Free Republic

The caller told the operator, "we're trying to remain a little subtle." ABC News has obtained a copy of the 911 call requesting an ambulance for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was transported from his Virginia home to Walter Reed Hospital after suffering complications from a surgery to treat prostate cancer. In the call, placed on Jan. 1 and obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, a federal employee working for Austin asks the operator for the ambulance to be discreet. "Can I ask -- that the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? We're trying to remain...

<p>Rumsfeld was a true American patriot but also the archetype of disaster in the republic in the modern era, an outstanding tactician and an overmatched strategist.</p><p>It is one of the irritating defects of genius that, particularly when surrounded by crushing mediocrity, the audacity of having ideas becomes a source of recurring controversy. To have the most ideas means you have the most good ideas, but also the most bad ideas. I have had the great fortune to know and meet more than a handful of figures in my life who truly qualify as men of genius, and one of them was certainly Donald Rumsfeld, who passed away yesterday at the ripe age of 88.</p>

The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) announced its opposition to the potential appointment of former Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) as Secretary of Defense, citing a long list of actions Hagel has taken that raise alarms about his failure to support Israel. Hagel is said to be the leading contender to replace Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is expected to step down early next year. The RJC outlined a number of instances highlighting Hagel’s anti-Israel record: In August 2006, Hagel was one of only 12 Senators who refused to write the EU asking them to declare Hizbullah a terrorist organization; In October...

I realize the Democrats' opposition to just about any drilling for oil and natural gas anywhere is a major, major opportunity for the McCain camp in this election. But if we don't see John McCain soon holding up a copy of Winnie the Pooh in one hand and the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, written in part by Gen. David Petraeus, in the other, and pointing out that the next president will need to consult with the authors of the latter book instead of advisers who seek national security guidance in the former book, then the McCain campaign is...

Despite continued criticism of his handling of the war in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld won strong backing Sunday from the White House and key Republicans in Congress. Responding to demands last week by some conservatives for Rumsfeld's resignation, White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. said President Bush fully supported his Defense secretary. "Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a spectacular job, and the president has great confidence in him," Card said on ABC's "This Week." "He's also transforming the military. And any time you do that, there are controversies." The White House show of support came as...