Free Republic

It's clear what major liberal media outlets such as the New York Times and CNN, driven by their more unhinged counterparts on the left end of the blogosphere, are trying to do. They are slinging as much manure as they can wallow in at Sarah Palin, John McCain's choice to run with him as the GOP's vice presidential nominee, hoping enough of it will stick to force McCain to pull a McGovern. Some of the us older hands remember very well the campaign of 1972. The Democrats' presidential nominee George McGovern had at the last minute picked Tom Eagleton, a...

PATROL BASE JURF AS SAHKR — More than 1,500 members of the Sons of Iraq program met Coalition forces, July 10 - 15, to discuss current security issues in Jurf as Sahkr and receive their monthly pay. Soldiers from Company A, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, visited each SoI checkpoint to gain a better understanding of each area of responsibility. “It was great to be able to talk to each individual checkpoint as a group and ensure they understand the importance of their job in making Iraq a safe place,” said Staff Sgt....

Iraq War: Gen. David Petraeus made it clear enough: We are winning this war, but we need to keep troops in Iraq because the job isn't done. But Democrats don't get it. To them, success means only one thing: leaving."We haven't turned any corners, we haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel," Petraeus told Congress on Tuesday. "The champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator. And the progress, while real, is fragile and is reversible." In that one statement, Petraeus showed why the Democratic preoccupation with withdrawal is as naive as it is...

A Republican candidate for Congress in the 11th district told the Times-News on Tuesday that he foresees the United States having a presence in Iraq for an indeterminate amount of time. Highlands attorney John Armor said the troop surge in Iraq is working. He believes the country can start to withdraw troops "in a few years" and only needs to maintain a "tripwire" level of troops in the country, similar to Germany during the Cold War. "You keep tripwire troops," Armor said. "It used to be until the Soviet Union fell that we kept troops in Europe not so much...

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. (Applause.) General Metcalf, thanks, thanks for welcoming me back here. I am really pleased to be back to Wright-Patt, and it's great to be on the inside of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, which is a fabulous place. I hope our fellow citizens come and see it. It is a great tribute to the airmen who've flown the missions and secured the skies, and defended America's freedom. I want to thank the folks who maintain this shrine. I thank you for giving me a place to park Air Force...

BASRA, Iraq (AP) — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is promising to pursue his fight against Shiite militias in Basra to "the end." Al-Maliki made his pledge to Basra area tribal leaders Thursday as military operations against the militias continued for a fourth day despite stiff resistance. Al-Maliki told the leaders "we have made up our minds" to enter the fight "and we will continue until the end. No retreat." Tens of thousands of Shiites took to Baghdad's streets to protest the government crackdown on militias.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Monday it was "a sober moment" as the U.S. death toll in Iraq climbed to 4,000. President Bush received a lengthy update on the war and aides said he was likely to embrace recommendations for a pause in troop withdrawals beyond those already scheduled. Bush was to participate in a two-hour conference by secure video hookup with Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Petraeus and Crocker are due to testify on Capitol Hill on April 8-9. Patraeus is expected recommend no additional troop...

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2008 – The 3,200 Marines on their way to help Afghanistan indicate the depth of the U.S. commitment to the country, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said in Kabul yesterday. The United States is proud to have helped liberate Afghanistan and will continue to work with the elected government and NATO allies to build the Afghan security forces and rebuild the nation, Cheney said in a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. U.S. reconstruction aid to Afghanistan also points to that commitment, Cheney said, noting that last year’s aid level has tripled. There has...

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2008 – The United States intends to complete the mission in Iraq, Vice President Richard B. Cheney told troops there today, on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom’s fifth anniversary. On the second day of a 10-day surprise visit to Iraq, the vice president vowed commitment to what he characterized as an ideological fight against violent extremists who prefer tyranny to democracy. “Understanding all the dangers of this new era, we have no intention of abandoning our friends, or allowing this country of 170,000 square miles to become a staging area for further attacks against Americans,”...

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2008 – The United States must continue operations in Iraq until the job is done, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said today in Baghdad. “I think given the enormous effort that's been made and the sacrifices that have been made -- both in terms of lives and national treasure -- to succeeding in Iraq, it's very, very important that we succeed,” he said, “(and) that we not quit before the job is done. “We need to remember that our objective here is victory and that we need to be prepared to do whatever it takes in...

