Free Republic

Hamas’ brutal assault against Israel came on Vladimir Putin’s birthday. Such a catastrophic security shock in the Middle East was probably a welcome surprise for a Russian president whose strategic priority is to divert Western support and attention away from Ukraine. A massive conflagration in Israel risks doing exactly that. The big question is how much credit to give the Kremlin for the perfect storm of mounting crises — in Israel, Kosovo, the Caucasus and Africa — that are rearing up on America and Europe. For many, it’s tempting to see Putin as a mastermind or puppetmaster, stirring up more...

Ukrainian forces have made “notable progress” in their counteroffensive over the last 72 hours, notching wins against the second line of Russian defenders, a White House spokesman, John F. Kirby, said at a news conference on Friday. The United States, Mr. Kirby said, will not discuss Ukraine’s war plans, or how its forces would exploit their gains. But, he added, the U.S. expects Ukraine to continue to push further south, requiring “tough fighting ahead.” Ukraine’s military celebrated a tactical victory earlier this week when its forces retook the southern village of Robotyne. Days later, Ukrainian assault units moved east toward...

The House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees have obtained evidence that an active CIA employee may have recruited signatories for a now-infamous letter in which intelligence community veterans falsely categorized the Hunter Biden laptop as Russian disinformation in a bid to swing the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden. "The Committees have evidence that an employee affiliated with the CIA may have assisted in obtaining signatories for the statement," reads a soon-to-be released report from the committees. "One signer of the statement, former CIA analyst David Cariens, disclosed to the Committees that a CIA employee affiliated with the agency’s Prepublication Classification...

Vladimir Putin's commanders are forcing his conscript soldiers at gunpoint to remain at the frontline. They are using a brutal Stalin tactic to prevent Russian reservist troops leaving their positions, say men who have seen the horror of the cannon-fodder killing fields. 'People are abandoned in the trenches as if homeless and littered with corpses,' complained Russian reservist draftees in a new video appealing directly to Vladimir Putin. 'Retreat-blocking detachments were set up against us and they did not let us out of positions.' They are forced at gunpoint to remain in position, a tactic used by Stalin's cruel SMERSH...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.There was no evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy or his top lieutenants were involved in the operation, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials, the newspaper reported, citing U.S. officials.

Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was discovered after a day-long manhunt by a homeowner - and not by authorities - because law enforcement officials had skipped over the street where he was hiding during their intensive search. Police did not search the area of Franklin Street where a Watertown man found Tsarnaev hiding in his boat - even though the neighborhood was part of a 20-block area that was supposed to be the focal point of the search, Bloomberg News is reporting based on interviews with 11 residents of the area.

<p>It appears that the Washington Post has removed a transcript entirely from their website. The transcript dated October 1, 2003 was titled The White House, Congress and the CIA.</p> <p>Mel Goodman, former CIA analyst and senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, discusses the misuse of intelligence and the need to protect CIA operatives.</p>