Free Republic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXMAnlMmEPw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oilforimmigration.org%2Ffacts%2F%3Fp%3D2723&feature=player_embedded

Someone might want to look into whether an impostor took President Obama's place during his trip to Russia In a release touting an agreement between Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev over how to craft a follow-up to the START arms reduction treaty, the White House claimed the document had been signed by one "Barak Obama." Whoops:

Defense minister briefs senior cabinet members on London meeting with Obama's Mideast envoy; one of them quoted as saying Barak 'offered dismantling of illegal West Bank outposts in exchange for nothing' Roni Sofer "(Defense Minister Ehud) Barak returned with nothing from his talks with (special US Mideast envoy) George Mitchell; it appears that he offered the dismantling of illegal West Bank outposts in exchange for nothing," a senior minister said Tuesday. The minister, who asked to remain nameless, was also quoted by his associates as saying, "The inclusion of Syria and Lebanon in the statement on a comprehensive peace agreement...

Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak tried to convince special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell Tuesday that construction for Jews in Judea and Samaria isn’t an obstacle to the peace process. Barak's view is that the focus on building homes is short-sighted and that it will lead the peace process to a dead end instead of helping to create a wide-ranging regional peace plan. "In 2000, I was the Israeli Prime Minister that made the boldest steps to attain peace, and that year saw the largest number of Israeli construction-starts" in Judea and Samaria, he told Mitchell at their...

The U.S. State Department may have toned down its demand on Israel to freeze construction within Judea and Samaria. In a press briefing Monday, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly reiterated that the obligations signed by Israel under the Roadmap require Israel to freeze all construction within Judea and Samaria, including “natural growth.” Nevertheless, Kelly hinted that the U.S. is open to “negotiations.” The official stated that both Israel and PA Arabs must honor their commitment to the Roadmap plan towards peace. “For the Palestinians, it means ending incitements to violence against Israel and demonstrating an ability to provide security. For...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Israel issued contradictory signals on Wednesday on whether it might bomb Iran, with its foreign minister saying there were no such plans and the defense minister saying all options were on the table. Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, has repeatedly described Iran's uranium enrichment as a threat to its existence. "I have been asked by Saudi journalists about when Israel plans to bomb Iran. We are not planning to bomb Iran," far-right Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said during a visit to Russia. "We do not have a need" to carry...

U.S. President Barack Obama made an unscheduled appearance Tuesday at a meeting between visiting Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the President’s national security advisor, General Jim Jones. The White House did not announce why the President entered.

JERUSALEM – Israel's defense minister said Saturday he believes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will endorse the creation of a Palestinian state during his upcoming meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington. It would be a significant shift for the Israeli leader, who has made clear in the past that he does not think the Palestinians are ready to rule themselves. But that position has put him at odds with long-standing U.S. policy that supports Palestinian statehood as the cornerstone of Mideast peace efforts. "I think and believe that Netanyahu will tell Obama this government is prepared to go for a...

(IsraelNN.com) Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated on Sunday that the State of Israel is unable to dictate to the U.S. whether it would negotiate with Iran. Nevertheless, Israel considers that diplomatic negotiations with Teheran should have a time limit and be led with sanctions in order to cease Iran's nuclear program. The Defense Minister reiterated that all options are on the table, as far as Israel is concerned.

The United States is still the same country it was a year ago, give or take about 6 million jobs. But its international branding campaign, as led by the new President, Barack Obama, is so different that the rest of the world might be forgiven if it has to do a double take. Most of the hallmarks of the foreign policy of George W. Bush are gone... Obama has made clear that the U.S. is but one actor in a global community. Talk of American economic supremacy has been replaced by a call from Obama for more growth in developing...

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" Sometime tomorrow former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Israel. As Bibi starts his new reign make sure to throw out all of your projections about this government, and look for surprises. As Foreign Minister Lieberman will not have as much influence as you may think. Remember Tzipi Livni complained that the entire Second Lebanon War was waged with little input from the foreign ministry. Expect Barak and Netanyahu to be "glued at the hip." These two veterans of many political wars...