Three retired Army veterans marched through Dunn yesterday en route to Washington, D.C. From left are Maj. Carl Heerup, Lt. Col. Marc Breslow and Maj. Dennis McCool. The purpose of the ‘Resolve To Win’ march is to show support for the troops and their mission in Iraq. Their 400-mile march is scheduled to end March 16 at the Lincoln Memorial. Daily Record Photo/Steve Reed Three retired U.S. Army veterans decided to do something different to support the troops in Iraq. On Saturday, Maj. Dennis McCool, Maj. Carl Heerup and Lt. Col. Mark Breslow departed South of the Border near...

Gen. David Petraeus — a sort of combination of Fabius Maximus ("unus homo . . .") and Matthew Ridgway — has changed the entire Iraq War, and thereby given us a breathing spell to reflect on our longer-term strategies of victory. Most of the conventional pessimism about Iraq is being proven wrong. For example, the recently translated captured diary of the dead al-Qaida terrorist — Abu Maysara, a senior adviser to Abu Ayyoub al-Masri — reveals a sort of hopelessness. The dead Maysara laments that al-Qaida has lost the hearts and minds of the people to the U.S. and its...

FINAL PREPARATION: On our final day of packing before heading to SC, I wanted to contact you and ask you to email everyone you know and ask them to visit our website http://vfwwebcom.org/ResolveToWin/ and ask them to spread the word to everyone they know. I believe our website is very informative and offers people an opportunity to interact.If we can’t get people visiting the website to learn about the Resolve to Win March, we will not be able to get them out on the road. Please pass this information on to everyone you know who believes that we should Support...

With the assassination of Benazir Bhutto last week, we in America are jolted back to the reality that we are a world at war with IslamoFascist armies.  Even our holiday cheer and spiked eggnog cannot protect us from the grim truth that in this modern age of nuclear weaponry, a single assassination halfway ‘round the world can shake us to our core and bring us back to our instincts for self-preservation.  Instantly, we are forced to imagine the very real possibility that an enemy such as Al Qaeda could take possession of a nuclear weapon capable of destroying a great...

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." — George Santayana from "Reason in Common Sense" Despite the hope that we can learn from past mistakes and not repeat them, history suggests it is counterintuitive to actually believe it could be so. We won every military engagement of the Vietnam War yet Walter Cronkite and the American media conspired with the enemy to do what the North Vietnamese could not do on the battlefield. General Võ Nguyên Giáp, who was the commander of the North Vietnamese army, has published his memoirs. He has confirmed what most Americans...

I know this has been posted before, but methinks it bears repeating. It was sent via an email to me and I've no idea who the author is. President Bush did make a bad mistake in the war on terrorism. But the mistake was not his decision to go to war in Iraq. Bush's mistake came in his belief that this country is the same one his father fought for in WWII. It is not. Back then, they had just come out of a vicious depression. The country was steeled by the hardship of that depression, but they still believed...

On Veterans Day, let's commit to Iraq victory By Jerry Haas Sunday, November 11, 2007 At the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918, an armistice was declared in World War I, the war to end all wars. Before combat ceased, America had mobilized 4,252,500 soldiers, seen 204,000 wounded and lost 117,000. The "Greatest Generation" volunteered and was drafted in World War II, with 16,112,556 American soldiers participating in this global conflict. Of that number, 291,557 made the ultimate sacrifice. An additional 670,846 were wounded. They were committed to victory, no matter the personal cost....

President Bush did make a bad mistake in the war on terrorism. But the mistake was not his decision to go to war in Iraq .Bush's mistake came in his belief that this country is the same one his father fought for in WWII. It is not. Back then, they had just come out of a vicious depression. The country was steeled by the hardship of that depression, but they still believed fervently in this country. They knew that the people had elected their leaders, so it was the people's duty to back those leaders. Therefore, when the war broke...

