Free Republic

Iran could cut West's oil supplies in event of war, warns American chief in Gulf By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 21/09/2006) Iran could trigger a global terrorist campaign and choke the West's oil supplies in the event of war with America, the top US commander in the region has warned. In a rare public discussion of how a war with Iran might unfold, Gen John Abizaid, the chief of the US Central Command, gave a sobering assessment of Iran's military potential. He warned that in a war Iran would rely on unconventional means to challenge America's superiority. "Number one,...

Britain must regain a pride in its identity, Chief Rabbi warns By Jonathan Wynne-Jones (Filed: 17/09/2006) A crisis of national and social identity is undermining Britain's efforts to integrate its immigrant population, according to the Chief Rabbi. Sir Jonathan Sacks told The Sunday Telegraph that multiculturalism had led to segregation and a country that was no longer confident of what it stood for. Sir Jonathan: 'Britain used to know who and what it was' It needed to regain a sense of pride in being British, he said, but must be less afraid to allow ethnic minorities to contribute to society,...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Wednesday that includes a provision added in the waning days of the legislative session allowing his administration to nearly double the pay of 50 top state bosses. Under Assembly Bill 2936, the workers -- mostly heads of agencies and departments -- could get as much as 125 percent of the governor's salary, although the governor says he intends to extend the raise to only one or two officials. Schwarzenegger doesn't take his pay. But in 2007, the salary assigned to his office is scheduled to increase to $206,500. That would mean the top administrators...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2006 – One result of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was the establishment of U.S. Northern Command to deal with threats aimed at the United States, the organization’s commander said here today. During an interview at the Pentagon’s Radio Day event, Navy Adm. Timothy Keating spoke his personal experiences during the attack and about his command. Keating, who is also the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command, was the Navy’s director of operations in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. “I was in the operations update when the news hit of the first plane...

WASHINGTON, Sep. 3, 2006 – An Iraqi Army unit caught a mid-level leader of an illegal militia group during an early-morning Aug. 31 raid in southeastern Baghdad, according to Multinational Corps Iraq officials. The Iraqi soldiers, accompanied by coalition advisers, were specifically looking for the militia’s chieftain, officials said, noting that he is believed to be responsible for inciting sectarian violence, fear and instability through acts of intimidation and murder. He also was wanted for authorizing the acquisition and use of heavy weapons and improvised explosive devices employed in attacks on Iraqi citizens and coalition troops. No civilians or Iraqi...

'Hezbollah is arming Gaza for a new war on Israel', says Israel's spy chief By Michael Hirst and Clancy Chassay (Filed: 03/09/2006) Israel's spy chief has given a warning that Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip are garnering increasing numbers of weapons and tactical expertise from Hezbollah fighters since the war in southern Lebanon erupted earlier this summer. Yuval Diskin, the director of Shin Bet, Israel's equivalent of MI5, said Egypt's Sinai Peninsula was being used as a terrorist base and fast becoming a haven for arms smugglers preparing to shift their wares into the Gaza Strip. He added that...

Migrants changing Britain, says race chief By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 30/08/2006) Immigration to Britain today is fundamentally different from previous settlements because it is changing the composition of the nation, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality said last night. Trevor Phillips, who provoked controversy last year by challenging the concept of multiculturalism and saying that Britain was "sleepwalking to segregation", said the social significance of the current wave of immigration was being overlooked. More young people were arriving to compete for jobs with settled workers and a growing number of incomers were setting up their...

Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Peter Schoomaker pins a Purple Heart on Spc. Rebecca Macintyre, a motor transport operator with the 96th Aviation Support Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, during a ceremony at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael Pfaff Chief of Staff Visits Soldiers at Speicher By U.S. Army Spc. Michael Pfaff TIKRIT, Iraq, Aug. 21, 2006 -- Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Peter Schoomaker visited troops at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, Aug. 16. Schoomaker met with troops during several reenlistment, award, and “coin” ceremonies, in which Schoomaker personally...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2006 – Military might will not win the battle for Afghanistan, NATO’s top military officer said here today. Building a government that guards the liberties of its citizens, provides economic opportunities and treats all fairly before the law will do more than simple military pressure, U.S. Marine Gen. James L. Jones said during a Pentagon interview. NATO has assumed the security mission in southern Afghanistan. The alliance now has responsibility for about 80 percent of the nation and is scheduled to assume command for the rest of the country by the end of this year. Jones said...

Chief Master Sgt. Praises Afghan Progress U.S. Central Command’s top enlisted leader praised Afghanistan for its progress in rebuilding and developing its armed forces over the past five years. By U.S. Army Spc. Carina M. Garcia KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2006 -- The U.S. Central Command’s top enlisted leader visited Afghanistan from Aug. 5 to 8 and praised the country for its progress in rebuilding and reconstructing, and developing its armed forces over the past five years. Just a month away from the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Curtis L. Brownhill toured bases...

