Free Republic

There was Hillary Clinton, telling Al Sharpton of all people that she found Kevin McCarthy's comments about the Benghazi hearings "deeply distressing." That was too much for the Morning Joe panel, which just had to laugh. As John Heilemann put it, far from being distressed, Hillary surely sees McCarthy's comments—implying a political motive behind the hearings—as a Christmas and birthday gift wrapped into one that sent her "skipping through the park. View the video here.

The U.S. Air Force’s senior intelligence officer said Thursday that Russia lacked precision-guided weapons for its bombing campaign in Syria and would likely inflict substantial civilian casualties as a result. Lt. Gen. Robert P. Otto, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, told reporters in Washington that it appeared the Russian forces were using “dumb bombs” instead of weapons guided by lasers or satellites. The Russian air strike campaign began Wednesday in areas north of the city of Homs that are controlled by anti-government rebels. “To me, it was representative of what you’d expect from...

The Liwa Suqour al-Jabal, one of the CIA-backed groups, said it had been hit by 20 missiles in its base in Idlib province. Among the dead from Wednesday’s strikes was said to be a prominent rebel leader in north Homs province, Captain Iyad al-Deek, a former regime officer who defected early in the uprising. The rebels have promised to take the fight to the Russians, some in blood-curdling comments online. “Is it not time for the knight to mount his steed? Is it not time to cut off the heads? What are we waiting for? What remains?” said one man,...

Russia's Lavrov on Syria targets: 'If it looks like a terrorist, walks like a terrorist ...' By Don Melvin and Susannah Cullinane, CNN Updated 2:00 PM ET, Thu October 1, 2015 | Video Source: CNN (CNN)Russia's airstrikes in Syria "do not go beyond ISIL (ISIS), al Nusra or other terrorist groups recognized by the United Nations Security Council or Russian law," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday. Pushed to define "other terrorist groups," Lavrov said: "If it looks like a terrorist, if it acts like a terrorist, if it walks like a terrorist, if it fights like a terrorist,...

We Are Watching The Lost The Entire Middle East To Russia & Iran The Administration did not destroy ISIS when we had the chance. Russia is now going to destroy ISIS in no time flat with the help of Iran. Russia and Iran will probably control Iraq, Syria, and who knows what other countries?

BEIRUT/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government, Lebanese sources said on Thursday, a further sign of the rapid internationalization of a civil war in which every major country in the region has a stake. Russian warplanes, in a second day of strikes, bombed a camp run by rebels trained by the CIA, the group's commander said, putting Moscow and Washington on opposing sides in a Middle East conflict for the first time since the Cold War. The U.S. and Russian militaries were due...

US Sen. John McCain, speaking to CNN, says he can confirm some of Wednesday's Russian air strikes hit Free Syrian Army recruits trained by CIA - @Reuters, @Independent

Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria in the last 10 days and will soon join government forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies in a major ground offensive backed by Russian air strikes, two Lebanese sources told Reuters. "The (Russian) air strikes will in the near future be accompanied by ground advances by the Syrian army and its allies," said one of the sources familiar with political and military developments in the conflict. It points to an emerging military alliance between Russia and Assad's other main allies - Iran and Hezbollah - focused on recapturing areas of northwestern Syria...

After Denying Claims They're Killing Civilians, Russia Has Launched Fresh Airstrikes in Syria By Reuters and VICE News October 1, 2015 | 7:55 am Russia launched fresh airstrikes on rebel positions in Syria on Thursday, having already been forced to deny the country's first wave of attacks have killed 36 civilians. The latest bombardment from Russia's military comes the day after the US raised concerns those being targeted were opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — rather than Islamic State (IS) militants. The strikes were reportedly targeting areas including rural areas near the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour, held by...

Millions of indebted Russians will gain the right to file for bankruptcy for the first time ever on Thursday, as the country's authorities try to ease people's debt burdens as they struggle amid a deep recession. From October 1, a new law in Russia will allows citizens with total debt of more than 500,000 rubles ($7,600) and over three months of missed payments to file for bankruptcy. In addition, penalties can be imposed on debtors who fail to register as bankrupt if they cannot fulfil loan repayments.