Democratic politicians are either far more insightful than your average Republican, or, uniformly more political. I'd opt for the latter conclusion. How to explain that there is not one Democratic leader that sees any merit in our struggle in Iraq? There is no such uniformity among Republicans, and, after all, the commander-in-chief, who is leading this effort, is from their own party. We've got a Republican candidate for president, Ron Paul, who self identifies as the "anti-war candidate." And we've got highly credible and outspoken Republican doubters who have no political calculations to make. I'm talking about guys like Chuck...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2007 – Today’s assassination of an influential Sunni leader whose followers have been helping fight al Qaeda in Iraq will only bolster the war on insurgents, a chief spokesman of the Iraqi government said today. Ali Aldabbagh spoke with online journalists and “bloggers” via a conference call from Baghdad just hours after a roadside bomb exploded outside the farm of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, killing the sheik and two of his aides. Sattar was a “very brave man” who “took the lead to protect the al Anbar and all the worst areas at a time when everybody was...

Good evening. In the life of all free nations, there come moments that decide the direction of a country and reveal the character of its people. We are now at such a moment. In Iraq, an ally of the United States is fighting for its survival. Terrorists and extremists who are at war with us around the world are seeking to topple Iraq's government, dominate the region, and attack us here at home. If Iraq's young democracy can turn back these enemies, it will mean a more hopeful Middle East and a more secure America. This ally has placed its...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told grieving family members at the Pentagon’s west wall today that the military would continue to pursue and defeat America’s enemies, especially terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda, which instigated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. (Video) Mazie Lawson meets with reporters after the Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon on the sixth anniversary of the attacks. Lawson said she still grieves for her daughter, Cecelia E. Richard, a federal civilian employee who was among the 184 innocent people killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the...

I served in the Army. I didn't serve during a war. But even then when I was a long way away from home, it sure was great receiving letters from home. Please pass these videos below along. Maybe folks will get the idea to send a letter (or email) from home to a Soldiers who enables you to sleep in peace at night. I want you all to know something too: Our Troops put rucksacks sacks on their back that dig into your back while you march. They have helmets and body armor on in temperatures that are over 100...

The Terrorists: In Their Own Words   By James Jay Carafano and James PhillipsFrontPageMagazine.com | 8/3/2007 Islamist terrorists have long been at war with the United States and frequently have proclaimed their determination to win the war. In fact, they see their enemies' unwillingness to acknowledge this war as an act of cowardice. If their enemies refuse to wear the mantle of warrior, terrorists assume that they are weak, lacking in honor, and spiritually infe­rior—and the notion that their enemy is vulnerable emboldens them. Failing to acknowledge that we are at war only encourages the enemy to be more...

The threat posed by terrorism is a "struggle for the soul of the 21st Century", Gordon Brown has said. "It is a war. We have had to fight a very big campaign," he said in an interview with NBC Nightly News.... Mr Brown told NBC: "I have got no doubt we are facing major campaigns by al-Qaeda inspired terrorists. "We know a large number of people would, if they could, destroy life and put at risk our infrastructure and we have got to be vigilant." He also said there would be no change of policy on Iraq and said an...

Conventional wisdom is that whatever happens between Israel and radical Islam will also be the fate of Western nations, especially the United States. The continued appeasement of Hamas and Fatah by the Israeli government and its failure to thoroughly defeat Hezbollah in last summer’s war validates the contention that without strong political resolve it is impossible to be victorious over radical Islamofascists. As Congress moves forward in its renewed attempt at forcing the US military out of Iraq we would be wise to examine Israel’s current situation more carefully as it is a precursor of things to come. DEBKAfile, a...

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 10, 2007 President Bush Visits Cleveland, Ohio Intercontinental Hotel Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio   White House News       Fact Sheet: A Day in Cleveland: President Bush Calls on Congress to Act to Fund Vital Priorities 1:42 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Fred. Thanks for coming. Thanks for having me. It's a smart marketing tool -- you know, all the cameras. (Laughter.) I thought for sure the largest Chamber of Commerce was in Texas, but I guess not. (Laughter.) I'm thrilled to be back in Cleveland. I've had a fascinating day. I...

WASHINGTON, DC– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today delivered a statement on the Senate floor about the Defense Authorization Act of 2008. The remarks as prepared for delivery are below. “Mr. President, the Senate has reached another moment of great importance. In debating the fiscal year 2008 defense authorization bill, we will help set the course of our nation’s security policy and influence our participation in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of the debate will be about Iraq, and I will have more to say about that important matter in a few moments. Before I do, I would...

