Free Republic

THREE years ago, in the final weeks of Pope John Paul II's papacy, the Vatican's diplomatic service took great care to distance the Catholic Church from American foreign policy, in order to protect Christians in mainly Muslim lands from being tarred with the same brush as the Bush administration. But as his successor Pope Benedict XVI arrives on Tuesday April 15th for a five-day trip to the United States, the gap between the Vatican and America seems to have narrowed a great deal. The Vatican fear that Middle Eastern Christians would pay a high price for the perceived misdeeds of...

ZAGREB, Croatia: U.S. President George W. Bush was warmly welcomed by the government in Croatia on Friday and he praised the ex-Yugoslav country as a trusted ally. But his opponents used the occasion to protest his foreign policies. Bush came to Zagreb from a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, where Croatia was invited to join the alliance, one of the government's top goals. "We celebrate your invitation to become one of America's closest allies," Bush said in a toast to President Stipe Mesic. "We're so proud of our relationship," Bush said. Croatia's government sees Bush's two-day visit as a clear...

MONROVIA, Liberia — It has been 30 years since a sitting president of the United States has visited this West African nation, and in the decades since, rebel generals with nicknames like Butt Naked laid waste to this seaside country, raping and plundering, and a brutal warlord named Charles G. Taylor campaigned for the presidency under the slogan, “He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him anyway.” Now Mr. Taylor is gone, pushed out in 2003 after more than a decade of civil war, and Liberia is taking tender steps toward recovery under Ellen...

Cpl. Eric A. Otero, a squad leader with Company B, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, hugs his daughter Kiali, 3, after returning Feb. 12 from a seven-month deployment. MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Feb. 21, 2008) -- Wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, and other friends were among the excited greeters waiting for the return of Marines from 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Feb. 12 at the battalion’s home at 53 Area, Camp Horno. Flags waved and children played on the parade deck behind the headquarters building for 1/1 – the “First of the First” – who were drawing to...

Flags, applause, hugs and tears greeted 27 soldiers from the Rochester-based 79th Military Police Co. of the Army Reserve as they rolled into the city this morning for a homecoming celebration. Flags and motorcycles from the Minnesota Patriot Guard as well as nearly 200 family and friends were waiting for the soldiers as they returned to their unit's home after 14 months on active duty, mostly in Iraq. Fire trucks were parked on U.S. 52 overpasses as another greeting, and firefighters at the Army Reserve Center pulled out the ladder on their truck to hang the American flag from it....

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2007 – When the Carolina Panthers football players enter the stadium in Charlotte, N.C., Nov. 11 night for their Veterans Day home game, they will be joined by a large cannon blast and six war heroes. Former Marine Staff Sgt. Edwin Bono, center, reacts after tossing a football into a Carolina Panthers locker-room bin, as players, fellow veterans and family members cheer him on in Charlotte, N.C., Nov. 6, 2007. Bono’s toss earned him a mid-field spot for the pre-game coin toss at the Panthers vs. Falcons game on Veterans Day. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

Sgt. 1st Class Mendez J. Frith, Bravo Battery 9th Engineer Battalion, enjoys a brief chat with neighborhood youngsters while checking on a variety of essential service projects in northwest Baghdad. USACE photo. BAGHDAD — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing more than $50 million in essential service projects in northwest Baghdad. Water and sewer lines are being repaired, roads paved, and electrical distribution networks upgraded under contracts USACE is managing. “And that’s just a portion of the work being carried out there,” said Lt. Col. Glen Masset, commander of the U.S. Army’s 9th Engineer Battalion, who keeps track of...

By Lance Cpl. Robert C. FrenkeMarine Corps Base Camp Butler OKINAWA, Japan, Sept. 6, 2007 — More than 130 Marines and sailors from 1st Stinger Battery, Marine Air Control Group 18, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, returned here 1 a.m. Sept. 4 following the unit’s first combat deployment since the start of the war on terrorism. During the deployment, the servicemembers helped secure the movement of more than 100,000 vehicles and personnel while ensuring the safe, uninterrupted flow of personnel, supplies and materiel required for sustaining missions and operations at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, according to Capt. Christopher A....

YO, Bush! Welcome to Sydney. Forgive the informality, but you're a Texan and Australia is a pretty laid back as you'd know from the Aussies you've met over the years and though you're only visiting briefly, a lot of us hope you get to experience something of the flavour of the country we love while you're here. You've had an opportunity to see something of the Harbour, the Bridge and the Opera House and perhaps you'll get a chance to see Bondi and some other famous beaches before you leave. I certainly hope so. As you know from your escapades...

Members of Company D, 1st Squadron, 8th Cavalry, attached to 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, went door-to-door recently in the neighborhoods of Hababiyah, in eastern Baghdad, to greet the people and collect information. Photo by Spc. Courtney Marulli, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FORWARD OPERATING BASE RUSTAMIYAH — Knowing the lay of the land is important for a successful operation, but just as important is knowing the local people and showing them that coalition forces are here to help, and not harm them.Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company D, 1st Squadron, 8th Cavalry, attached...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2007 – The National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys took a break from training camp recently to express team members’ gratitude to injured servicemembers recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. More than 25 injured servicemembers recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and Bank of America representatives enjoyed a day at the Dallas Cowboy's training camp at the Alamodome in San Antonio, on Aug. 6, 2007. Bank of America is the football team's official bank and its military segment capitalized on the relationship to create the opportunity and...

