Free Republic

JUDGES should interpret the Constitution according to other nations' legal "norms." Sharia law could apply to disputes in US courts. The United States constitutes an "axis of disobedience" along with North Korea and Saddam-era Iraq. Those are the views of the man on track to become one of the US government's top lawyers: Harold Koh. President Obama has nominated Koh -- until last week the dean of Yale Law School -- to be the State Department's legal adviser. Koh. He's a fan of "transnational legal process," arguing that the distinctions between US and international law should vanish. If Canada, the...

Christopher Hill: Deep Kimchee for Iraq Of the many things that will be written about North Korea this week, the least likely of these is, “Now there’s the kind of diplomacy we need more of.” Consider just the events of the last few days: the missile test itself, which may have hit closer to home than originally thought; the failure of the United Nations to enforce two of its violated resolutions; the broader failure of deterrence and counter-proliferation; and North Korea’s final repudiation of a February 2007 agreement in which it had agreed to verifiably dismantle all of its nuclear...

On October 31st 1999 EgyptAir Flight 990 struck the ocean with the loss of all on board. The end of the NTSB's final summary reads thusly "The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the EgyptAir flight 990 accident is the airplane's departure from normal cruise flight and subsequent impact with the Atlantic Ocean as a result of the relief first officer's flight control inputs. The reason for the relief first officer's actions was not determined."

Bush Owes His Successor A Tough Finish on Foreign Policy By JOHN R. BOLTON September 6, 2008; Page A11 As the Bush administration enters its last months, its pursuit of a "legacy," especially in foreign policy, becomes ever more frenetic. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's travel schedule is packed. State Department "signing ceremonies" are blossoming, even for agreements that would not have attracted high-level attention just last year. Editorial writers are being quietly encouraged to laud administration successes. While neither unique nor unexpected, the legacy frenzy masks what should be our real concern until Jan. 20, 2009: the risk of...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. has restored Fulbright scholarships to seven Gaza-based students, saying it erred last week when it rescinded the awards because of travel restrictions that Israel imposes on the Palestinian territory. In e-mails to the students on Sunday, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem said the United States was working with Israeli authorities to let them leave the Hamas-ruled zone to study at American universities. The scholarships were reinstated after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed outrage about the initial decision, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday. McCormack said the initial decision was partly the result of...

Salvaging Our North Korea Policy.... By JOHN R. BOLTON There are signs, albeit small ones, that the Bush administration may be reaching the end of its patience with the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program. These signs could prove illusory. But as it nears its end, the administration has a serious responsibility: It must not leave its successor with an ongoing, failed policy. At a minimum, President Bush should not bequeath to the next president only the burned-out hulk of the Six-Party Talks, and countless failed and violated North Korean commitments. Since they were conceived in spring 2003,...

A Republican Party activist and former top GOP congressional aide who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is harshly criticizing the U.S. diplomatic effort in Iraq, accusing American diplomats of gross and potentially criminal negligence and incompetence.

The U.S. State Department of North Korea In the Six-Party Talks with North Korea, it gets ever more difficult to tell which side of this erstwhile hexagon Condi Rice’s State Department is negotiating for. On Feb. 6, the U.S. special envoy to these talks, Chris Hill, gave the Senate Foreign Relations Committee an update on the North Korea denuclearization agreement reached almost a year ago, which keeps running into snags such as North Korea’s insistence on first receiving a refund of some $25 million in allegedly crime-tainted funds frozen in Macau (which Hill arranged for Kim Jong Il to receive...

    Shadow Warriors   By David ForsmarkFrontPageMagazine.com | Monday, February 04, 2008 Shadow Warriors: The Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of SurrenderBy Kenneth TimmermanCrown Forum, $25.95, 404 pp. At long last, the CIA and the State Department have targeted a government they have identified as an aggressive threat to world peace and largely countered its foreign policy through psy-ops, propaganda, selective leaks of intelligence and covert operations.And who was the target of this covert campaign? Are these operations aimed at the Islamofascists in Iran? How about Vladimir Putin and his increasingly fascist government in Russia?...

Foggy Bottom Apostate January 25, 2008 Jay Lefkowitz, President Bush's special envoy for human rights in North Korea, has recently pointed out that our current approach to Pyongyang is failing. Lord help a diplomat who tells the truth. Mr. Lefkowitz, growled Condoleezza Rice at a Tuesday press conference in Europe, "doesn't work on the six-party talks [on North Korea], he doesn't know what's going on in the six-party talks and he certainly has no say in what American policy will be in the six-party talks." For good measure, the Secretary added that she "would doubt very seriously that [the Chinese...

