Free Republic

A Department of Defense assessment of locations proposed to build offshore wind farms on the Atlantic coast found several areas to be “highly problematic” due to their proximity to U.S. military training sites, Bloomberg reported on Monday, publishing a Pentagon map of the areas in question. A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to Fox News on the same day that the warnings published by Bloomberg were an authentic assessment of proposed areas for offshore wind development, stating that the Defense Department would “continue to work” with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), responsible for greenlighting the offshore wind deals, to find...

Amid reports of a renewed Saudi offensive against Iranian-allied rebels in Yemen, Iran's news agency reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia had stopped Iranian aid planes from landing in Yemen. Not unexpectedly, a top Iranian official responded with threats directed at Saudi Arabia. Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned on Sunday that the Saudi behavior and its siege of Yemen and preventing the dispatch of humanitarian aids "will not remain unanswered." "Saudi Arabia is not entitled to decide for others in the region," Abdollahian added. Iran's FARS News Agency stated that Saudi fighter jets...

It may rarely come up in Political Science courses but the military threat to the United States from Communist China is real and growing. “This is a serious military build-up.” Daniel Blumenthal of the American Enterprise Institute remarked. “I think we are slow to come to terms with what we’re facing.” Blumenthal, who also serves on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, argued that “People have changed their tune,” when it comes to the current Chinese military. The Department of Defense recently released its report on the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, of China. The findings were astonishing. The...

TUCSON - The after-holiday traffic of illegal immigrants crossing the border is going up, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector. From Dec. 31 through Sunday, 5,967 illegal immigrants were taken into custody in the sector, which includes all of Arizona except for the far western region near Yuma, Andrea Zortman said Monday. Slightly more than 42 percent of those taken into custody in the 10-day period - 2,531 - were apprehended in Cochise County, she added. There are different types of illegal immigrants crossing the line at this time of year, Zortman said. One group...

SEATTLE (AP) - A Muslim chaplain imprisoned for 76 days as part of an espionage investigation by the government has received an honorable discharge from the Army. Although Capt. James Yee has been cleared in the investigation, he resigned in August, saying officials never apologized to him. His discharge was effective at midnight Friday, said his civilian defense attorney, Eugene R. Fidell. "As a West Point graduate, he leaves the Army with great sadness," Fidell said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "The fact that he was imprisoned for a prolonged period for no valid reason remains indefensible." After...

An employment agency pleaded guilty to falsifying forms to get illegal immigrants jobs at the nation's top producer of U.S. military battlefield rations.James Echensberger, vice president of San Antonio-based Tollin Group Inc., on Tuesday pleaded guilty on the company's behalf to one count of conspiracy to provide false and fictitious statements during an FBI investigation.Investigators found that Tollin, which does business as Remedy Intelligent Staffing, was trying to cover up hundreds of fraudulent "I-9" employment eligibility documents. The illegal workers were hired by Wornick Co., which packages high-calorie "meals ready to eat" for troops in Iraq.The FBI initiated the investigation...

KUWAIT (RTRS): At a Kuwaiti hotel Sheikh Ali Abu al-Hassan holds an audience spellbound with his talk about “the pleasures of heaven”, a paradise where true Muslims will enjoy virgins, eternal bliss and bounty. Down the road at Kuwait’s university, women and men are brought down to earth with the reality of life in the country. They are segregated to prevent them from “sin”. Islamist protests in Kuwait have forced the government to ban pop concerts, while at hospitals devout women surgeons are refusing to operate on men saying it is religiously forbidden for them to see their genitals. In...

Undocumented immigrant was posing as Austin woman By Tony Plohetski AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Friday, May 7, 2004 In February 2003, Airman 1st Class Cristina Alaniz, 24, was preparing to leave Moody Air Force Base in Georgia to return to Iraq, where she would spend six months protecting military convoys and installations from attack. She was pursuing her dream, serving her country. During her 2 1/2 years in the Air Force, she had crossed the globe and spent four months in Kuwait during the prelude to war with Iraq. Four states away, 22-year-old Cristina Alaniz of Austin logged onto a Web site...