last 12 Australian troops serving with US units in Iraq have finished their mission and are heading home, formally ending Canberra's controversial six-year involvement in the bloody conflict. ..... Under an agreement between Canberra and the Iraqi government all Australian troops except those serving with an embassy-based security detachment had to be withdrawn by July 31. ..... Departing Australian troops were farewelled with flag-lowering ceremonies, with the honour of the last Australian soldier to leave Iraq going to Corporal Don Mander. ..... Defence Minister John Faulkner said the withdrawal of the last Australian troops marked an end to Operation...

AUSTRALIA has officially ended its six-year military presence in Iraq three days ahead of the deadline. Some 20,000 members of the army, navy and air force have served in Iraq since 2003. The honour of being the last Digger to leave the strife-torn country went to Corporal Don Mander. He stepped aboard an RAAF C-130 Hercules transport aircraft at Baghdad International Airport on Tuesday afternoon, the last of 12 Australian personnel embedded within US units operating in Baghdad. They arrived home last night. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says Australia's troops did a "fantastic'' job and Iraq has now achieved "a...

CBS) U.S. forces are about to get some much-needed help as they fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, reports CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan in an exclusive report. The Colombian commandos are U.S. trained and battle-tested from having defeated terrorists in their own country. Ten years ago, they didn't even exist. Today, elite Colombian Special Operations troops are preparing to fight alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan, reports CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan.

Remember all the talk about Barack Obama's "Team of Rivals"? Hooey. In fact, he relies on friends, wins some converts and loses others, and takes fire from the GOP...

PRESIDENT Barack Obama said last night the US wanted a strong, prosperous and democratic Russia, as he set out his vision of the US relationship with its former Cold War era foe. In the most eagerly awaited address of his two-day visit to Moscow, Mr Obama reached out to Russia by emphasising its place as a "great power" but did not shy away from the differences between the two countries. The speech to students graduating from the progressive New Economic School came as Mr Obama sought to revive ties with Russia frayed by a string of crises over the past...

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2009 – The Kyrgyz parliament today ratified an agreement between the United States and Kyrgyzstan to extend U.S. access to Manas Air Base, a key logistics hub that supplies troops in Afghanistan, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman confirmed today. The agreement must now go to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev for signature. “It’s not a done deal until the president signs it,” Whitman said. “Out of respect for their processes, we’ve been trying to give them the time and space to give this the consideration that it needs.” The agreement provides for a transit center at Manas International Airport,...

Kyrgyzstan has reversed a Russian order to evict the US military from an airbase close to Afghanistan in a significant foreign policy victory for Barack Obama. After winning major financial concessions from Washington, the Kyrgyz government said it had agreed to allow the US Air Force to retain control of the Manas Airbase for at least one more year. The move, which comes a fortnight before Mr Obama visits Moscow, was welcomed by the United States, which has emphasised the base's importance in the campaign to defeat the Taliban.

Col. Ion Manci (right), senior national representative, Romania, presents the Honor Emblem of the Romanian Land Forces to Lt. Col. Brian Pierce, Forward Operating Base Delta garrison commander, during a ceremony at the Romanian contingent headquarters, June 16. Manci also presented the award to Maj. Jennifer Finch, 41st Fires Brigade military intelligence officer-in-charge. Photo by Sgt. Allison Churchill, Multi-National Division – South. FOB DELTA — The Romanian contingent here recently signaled the end of their Army's operations in Wasit province with a ceremony at their headquarters building. The ceremony gave both the Romanians and U.S. Soldiers the opportunity to show...

MORE than $550 million will be spent during the next 12 months to better protect Australia's 1090 troops fighting in Afghanistan. The money will fund armoured vehicle improvements, protected living containers, more bomb disposal robots and boost spy plane flights targeting Taliban forces. The half-billion dollar taxpayer investment is by far the biggest chunk of a proposed financial "surge'' that will double annual military spending on Operation Slipper to $1.4 billion in 2009-2010. That is a massive $26,923,076 a week, or $3,835,616 for every day of operations. On a per head basis it amounts to $1,288,403 for every Australian soldier...

Queen Beatrix awarded a Dutch commando the country's highest military medal on Friday for his heroics leading an elite military unit in Afghanistan. Beatrix pinned the Willems Order cross and orange ribbon on Capt. Marco Kroon before slapping him on the left shoulder with her right hand to knight him at a ceremony in The Hague. It was the first time in more than 50 years that the medal has been awarded to an individual soldier. It also can be awarded to entire military units. Beatrix said Kroon showed "courage, discretion and dedication" in leading a commando unit in the...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, June 9, 2009 – Military operations in Iraq formally ended for Romanian forces June 4, as one of America's coalition allies prepared to ship out some of its remaining troops with an end-of-mission ceremony held by Romania’s 26th Infantry “Red Scorpions” Battalion. Lt. Col. Gabriel Toma, commander of the Romanian army’s 26th Infantry Battalion, conducts an inspection of troops with Romanian President Traian Basescu during an end-of-mission ceremony June 4, 2009, at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mark Miranda  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Romanian flag was...

From this vantage point, two events this week appear to be ominous straws in the wind, warnings of a "man-caused" maelstrom that inexorably may plunge the Middle East into another, potentially cataclysmic war. The first is that Israel feels obliged to undertake an unprecedented, countrywide civil defense exercise this week. At one point, every man, woman and child in the Jewish state is supposed to seek shelter from a simulated attack of the kind Iran may shortly be able to execute against it. The second is President Obama's latest effort to reach out to the Muslim world, on Thursday from...