(Adds North Korean media report) SEOUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday it would boost its war deterrent, a day after the United States said it was sending its nuclear envoy back to Asia to discuss an atomic disarmament deal on which Pyongyang has missed a deadline.North Korea failed to fully account for its nuclear weapons programme or answer U.S. suspicions that it has secretly tried to enrich uranium for weapons. It was supposed to have made the declaration by the end of 2007. "(We) will further strengthen our war deterrent capabilities in response to U.S....

Optimism about North Korea is sadly misguidedBy Richard Halloran Sunday, Dec 16, 2007, Page 9 Once again, rosy optimism is billowing out of the Korean Peninsula. And once again, the rest of the world might remember that atop the regime in Pyongyang sit world-class thugs who have repeatedly refused to abide by their agreements. US President George W. Bush started off the latest surge of hope two weeks ago with a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, urging him in polite but firm terms to keep his pledge to abandon his nuclear weapons. Six years ago, Bush made...

Sri Lanka Sank 6 N. Korean Ships Carrying Weapons between this Feb. and Oct. 12/14/2007 Sohn Ji-heun /begin my summary Six N. Korean ships were sunk by Sri Lankan Navy between Feb. 28 and late October of this year. They were shipping weapons for Tamil Tigers, which were designated as a terrorist organization by U.S. State Dept. Both N. Korean crews and Tamil terrorists were aboard the ships. They were all presumed to be killed. Sri Lankan Navy was able to sink them with the help of U.S., which passed on intelligence on the location of (N. Korean) ships in...

British spy chiefs have grave doubts that Iran has mothballed its nuclear weapons programme, as a US intelligence report claimed last week, and believe the CIA has been hoodwinked by Teheran. Iran 'hoodwinked' CIA over nuclear plans Analysts believe that Iranian staff, knowing their phones were tapped, deliberately gave misinformation The timing of the CIA report has also provoked fury in the British Government, where officials believe it has undermined efforts to impose tough new sanctions on Iran and made an Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities more likely.

Top US State Department negotiator Christopher Hill was spotted yesterday at Washington's Dulles International Airport by Japanese TV reporters and crews.When pressed, he indicated that he would be going to "one additional stop" on the way to China from Japan.Later it was confirmed he is going to Pyongyang, North Korea. He will meet his counterpart, Kim Gye Gwan, Kim Jong il's chief negotiator.He will apparantly be in the "Peoples Paradise" between 3-5 December, to work out details facilitating the removal of North Korea from the US Government's list of "Terrorist Countries", which is expected within the next few weeks...

Remember Nancy Pelosi's spring break in Damascus? Condoleezza Rice apparently does not. When the House Speaker paid Syrian strongman Bashar Assad a call back in April, President Bush denounced her for sending "mixed signals" that "lead the Assad government to believe they are part of the mainstream of the international community, when in fact they are a state sponsor of terror." Today, said sponsor of terror will take its place at the table Ms. Rice has set for the Middle Eastern conference at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Only at Foggy Bottom would Syria's last-minute decision to go to...

BY CLIFFORD MAY As America's ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton was the White House's most effective defender. Now, as an ex-diplomat, he has become among the administration's toughest critics. But he critiques from the right, not the left, which probably explains why the elite media are not eager to focus on what he has to say. The son of a Baltimore firefighter who attended Yale Law School on scholarship, Bolton combines a combative nature with a keen intellect. He is a conservative without the prefix - neither neo-con (he's skeptical about nation-building and democracy promotion) nor paleo-con...

Egypt, Jordan, Palestinians try to win over skeptics before U.S. conference SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians sought Thursday to persuade skeptical Arab nations to attend a U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference, insisting it could open the door to a Palestinian state in the next year. Saudi Arabia and Syria remain the most important holdouts. Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak held a mini-summit with the leaders of Jordan and the Palestinians in this Red Sea resort, bringing together the strongest Arab supporters of next week’s conference in Annapolis, Md. Their meeting came ahead of a key gathering of...

A bitter dispute over forced assignments to Iraq has erupted inside the State Department with diplomats taking decidedly undiplomatic potshots at one another. The latest public salvo came Tuesday with a harshly critical post on the department's official blog in which a foreign service officer in Iraq skewered those who spoke out against the prospect of ordered tours of duty at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and outlying provinces. The message, titled "A Letter From Iraq to My Overwrought Colleagues," accused opponents of being spoiled elitists whose revolt against so-called "directed assignments" is embarrassing. "To my vexed and overwrought colleagues,...

