Free Republic

The sole power plant in Gaza officially ran out of fuel on Wednesday amid fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and was shut down. Israel cut off supplies — including food, water, fuel and medicine — to the area after Hamas, who controls the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack over the weekend. The access point into Egypt was also closed on Tuesday as a result of airstrikes. Counterattacks from Israel have destroyed neighborhoods in Gaza — home to more than 2.3 million Palestinians. At least 2,200 have been killed on both sides, officials said.

President Obama is considering cutting all ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s YNet News reported on Friday. According to a source cited by the paper, the White House “is contemplating lowering its ties with Israel and putting Kerry as the sole liaison between the two states, as opposed to the open line Netanyahu now enjoys with Obama.” “The president is pragmatic, if he were to think there was some gain to be made from talking directly with Netanyahu he would do so, but he just prefers not to waste his time,” the White House source said The report...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2006 – Security in Iraq, while important, will not alone win the war against insurgents, a top U.S. commander said here today. For Iraq to be successful in its new democracy, it must have governance, economic development and functioning ministries in its government, Army Lt. Gen. John Vines, commander of 18th Airborne Corps, said at the State of the Military Health System 2006 Annual Conference. "The soldiers in the field are doing a very good job at the tactical level; but tactical success can't be translated into operational strategic success until we have ministries and contingents sustained...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

WASHINGTON — How fares the multination cover-up of the richest rip-off in world history? Obstruction of justice has never had it so good. Last month, after some badgering in this space and elsewhere, the House International Relations Committee announced it would look into the $5 billion kickback scandal in the United Nations' six-year Iraqi oil-for-food program, the largest humanitarian aid effort ever undertaken. Our State Department, eager for U.N. help in Iraq, wants no revelations of U.N. ineptitude and corruption. It waltzed the committee staff around. Senate Foreign Relations, however, not wanting to be upstaged by its House counterpart, called...