Free Republic

BEIRUT (AP) -- Amid the ornate walls of Damascus' famed Omayyad Mosque, preacher Maamoun Rahmeh stood before worshippers last week, declaring Russian President Vladimir Putin a "giant and beloved leader" who has "destroyed the myth of the self-aggrandizing America." Posters of Putin are popping up on cars and billboards elsewhere in parts of Syria and Iraq, praising the Russian military intervention in Syria as one that will redress the balance of power in the region. The Russian leader is winning accolades from many in Iraq and Syria, who see Russian airstrikes in Syria as a turning point after more than...

This video-clip includes footage from demonstrations held in various cities in Syria against the coalition airstrikes. Demonstrators burned the U.S. flag and chanted: "Obama, we are all Osama" and "The Syrian people is digging your grave." The footage was posted on the Internet on September 26, 2014. Chant Leader: "There is no god but Allah." Crowd: "There is no god but Allah." Chant Leader: "America is the enemy of Allah." Crowd: "America is the enemy of Allah." Chant Leader: "There is no god but Allah." Crowd: "There is no god but Allah." Chant Leader: "The Caliphate was promised by Allah."...

Multinational military exercise 'Eager Lion' has been launched in Jordan amid condemnation from neighboring Syria and its ally Russia. The US brings Patriot missile batteries to the Syrian border, which could remain deployed afterwards. The exercises will last for 12 days, bringing together about 8,000 personnel from 19 countries, mostly Arabic, but also including the US and Europe. The maneuvers will also involve some 3,000 Jordanian and 500 British troops.

Evidence is mounting that President Barack Obama will unveil a new Middle East peace plan in the coming months.  While a desire for peace is indeed admirable, such a move should only be welcomed by the enemies of America. Not only would this attempt inevitably fail, but it would directly harm U.S. security by shifting our national focus away from very real—and far more dangerous—threats in the region.Nearly two weeks ago, both the New York Times and the Washington Post reported on the same day about a high-level meeting two weeks beforehand in which National Security Advisor Gen. James Jones...

In her speech at a state dinner held in her honor at the Knesset Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Dem.-CA) vowed to present Israel's case to the leaders of Syria. Her speech was uniformly supportive of Israel, and she received a standing ovation at the end. Pelosi spoke emotionally about her meetings with the families of the kidnapped soldiers and dramatically held up the soldiers' dog tags, which she said she displays prominently at her office in Congress and she would bring with her to Damascus. "I will send a message to the president of Syria from the families of...

WASHINGTON -- Internal strife within the Baker commission, outright opposition from President George W. Bush and Tuesday's assassination of a cabinet member in Lebanon are complicating the prospect of U.S. overtures to Syria and Iran over Iraq, informed sources say.

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2006 – The people of Iraq are rising up against an insurgency bent on derailing democracy in the country, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said today. "The people of Iraq are uniting against the insurgency," Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said during a news conference from Baghdad. "Out in al Anbar, the terrorists and foreign fighters have become the enemy to the people." People in that province have collectively turned against Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his network, Lynch said. Seven of Zarqawi's leaders have been killed in Anbar since September, and insurgent access to Ramadi...