The Christian zeal behind Russia’s war in Syria By Ishaan Tharoor October 1 at 10:27 AM As the Russian military commenced airstrikes in Syria, another important national institution applauded the intervention. On Wednesday, a statement from the Russian Orthodox Church praised the Russian war effort, describing the mission to fight the jihadists of the Islamic State as a "holy battle." "The fight with terrorism is a holy battle and today our country is perhaps the most active force in the world fighting it," said the head of the church's public affairs department, Vsevolod Chaplin, in a quote reported by Interfax...

Russia does not intend to join the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in its current form, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday, citing a foreign ministry official.

CNN's Matthew Chance reports from Moscow that the Syrian ambassador to Russia has announced that Russian forces are targeting "all rebel groups," not just ISIS. The Syrian ambassador also said that, from a Syrian tactical perspective, the two days of Russian bombing have been more advantageous than two years of American strikes on ISIS.

MOSCOW -- Russian jets carried out a second day of strikes in Syria Thursday, as a senior U.S. politician and activists claimed the targets included rebels backed by the United States. "I can absolutely confirm to you that they were strikes against our Free Syrian Army recruits that have been armed and trained by the CIA, because we have communications with people there," Republican Sen. John McCain, who is head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview with CNN, according to the Reuters news agency.

World War III is shaping up in Syria right now, thanks to Barack Obama. According to Russian Sen. Igor Morozov, Beijing has agreed to dispatch naval forces, including an aircraft carrier, to Syria alongside a Russian military force that will join Hezbollah and Iranian army regulars in Syria, an immediate neighbor to the north of Israel, and Iraq to fight ISIS. Now this is both good news and bad news: Good news: Somebody’s got to fight ISIS. And it’s clearly not going to be the U.S. under Barack Obama. Somebody’s got to soundly defeat and destroy ISIS. And that’s clearly...

BEIRUT, Lebanon — In a second day of raids in Syria, Russian warplanes carried out a new round of airstrikes on Thursday in the northwestern province of Idlib that targeted not the Islamic State but a rival insurgent coalition, according to accounts from journalists and activists. Russia’s entry into the Syrian conflict, which started on Wednesday with a bombing attack on Syrian opposition fighters, has been angrily condemned by United States officials. They fear that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is using their shared goal of defeating the Islamic State as a pretext for weakening other opponents of Syria’s...

Russia launches more Syria strikes as 'Iran and Hizbollah prepare ground operation' - live updates Russian jets bomb rebel positions in Syria including rural areas near the north-western town of Jisr al-Shughour, a day after launching air strikes. Follow latest developments here Latest 14.54 Russia's defence ministry releases footage of four more air strikes in Syria. The ministry posted footage on its official YouTube page that it says shows night air strikes by Russian aviation on four Isil sites in Syrian territory. The ministry said on its YouTube page militant infrastructure in Hama as well as near Idlib was destroyed...

Islamic State: Putin says claims Russian air strikes killed civilians are 'information warfare' Updated 14 minutes ago Vladimir Putin has dismissed claims that Russian air strikes have killed civilians in Syria, as his government faces criticism from the West that it bombed moderate rebel factions fighting Syria's president instead of Islamic State (IS) fighters. Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria on Wednesday, its first overseas military engagement in nearly four decades, hours after the Russian parliament gave Mr Putin permission to use force abroad. The head of Syria's main opposition group has accused Moscow of aiming to support Bashar...

NEW DELHI: For the first time India has options when it comes to finding a partner to build a military nuclear asset. Besides Russia, ship builders from France and the US have started initial conversations with the defence ministry on participating in an Indian effort to build a new class of nuclear-powered attack submarines. Russia has been the traditional ally of India when it comes to sensitive technology and strategic systems. But a Navy plan for constructing six new nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) to patrol the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and beyond has prompted 'discussions' with the two western nations,...

As Russia and France bombs Islamic State (IS) positions in Syria, both have been touting the prowess of their respective fighter aircraft- the Sukhoi Su-34 and the Dassault Rafale. While Russia has launched air strikes on the side of the Syrian government and France on the side of the anti-Assad rebels, but against one common enemy, the Islamic State terrorist group, both seem keen to highlight the precision bombing capabilities of their respective aircraft. The sales success of the Rafale in Egypt and Qatar is credited in no small part to its successful participation in the Libyan war four years...