Free Republic

WASHINGTON - The Russian government had sources inside the American military command as it planned and executed the invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to Iraqi documents released as part of a Pentagon report. The Russians passed information to Saddam Hussein on U.S. troop movements and plans during the opening days of the war, according to the report Friday. The unclassified report does not assess the value of the information or provide details beyond citing two captured Iraqi documents that say the Russians collected information from sources "inside the American Central Command" and that battlefield intelligence was provided to Saddam...

NORTH ARABIAN SEA –A coalition effort involving ships from Commander Task Force (CTF) 150, under the Coalition Forces Maritime Component Command, led to the seizure of more than 4,200 pounds of hashish here in international waters May 20. Guided missile frigate USS Kauffman (FFG 59) had been tracking the motor vessel Al Naveed before boarding the vessel. The boarding team discovered the drugs hidden behind a false bulkhead. Kauffman is deployed in the region to conduct maritime security operations (MSO). MSO set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security...

CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar - Army Lt. Gen. John Abizaid speaks fluent Arabic, is a Middle East scholar and professes that he "loves the Arab world." He's also a three-star general, deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command and the No. 2 official leading the war against Iraq. Abizaid made his public debut this week at Central Command in Qatar, providing a precise rundown of where the war stood days after ground forces crossed the Iraqi border. His performance was indicative of his climb up the U.S. military ladder and the way he runs the war: studied and detailed, right...