Free Republic

ST. PAUL, MINN. - Republican John McCain's primary campaign almost collapsed last year under the weight of opponents' attacks that he backed "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. As McCain prepares to accept his party's nomination for president tonight, past critics of the Arizona senator's position have rallied behind his candidacy. McCain, meanwhile, has backed away from signature immigration legislation and signed off on a party platform that makes a fence along the Mexican border a priority. The party's Twin Cities unity on immigration bridges, for now, an increasingly charged ideological rift for Republican candidates and campaigns. "We don't go around talking...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2008 – Though “significant Russian movements” have taken place in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Russia still is not living up to the terms of the cease-fire agreement, a senior Defense Department official said here today. “There is still a sizeable Russian presence in Georgia. … They’ve established some self-declared security zones, observation posts and checkpoints and the like,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said in a meeting with reporters. “All are a reflection that they are not living up to the agreement.” The mission of the U.S. military in the country now is to provide humanitarian...

...As he was speaking, Russian armored fighting vehicles, tanks and troop transport trucks were staged alongside the side of the road between Gori and Igoeti. The deputy head of the Russian military's general staff, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, told media in Moscow that there were no troops in Gori. But a McClatchy journalist on Saturday saw dozens of military vehicles pouring out of the city. The Russians denied destroying the railroad bridge, not far from Igoeti. The blast suspended Azeri rail transportation of crude oil across Georgia to Black Sea ports, according to Russian state media. The Georgian government provided...

IGOETI, Georgia -- Russia and its allied forces today destroyed a key railway bridge linking war-weary Georgia's capital to the Black Sea coast, effectively severing all east-west transportation routes within the small country, the Georgian Foreign Ministry announced.

Sponsors of a UN Security Council resolution to formalize the ceasefire deal between Russia and Georgia pushed for a vote by week's end, but Moscow balked at inserting any reference to Georgia's territorial integrity. "Yes ideally, we would like a vote this weekend," a Western diplomat close to the bargaining involving European, US and Russian diplomats told AFP Friday. "But we'll take as long as it takes. We are not going to push for a vote if we know that the Russians will veto the text -- which does not mean we have to give in to all their demands......

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008 – A cease-fire agreement signed today by the president of the former Soviet republic of Georgia calls for Russian troops to immediately leave his country, America’s senior diplomat said in the Georgian capital today. “And now, with the signature of the Georgian president on this cease-fire accord, all Russian troops and any irregular and paramilitary forces that entered with them must leave immediately,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a news conference in Tbilisi with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili at her side. President Bush dispatched Rice to Europe to assist in resolving a now...

Choosing expediency over principle, the United States and its allies are pushing Georgia's pro-Western government to accept major concessions in a cease-fire with Russia. Despite warnings of serious consequences for Russia for its invasion of the former Soviet republic, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to Georgia on Friday to try to persuade its leadership to agree to a deal that expands the mandate of Russian troops on Georgian territory. The French-mediated proposal calls for the immediate withdrawal of Russian combat troops from Georgia, but allows Russian peacekeepers who were in the flashpoint separatist area of South Ossetia before last...

Russian troops are indiscriminately murdering civilians and interning them in concentration camps, the embattled Georgian president charged yesterday, as he begged the West not to "appease" Moscow as it did with Nazi Germany. The startling accusations came as Russian troops blatantly violated a cease-fire by sending an armored convoy through the strategic city of Gori. The invaders first poured into Georgia five days ago - ostensibly in defense of a pro-Moscow breakaway region, South Ossetia. "What they are doing is exactly what Stalin did to Finland, what they've done to Afghanistan, what in the Second World War Germany was doing...

GORI, Georgia (AP) - Plans for Russian troops to leave the key Georgian city of Gori appear to have broken down. Early Thursday, the Georgian Interior Ministry said Russian forces were leaving the city that they had taken the day before even though a cease-fire was in effect. (snip) But around midday, the Georgian officials left and some 15 SUVs filled with Georgian soldiers approached a Russian checkpoint on the city's outskirts, pointing guns at the Russian soldiers who then lay in the ground and appeared to prepare for combat. Several Russian tanks then hurried to the position and the...

TBILISI, Georgia-As news spread that the presidents of Georgia and Russia had agreed on a French-brokered cease-fire to the fighting that began last week, the capital of Tbilisi erupted in celebration. Thousands of people crammed onto Rustaverli avenue, and young Georgians, wrapped in white banners reading "Stop Russia," gathered in front of the Parliament building for a rally that lasted until early this morning. Some held candles; others carried Georgian and EU flags that had been handed out on the spot. When leaders of Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Georgia appeared before the crowd, the people chanted, "Sakartvelo!," an old...