JACK CRODDY, FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER: It's one thing if someone believes in what is going on over there and volunteers. I am sorry, but, basically, that is a potential death sentence, and you know it. And then another thought—who will take care of our children? Who will raise our children if we are dead or seriously wounded? REP. DUNCAN HUNTER, R-CALIF.: I think we should fire those folks that don't want to go. You can't have people on the payroll who refuse to be deployed to the tough places. (END VIDEO CLIP) BRET BAIER, CO-HOST: There you see some of...

Listen to this audio file at LiveLeak. This guy is emblematic of the US Department of State. I've lurked at FreeRepublic for years, but when I heard this, I blew a gasket and registered. I looked at the Dept of State website for his email address, but could not find it. However, his phone is: 202-647-1318.

Fearing Iraq Pullout, State Boosting Private Chopper Force August 01, 2007 4:59 PM Kirit Radia Reports: Fearing an imminent drawdown of U.S. troops and equipment from Iraq amid escalating violence, the State Department is hiring its own private helicopter squad to ferry its personnel around the country. Government military contractors Blackwater, DynCorp and Triple Canopy are the only three companies competing for the contract, possibly valued at more than $100 million a year for up to the next five years, sources tell ABC News. The requirements call for approximately 20 helicopters with maintenance, storage and crew to ensure 24-hour availability....

The List: The World's Top Immigrant Smuggling Routes Posted June 2007 Wars, famine, and poverty drive hundreds of thousands of people each year to pull up stakes and head for greener pastures. But those seeking a better life don’t always find themselves welcome in their prospective homes. For this week’s List, FP takes a look at the dangerous routes migrants are using in order to stay one step ahead of the authorities. The Long Road from Guatemala to the United States Trends: Mexicans are still by far the largest group of illegal immigrants to the United States: In 2005, 86...

Gaza sources say Hamas ambushed US convoy, seized stockpile of weapons aimed for Fatah militias Hamas ambushed a convoy in the Gaza Strip on Sunday and seized a stockpile of US weapons transferred in recent months to militias associated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, according to Hamas and Fatah sources. Gaza Violence "We obtained the US weapons and will keep hijacking any assistance the Americans provide to Fatah. Our fighters are aware of the American and Israeli conspiracies to topple our government. We're trained and well prepared to defeat the American-backed (Palestinian) agents," said a top member...

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that Mideast peace talks should resume despite an outbreak of violence among Palestinian factions. “It doesn’t help to talk about a timetable, but it does help to talk about a commitment,” Rice said after meeting with world powers for a strategy session on the Middle East. The gathering of would-be peacemakers comes amid renewed fighting between Hamas militants and security forces loyal to the former ruling Fatah Party that has raised new alarm about a possible Palestinian civil war. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in internal violence since Hamas...

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's most senior adviser on Iraq is leaving the State Department to return to his teaching job. Philip D. Zelikow is the best-known member of Rice's academic brain trust at the State Department, and the author of sometimes contrarian appraisals of the Iraq conflict and reconstruction effort. He holds the title counselor, a sort of adviser without portfolio. In a resignation letter dated Monday, Zelikow said he will return to teaching at the University of Virginia in January. He cited a "long-standing debt to my family" and "truly riveting obligation to college bursars," for...

U.S. policymakers need to avoid two mistakes, while seizing two opportunities. The first mistake would be an overreliance on military force. As the United States has learned to its great cost in Iraq -- and Israel has in Lebanon -- military force is no panacea.... The second mistake would be to count on the emergence of democracy to pacify the region. It is true that mature democracies tend not to wage war on one another. Unfortunately, creating mature democracies is no easy task, and even if the effort ultimately succeeds, it takes decades. In the interim, the U.S. government must...

Shift in Harvard Curriculum Reflects Larger Trend Toward Global Law Leigh Jones The National Law Journal 10-24-2006 Harvard Law School's recent announcement that it is making the most sweeping changes to its first-year curriculum in 100 years heralded a major shift in legal education, including a new emphasis on global law. But some of its competitors say that they already have revamped their programs in similar ways. Harvard will begin requiring first-year students to take three new courses, including a class on legislation and regulation, another covering global legal systems and a third focusing on problems and theories. The school's...

On July 14, 2003, a Robert Novak column in The Washington Post outed the CIA-agent wife of vociferous Bush administration critic, Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson. Thus was born the "Plame Affair" which quickly became a morality tale of how an out of control Bush Administration would do anything to justify its war in Iraq. A mere three days later, journalist David Corn, summarized the allegations that would color reporting on the Iraq War for the next three years and eventually lead to the indictment of a top aide to the vice president for lying to a grand jury: ((((THE OLD...