DALLAS, May 3, 2007 – Almost 200 deployed troops got a Texas-sized homecoming today as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates joined hundreds of friends, family members and local residents to welcome them home from the Middle East for two weeks of rest and recuperation leave. Kimberly Smith embraces Army Spc. Corie Barran at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport after he arrives home May 3 for two weeks of rest and recuperation leave from his deployment to Iraq. Photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Gates took his place alongside the flag-waving, banner-carrying, chanting revelers gathered at Dallas/Fort...

Bronx, N.Y., native Staff Sgt. Juan A. Lopez, speaks Arabic with some Iraqi children during his unit’s patrol of a market in Baghdad’s Al Doura district. BAGHDAD -- “Face time.” It seems to be a term used more by celebrities than Soldiers, but as Iraqi Army and Police go on patrols with Coalition forces, “face time” is something one unit is saying is very important to their mission of capturing the bad guys. On what’s become a normal patrol mission in Baghdad’s northwest Al-Doura neighborhood, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Soldiers are using...

1/19/2007 - HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. (AFNEWS) -- A crowd of more than 500 gathered to welcome home 80 Hanscom deployers with praise and thanks at the Aero Club Hangar Jan. 19. The Heroes' Homecoming, the first event of its kind here, honored troops who returned from deployments over the past six months. Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Sirois, 66th Air Base Wing and Electronic Systems Center command chief master sergeant, called the celebration "absolutely awesome." "This is an opportunity to really say 'thank you' for the tremendous services that these individuals performed. They represented our country, our Air Force...

BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Nov. 11, 2006 ? Six cities delivered a simple message to about 750 of their extended family members here yesterday: ?Welcome Home 1/327th Infantry Regiment.? Residents of Brentwood, Ashland City, Franklin and Winchester, Tenn., were joined by representatives of San Mateo and Burlingame, Calif., to welcome home the 101st Airborne Division?s 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment based at Fort Campbell, Ky. That warm welcome came in the form of a parade down streets lined with cheering residents, but had little to do with the unseasonably warm temperatures, Brentwood Police Chief Ricky Watson said. ?I was in (the...

Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, had a way with words. In 1922, she wrote a book chapter titled "The Cruelty of Charity." Charity toward the poor, especially toward poor immigrants, she opined, only "encourages the healthier and more normal sections of the world to shoulder the burden of unthinking and indiscriminate fecundity of others, which brings with it … a dead weight of human waste."

FORT HUACHUCA — Lena Cowboy, her daughter Christina and grandson Ethan drove Wednesday from the northern Four Corners-area community of Kayenta to this part of Southern Arizona. The hours on the road were worth it. Her daughter, Staff Sgt. Lisa Cowboy, was returning from a year assignment in Iraq. Lisa also traveled by road from Fort Bliss, Texas, for the reunion. Sitting in the Eifler Gym, Lena waited for the buses carrying her daughter and 25 other returning soldiers to arrive. The two buses were escorted on post by American Legion Riders, a group of local motorcyclists. The arrival time...

Business is brisk at Geno's Steaks. Supporters and the curious are flocking like pilgrims to see signs at the cheesesteak emporium that read: "This is AMERICA ... WHEN ORDERING, 'SPEAK ENGLISH.' " The small, laminated placards, tucked unobtrusively near the takeout window, have ignited a nationwide firestorm of debate about English, immigration and free speech. And, neighborhood gossip has it, they have done a better job at attracting customers than the store's Las Vegas-style neon lights ever did. (snip) Whether or not Vento accurately understands Latino attitudes on English, his signs have hit a nerve. They have spawned fans, including...

Police in Sierra Vista tell us that the added National Guard presence would be a "blessing" and the sheriff in Santa Cruz County also feels good about the plan. "They love to use this, this road." Santa Cruz County Deputy Fernando Ayon says about the illegal immigrants who use the Santa Cruz Wash as a roadway. He used to have picnics there with his family when he was a little boy. "See here, the fence has been damaged," Ayon points out. Now, Ayon says, the area is a well-known hot spot for illegal trafficking. "It's everywhere you go, everywhere you...

PRIME Minister John Howard has been welcomed to the White House in a lavish ceremony featuring hundreds of military guards, two brass bands and thousands of spectators. In scenes reminiscent of a Hollywood movie, Mr Howard was hailed by US President George W. Bush as a hero before waving to the crowd from the curved balcony overlooking the South Lawn. Ceremonial guards from all six of the US military forces began lining the South Lawn about half an hour before Mr Howard and his wife Janette arrived in a black limousine. The Howards were greeted by Mr Bush and his...