Free Republic

Top News Story Western military buildup underway in the Middle East. Global Research published a major report on the military build-up of conventional, ground, air, naval, and nuclear forces in and around the Middle East and Central Asia. The probability of another war in the Middle East is high. Caroline Glick, The Jerusalem Post reported that the clouds of the coming war are converging upon Israel. But our political and military leaders refuse to look up at the darkening sky.   US confident Russia and China will join in sanctions on Iran. The Washington Times reported that the United...

Top News Story Ahmadinejad to shake up his cabinet. Iran Press News reported that a source close to Ahmadinejad's cabinet said that in the coming days vast changes will be taking place within the administration. The first to leave will be the oil minister; Vaziri Hamaneh is expected to be dismissed from the cabinet.   Ahmadinejad fails to deliver his economic miracle. Inter Press Service reported that Iranian citizens are wondering if Ahmadinejad will ever make good on an election promise to crack down on the corrupt and distribute Iran's vast oil revenues more equitably.BBC News reported that Iran's...

Top News Story Ahmadinejad plans huge increase in uranium enrichment. ABC News reported that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said they want to install up to 100,000 centrifuges to process uranium gas for enrichment in order to produce nuclear fuel. Bush pleased with the Iran Freedom and Support Act The White House, Office of the Press Secretary reported that President Bush said "I applaud Congress for demonstrating its bipartisan commitment to confronting the Iranian regime's repressive and destabilizing activities by passing the Iran Freedom Support Act." Here are a few other news items you may have missed. The International Herald Tribune reported...

Top News Story Bush signs Iran Freedom and Support Act! The Washington Post reported that President Bush on Saturday signed legislation that would impose mandatory sanctions on entities that provide goods or services for Iran's weapons programs.The Associated Press reported that the US Senate finally passed the Iran Freedom and Support Act.The Library of Congress published the full text of the Iran Freedom and Support Act.   But does Condi support a change of regime in Iran? The Wall Street Journal reexamined their recent interview with Condi Rice in which he concludes: Her primary method for dealing with the...

Top News Story Photo evidence of the Islamic Republic's coordinating Iraq's insurgency. Roads to Iraq and Iraqi blog reported that after a fierce battle in “Khan Bani Sa’ad” Diyala governorate north of Baghdad with “Mahdi Army”, Iraqi resistance succeeded to capture one of the “Mahdi Army”. They found a complete modern communications system manufacturing in the Ministry of Defense of Iran believed to be used as a direct contact with the Iranians. Photos.CNN News reported that a Shiite Muslim militia involved in the warfare between Sunni and Shiites in Iraq has received "millions of dollars" and an assortment of...

Top News Story Iran wins another round in the nuclear crisis with the West. ISN Security Watch reported that while a temporary suspension of uranium enrichment would boost diplomatic efforts with Iran, the UN and EU seem to have thrown in the towel, offering talks without suspension and betraying their weak position.Reuters reported that president of the Islamic Republic, Ahmadinejad, said on that Tehran would not suspend nuclear enrichment despite pressure from the West. He said: "Today, Western countries want us to suspend our nuclear technology, but we say to them that we will never give it up."Bill Gertz,...

Top News Story Pentagon report critical of US broadcasts into Iran.   Mercury News reported that a Pentagon unit has drafted a report charging that U.S. international broadcasts into Iran aren't tough enough on the Islamic regime.   The US military on the Islamic Republic's military.   Middle East Newsline reported that the US military officials have assessed that Iran's military was the second most powerful in the Middle East.   Russia finally sets a startup date for Iran's nuclear power plant.   Bloomberg reported that Iran's first nuclear power plant, a Russian-built project, will begin operating by September...

Top News Story "Islam is not compatible with democracy.” - The next Supreme Leader? The New York Times reported concern that Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, is trying to expand his already growing power by packing the "assembly of experts" (which has the power to elect the Supreme Leader) with his loyalists. He said: “Democracy means if the people want something that is against God’s will, then they should forget about God and religion.”   BBC radio's pro-Islamic Republic campaign of misinformation. Ardeshir Dolat reported that the BBC radio 4 in Britain has started a campaign of misinformation on Iran. Its...

Top News Story Is Iran about to launch a war in northern Iraq? DEBKAfile reported that a new Middle East war is in the offing with Turkish and Iranian air units are poised for an imminent coordinated invasion of the northern Iraqi Kurdistan. The report claimed Iranian and Turkish assault troops are already deployed 7-8 km deep inside Iraqi territory.   The EU/Iran have weeks to agree on an agenda for more talks. Reuters reported that France said that EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran had weeks rather than months to agree an agenda for talks about...

John Salazar is one of the most vulnerable Congressman in the country. He tries to get by pretending to be "moderate," though his staff is mainly composed of former Pelosi staffers. He is running against Rightroots endorsed candidate Scott Tipton:Scott Tipton is trying to knock off Democratic incumbent John Salazar in a district that went 55%-44% for George Bush in 2004. This is a seat that should be held by a Republican, but it's a huge district, and Tipton needs lots of cash to overcome the name recognition advantage Salazar holds. If he gets the money he needs, this is...