Energy: Russia's bloody invasion of a smaller neighbor whose territory includes a vital oil pipeline has left many people wondering: What can we do? Plenty, it turns out — including some things right here at home.Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced he was halting Russia's air and ground attack on Georgia, but someone forgot to tell Russia's military. It has continued its brutal assault, with news reports that Russian troops have started looting, raping and savagely attacking Georgian civilians. It's clear former President Vladimir Putin, not his handpicked successor Medvedev, is calling the shots. Putin's made no secret of the fact...

  Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine who is under consideration as a possible running mate for Barack Obama gave the Senator credit for the Russian ceasefire in Georgia.From ABC News' Jake Tapper."The Senator's goal was to be tough and smart," Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, "and so when the action (in Georgia) happened on Thursday, he immediately called for a ceasefire, condemned the unwarranted use of force by Russia.  It was a bad crisis for the world.  It required tough words, but also a smart approach to call on the international community to step in --...

President Bush dispatched US military hardware to the heart of the Caucasus today and warned Russia that it could be frozen out of international bodies as punishment for its aggression in Georgia. In his toughest criticism of Russia since becoming President, Mr Bush accused Moscow of breaching the provisional ceasefire agreed with Georgia just 24 hours earlier. He cited intelligence showing that Russian troops had again taken the town of Gori and could now divide the country and threaten the capital Tbilisi. He insisted that Moscow respect the former Soviet republic’s territorial integrity. There were also reports of Russian-backed militia...

The Sun witnessed the latest horror as a blood-splattered tot was rushed screaming to a shattered hospital in the gateway city of Gori. It was 5pm — four hours after fighting should have stopped. The one-year-old boy with an ugly head wound was carried from a police car. With him was his uninjured sister, three — smeared with his blood. Minutes later, a second cop car screeched to a halt. Inside was the children’s mother, in agony from gunshot wounds in her right shoulder and leg. She was loaded on to a trolley. After a brief examination all three were...

RUSSIA last night violated its ceasefire with Georgia, sending an armoured convoy deeper into the Western-aligned former Soviet republic less than a day after the deal was brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. About 60 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles left the key Georgian town of Gori and was headed towards the capital Tbilisi, 75km away. Russian soldiers leaned out of the windows of the trucks shouting "Tbilisi! Tbilisi!'' and waving Russian flags, about 10km south of Gori, from where Georgian forces last Friday launched their offensive on the breakaway province of South Ossetia. The move out of...

TBILISI, Georgia - Georgia's president said early Wednesday that he agreed to the "general principals" [sic] of a plan for ending fighting with Russian troops in his country. The cease-fire plan brokered by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France calls for both Russian and Georgian troops to return to their positions before fighting erupted around the breakaway province of South Ossetia last week.

Georgia and Russia agree on truce Russian troops have pulled back through Abkhazia Russia and Georgia have agreed a truce brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and have approved the principles of a full peace plan. The exact details of the proposals appeared to be still under discussion. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili suggested some details agreed by Russia were unacceptable and said the document needed fleshing out. Earlier, Russia announced its military activity in the area was completed and witnesses saw troops pulling out. But despite the diplomacy and apparent withdrawal, rhetoric on both sides remained fiery and analysts...

French president Nicolas Sarkozy said Russia and Georgia had agreed to a ceasefire but had not agreed to a peace deal after a meeting in Moscow this afternoon with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. "We do not yet have peace deal, we have a provisional cessation of hostilities but this is significant progress," Mr Sarkozy said Mr Medvedev criticized Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili, saying he had acted like a "lunatic" and had lied about a ceasefire during the conflict over South Ossetia. "You know, lunatics' difference from other people is that when they smell blood it is very difficult to stop...

Russian news reports are quoting President Dmitri Medvedev ordering a halt to Russian military action in Georgia.

Russia's president has ordered an end to the conflict with Georgia. "I have taken the decision to end the operation to force Georgian authorities into peace," Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Malakhov confirmed the order to Sky News. Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay, speaking from Tibilisi, said the Russians had probably achieved their goal of pushing Georgian forces far enough back inside their borders to prevent further attacks on the rebel province of South Ossetia. "If the Russians say it's over, it's over," he said. "This is pretty good news. It means the...

A victorious Kremlin agreed to a ceasefire in the Caucasus last night on terms that left Georgia and its Western backers weakened. After five days of fighting, President Medvedev of Russia ordered his troops in South Ossetia to hold their fire and fixed a six-point peace plan with President Sarkozy of France. The deal, confirmed by Georgia’s President Saakashvili last night, did not address the future of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two breakway provinces that want closer links with Russia.