My late father used to say that the difference between a dictatorship and a democracy is rather small. “In a dictatorship those in power,” he would tell me, “do whatever they wish while the citizenry MAY NOT say a thing! In a democracy anyone is allowed to freely say anything while the power elites still do whatever they want.” Looking at the latest example of Israeli democracy, it seems my father’s half joking remarks are all too true. In the last elections, the Israeli electorate gave the right leaning parties 65 votes, versus 55 (including 10 mandates to the Arab...

This is how Labor dies. Not with a whimper. Not with a bang. More like assisted suicide. Mark the day, Tuesday 24 March 2009. It is on this day that Israel's founding party 'finishes its historical role'. Regardless of which way the vote in the convention goes on Tuesday, Labor is finished. If Barak wins, Labor will serve as the fig leaf for Netanyahu's 'orange and black' administration, gradually withering away under international diplomatic isolation and economic stress. If Barak loses, he could jump ship and join Bibi, alone or with a few others, while leaving the rest of Labor...

President Barack Obama doesn’t go anywhere without his TelePrompter. The textbook-sized panes of glass holding the president’s prepared remarks follow him wherever he speaks. Resting on top of a tall, narrow pole, they flank his podium during speeches in the White House’s stately parlors. They stood next to him on the floor of a manufacturing plant in Indiana as he pitched his economic stimulus plan. They traveled to the Department of Transportation this week and were in the Capitol Rotunda last month when he paid tribute to Abraham Lincoln in six-minute prepared remarks. Obama’s reliance on the teleprompter is unusual...

“I must confess I was impressed by Sen.Barack Obama from the first time I saw him. At first I was excited to see a black candidate. He looked youthful, spoke well, appeared to be confident - a wholesome presidential package. I was put off soon, not just because of his shallowness but also because there was an air of haughtiness in his demeanor that was unsettling. His posture and his body language were louder than his empty words. Obama's speeches are unlike any political speech we have heard in American history. Never a politician in this land had such quasi...

Both had this relaxed, cool personable appeal. Both tried to cast themselves as intelectual and diplomatic, but Carter got us into some real jams and Biden predicts... Both want to spend away our problems. But, I think, Obama is Carter on steroids. Are we in for Stagflation again?

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak spoke to the world following the opening of a ground offensive into Gaza by Israeli Defense Forces. He said that Israel had "weighed all options," and had now begun "phase two" of their operation to root out Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Barak said the operation would "widen and deepen" as necessary to achieve Israel's security. There is no question but that Israel has every right to do what is necessary to end Hamas' ability to lob shells into Israel killing Israeli civilians. Imagine if terrorists were shelling American cities in New Mexico or Texas from...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited a Beersheba school hit by a Grad rocket. During the visit, Barak said that "we delivered a serious blow to Hamas, and it continues to be hit – but it's also responding, as we can see." (Ilana Curiel)

WASHINGTON — The White House has prepared more than a dozen contingency plans to help guide President-elect Barack Obama if an international crisis erupts in the opening days of his administration, part of an elaborate operation devised to smooth the first transition of power since Sept. 11, 2001. The memorandums envision a variety of volatile possibilities, like a North Korean nuclear explosion, a cyberattack on American computer systems, a terrorist strike on United States facilities overseas or a fresh outbreak of instability in the Middle East, according to people briefed on them. Each then outlines options for Mr. Obama to...

The thaw in the resentful relationship between the most powerful woman in the Democratic Party and her younger male rival began at the party’s convention this summer, ... Mrs. Clinton’s political skills would serve her well in the job ... Clinton was herself diligent in advertising how hard she was working for the man who defeated her... But Mr. Obama began calling Mrs. Clinton after some of the events — he dialed directly from his cellphone to hers one day in Michigan and another day in Florida — to check in and thank her for helping. By then, their intense...