SACRAMENTO - The California prison system, plagued by mismanagement and negligence in delivering health care to inmates, is ill-equipped to provide hospital services to prisoners and should let an independent health care provider take over, the state's corrections chief said Friday. "Clearly, I've seen examples where inmates are dying due to a lack of care in the system," Acting Corrections Secretary James Tilton said. "The facts are there: We have people not getting appropriate care." A federal receiver took control of the prisons' medical system in April after a U.S. District Court judge found that an average of one inmate...

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2006 – Today's Army is the best the U.S. has ever sent into combat, and initiatives under way will ensure it remains that way, the Army chief of staff said in a statement released last night. Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker said he's confident that efforts from the Army and Defense Department staffs, in Congress and the White House will ensure the Army is equipped and financed to face “the many challenges that lie ahead during these dangerous times.” Schoomaker, who came out of retirement to accept the Army's top military job, disputed recent public statements criticizing...

Terror plots accelerating, warns police chief By John Steele (Filed: 04/07/2006) Anti-terrorist police are tackling an "accelerating" number of plots by violent Muslim Jihadi extremists, according to Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer. Scotland Yard anti-terrorism branch is involved in an "unprecedented" 70 investigations, Peter Clarke the head of the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch and national co-ordinator for anti-terrorist investigations, warned yesterday. More than 60 people are facing trial on terrorist allegations. Two-thirds of those have been charged since last July. In one of the most sombre and detailed statements yet on the threat to Britain from Islamic extremist terrorists, Mr...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday blasted U.S. media for exposing details of highly secretive intelligence programs and asked the Bush administration for a formal damage assessment. Sen. Pat Roberts (news, bio, voting record), a Kansas Republican, asked U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte to report particularly on any damage to President George W. Bush's domestic spying program and another secret program by the Treasury Department that tracks private bank records. "Numerous, recent unauthorized disclosures of sensitive intelligence programs have directly threatened important efforts in the war against terrorism," Roberts, a staunch White House ally,...

Anti-terror raids could spark riots, says police chief By Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent (Filed: 25/06/2006) Anti-terror raids could spark rioting unless police maintain a strong relationship with the Muslim community, according to a senior officer. James Hart, who retired on Friday as Commissioner for the City of London Police, compared today's situation with the tensions that led to the Brixton and Broadwater Farm riots in the 1980s - both sparked by bungled police operations. James Hart: 'We have seen all this before' This month's botched terror raid in Forest Gate, east London, in which a suspect was shot and...

6/23/2006 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- A sergeant severely wounded in action in Iraq received the Purple Heart Medal today, pinned on his chest by the Air Force chief of staff. Staff Sgt. Israel del Toro Jr. accepted the medal from Gen. T. Michael Moseley at a ceremony at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. More than 200 people attended the event, including family members. The sergeant, supported by family members, fellow controllers, A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots, Soldiers, an Airman Leadership School class and the hospital medical staff was at a loss for words because...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's move to boost the minimum wage is part of a calculated campaign that won't improve the lives of poor families in California. The governor has asked a defunct state commission to reconvene just long enough to raise the state's minimum wage by $1, to $7.75 per hour over one year. Schwarzenegger twice has vetoed identical increases that would have spread the wage hike over two years. What's the hurry? The governor may be shrewdly blocking even-worse Democratic legislation imposing automatic raises to keep pace with inflation. But that's giving him a lot of credit, particularly after his...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (May 25, 2006) -- A Milwaukee native was awarded the Bronze Star May 19 for his loyal devotion to duty during times of danger and distress while deployed to Iraq. Master Gunnery Sgt. James G. Apriesnig was acting as communications chief for Headquarters Company, Regimental Combat Team-8, 2nd Marine Division, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from March 2005 to February 2006 in Fallujah, Iraq. Apriesnig planned and supervised the installation, operation and maintenance of a communications architecture that provided connectivity between the headquarter element, a reconnaissance battalion, three infantry battalions and three military...

UC regents and state lawmakers harshly criticized the University of California's pay practices Wednesday as an internal audit revealed scores of violations of university policy and UC President Robert Dynes admitted to a culture in his office of "trying to get away with as much as possible and disclose as little as possible." University auditors told the UC Board of Regents they had found that 143 exceptions to the university's compensation policies had been made to give extra pay or benefits to 113 senior managers. That's on top of the 91 exceptions identified last month by PricewaterhouseCoopers auditors for a...

President Bush says he’ll send the National Guard to the southern border, 24 hours after the announcement the Border Patrol has yet to comment, but News 4 tracked down a former Tucson Sector chief for his opinion of the President’s plan. In a move to reform America ’s current immigration system, President Bush announced the deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard Troops to the U.S. Mexico Border. Bush stated, “The United States is not going to militarize the southern border.” Bush said that the Border Patrol will remain in the lead using support from the troops in roles like...