TBLISI, Georgia — The presidents of Georgia and Russia agreed early Wednesday morning to the framework of an agreement that could end the war that flared up here five days ago, though Russian air strikes continued throughout the day and antagonisms seethed on both sides. Declaring that “the aggressor has been punished,” President Dmitri A. Medvedev announced that Russia would stop its campaign, which was prompted after Georgian troops on Friday entered the separatist enclave of South Ossetia and shelled the capital city. By 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, Mr. Medvedev and his Georgian counterpart, Mikheil Saakashvili, had agreed to a...

Russian jets targeted a key oil pipeline with over 50 missiles in a weekend bombing raid in Georgia that raised fears the conflict will tighten Moscow's stranglehold on Europe's energy supplies. Deep craters pockmark the landscape south of the Georgian capital Tblisi in a Y-shaped pattern straddling the British-operated pipeline. The attack left two deep holes less than 100 yards either side of a pressure vent on the pipeline. Shrapnel of highly engineered munitions litters the area. There was no visible damage to the pipeline. Its vulnerability is summed up by a yellow hazard sign next to the vent warning...

The war in Georgia escalated dangerously last night after Russian jets reportedly bombed a vital pipeline that supplies oil to the West. After a day of heightening international tensions, Georgian leaders claimed that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which transports oil from the Caspian Sea to Turkey, had been attacked. But it is thought the bombs missed their target. Their claims came after Russian jets struck deep into the territory of its tiny neighbour, killing civilians and ‘completely devastating’ the strategic Black Sea port of Poti, a staging post for oil and other energy supplies. Georgian economic development minister Ekaterina Sharashidzne said:...

Georgia 'calls Ossetia ceasefire' Thousands of people have fled the conflict zone Georgia has ordered its forces to cease fire, and offered to start talks with Russia over an end to hostilities in South Ossetia, Georgian officials say. Russia said fighting was continuing, Interfax news agency reported. Earlier Georgia said its troops had pulled out of the breakaway region and that Russian forces were in control of its capital, Tskhinvali. Thousands of civilians have fled the area, following heavy fighting that broke out on Thursday night. Bombing raids Clashes in South Ossetia were reported to be less intense on...

GORI, Georgia (Reuters) - Georgia called for a ceasefire on Saturday after Russian bombers widened an offensive to force back Georgian troops seeking control over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. President George W. Bush said Russian attacks on Georgia marked a "dangerous escalation" of the crisis and urged Moscow to halt the bombing immediately. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Bush the only solution was for Georgian troops to quit the conflict zone. Russia said it had seized the rebel capital, Tskhinvali, but Georgia denied the claim on the second day of fighting that threatens oil and gas pipelines seen...

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh denied on Friday that Hamas had agreed to stop weapons-smuggling efforts on Gaza's border with Egypt as part of the cease-fire deal with Israel, and claimed that it was incapable of such action. According to a Reuters report, Haniyeh - speaking to worshipers ahead of Friday prayers in Gaza City - said: "We cannot talk about stopping smuggling because it is something beyond our ability as a government and we did not give a commitment in this regard." Haniyeh added that Hamas would not force other organizations in Gaza to abide by the truce, but...

www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/993705.html The main points of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas grant the Islamic organization a political and diplomatic achievement that will also give it a lever in its reconciliation talks with Fatah, which are slated to begin at the end of this week. According to the Egyptian-mediated proposal, Israel will no longer be able to monitor the Rafah crossing, on the Gaza-Egypt border, once it reopens, and a deal to free kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit will be discussed separately from the truce, as Hamas wanted. Israel will receive quiet in the south, along with an Egyptian pledge to monitor...

BAGHDAD, (AP) -- Iraq's main Shiite political bloc and supporters of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr signed a fragile cease-fire in Baghdad's Sadr City on Monday, hoping to end seven weeks of fighting that has left hundreds dead. But the U.S. military has alleged that most Shiite extremists fighting Iraqi and U.S. forces in the teeming slum have splintered away from al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, and that the cleric's level of influence on those rogue groups is unclear. Many are thought to be trained and armed by Iranian forces. Iran denies the allegations. Al-Sadr's representatives and the rival United Iraqi Alliance agreed...

BAGHDAD — An aide to a powerful Shiite cleric in Iraq says extremists have agreed to a cease-fire in Sadr City.