Draw your own conclusions from the fact that Armitage’s best friend Colin Powell called Dick Cheney’s supporters (including Scooter Libby, Doug Feith and Paul Wolfowitz) the “Gestapo Office” (quite insulting considering that there is a history of relatives lost in the Holocaust among them). Factor in that Powell called Doug Feith “a card-carrying member of the Likud Party” and referred to the Likudnicks in the White House controlling policy during his “exit interview with Bush” (see Assassin’s Gate: America in Iraq) – thereby showing his support for anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists.

WASHINGTON Robert Zoellick intends to resign as deputy secretary of state after barely 15 months on the job, according to aides and associates. From his first days at the State Department, Zoellick has chafed at his subordinate position, frequently remarking that he was finding the adjustment difficult after running his own office during four years as U.S. trade representative, which is a

A State Department reorganization of analysts involved in preventing the spread of deadly weapons has spawned internal turmoil, with more than half a dozen career employees alleging in interviews that political appointees sought to punish long-term employees whose views they considered suspect. Senior State Department officials deny that and say an investigation has found that the proper personnel practices were followed. But three officials involved in the reorganization, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, acknowledge that a merger of two bureaus reduced the influence of employees who were viewed by some...

The Year in Hatred: Virulent Anti-US Cartoons from the PA Press 20:06 Dec 18, '05 / 17 Kislev 5766 By Scott Shiloh It was a banner year in the PA press for pernicious material attacking the U.S. led coalition in Iraq. A selection of poltical cartoons, inciting against U.S. forces in Iraq, are reproduced here. Before the Iraq war, the Palestinian Authority was one of Saddam Hussein’s staunchest allies. Since the United States led coalition toppled Saddam’s regime, the PA media regularly publishes material supporting the Iraqi insurgents, calling for killing American soldiers fighting in Iraq. Ironically, the Bush Administration,...

TEL AVIV, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel on Sunday declaring a Palestinian state would enhance the Jewish state's security. Speaking to reporters en route from Saudi Arabia, Rice said she would use a speech later on Sunday to demonstrate that change was taking place rapidly in other parts of the Middle East and Israel and the Palestinians should follow suit. "I will talk about the changed context in the Middle East," she said, referring to Libya's decision to abandon weapons of mass destruction, Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon, the ousting of Saddam Hussein...

Cheney 'cabal' hijacked US foreign policy Vice-President Dick Cheney and a handful of others had hijacked the government's foreign policy apparatus, deciding in secret to carry out policies that had left the US weaker and more isolated in the world, the top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed on Wednesday. In a scathing attack on the record of President George W. Bush, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to Mr Powell until last January, said: �gWhat I saw was a cabal between the vice-president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld,...

Insurgent violence has taken a heavy toll on the U.S. in Iraq. A series of attacks earlier this month pushed the total of American fatalities past 1,800. The mounting casualties have shaken American confidence. Terrorism has hit Iraqis even harder. On Capitol Hill, there are bipartisan calls for the White House to establish a timeline for withdrawal. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has been floating trial balloons. Senior military officials and diplomats, meanwhile, seek to deflate the insurgency. They urge Iraqis to embrace and engage former Baathists, Islamists, and Arab Sunni rejectionists. If the Sunnis can be brought into the fold,...

"Real Men Moisturize." So begins an article on "Sharp Dressed Men" that appeared in a State Department funded magazine aimed at youth in the Arab world. The magazine, called "Hi" is published in Arabic and English. A State Department website explains that Hi is published "with the hope of building bridges of greater understanding among our cultures."

WASHINGTON — When John R. Bolton charged into the State Department in 2001 as President Bush's top arms control official, he thought of himself as a loyal Republican soldier on a mission into hostile political territory, according to friends and colleagues. That assessment became a self-fulfilling prophesy. In the course of the four years Bolton ........he had a succession of ideological and personal clashes with subordinates, colleagues and superiors. Eventually, Colin L. Powell, secretary of State at the time, ordered his deputy, Richard L. Armitage, to keep tabs on Bolton and prevent him from alienating allies, three current and former...

CAIRO, April 3, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The US State Department has drawn up a memo calling for direct and permanent political dialogue with the banned Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, a leading Arabic newspaper reported on Sunday, April 3. The US administration sees the Muslim Brotherhood as one of the most powerful opposition movements in Egypt, unnamed Western diplomatic sources in the Egyptian capital told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. The memo recommends inviting the group’s representatives to the United States for better communication and common grounds on Egypt’s reform policies and the pressing issues in the region, they added. The State Department believes...