As Israel's experiences with withdrawal over the past decade have made clear, retreat in the face of terror is simply not an option. Has the United States lost the will to fight? Just when it appears that the tide might be turning against al-Qaida in Iraq, a growing chorus of US senators and congressmen are calling on President George W. Bush to carry out a rapid withdrawal of American military forces. It has only been a month since Bush's military "surge" reached its full capacity, but that hasn't stopped the weak knees of the critics from growing ever more wobbly....

The New York Times leads today with David Sanger's story, "In White House, Debate Is Rising On Iraq Pullback; Political Considerations; Not Waiting For Sept. 15, Aides Seek to Forestall G.O.P. Defections." The piece is tendentious, as one would expect--but THE WEEKLY STANDARD has confirmed that there are real discussions going on at the White House, with advocates of what is being called "The Grand Bargain" pushing hard for the president to move soon to announce plans to pull back in Iraq. So this week will not only be a week of (mostly silly) debate on the Hill; it will...

George W. Bush is not ­contemplating a change of strategy in Iraq, in spite of intensifying bipartisan pressure on the president to start reducing US troop numbers in the country, the White House said on Monday.The defiant message came amid signs of rapidly eroding support for the war within Mr Bush’s Republican party and a growing sense of inevitability in Washington that the US will soon be forced to seek an exit from Iraq. Tony Snow, White House press secretary, said there was “no debate right now” within the administration about taking immediate steps to withdraw troops from the battlefield.His comments...

The soldiers think they can win. Some Senators lose their nerve. Richard Lugar of Indiana, George Voinovich of Ohio, Pete Domenici of New Mexico, and John Warner of Virginia have together served more than a century in the world's greatest deliberative body. Historians will remember their time in public office for Reagan's challenge to the Soviet Union, for the success of pro-growth economic policies, for welfare reform, for the reinvigoration of a constitutionalist approach to the courts, for the framing of a foreign policy for the post-9/11 world. None of these men played a leading role in any of these...

OTTAWA, Canada - The deaths of six Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are particularly troubling but the country’s military mission will stay in place until early 2009 as scheduled, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday.

JOHN Howard will today rule out an imminent withdrawal of Australian combat troops from Iraq, staking an election-year position on staying the course in the Middle East. The Prime Minister will spell out an unambiguous commitment to a long-term Australian military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a major security speech, Mr Howard will stress the stark consequences of a failure by the US and its allies to secure Iraq. He will argue that the military coalition cannot allow weariness, frustration or political convenience to dictate strategy in Iraq.

BRITAIN will not yield to acts of "evil", Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Sunday after three botched car bomb attacks in two days in London and Glasgow. "We will not yield, we will not be intimidated,'' he said in an interview with BBC television, after his government raised the national security level to "critical'' following the attacks. He said terrorism "can never be justified as an act of faith'',

Veteran resolve TODAY'S EDITORIAL March 20, 2007 Over the weekend, several thousand military veterans and their supporters who back President Bush's war effort in Iraq turned out from around the country for the "Gathering of Eagles," so named by its organizers. They waved flags. They bore "spit shields." They carried banners of support for Iraq's fledgling government.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2006 – Terrorists are destined to lose if the U.S. keeps its nerve and refuses to abandon its overseas commitments, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said today at Fort Hood, Texas. “The world can have confidence in the resolve of the United States,” he said. “We will stand by our friends; we will help Iraqis build a nation that is free, secure and able to defend itself. We will confront our enemies on this and every other front in the war on terror. With good allies at our side, we will prevail.” Cheney said the terrorists were...

WASHINGTON - The United States and Russia have resolved a major hurdle in their negotiations to dispose of tons of excess plutonium, announcing an accord Friday on a liability issue that has long stymied the program. The two countries signed a protocol that provides a framework for dealing with the liability problem, the Energy Department announced. However, there are other issues still to be worked out, including details on how Russia is going to dispose of its 34 metric tons of plutonium from its weapons stockpile under the agreement. At the same time, the future of the U.S. disposal program...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2006 -- The commander of the Army’s 3rd Corps and Fort Hood used the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States as an opportunity to remind his troops -- most of whom have played active roles in the global war on terror -- about the importance of their mission in keeping America safe. Soldiers and first responders at Fort Hood, Texas, drape a large flag over the second story balcony in the east atrium of the 3rd Corps Headquarters building during a Sept. 11 ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Sept. 11, 2006 – Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee led Little Rock’s Freedom Walk today, marking the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States. The Freedom Walk was established Sept. 11, 2005, as an opportunity to reflect on the lives lost Sept. 11 and to honor U.S. military members past and present and pay tribute to emergency responders who put their lives on the line every day. Little Rock’s Freedom Walk was among more than 130 local Freedom Walks being held today and this past weekend throughout the United States. Huckabee, joined...

