Free Republic

George H.W. vs. Bill was Bush/Clinton I. Jeb vs. Hillary could be Bush/Clinton II. And if we’re very lucky, George P. will win his race for Texas land commissioner and Chelsea will ease into public service with a Senate seat in New York or something and we’ll be on track for Bush/Clinton III circa 2032. Two points about this. One: It’s proof of how insatiable the media’s appetite for dynastic politics is (especially Democratic dynasties) that this is biggish news today even though she said the same thing six months ago. You get the feeling that Chelsea could go on...

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan – New Zealand has withdrawn its small contingent of troops from Afghanistan. The South Pacific nation had stationed about 145 soldiers in central Bamiyan province since 2003. Ten of its soldiers died during the conflict. The withdrawal came about five months earlier than initially planned. The U.S. and its allies plan to withdraw all remaining troops by the end of 2014. In a ceremony Thursday, New Zealand lowered its flag and opened a memorial to commemorate both the New Zealand troops and Afghan security forces who died in the province. About 95 Afghan interpreters and their family members...

Nek Muhammad knew he was being followed. On a hot day in June 2004, the Pashtun tribesman was lounging inside a mud compound in South Waziristan, speaking by satellite phone to one of the many reporters who regularly interviewed him on how he had fought and humbled Pakistan’s army in the country’s western mountains. He asked one of his followers about the strange, metallic bird hovering above him. Less than 24 hours later, a missile tore through the compound, severing Muhammad’s left leg and killing him and several others, including two boys, ages 10 and 16. A Pakistani military spokesman...

It’s almost a cruel play on words. You go to the airport and bring that which you know you’ll need for the trip. Transportation Security Administration employees rifle though your bags and find that bottle of shampoo that was a little too big or the can of deodorant that had a few too many ounces. They tell you that certain items in your possession cannot be taken on board the flight and you have to leave them behind. The name they have for those goods is a hoot: “Voluntarily Abandoned Property.” … It was my “property”, but after I “voluntarily...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) will speak at a luncheon hosted by the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth on April 24, the Council announced Monday. Bush's speech coincides with a speech former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to give at the National Multi Housing Council at the Four Seasons Resort and Club, also in Dallas, on April 24. Both Bush and Clinton have been mentioned as possible presidential candidates in 2016. Clinton and Bush are also set to appear at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University on April 25. Clinton's...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has written the cover story for the April edition of Newsmax magazine, offering an optimistic view of America’s future — and straight talk about its problems — with the resounding message: “Growth is the answer” to our nagging economic woes. And the leading Republican sat down with Newsmax for a wide-ranging interview elaborating on a number of topics he discusses in his magazine feature, arguing that America can be great again if we open up the doors to economic opportunity. Bush, who served two terms as Florida’s governor, has earned a nationwide reputation for reform...

Larry Grathwohl is one of those increasingly rare individuals who has led a truly extraordinary life. However, after speaking with him I found that he is an unassuming and truly humble man who has a strong belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Larry Grathwohl BIO I joined the US Army in October of 1964 and after basic training I went through jump school and became a paratrooper assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. I went to Vietnam with the 1st Brigade as part of the 2 Battalion of the 502nd Infantry in July of 1965. I was...

It has a lot to do with the Iraq war -snip My own position on the war fits into none of these categories. Ten years ago, I was working as an editor at First Things, a monthly magazine that's aptly been described as the New York Review of Books of the religious right. (And no, that's not oxymoronic.) The magazine strongly supported George W. Bush's original conception of the War on Terror, and so did I. In his speech to Congress and the nation on September 20, 2001, Bush stated that the United States would seek to decimate al Qaeda...

[This is a companion piece to an essay I posted earlier in the week in regard to the tenth anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq: #22 The Quiet Funeral of Bush Lied - Thousands Died! Bill Clinton's war with Serbia over Kosovo in 1998 starkly illustrates the double standards of contemporary American liberals. It is written in the first person to liberals, but also for conservatives.]     Liberals believe that former President Bush lied to the American people to get support for invading Iraq (this erroneous belief will be completely debunked in #22 The Quiet Funeral of “Bush Lied – Thousands Died!”)....