Top News Story EU3 cave into Iran. Reuters reported that France, Britain and Germany would be willing to begin talks with Iran even if it has not suspended its nuclear enrichment program first, but Washington would not take part.   Islamic Republic tries to crush new Azeri dissent. Regnum reported the arrest of five Azeri after troops were deployed by the authorities in order to prevent massive rallies by Azeri’s against opening new schools in Farsi.   Pakistan surrenders region to Taliban and Al Qaeda? Daveed Gartenstein-Ross & Bill Roggio, The Weekly Standard reported that the government of Pakistan...

Top News Story Iranmania LONDON, September 23 (IranMania) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said rabbis are criticising the 'Zionist' regime more than the Islamic Republic of Iran, IRNA reported. Speaking to reporters after his 10-day visit to Senegal, Cuba, Venezuela and the UN General Assembly in New York, the president said he held a lengthy meeting with Jewish clerics in the US. "They expressed their concerns to us over the behaviour of the Zionists," he added. The president also said that during the visit, he explained Iran's principled stand on a host of issues during meetings with various groups...

. . . Hoping For Attack On HomelandThe cornerstone of the Democrat platform for the upcoming elections - undermining the war on terror while simultaneously weakening homeland security - is not winning the hearts of many Americans and so is in need of fresh material to accomplish these goals. If there is another attack on U.S. soil before the elections, are the Democrats gambling that it will insure a big win for them in November 2006? After all, they have been accusing the President of "not doing enough," all the while they impede the implementation of the war on terror...

Police have agreed to consult a panel of Muslim leaders before mounting counter-terrorist raids or arrests. Members of the panel will offer their assessment of whether information police have on a suspect is too flimsy and will also consider the consequences on community relations of a raid. Members will be security vetted and will have to promise not to reveal any intelligence they are shown. They will not have to sign the Official Secrets Act. The first panel, expected to consist of four people, will be set up initially in London. Tomorrow representatives from police forces across England and Wales...

A current myth among so-called intellectuals is that it doesn’t matter what you believe about ultimate questions or whether you believe anything at all. All that is required of us, say they, is to believe as we wish. But our current war with Islamo-fascists no longer allows us that luxury. We can approach this question on both the political and the theological levels. As to the first, it is simply untenable to maintain that you are free to believe whatever you wish, for the political societies which human beings form are based on some belief or other (in our case,...

FORMER SPANISH PRESIDENT Aznar:“Muslims should apologize for occupying Spain for 800 years” 09/23/2006 Bush and his war on terror, said the West is under attack from radical Islam and must defend itself. “It is them or it is us,” Aznar said. “There is no middle ground.” Jose Maria AznarMuslims should apologize for occupying Spain for 800 years and a U.N.-backed program to encourage dialogue between them and West is stupid, former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar has said. Aznar made his comments Friday night in a speech at the Hudson Institute, a thinktank in Washington, D.C., as he discussed...

To counter any suggestion that Islam is a violent religion, Muslims attacked churches in the West Bank, Gaza and Basra this week. In Somalia a religious leader named Abubukar Hassan Malin echoed a British religious leader named Anjem Choudary who seemed to be in agreement with a religious leader from India called Syed Ahmed Bukhari that Pope Benedict XVI had to be forced to apologize. Forced? Bukhari left it open how, but Choudary felt that subjecting the Pontiff to "capital punishment" may be persuasive, while Malin was inclined to think that the situation called for hunting down the Holy Father...

On last Monday's (9/18/2006) Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jay weighed in on the Pope controversey. Some excerpts: A 110 degree day here in Los Angeles -- I'll tell ya, I was sweating like the Pope visiting Mecca, it was that hot out there... Statement from President Bush "I didn't even know the Pope was Jewish" Iraq has demanded that the pope issue a statement of apology for a statement he made linking Islam to violence. Well where did the Pope get THAT crazy idea from, HUH? I'm STUNNED! Well maybe the apology will stop the church burnings and the...

POPE Benedict has hit out at Islam and its concept of holy war during a visit to his Bavarian homeland. The thinly veiled attack on extremist Islam's justification for terrorism came during a theological lecture to staff and students at the University of Regensburg, where the former Joseph Ratzinger taught theology in the 1970s. Using the words, "jihad" and "holy war", the Pope quoted criticisms of the prophet Mohammed by a 14th century Byzantine Christian emperor, Manuel II, during a debate with a learned Persian. "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things...

Employees of the state body that organizes Muslim worship in Turkey asked the authorities on Tuesday to open legal proceedings against Pope Benedict and to arrest him when he visits the country in November. Muslims worldwide have been angered by remarks the Pope made in a lecture last week that they said portrayed Islam as a religion tainted by violence and irrationality. Benedict has said he is deeply sorry Muslims have been offended by his use of a medieval quotation on Islam and holy war, but has stopped short of retracting his comments. Employees of Ankara's Directorate General for Religious...