Bush gave a transformational speech Tuesday at the National Defense University at Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC. I am sure we will see the Europeans and their like minded US compatriots in the Democratic Party and the Main Stream Media claim what he said there was just blather and nothing new if they comment on it at all. But this speech was quite a thing, really. Along with affirming that the USA has entered into a new century with a new foreign policy direction that Bush is not going to waver from, he also aimed a shot across the...

MIDDLE EAST REPORT Nightmare at Foggy Bottom: Arabists panicked at prospect of Rice's appointments U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns stands in front of a picture of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Nov. 21. Colin Powell has long operated on the principle, "Don't rock the boat." It was his credo at the State Department where he usually sidestepped appointments and diplomacy. But Powell is gone, to be replaced by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Foggy Bottom is scared. Nowhere is the fear more palpable than in the department's Near...

Reigning in Foggy BottomBy Ben JohnsonFrontPageMagazine.com | November 17, 2004 This week, George W. Bush put an end to civil war in one of the world’s most important locales: his Cabinet. With the nomination of Condoleeza Rice to succeed Colin Powell – an heroic man and a patriot – as secretary of state, the president acted to replace internal gridlock with a smoother implementation of his anti-terrorism policies. This shakeup will have one vitally important effect on foreign relations, according to columnist David Gergen: “When Rice travels as secretary of state to other capitals, everyone will know that what she says...

WASHINGTON — In a gesture to Muslims, the State Department on Thursday set up a prayer room for some 150 guests invited to dinner by Secretary of State Colin Powell (search) to end their daylight Ramadan (search) fast. Rugs were placed in the well-furnished room off to the side of the Ben Franklin dining room so the Muslims could observe the call to prayer that traditionally precedes the end of fasting at nightfall. Afterward, the Muslims (search), men and women sitting side by side, dined on lamb and chicken and were assured by Powell that "we will move aggressively forward...

WASHINGTON, October 16 (Itar-Tass) - The United States and Russia could build solid partnership, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said. The U.S. secretary of state gave a speech in Washington on Saturday in which he outlined key aspects of the U.S. Administration’s foreign policy. In addition to Europe, the United States built solid partnership with its previous enemy, which was earlier called the Soviet Union and now the Russian Federation. U.S.-Russian partnership is solid and embraces all fields of cooperation – from the energy sector to healthcare. Both sides closely cooperate in security and the fight against terrorism, within...

Islamic Influence Runs Deep in American Culture Cowboys, food, architecture, language carry Islamic markings By Phyllis McIntosh Washington File Special Correspondent Washington -- On the surface, it may seem like the United States and the Middle East are worlds apart, two separate cultures with little in common and no historical connections. In fact, there is considerable evidence to the contrary. Though little known, Islamic influence runs deep in American culture. A number of the words Americans speak, foods Americans eat, buildings Americans design, decorative items Americans create, and traditions Americans treasure can trace their roots to the Islamic world. In...

Several days ago, over 50 former diplomats, led by former Ambassador Andrew Killgore, who served in Qatar from 1977-1980, wrote an open letter to President Bush denouncing his administration’s "unabashed support" for Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. Writing in the Washington Times on May 3, Arnaud de Borchgrave claimed that "it was the first time in living memory so many former envoys to the Middle East had acted as a group to denounce the government’s foreign policy. They said they spoke for many serving diplomats, as well." The letter to the president claimed, among other things, that...

GQ Magazine, in it's latest issue, details Sec. of State Colin Powell's frustration with the Bush administration, his battles with the Pentagon, his 'real' relationship with Vice President Dick Cheney, and whether he'll return for a second term. The magazine issued a press release saying the following: Secretary of State Colin Powell is exhausted, frustrated, and bitter, uncomfortable with President George W. Bush's agenda, and fatigued from his battles with the Pentagon, reports GQ magazine writer-at-large Wil S. Hylton in the June 2004 issue of GQ magazine. Hylton's exclusive article, "Casualty of War," in which he talks with Powell and...

Some of the most prominent former diplomats who condemned Tony Blair's policies in the Middle East have business links with Arab governments, The Telegraph can reveal. In a letter published last week, 52 former British diplomats condemned the invasion of Iraq and the Government's support for Israel. The letter failed to disclose, however, that several of the key signatories, including Oliver Miles, the former British ambassador to Libya who instigated the letter, are paid by pro-Arab organisations. Some of the others hold positions in companies seeking lucrative Middle East contracts, while others have unpaid positions with pro-Arab organisations. The disclosure...

WASHINGTON — A State Department (search) employee was found dead outside the agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., Friday around 5 p.m., Fox News has confirmed. Police said the official cause and manner of death is to be determined by the D.C. medical examiner, the Post reported.