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has double-digit leads over either of Florida's favorite sons, former Gov. Jeb Bush or U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, in an early look at the 2016 presidential election, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. By a 91 - 8 percent margin, consistent with margins found in other states surveyed by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, Florida voters support universal background checks for gun purchases. Voters in gun-owning households support universal background checks 88 - 11 percent. Mrs. Clinton, who shows the most strength of any potential 2016 aspirant in Quinnipiac University's national polls,...

The following is an excerpt from an essay from the Nuclear Counterarguments Essay Series. It is the definitive counterargument to those who feel the invasion of Iraq was based on deliberate deceptions manufactured by the Bush administration. Anyone who perseveres through to the end of its equivalent of 43 X 300-word pages will never again doubt the sincerity of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. The essay series is written to liberals in the first person, but it is also for conservatives.Perhaps no other issue heats a liberal’s pot up to boil more than the Iraq War. “Bush lied –...

Just wondering...

A U.S. soldier watches as a statue of Iraq's President Saddam Hussein falls in central Baghdad April 9, 2003.REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic As the 10th anniversary of OIF arrives, Peter Feaver goes through some of the most prevalent myths regarding the wrongful narrative that "Bush lied, people died": 1. The Bush administration went to war against Iraq because it thought (or claimed to think) Iraq had been behind the 9/11 attacks. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Bush Administration did explore the possibility that Hussein might have collaborated with al Qaeda on the attacks. Vice President Dick Cheney (along with...

I have my problems with Jeb Bush, but this passage of his speech at CPAC is not one of them. "It is not a validation of our conservative principles if we can only point to the increasingly rare individual who overcomes adversity and succeeds in America," Bush said. "Here’s reality: if you’re fortunate enough to count yourself among the privileged, much of the rest of the nation is drowning. "In our country today, if you’re born poor, if your parents didn’t go to college, if you don’t know your father, if English isn’t spoken at home, then the odds are...

Matthew Dowd, former chief strategist for the 2004 George W. Bush campaign, apparently doesn’t have much of a soft spot for CPAC or for Sarah Palin. Appearing on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Dowd likened CPAC to no less than two prehistoric children’s cartoons, and not so subtly compared former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to Kim Kardashian. National Review captured the one-minute statement from Dowd: “Matt, you’re just shaking your head. The whole thing, it makes you nervous, what do you say?” ABC host Martha Raddatz asked. “To me, imagery and who’s there [at CPAC] and what you say is...

America could be on the threshold of its greatest century. With new drilling technologies, the United States will soon have an energy surplus. This means trillions of dollars in new wealth and a foreign policy not dominated by oil. .... But the bright future is at risk if the federal government continues on its arc of irresponsibility. America's government-spending addiction and its lackluster system of public education are the two greatest impediments to achieving the country's potential. I know conservatives have the solution. As governor of Florida, I balanced the state budget for eight years in a row while cutting...

American Conservative Union Conservative Political Action Conference

CNN anchor Erin Burnett during an interview with former first lady Laura Bush that aired Monday posed a bit of a head-scratcher: Should we “accept” anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism “when we want to make change” in the Middle East? See for yourself [courtesy NewsBusters]: “An Egyptian woman, her name’s Samir Ibrahim, and she’s done a lot of things, courageous things. She’s also been criticized for sending tweets that are anti-Semitic, anti-American,” Burnnett said during a segment on the George W. Bush Institute’s Women’s Initiative Fellowship Program. “Does the U.S. need to accept that when we want to make change? You have...

On Feb. 26, 2003, President George W. Bush gave a speech at the American Enterprise Institute, spelling out what he saw as the link between freedom and security in the Middle East. “A liberated Iraq,” he said, “can show the power of freedom to transform that vital region” by serving “as a dramatic and inspiring example … for other nations in the region.”

A wonderful human being has passed. What do I do when I am angry, happy, or sad? I write. Back in 2004, shortly after my son, Casey, was killed in Iraq, a grief counselor advised me to write a letter to my son in a journal every night. I filled up three journals in the terrible months after his death. I often wrote at his grave and those journals did help me deal with the unspeakable loss. Today, I write from a great well of sadness, but not just for me, for the world. My dear friend in peace and...