http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/foreign-news/ en-us Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:44:42 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385201/posts Afghanistan: During the 2008 campaign, President Obama wasn't worried about the Afghan government's corruption. He just wanted to empower our troops to win the war there. Why has the U.S. gone all gun-shy? It was Bill Clinton who kept a borrowed miniature of Auguste Rodin's famous statue "The Thinker" in the Oval Office, but some might wonder if President Obama has turned into the statue itself. After a report earlier this week that said Obama had finally made up his mind to give his hand-picked commander in Afghanistan the 40,000 new troops he asked for — albeit in small doses... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385201/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:44:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385195/posts Staff Col. Abbas, 3rd Brigade, 29th Iraqi Army Division, meets one of the young Iraqi children who benefited from the wheelchairs the 29th IA brought to Rutbah, Oct. 25. Photo courtesy of the 82nd Airborne Division. CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE — American troops aren’t the only ones conducting goodwill missions here, as Iraqi troops are out in force to win the hearts and minds of the people. Earlier this month, Soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 29th Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, entered the town of Rutbah to distribute school supplies and other needed items.The goodwill mission was planned and executed without any... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385195/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:31:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385193/posts Ex-soldier faces jail for handing in gun Thursday, November 12, 2009, 10:30 A former soldier who handed a discarded shotgun in to police faces at least five years imprisonment for "doing his duty".Paul Clarke, 27, was found guilty of possessing a firearm at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday – after finding the gun and handing it personally to police officers on March 20 this year. The jury took 20 minutes to make its conviction, and Mr Clarke now faces a minimum of five year's imprisonment for handing in the weapon. In a statement read out in court, Mr Clarke said:... This Is Surrey Today http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385193/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:26:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385188/posts With Hamid Karzai declared the winner of Afghanistan’s highly controversial presidential election, President Obama’s decision regarding future U.S. policy toward that country is considered imminent. As part of his deliberations, Mr. Obama has received the assessment of his military commanders, the advice of his top civilian leaders, and the views of NATO allies, among others. Now there is one more piece of information that should be added to this mix, namely what the Afghan people are thinking. A recent survey directed by The Asia Foundation (and available at asiafoundation.org) is a snapshot of public opinion in Afghanistan. It shows a... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385188/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:21:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385180/posts On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 157 service members became America's newest citizens during a naturalization ceremony in Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Baghdad. Photo by Lee Craker, MNC-I. BAGHDAD — A naturalization ceremony here on Veterans Day in Camp Victory's Al Faw Palace saw 157 U.S. Soldiers and Marines from 60 countries take the oath to become United States citizens. "How fitting it is that so many, on this Veterans Day, will gain their American citizenship while serving in 'America's Corps'," said Lt. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby, Jr., commanding general of Multi-National Corps - Iraq. "I can think of no... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385180/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:13:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385177/posts 11/12/2009 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- All Airmen are responsible for protecting against terrorism, but the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Airmen here have it down to a science -- through random antiterrorism measures. The measures are designed to consistently change the look of an installation's force-protection plan, and is part of a Department of Defense-wide program to defeat surveillance attempts and make it difficult for terrorists to accurately predict the actions of their intended targets. "All servicemembers on base execute RAMs to a certain degree," said Tech. Sgt. Thomas Williamson, the 332nd ESFS NCO in charge of... Air Force Link http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385177/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:07:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385175/posts What a surprise — that someone who shouts "Allahu Akbar" (the "God is great" jihadist battle cry) as he is shooting up a room of American soldiers might have Islamist motives. It certainly was a surprise to the mainstream media, which spent the weekend after the Fort Hood massacre downplaying Nidal Hasan's religious beliefs. "I cringe that he's a Muslim. ... I think he's probably just a nut case," said Newsweek's Evan Thomas. Some were more adamant. Time's Joe Klein decried "odious attempts by Jewish extremists . .. to argue that the massacre perpetrated by Nidal Hasan was somehow a... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385175/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:05:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385174/posts 11/12/2009 - SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- With the traditional "I do's" and exchange of wedding bands some 54 years ago on Oct. 1, 1955, James and Phyllis Hivner began their life's journey together which, like many young couples, began with not knowing what the future held. That journey was rocked 10 years later, almost to the day, when then-Capt. James Hivner and his co-pilot, 1st Lt. Thomas Barrett, were shot down Oct. 5, 1965, in their F-4C Phantom fighter-bomber over North Vietnam. About 10 minutes after ejecting from the wounded aircraft, the pair was captured by North... Air Force Link http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385174/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:04:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385168/posts OSHKOSH, Wisc., Nov. 12, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has created a new task force to enhance existing department efforts to counter the threat from roadside bombs, the No. 1 killer in Afghanistan. Gates announced the new task force today, and said he expects its members to spend the next six months reporting to him about the best way to deal with the improvised explosive device threat in Afghanistan. The task force will be co-chaired by Ashton Carter, undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics; and Marine Lt. Gen. John M. “Jay” Paxton Jr., the Joint Staff’s operations chief.... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385168/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:57:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385165/posts WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2009 – Generations of American servicemembers braved and survived the din, destruction and uncertainty of war to return home to enjoy the freedoms they helped to preserve for their fellow citizens. Retired Navy Rear Adm. Robert H. Shumaker is a famous U.S. military veteran who coined the term “Hanoi Hilton” when he was a prisoner of war from 1965 to 1973 in North Vietnam. Any person –- civilian or military –- who thinks they may have emotional problems should seek professional help, he said. DoD photo by Gerry J. Gilmore  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Yet,... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385165/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:54:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385160/posts FORT HOOD, Texas , Nov. 12, 2009 – In the aftermath of the Nov. 5 shootings here that left 13 dead and 38 wounded, soldiers, family members and civilians who work on post are looking for answers, and for help in grieving. A U.S. Army soldier buries his head in his printed program during a memorial service on Fort Hood, Texas, honoring the 13 who were fatally shot in a Nov. 5 shooting spree by a lone gunman on post, Nov. 10, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Grazyna Musick  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Following any loss, individuals and... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385160/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:50:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385159/posts WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2009 – Afghan and international forces in Afghanistan today captured a sought-after Taliban commander following a firefight in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, and also captured a Haqqani terrorist group leader in another area, military officials reported. In the first incident, the combined force killed several enemy militants and detained others in Ghazni’s Zankhan district. During the operation, the force received and returned fire, killing several enemy militants. A security element of the combined force searched the enemy position and recovered a rifle, multiple grenades, ammunition and communication gear. The force then searched the compound and detained a group... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385159/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:47:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385157/posts GATESVILLE, Texas, Nov. 12, 2009 – The citizens of the “Spur Capital of Texas” here opened their arms and hearts to Army Reserve soldiers affected by the Nov. 5 Fort Hood shooting by hosting them for dinner at a local restaurant Nov. 8. The community of Gatesville, Texas, hosted a dinner at the Prima Pasta restaurant for Army Reserve soldiers affected by the Nov. 5 shootings on Fort Hood, Nov. 8, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tony Lindback  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It is absolutely wonderful to see all these folks together and to show our... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385157/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:45:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385129/posts FORT HOOD, Texas, Nov. 12, 2009 – November 5 began and might have ended like any other day for Kanesha Howard, an Army spouse and mother of two. Instead, she found herself living a nightmare by midday, franticly wondering if she still had a husband. Eventually, she learned that Staff Sgt. Alvin Howard, a heavy-wheeled vehicle mechanic assigned to the 20th Engineer Battalion, had been wounded in the massacre here, while preparing with other troops for their upcoming deployment. Since that fateful day, however, Howard has mustered the strength to smile again. Amid unimaginable frustration and destruction, Howard’s husband’s unit... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385129/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:56:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385123/posts EN ROUTE TO OSHKOSH, Wis., Nov. 12, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today condemned a spate of leaks regarding both the Afghanistan strategy deliberations and last week's shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, threatening to fire anyone in the Defense Department he finds is involved. "I am appalled by the amount of leaking that has been going on," Gates told reporters traveling with him today in the wake of media reports following yesterday's national security session on Afghanistan, President Barack Obama's eighth in the past two months. Gates said he has little doubt that some of those leaks have... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385123/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:54:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385122/posts KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Nov. 12, 2009 – Task Force Lethal civil affairs soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, and members of the U.S. Agency for International Development conducted a meeting Nov. 5 to discuss youth-related issues in the province’s Nangalam, Dari Khar, Manogai and Watapur districts. Members of the youth group in the Dari Khar district of eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province stand together at a development and support meeting, Nov. 5, 2009. The meeting targeted boys at risk of insurgents’ influence to give them alternatives to violence. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Beth Raney  (Click photo... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385122/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:51:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385116/posts AMARAH, Iraq, Nov. 12, 2009 – Soldiers of the 57th Military Police Company have spent the past three months building a partnership with the Iraqi police in this Maysan province city to improve their ability to govern and secure the local populace. Iraqi police officers watch a safe-body-search demonstration by Dan Escudero, an international police advisor, at an Iraqi police station, Oct. 15, 2009. U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Len Rothermich  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The MPs engage with key police leaders and visit the district headquarters weekly to collect information on the area, establish training dates... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385116/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:42:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385113/posts CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, Nov. 12, 2009 – Many soldiers find it difficult and inconvenient to conduct physical training in a field environment. Temperatures in Iraq can top out near 150 degrees, and running in a dust storm is no picnic. Army Capt. Alexander Quintinilla races in the Peachtree 10K at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, July 4, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Matthew E. Jones  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But Army Capt. Alex Quintanilla, an automation officer in the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, he began training for his first... Face of Defence http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385113/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:39:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385112/posts ...Ousted president Manuel Zelaya, who was expelled by the military in June, said in a telephone interview that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had assured him as recently as last week that the U.S. government was seeking his return to the presidency. But he said that U.S. pressure had eased in recent days and that he no longer had faith in the agreement....The Obama administration has invested its credibility in the Oct. 30 accord, which was reached after Clinton dispatched a senior diplomatic team to bring the two sides together. ... "The State Department's abrupt change of policy towards... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385112/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:39:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385109/posts ARLINGTON, Nov. 12, 2009 – When Coast Guard Lt. Hannah Bealon was growing up, she was intrigued by the stories of her uncles’ courage and sacrifice in the Vietnam War. Coast Guard Lt. Hannah Bealon, right, shares a moment with Ruthanna Weber, a 94-year-old World War II veteran and an original member of Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES, at a Veterans Day ceremony at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, Va., Nov. 11, 2009. DoD photo by John Kruzel  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “At an early age, I knew I wanted... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385109/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:36:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385107/posts Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry and Trooper Mark Donaldson, holders of the Victoria Cross, attend a service to honour the First World War generation After the two minutes’ silence, the prayers and the sermon remembering lives sacrificed and innocence lost, two soldiers whose bravery entitles them to wear the Victoria Cross walked along the nave of Westminster Abbey. Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry and Trooper Mark Donaldson, two of the nine living servicemen to have been decorated with the highest award for valour, carried a wreath the size of a lorry wheel from the High Altar to the Tomb of the Unknown... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385107/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:33:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385079/posts The property market in Shanghai seems to be revving up again stoking fears of an impending price rise, going by the record sales price of an apartment in the expensive but much sought after Tomson Riviera. According to data from Shanghai Real Estate Trading Center (SRETC), the 600-sq-m luxury apartment has been sold for a whopping 96.09 million yuan ($13.3 million) – at 160,848 yuan per sq m – a new record for luxury homes. It also represents a 13-percent increase over the February 2007 sale of a similar apartment. Confirming the development, Li Qing, a manager at Tomson... AsiaLynx.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385079/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:00:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385074/posts Iraq’s Baghdad Trade Fair ended Tuesday, six years and a trillion dollars after the American invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and one country was conspicuously absent. That would be the country that spent that trillion dollars — on the invasion and occupation, but also on training and equipping Iraqi security forces, and on ambitious reconstruction projects in every province aimed at rebuilding the country and restarting the economy. Yet when the post-Saddam Iraqi government swept out its old commercial fairgrounds and invited companies from around the world, the United States was not among the 32 nations represented. Of the 396... nytimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385074/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:54:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385059/posts Who killed Czech Clyde? Bonnie or did he shoot himself? Plzeň - The runaway prisoner that the police intercepted on Wednesday night was not killed by the police. Police spokesperson Martina Lídlová has confirmed the information. "The autopsy showed that it was a different gun that killed Tauchen. The Czech police don't use such a kind of gun," said the spokeswoman. There are two possible versions at the moment: either Pavel Tauchen shot himself in the head shortly before the police opened fire at him and his wife. The other option is that Dagmar Tauchenová shot her 42-year old husband... aktualne.cz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385059/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:36:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385057/posts The Obama administration is headed down the irrecoverable path to defeat in Afghanistan, and appears to be waving the white flag in the global 'war on terror.'   It has now been more than seven long weeks since the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley A. McChrystal, reported on the desperate need for more troops in Afghanistan, warning that defeating the insurgents will not be possible if the United States fails to "gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum" over the next 12 months.   McChrystal's confidential report was leaked to the Washington Post on September 21,... The Woodward Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385057/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:32:49 GMT