Free Republic

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A secret decision apparently has been made by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and even Iran to let the strategic Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani on the Turkish-Syrian border fall to ISIS fighters, jeopardizing the lives of some 160,000 Syrian Kurds, WND has been told by a well-placed Middle East expert. In letting Kobani fall to ISIS, the source said, there was agreement “to deal with ISIS later.” The apparent decision aims to diminish the influence of the Kurds in Syria and weaken the prospect of creating a sovereign Kurdistan, which is sought by the Kurds...

Broadly speaking, the governments and people which most closely identified with the United States have lost out. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Gulf States, Turkey and Israel are feeling sore. Regimes, like Mubarak’s Egypt, which had put all their eggs in the American basket, then found them addled. Many fell. In the Far East, old US allies feel inadequately protected from the rising power of China, and in Africa that same rising power has been left free to buy the place up. The great Obama “pivot to Asia” seems to have pivoted away again. Even western Europe...

SARKOZY (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I want to thank President Bush, his administration, and all Americans, who have welcomed us in such exceptional fashion. I get the distinct sense that it is France that has been welcomed so warmly, with so much friendship, so much love. This was my hope, my ambition. And with Bernard Kouchner, Christine Lagarde, Rachida Dati and myself, this is exactly what we wanted. We have been very moved, deeply moved, by your wonderful welcome, together with Mrs. Laura Bush yesterday at the White House. I especially enjoyed the skit of the dialogue between George Washington and Lafayette...

WASHINGTON — The United Arab Emirates was expected to purchase two aircraft engine repair firms in the United States. Officials said that neither the Bush administration nor Congress would block a purchase by the UAE state-owned Dubai Aerospace Enterprise of two U.S. aerospace companies. They said the proposed DAE purchase of Landmark Aviation and Standard Aero Holdings Inc. would not be deemed a security threat. "The deal is unlikely to have problems in Congress," Sen. Charles Schumer, a leading member of the Democratic-controlled Congress, said. Officials said DEA has been briefing administration officials and senior members of Congress of plans...

BOGOTA: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, an ally of US President George W.Bush, has won a second term, thwarting the plan of populist left-wing Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to spread revolution throughout Latin America. The 53-year-old lawyer, trained in the US and Britain, secured just over 62per cent of the vote and a lead of 40 points over his closest rival, left-wing senator Carlos Gaviria. Mr Uribe must now fullfil a pledge to wrest control of Colombia from drug traffickers and leftist guerillas, while dispelling concerns he may abuse his powerful mandate. The victory marked the first re-election by a Colombian...

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, one of the staunchest U.S. allies in the war in Iraq, won reelection by a convincing margin on Saturday, despite what the Associated Press called "widespread public disagreement" with Howard's position on the war. Still, while it was a significant triumph for a politician who stood by the U.S. when the going got tough, Sunday's Washington Post buried news Howard's victory on page A34, where only the most tireless reader was likely to find it. The New York Times didn't do much better, tucking news of Howard's reelection at the end of Sunday's International section...

More “Liberal Patriotism” from John Kerry By: Christopher G. Adamo In light of John Kerry’s hypersensitivity towards any questioning of his “patriotism,” it is noteworthy that in the last few days, he has presented yet another example of his completely warped definition of the concept. In an earlier time, it would have been universally understood that efforts to discourage America’s allies from supporting such a worthy cause as the war on terror, were blatantly unpatriotic. Yet that is precisely what Kerry has done. Among the most memorable statements of President Bush’s September 20 2001 address to the joint session of...

When France and Germany balked at supporting the war on Iraq, the Spanish prime minister, José María Aznar, stood publicly by Mr. Bush at a summit meeting in the Azores a year ago this week, and just days before the war began. Now voters have elected the opposition Socialists, although the center right was leading in the polls until the terrorist attack.

When the next bomb goes off--perhaps this time in Poland--the families of the dead should blame the people in Spain who voted to run from terrorists and cower before them, instead of standing strong against them.         Sound cruel?  Perhaps, but it's the sad truth.  The majority of Spaniards decided to follow the illogical path of blaming their president for the attack in Madrid instead of the people who actually carried out mass murder.  In doing so, they handed the butchers a victory.  Terrorism and murder have been handsomely rewarded this day.       When word broke about the vicious attack in...