Free Republic

U.S. President Barack Obama urged world leaders on Friday to do more to safeguard vulnerable nuclear facilities to prevent “madmen” from groups like Islamic State from getting their hands on an atomic weapon or a radioactive “dirty bomb.” Speaking at a nuclear security summit in Washington, Obama said the world faced a persistent and evolving threat of nuclear terrorism despite progress in reducing such risks. “We cannot be complacent,” he said. Obama said no group had succeeded in obtaining bomb materials but that al Qaeda had long sought them, and he cited actions by Islamic State militants behind recent attacks...

When Ibrahim El Bakraoui blew himself up in the Brussels Airport check-in area, killing and maiming scores of travelers, it was at least the third time he had passed unimpeded through an airport terminal in recent months. Suspected by Turkey of being a “foreign terrorist fighter” and known at home in Belgium as an ex-con wanted for parole violations, Bakraoui was still allowed to board a commercial airliner unaccompanied last summer, flying freely from Istanbul to the Netherlands and disappearing without a trace. The ease with which he did so raises questions about how much governments know about the movements...

Not long after the Ayatollah Khomeini announced his fatwa against Salman Rushdie, the British novelist suddenly turned up on a Muslim radio station in West London late one night and told his interviewer he'd converted to Islam. Marvelous religion, couldn't be happier, Allahu Akbar and all that. And the Ayatollah said hey, that's terrific news, glad to hear it. But we're still gonna kill you.

President Barack Obama hailed the nuclear deal with Iran on Friday as a “substantial success” and a model for future diplomacy, as world leaders took stock of the world’s most worrisome nuclear threats. Hosting his last nuclear security summit, Obama sought to use the controversial Iran deal as an argument for his carrot-and-stick approach to deterring nuclear proliferation, and he credited Iran with taking steps to meet its commitments. Critics of the deal in the U.S. and abroad are livid about the sanctions relief Iran is receiving in response. “It will take time for Iran to reintegrate in the global...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spoken out against the “fear and distrust” caused by recent Islamist terror attacks and has called for more “love” as a means of stopping them. The billionaire Facebook owner argued that recent attacks in Belgium, Turkey, and Pakistan are specifically designed to “sow seeds of hatred” between countries and their Islamic communities.

The United Nations' recently implemented sanctions against North Korea are already driving a wedge between longtime allies North Korea and China, a document from the Workers' Party of North Korea reveals. In the document, the Workers' Party condemns Beijing for partaking in the sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear program and urges its people to confront China with a "nuclear storm" for its alleged "betrayal of socialism," Daily NK reports.

The Obama administration may soon tell foreign governments and banks they can start using the dollar in some instances to facilitate business with Iran, officials told The Associated Press, describing an arcane tweak to U.S. financial rules that could prove significant for Tehran’s sanctions-battered economy. While no decision is final, U.S. officials familiar with internal discussions said the Treasury Department is considering issuing a general license that would permit offshore financial institutions to access dollars for foreign currency trades in support of legitimate business with Iran, a practice that is currently illegal. Several restrictions would apply, but such a license...

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared Wednesday that Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities are crucial for the country’s defense, and — in an apparent swipe at an influential former president — added that those who argue that this is a time for talks rather than for missiles are either ignorant or traitors. At a time when some U.N. Security Council members are mulling a response to Iran’s recent missile launches, Khamenei used an address to Iranians marking the birthday of Mohammed’s youngest daughter to laud the program. He praised the recent demonstrations of missile prowess by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps...

Donald Trump would consider allowing Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear arsenals instead of depending on the U.S. for their protection against North Korea and China, he said in an interview with The New York Times published Saturday. “There’ll be a point at which we’re just not going to be able to do it anymore,” Trump said, pointing at what he calls a “severely depleted” military. “We have nuclear arsenals which are in very terrible shape,” he said. “They don’t even know if they work.” “If the United States keeps on its path, its current path of...

Last year, Kulanu MK and former Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren received heavy criticism in some circles for his book Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide. With the release of the book’s Hebrew edition, Oren spoke to Arutz Sheva, discussing in depth the tensions between Israel and the Obama administration and the push back he received for the English edition. The book, which created controversy for what some considered an unfair portrayal of President Barack Obama, elicited rare public condemnations from senior officials, including former US special envoy to the Middle Easy Martin Indyk. “When I wrote...

