Free Republic

In the coming days Israel will have to make historic policy decisions, ones that could shape its fate and the fate of the entire region for generations to come. Unfortunately, Benjamin Netanyahu and his political partners have repeatedly proven that they are unfit to make such decisions. The policies they pursued for many years have brought Israel to the brink of destruction. So far, they have shown no regret for their past mistakes, and no inclination to change direction. If they continue to shape policy, they will lead us and the whole Middle East to perdition. Instead of rushing into...

The US risks losing its military presence in another African country as the government of Chad sent a letter threatening to end a critical security agreement, according to four US sources, a move that threatens to cede more US influence in the region to Russia. In a letter sent to the US defense attaché last week, Chadian officials threatened to cancel the Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, which determines the rules and conditions under which US military personnel can operate in the country. While the letter did not directly order the US military to leave Chad, the officials told...

Israel carried out a strike on Iran early Friday in retaliation for a barrage of missiles and drones launched last weekend, an Israeli official said. It was not clear what damage the apparently limited strike caused in central Iran, but the official — who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters — said it was intended to signal to Iran that Israel has the ability to strike inside the country. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declined to comment on whether Washington was warned about the strike, but he emphasized that “the United States has not been...

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister (Otzma Yehudit) Itamar Ben-Gvir hinted towards the alleged Israeli attack in Iran on Friday, on X, saying it is dardaleh, slang for weak, disappointing, or poor.

The United States had implored Israel to think carefully and strategically when weighing a response to the hundreds of missiles and drones Iran launched at Israel overnight Saturday-Sunday. Amid the limited reliable information emerging Friday about Israel’s reported retaliation, insistent official silence in Jerusalem, and the military censor’s requirement that any allegation and detailing of an Israeli retaliatory strike be attributed to overseas media reports, it appeared that the government had indeed taken that advice to heart.

Explosions were heard in Isfahan in central Iran, in the As-Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria, and in the Baghdad area and Babil Governorate of Iraq early Friday morning, according to initial reports.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) : COVID, Ukraine, and Government Spying.

In August 1961, during a period when tensions between Washington and Moscow were at a high point, Admiral Konstantin I. Derevyanko penned a letter to Premier Krushchev. His purpose was to alert Krushchev to what the Admiral called the “nuclear romanticism” of the Soviet General Staff. The Admiral’s words still carry the force of logic and common sense and are still worthy of our attention today: Which planet do these people [the Soviet General Staff] intend to live on in the future, and to which Earth do they plan to send their troops to conquer territories?... By this indiscriminately massive...

Lebanon's Hezbollah said it launched missiles and drones on an Israeli military facility in Arab al-Aramshe on Wednesday, in response to the Israeli killing of Hezbollah members and commanders in Lebanon. This escalation comes as tensions between Israel and Iran are reaching new heights after a series of strikes and counterstrikes.

In the early hours of February 24, 2022, the Russian air force struck targets across Ukraine. At the same time, Moscow’s infantry and armor poured into the country from the north, east, and south. In the days that followed, the Russians attempted to encircle Kyiv. These were the first days and weeks of an invasion that could well have resulted in Ukraine’s defeat and subjugation by Russia. In retrospect, it seems almost miraculous that it did not. What happened on the battlefield is relatively well understood. What is less understood is the simultaneous intense diplomacy involving Moscow, Kyiv, and a...

@COVIDSelect announces a subpoena to compel Dr. David Morens — a top advisor to Dr. Fauci — to hand-over COVID-19 documents in his personal email. This follows recently CONFIRMED whistleblower allegations that Dr. Morens used his Gmail to hide COVID-19 information.

I just told Mike Johnson in conference that I’m cosponsoring the Motion to Vacate that was introduced by @RepMTG. He should pre-announce his resignation (as Boehner did), so we can pick a new Speaker without ever being without a GOP Speaker.

The Ukrainian military has labored, for years, to root out far-right extremists in its ranks. The latest clash between the extremists and the defense ministry in Kyiv couldn’t have come at a worse time—or in a worse place. After weeks of drama, the defense ministry redeployed and shook up the staffing within the army’s 67th Mechanized Brigade this weekend. The brigade was holding the most vulnerable district in the most vulnerable city in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast: the canal district of Chasiv Yar. Now the 67th Brigade—what’s left of it—has redeployed to the Ukrainian rear, and a brigade of Ukrainian...

JERUSALEM — Israel’s war cabinet deliberated Monday how to respond to Iran’s unprecedented aerial assault without rankling allies and squandering an opportunity to build an international alliance against Tehran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the Israel Defense Forces to provide a target list, according to an official familiar with high-level discussions, who said Israel is mulling retaliation that would “send a message” but not cause casualties. The options include a potential strike on a facility in Tehran or a cyberattack, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

The FBI has opened a criminal investigation focusing on the massive container ship that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last month — a probe that will look at least in part at whether the crew left the port knowing the vessel had serious systems problems, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. Authorities are reviewing the events leading up to the moment when the Dali, a 985-foot Singapore-flagged ship, lost power while leaving the Port of Baltimore and slammed into one of the bridge’s support pillars, said the officials, speaking on the condition of...

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid calls on National Unity ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot to help bring down the government, saying that they would have more influence on policy in a new coalition. “The way to influence is helping us overthrow this government. And we will form a government and in this government they will have much more influence. Benny Gantz may be the prime minister. There is no citizen who would not welcome Eisenkot as Israel’s defense minister,” he says.

Investigations have been initiated against unit commanders. The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has launched the process of transferring all commanders and soldiers of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps (DUK) of 67th Mechanized Brigade DUK to other military units. These fighters and commanders of DUK had formed the brigade and constituted its core fighting force. The brigade’s press service reported, “The motives behind these actions are unknown to us. All attempts to halt this process and ascertain the reasons have been unsuccessful. Perhaps, some believe that dispersing DUK Right Sector fighters among various Armed Forces units will lead to...

US President Joe Biden dissuaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from greenlighting an immediate retaliatory strike against Iran after it launched around 300 attack drones and missiles at Israel last night, the New York Times reports.

Israeli media reported that the interception of dozens of Iranian missiles and drones by Israel overnight incurred a cost of up to 5 billion shekels ($1.35 billion). Each Arrow missile used for interception costs $3.5 million, while a Magic Wand missile costs $1 million, in addition to aircraft sorties involved in interception.

The Persian Gulf countries have warned the United States that they will not allow Washington to use their soil for strikes against Iran in case of a retaliatory attack by the Islamic Republic on the Israeli-occupied territories. The UK-based news website Middle East Eye cited unnamed sources as saying that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kuwait had called on the US not to use American military bases on their territories to strike in response to any potential Iranian attack on Israel.