“The terrorists are absolutely convinced that they can break our [the American people’s] will,” said Vice President Cheney. This statement coincides with the commentary essays of many political and international analysts such as Clifford May who wrote “Time to Unite and Fight” for The Washington Times on Saturday, September 9, 2006.Clifford May wrote, in part, “On Tuesday, the White House released what it called an ‘updated’ National Strategy for Combating Terrorism. The document asserts –rightly, I believe — that America is ‘at war with a transnational movement … extremist organizations, networks and individuals — and their state and non-state supporters...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2006 – It was an “eerie feeling” returning to the United States after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace. Pace, then the commander of U.S. Southern Command, had just been confirmed as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was in Bogota, Colombia, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. “First, like all Americans I felt shock and anger,” Pace said during a recent interview. That was followed by determination “and the certain knowledge … that...

By VOA News07 September 2006 George W. Bush speaks to audience in Atlanta, Ga., Thursday President Bush has vowed to keep steady pressure on members of the al Qaida terrorist group, to find them, and to bring them to justice.Mr. Bush spoke to an audience in the southeastern U.S. city of Atlanta, Georgia Thursday, in a speech he billed as a progress report in the war on terror. He said efforts to fight terrorism since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States have resulted in two countries that once harbored terrorists - Iraq and Afghanistan - now...

Bush Arrives in Utah to Reaffirm Resolve in Terror WarBy Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2006 – Nearly five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States, America still has enemies determined to harm it because of what it stands for, President Bush will tell the American Legion’s annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, today. Bush arrived in Salt Lake City last night, telling Utah National Guardsmen who met him he’s looking forward to telling the veterans how much he and the nation appreciate their service. “And I’m going to thank...

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is adapted from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's speech yesterday at the American Legion National Convention. The American Legion has achieved a great deal for our country since its founding in the months following World War I. That year, 1919 turned out to be one of those pivotal junctures in modern history - the beginning of a period where, over time, a very different set of views would come to dominate discourse and thinking in the West. A sentiment took root that contended that, if only the growing threats that had begun to emerge in Europe and...

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused critics of the Bush administration's Iraq and counterterrorism policies of lacking the courage to fight terror. In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration's critics as suffering from "moral and intellectual confusion" about what threatens the nation's security. In remarks prepared for delivery to the American Legion's national convention, Rumsfeld recited what he called the lessons of history, including the failed efforts to appease the Adolf Hitler regime in the 1930s. "I recount this history because once again we face the same kind of challenges in...

Rumsfeld: American Grit Will Mean Victory in War on TerrorBy Sgt. Sara Wood, USAAmerican Forces Press Service RENO, Nev., Aug. 29, 2006 – As the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, approaches, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld last night stressed the need for determination in the war on terror. "Today we are engaged in conflicts that are again testing whether or not our country believes that the defense of liberty is worth the cost," Rumsfeld said while addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention here. The enemy in the war on terror is ruthless and...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2006 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld will call upon Americans in a speech later today to “work hard to keep a ‘Blame America First’ mentality from undermining our efforts” in the global war on terror. Pentagon officials released excerpts of a speech the secretary will deliver to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno, Nev. Officials expect more than 2,300 veterans to attend the event. Rumsfeld disputes critics who say the United States should not be in Iraq. “The extremists openly call Iraq the ‘epicenter’ in the war on terror,” his speech asserts. “And they...

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday vowed the United States will not give up in Iraq "so long as I'm the president" and said advocates of a troop pullout do not "see the world the way it is." In a hastily called news conference, Bush said retreat from Iraq would turn the fledgling democracy into a "safe haven for terrorists and extremists." "We're not leaving, so long as I'm the president. That would be a huge mistake," Bush insisted. "If you think it's bad now, imagine what Iraq would look like if the United States leaves before this government can defend...

He's not backing down folks.