(IsraelNN.com) The United States and its European allies have set a target of early October to determine whether engagement with Iran is making progress or should lead to sanctions, according senior officials quoted Thursday by the Wall Street Journal. The officials said there are specific tests of that progress. They include willingness by the Tehran government to let United Nations monitors make snap inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as a halt in uranium enrichment if new economic sanctions are put off ahead of formal negotiations.

The decision to go to war is always a profound moral question, for any sane and civilized country. It is also a military and political question, and in the case of Iran, situated as it is at the head of the Persian-Arab Gulf, a major economic question. All the ducks have to be in a row for the decision to be made. SecDef Gates argued in public testimony last week that knocking out Iran's nuclear installations would make little sense, because it would only slow down the mullahs' rush to nukes, and not bring them to a screeching halt. But...

BERLIN (AP) — The United States and its allies must make sacrifices to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday in a high-profile appeal for Europe's help. Holder spoke to the American Academy in Berlin, not long after telling reporters that the United States had approved the release of about 30 Guantanamo detainees. "We must all make sacrifices and we must all be willing to make unpopular choices," said Holder. "The United States is ready to do its part, and we hope that Europe will join us — not out of a sense of...

In the largest opposition demonstration in Georgia since November 2007— WHEN President Mikheil Saakashvili tested his democratic credentials by sending in riot police to quash the protests—tens of thousands of people filled Tbilisi's leafy Rustaveli Avenue last Thursday to demand Saakashvili's resignation. The president retreated to his residence, where he spoke with NEWSWEEK's Anna Nemtsova about the crowds on the street, his difficult relationship with Russia and how the West has largely abandoned him in recent months. Excerpts: Nemtsova: Who wants your resignation? Saakashvili: Mostly unemployed people. We fired about 250,000 people as a result of our reforms. A big...

AmericanPowerBlog has an article entitled "Barack Obama's European Apology Tour" that does a fine job of cataloging the sheer number of times Barry Hussein sought to point out what a horrible country we've been. I have my own offering focusing on the irony of Obama going to France of all possible places to apologize for American arrogance. At the same event in which Obama took it upon himself to announce to the famously humble French how profoundly sorry he was for America's past arrogance, Barack Obama also shared his vision for "a world without nuclear weapons." This would possibly be...

The United States said Monday it would donate 50,000 dollars in emergency aid to Italy after a powerful earthquake killed at least 100 people. "We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the earthquake. Our embassy in Rome will provide 50,000 (dollars) in emergency relief funding," State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters. Italian authorities told the United States they did not need rescue teams, Wood said. President Barack Obama earlier offered his condolences on a visit to Turkey and voiced hope that the United States could send rescuers. The earthquake killed at least 100 people...

The United States said Monday it would donate 50,000 dollars in emergency aid to Italy after a powerful earthquake killed at least 100 people. "We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the earthquake. Our embassy in Rome will provide 50,000 (dollars) in emergency relief funding," State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters. Italian authorities told the United States they did not need rescue teams, Wood said. President Barack Obama earlier offered his condolences on a visit to Turkey and voiced hope that the United States could send rescuers.

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2009 – The United States has been in close consultation with NATO allies as it completes an evaluation of the strategy in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said today. After a meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the president said the United States expects to share its analysis with alliance counterparts. A defense official this month said the review is likely to be distributed among allies ahead of the NATO summit in early April. “We believe that we are going to be able to ensure that the NATO members who've made...

ANKARA, Turkey - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton confirmed Saturday that Turkey will be the Islamic nation that President Barack Obama visits to keep his pledge of going to the Muslim nation in his first 100 days. Clinton said the visit would come "in the next month or so." It's likely to come at the end of Obama's trip to London, Germany, France and the Czech Republic for the G-20, NATO and US-European Union leader summits in late March and early April.

3/2/2009 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- When the Australian servicemembers of Force Support Unit 1 at an air base in Southwest Asia passed a bucket around at their last barbecue to raise funds for the victims of the Victoria wildfires, they had hoped for some loose change from their Air Force guests. What they got surprised them. Between the Australians and the assembled guests, they managed to raise more than $1,600. "Through the generosity of those Australians at (the Joint Movement Coordination Centre, also known as 'Billabong Flats') and our coalition partners, just over $1,620 was collected towards the Victorian...

President Bush held his last Cabinet Meeting this morning TranscriptPresident Bush met this morning with President Calderón of MexicoTranscriptThis afternoon President Bush honored President Uribe, Prime Minister Howard, and Prime Minister Blair. Transcript Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

Sounds nutty, I know, but Ambinder breaks news that The One’s dining with “conservative opinion leaders” in Maryland, evidently at George Will’s house. Among the attendees: Bill Kristol, David Brooks, and … anyone else? Coincidentally, I got an e-mail from a reader shortly after noon noting that Limbaugh had a surprise guest host today who spent the beginning of the show dropping hints that Rush had been called away to urgent business in D.C. and that it might have to do with something he said yesterday about giving Obama advice. I ignored it — but now they’re dropping hints on...

President Bush tonight awarded America’s highest civilian honour to Tony Blair in a ceremony at the White House. The outgoing President said Mr Blair was “a true friend of the United States” before hanging the Presidential Medal of Freedom around his neck. The former Prime Minister stood in front of the President as the medal was bestowed upon him. “He will stand tall in history,” President Bush said.