Free Republic

Newt Gingrich promised conservatives on Tuesday he would ask former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton to be his secretary of state if he’s elected president next year, according to several of those who met with him Hours later he repeated that vow publicly to the Republican Jewish Coalition, winning a round of applause. “If he accepts it, I will ask John Bolton to be secretary of state,” the former House speaker said. During the closed-door meeting in Arlington, Mr. Gingrich spoke and fielded questions for about two hours from 70 conservatives, and they said afterward that they came away impressed. One...

In his speech before the Republican Jewish Coalition, Newt Gingrich just pledged that, if elected, he would ask John Bolton to be his secretary of state.

Mitt Romney says the U.N. too often becomes a forum for tyrants when it should promote democracy and human rights. Newt Gingrich pledges to take on the U.N.'s "absurdities." Herman Cain says he would change some of its rules. Rick Perry says he would consider pulling the United States out of the U.N. altogether. All that U.N. bashing has raised questions about whether a Republican victory could strain the relationship between the United Nations and its host country, the United States. President Barack Obama's Democratic administration considers the U.N. critical to the country's interests, while Republicans traditionally have been disenchanted...

While Herman Cain’s foreign policy stumbles have raised questions about his command of the facts, he says he would consult with military officials and other expert advisers to guide him through the thicket of world affairs.So who might advise a President Cain? Henry Kissinger, the 88-year-old former secretary of state, has already turned down returning to that job in a Cain administration, the candidate says.“He said he’s perfectly happy doing what he’s doing,” Mr. Cain told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.In a new video excerpt posted on the newspaper’s Web site, Mr. Cain responds to a question from editors and reporters...

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich just opened his Manchester, N.H., campaign office moments ago. Gingrich told the volunteers and visitors he would take questions. “Can you give us a hint of who might be in your Cabinet,” a man shouted from the back of the crowded room of about 200 people. “Well I’ll give you an example I’m looking for,” Gingrich said. “I believe we have to overhaul the State Department very dramatically. I think we need a secretary of state who is tough-minded and who would represent American interests. I think that Ambassador Bolton represents that kind of person.”

PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge Friday dismissed Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's lawsuit that accused the Obama administration of failing to enforce immigration laws or maintain control of her state's border with Mexico. The dismissal by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton comes in a counter-lawsuit filed by Brewer as part of the Justice Department's challenge to Arizona's controversial immigration enforcement law. The Republican governor was seeking a court order that would require the federal government to take extra steps, such as more border fencing, to protect Arizona until the border is controlled. Bolton said Brewer's claim that Washington has failed...

Gosh I love John Bolton. He really knows how to put the UN in its place: Well if I were Israel and/or the United States, I wouldn’t pay any attention to a General Assembly resolution. Look, the General Assembly could vote this week to make Disney Land a state and it wouldn’t have any more impact outside of the General Assembly hall for Palestine or Disney Land. When Greta asserted that the Obama administration is doing everything it can to fight Palestinian statehood, Bolton quickly challenged that premise by suggesting that they could threaten to defund the UN over a...

John Bolton has decided not to throw his hat in the ring for president in 2012, which kinda makes me sad. I think he would have gotten my vote over everyone and I would have loved to see him in a debate.

Today, one 911 mom, who lost her son, said to me of our 911 Freedom Rally, "I am looking forward to the rally. It is a place we can be free to really remember the who, why, when and where of 9-11. The morning ceremony is devoid of any meaning." The NY Post is reporting that many 911 family members have not been invited to the official ceremonies of 911. This is just monstrous. First it was clergy, then 911 first responders who were excluded from the official ceremonies -- now it's the victims' families. Mayor Gloomberg not only lost...

Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations that “the first duty of the sovereign, that of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies, can be performed only by means of a military force.” Today, failing to protect our national security inevitably endangers our economic prosperity by making us vulnerable to global adversaries. It is clear that President Obama does not agree with Smith’s wisdom. Obama’s policies are jeopardizing not only our national security and economy, but our constitutional sovereignty too. That is why I have been considering running for President. The Republican Party must...