It seems as though every other day we hear there is another “ceasefire” in the Middle East. This is chiefly because there is so much violent Islamofascist aggression throughout the Middle East but it is also because of something more. Just as there is no exact translation between the Arabic and English languages, we in the West would be wise to realize that this “inexactness” exists as a constant in the relationship between the cultures of Islam and Western Civilization. This convolution of conceptual understanding is aptly illustrated where the subject of military ceasefires is concerned. In the West, a...

Published: 04.08.08, 15:40 / Israel News Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is demanding the Iraqi government protect the public from "the booby traps and American militias" or he may formally end the freeze he imposed seven months ago on his Mahdi Army fighters. The statement was being circulated to the press and public Tuesday as United States and Iraqi troops stepped up their pressure on Shiite militiamen in their Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City. Al-Sadr also wants a timetable for the US to leave Iraq. (AP)

(Too short to excerpt) NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr on Tuesday threatened to end the ceasefire of his feared Mahdi Army militia which he announced last August. "The Jaish al-Mahdi (Mahdi Army) is hand in hand with the Iraqi people to achieve security, stability and liberation. If it is of interest to lift the ceasefire to achieve the aims and goals, it will be announced in a separate statement," Sadr said in a communique released by his office.

Three days after Muqtada al Sadr ordered the Mahdi Army to withdraw from the fighting in Baghdad and the Shia South, the fighting has dropped dramatically. The Iraqi government has denied that it has agreed to Sadr's terms, but has softened its rhetoric against Mahdi Army, instead shifting its focus on the "criminal elements" just as the US military has done over the past year. Meanwhile, the Iraqi security forces are continuing operations in Basrah. The Iraqi military has continued to target Mahdi Army elements in Basrah and in Baghdad and southern Iraq, but the government is now referring to...

(CNN) -- The deal to end the weeklong fighting in Iraq's Shiite regions appeared to be holding Monday, but left lingering questions about Iran's growing influence, the Iraqi government's military resolve and the chances for more intra-Shiite hostility. Observers of the Iraqi conflict Monday offered fresh perspectives on the situation in the nation, where fighting raged in the Shiite-dominated south after the government last week launched an offensive in the city of Basra against what it called "outlaws." The fighting -- much of which raged in strongholds of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia -- swiftly worked its way...

BAGHDAD -- Loyalists of Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr today accused government forces of breaching a cease-fire with continued raids in the southern city of Basra and threatened a "return to conflict." The warning came just a day after Basra and Baghdad felt the full effect of the cease-fire, which Sadr called late Sunday following five days of clashes between Shiite militiamen and Iraqi and U.S. forces. The call to his Mahdi Army fighters to put down their weapons brought relative calm to both cities, where curfews were lifted and rocket, mortar and other attacks dropped. Basra remained tense, though, and...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers traveled to the Iranian holy city of Qom over the weekend to win the support of the commander of Iran's Qods brigades in persuading Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr to order his followers to stop military operations, members of the Iraqi parliament said. Sadr ordered the halt on Sunday, and his Mahdi Army militia heeded the order in Baghdad, where the Iraqi government announced it would lift a 24-hour curfew starting early Monday in most parts of the capital.But fighting continued in the oil hub of Basra, where a six-day-old government offensive against Shiite militias has...

The leader of Iraq's Mahdi Army Shia militia ordered his followers to cease fire yesterday, raising hopes of a halt to the fierce internecine clashes with government forces that spread across the country from Basra last week and threatened the security gains from the US military "surge". The cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said in a statement issued in Najaf: "Because of the religious responsibility and to stop Iraqi blood being shed ... we call for an end to armed appearances in Basra and all other provinces. Anyone carrying a weapon and targeting government institutions will not be one of us." Despite...

NAJAF, Iraq, March 30 (Reuters) - Followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will not hand over their weapons as part of a move to end a week of fighting in Iraq, a top Sadr aide said. The aide, Hazem al-Araji, also said that Sadr's followers had received a guarantee from the government that it would end "random arrests" of Sadr followers. "The weapons of the resistance will not be delivered to the Iraqi government," he told journalists at Sadr's office in the holy city of Najaf after distributing a statement from Sadr calling on followers to stop fighting. Sadr's statement...

Six days after the Iraqi government launched Operation Knights’ Charge in Basrah against the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed Shia terror groups, Muqtada al Sadr, the Leader of the Mahdi Army, has called for his fighters to lay down their weapons and cooperate with Iraqi security forces. Sadr’s call for an end to the fighting comes as his Mahdi Army has taken serious losses since the operation began. "Sadr has sent a message to his loyalists urging them to end all armed activities," the Al Iraqiya television channel reported. Sadr "disowned anyone attacking the state institutions or parties' offices and...

Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - In a surprise move Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr on Sunday ordered his fighters off the streets of Basra and other cities in Iraq. Sadr said in a statement that his movement wanted the Iraqi people to stop the bloodshed and for Iraq to maintain its independence and stability. He had previously defied the Iraqi government's deadline to turn weapons in for cash. According to reports, it is unclear if all of Sadr's followers will comply with his order. According to reports, the United States has used ground troops in Basra.

BREAKING NEWS: Al-Sadr calls for an end to Shiite revolt in south Iraq. More soon ...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2008 – Multinational Force Iraq has received initial reporting that Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has pledged to extend the cease-fire he initially ordered in August, officials in Baghdad said today. This extension of Sadr’s pledge of honor to halt attacks is an important commitment that can broadly contribute to further improvements in security for all Iraqi citizens. It will foster a better opportunity for national reconciliation and will allow coalition and Iraqi security forces to focus more intensively on al Qaeda terrorists, officials said. Sadr’s initial pledge, which halted attacks from the militia he controls, contributed to...

The six-month cease-fire ordered by Moqtada al-Sadr for his Mahdi Army soons expires, and many wondered what Sadr might do. Reuters reports that Sadr has decided to keep his militants sidelined for at least another few months. Sealed envelopes have gone to key Shi'ite mosques, with instructions to open them only in time for Friday prayers (via Hot Air): Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is expected to extend a six-month ceasefire by his Mehdi Army militia, two senior officials in his movement confirmed for the first time on Thursday. They said Sadr had issued a declaration to preachers to...

BAGHDAD (AP) - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has threatened to lift by the end of the week a six-month cease-fire widely credited with helping reduce violence in Iraq, officials said Wednesday. Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, said that if the cleric failed to issue a statement by Saturday saying that the cease-fire was extended "then that means the freeze is over." The cease fire was declared in August and due to expire at this month's end. Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army is among the most powerful militias in Iraq. The crux of...

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan - A coalition of Taliban militants in northwestern Pakistan declared an "indefinite" cease-fire Wednesday in fighting against security forces. The government said it was preparing for peace talks. A Pakistani army helicopter crashed in the same region, killing three generals and five other soldiers. The army said initial reports indicated a technical fault in the chopper and ruled out hostile fire as the cause. Maulvi Mohammed Umar, a spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a militant umbrella group, said the cease-fire would cover the lawless, semiautonomous tribal belt that borders Afghanistan, and the restive region of Swat...

 Fool Me Once, Twice, Three Times....June 7, 2007 There’s an old Chinese proverb that warns, “Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me”.   In it’s desperation to find a panty-ass way out of Iraq, the U.S. government is about to allow itself to be fooled for the third, fourth or fifth time. And shame on all the so-called “leaders” of this country who talk big and act little. It was recently reported that “U.S. military commanders are talking with Iraqi militants about cease-fires and other arrangements to try to stop the violence”.   Lieutenant General Raymond T. Odierno, Commanding General...

There are some things today that are simply unacceptable. Offering olive branches to those who are committed to evil is one of them. History has shown that when you offer cease fires to a bunch of murderous thugs and Muslim extremists, more bloodshed follows. Just look at the problems the Israelis are continuing to have with those who seek their absolute destruction. Is it any wonder why there never seems to be any permanent resolution with that region of the world? Offering concessions to terrorists is like giving freedoms to disobedient children. You give them an inch, they're always determined...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese troops exchanged fire with Israeli forces across the border late Wednesday, for the first time since the summer war between Hezbollah and Israel, Lebanese and Israeli officials said. The nighttime incident — sparked by an Israeli bulldozer crossing a fence — showed how tense the boundary remains nearly six months after a U.N.-brokered cease-fire ended 34 days of fighting. But the incident was not expected to undermine the overall truce. Lebanese officials said their troops opened fire on an Israeli army bulldozer that had crossed the frontier near the border village of Maroun el-Rass, scene of...

'Palestinians' again breach cease-fire Source: YnetnewsNovember 27, 2006 "Palestinian" terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip fired two missiles into southern Israel Monday afternoon. It was the second Arab violation of a much-touted general ceasefire that went into effect in and around Gaza just 36 hours earlier. Monday's rockets landed harmlessly in an open area near the town of Sderot. Residents of the battered community said only a miracle prevented a large-scale catastrophe, as most people were outdoors believing the threat from Gaza had subsided. The attack underscored the inability or unwillingness of the Palestinian Authority security forces under PLO...