Terrorists have the “means, knowledge and information” to create a nuclear bomb, the head of the UN atomic watchdog has warned in the wake of the Brussels attacks. The warnings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano come just days before world leaders meet for an important summit against “nuclear terrorism”. “Terrorism is spreading and the possibility of using nuclear material cannot be excluded,” Mr. Amano told AFP. “Member states need to have sustained interest in strengthening nuclear security.” […] “Dirty bombs will be enough to [drive] any big city in the world into panic,” Mr. Amano...

“Groups like ISIL can’t destroy us, they can’t defeat us,” President Obama told reporters in Argentina on Wednesday. “They’re not an existential threat to us,” he said. A few sentences later, he described climate change as a “major” problem. […] “And so it’s important for the U.S. president and the U.S. government to be able to work with people who are building and who are creating things and creating jobs and trying to solve major problems like climate change…” At the same news conference, Obama thanked the Argentine president for supporting the Paris climate change agreement. It is worth remembering...

Vice President Biden delivered a passionate defense Sunday of President Obama’s policy toward Israel and took a direct shot at Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s divisive and polarizing rhetoric. Biden, speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s policy conference in Washington, where Trump is expected to appear Monday, didn’t mention the billionaire businessman by name. But it was clear that he was speaking of Trump when he condemned those political candidates who seek to divide Americans. “As the Jewish people know better than any other people, any action that marginalizes one religious or ethnic group imperils us all,” Biden...

Vice President Joe Biden reassured a leading pro-Israel group the Obama administration stands firmly by its Mideast ally and said the Iran nuclear agreement will make the region more safe. He told a meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Sunday night that: “Iran is much, much further away from obtaining a nuclear weapon than they were a year ago.” He said the U.S. is watching and “if Iran violates the deal, the United States will act.” …

President Barack Obama says the benefits of the Iranian nuclear deal are “undeniable” although it may still take time for people to begin enjoying them. Obama says the deal makes it possible for Iran to rejoin the global economy through increased trade and investment, creating jobs and opportunities for Iranians to sell their goods around the world. …

… A statement Wednesday says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is pleased that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government decided to restart the funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. Canada discontinued the funding in 2010 during the administration of Conservative leader Stephen Harper amid criticism that the agency funded schools that had become hotbeds of anti-Israeli extremism. …

Ohio Gov. John Kasich suggested Wednesday that if Russian planes were to violate a no-fly zone in Syria, he would order them to be shot down. "If they flew in once, maybe I'd let them fly out, but they wouldn't fly out a second time," Kasich said on FM NewsTalk 97.1 radio. A no-fly currently doesn't exist because the administration believes the costs outweigh the benefits of coordinating one. Kasich is among several presidential candidates, including Hillary Clinton, who support a no-fly zone.

“If they flew in once, maybe I’d let them fly out, but they wouldn’t fly out a second time.” Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich said on the radio Wednesday that he would shoot down Russian planes if they violated a no-fly zone in Syria. “I’d create a no-fly zone, is what I would do, and I would provide sanctuaries and have people that want to be there be protected. I think in that case you should probably get the Kurds to protect them,” said Kasich on FM NewsTalk 97.1. “That’s what I would do.” Asked about Russia,...

U.S. companies are welcome to invest in Iran’s oil and gas industry, the Iranian oil minister said Sunday. State-run Press TV quoted Bijan Namdar Zangeneh as saying that “in general, we have no problem with the presence of American companies in Iran.” He said it is the U.S. government that is “creating restrictions for these companies,” without elaborating. Zangeneh also confirmed that Iran’s state-run oil company has held talks with General Electric. […] The TV report said Zangeneh also asked Siemens executives to invest in Iran’s oil and gas industry. …

With about 10 months left in office, President Barack Obama is considering unprecedented moves to implement a two-state solution, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Senior US officials revealed that the President is looking to initiate a final negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority using United Nations Security Council resolutions, a step that would obligate not only Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but effectively determine the direction of US policy for the president’s successor as well. The report comes ahead of Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel on Tuesday, where he is scheduled to meet with...