Aug 10, 2011 - 4:05 - Former U.N. ambassador on why he might enter 2012 race

Serious questions remain about the national security implications of the proposed deal to raise the federal debt ceiling. With members of Congress essentially being asked to vote immediately to avoid defaulting on the national debt, they are also entitled to immediate and compelling answers to the defense-related questions. For fiscal year 2012 and 2013, cuts in defense spending remain uncertain, with reductions as much as three percent below last year’s level still possible. Depending on the outcome of further negotiations over the size and allocation of those reductions, these cuts alone may well be quite harmful. The best that can...

While the outcome of NATO’s intervention in Libya is still uncertain, the ongoing drift toward a negotiated solution is fraught with potentially debilitating problems for the Western alliance. Ousting Qaddafi remains a possibility, and could have been achieved much earlier with swift and decisive action, but the prospects for a clear NATO victory are now quite uncertain. The collapse of NATO’s resolve came in several stages, with the seeds planted right at the outset of the military action. First, President Obama signaled hesitancy and weakness by waiting until Qaddafi’s forces had nearly taken Benghazi , the rebels’ key stronghold, and...

The Band of Mothers along with Gold Star Mother Debbie Lee, members of the Gathering of Eagles and FreeRepublic Early in the afternoon of Tuesday July 26th, Suzi "Medea" Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group Code pink, stopped by to talk to the patriots on the corner of the Canon House building in Washington DC to spout her usual anti-American and anti-military propaganda. After about 10 mins of back and forth with Beverly Perlson, founder of The Band of Mothers, she left seeming disturbed by the Patriots presense on Capitol hill. After Suzi left, Ambassador John Bolton, former US ambassador...

John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations, sharply criticized the Obama administration’s handling of the Middle East while testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday morning. Bolton focused on Iran and Syria, laying out steps the United States should take to prevent the two governments from acquiring nuclear weapons. He also had strong words for current US policy toward Israel. “And America’s disdain for Israel, its truest ally in the region, can hardly be comforting to those who have never enjoyed such close relations,” Bolton said in his testimony. “If this is how the United States now...

By John Bolton The opinions expressed are his own. With President Obama’s Libya policy staggering from one embarrassment to another, last week he and Secretary of State Clinton outdid themselves. They publicly welcomed Russia’s effort to insert itself as a mediator, an act of such strategic myopia that it must leave even Moscow’s leadership speechless. Permanent Security Council members Russia and China abstained on the initial resolution authorizing force to create a Libya no-fly zone and to protect innocent civilians. By not casting a veto, Russia thereby tacitly allowed military action to proceed. As they did, Russia repeatedly second-guessed and...

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Monday he would attack Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons or to respond to aggression against Israel. Asked if he agreed with former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton’s contention that the “only realistic alternative … is to use force preemptively against Iran’s nuclear weapons program” since diplomacy has failed, Mr. Cain said he did, with one caveat. “There would be some other pieces of information I would need before I gave that order, but I’m saying that would be Option B,” Mr. Cain said during an interview with editors and reporters at The...

I bashed Mitt Romney, and I feel better. Try it!

US President Barack Obama is “the most anti-Israel president in the history of the state, without any question,” John Bolton, the former US envoy to the UN and a man considering entering the presidential race against Obama, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. “If you think that this is just a misunderstanding of where the green crayon went in 1949, then think again,” Bolton said of Obama. Bolton’s comments came during a meeting he had with the Post’s editorial board. Bolton, who is currently a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a Fox News commentator, said that Obama bought...

Continued Bolton: "There are still major people considering whether to get in. ... And I think what this reflects is a continuing very strong desire on the part of a lot of people to find the exactly right candidate to run against Barack Obama. "The continuing belief that [Obama's] policies, domestically and internationally, are causing trouble for the United States well into the future – I think there's a very strong feeling that he needs to be defeated. But not real certainty. No coalescing around who the candidate ought to be," Bolton said. Bolton added he is considering running for...