Free Republic

The African Liberation Forces of Mauritania Speak on Slavery and Genocide Tuesday, 17 October 2006 The African Liberation Forces of Mauritania Speak on Slavery and Genocide in the Sahel, not only to free Mauritanians from racism and slavery but also to build a more democratic country. The Arab-dominated regime does not want to do anything to bring peace in Mauritania. We cannot really talk about democracy when 120,000 refugees are left behind, and we cannot talk about democracy when people are enslaved. Before organizing elections in Mauritania, we must free those who are still enslaved, and bring the refugees back....

Moscow Moved Weapons to Syria and Lebanon According to a former top Bush administration official, Russian special forces teams moved weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq to Syria. "I am absolutely sure that Russian Spetsnatz units moved WMD out of Iraq before the war," stated John Shaw, the former deputy undersecretary for international technology security. According to Shaw, Russian units hid Saddam's arsenal inside Syria and in Lebanon's Bekka valley. "While in Iraq I uncovered detailed information that Spetsnatz units shredded records and moved all WMD and specified advanced munitions out of Iraq to Syria and Lebanon," stated Shaw...

CAIRO, Egypt - Five Islamic militant groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq, denounced the Iraqi elections as a "satanic project" that violates God's law and vowed to continue their war to establish an Islamic government in the country. But the Internet posting made no threats to disrupt Thursday's parliamentary elections, unlike previous statements before balloting in January and October, when militants warned they would attack polling stations to stop people from voting. ADVERTISEMENT The statement's authenticity could not be independently verified. If authentic, it was a rare instance of several of Iraq's militant groups joining together to announce their stance. "The...

(CNN) -- Thousands of Iranians staged anti-Israel protests across the country Friday and repeated calls by their ultraconservative president demanding the Jewish state's destruction. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- marching with the protesters -- signaled he stood by his remarks, even as Iranian officials tried to defuse the issue. "My word is the same as that of (the) Iranian nation," he told the official IRNA news agency. "They are free to say but their words lack any credit," he said, when asked about global reaction to his comments. During a meeting with protesting students at Iran's Interior Ministry on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad...

Fatwa for tennis star who wears short skirtsBy Peter Foster in New Delhi(Filed: 10/09/2005)India's leading female tennis player has been subjected to a fatwa by a Muslim cleric for wearing short skirts and revealing tops on the international tennis circuit. Sania Mirza comes from a devout Muslim family Sania Mirza, 18, who became the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam at the US Open last week, is hugely popular in India.The fatwa - in effect, a demand that she cover up - was issued by a senior cleric of the Sunni Ulema Board,...

Many argue that communism will never be possible because of "human nature". The essence of this false argument is the belief that a communist society would consist of an all-powerful central government that would tell everybody what to do--and would therefore undermine the creative initiative of individuals and the search for happiness. • This argument is based on two false assumptions: (1) It assumes that a communist society will look like the former Soviet Union, or the current China, North Korea, etc (ie: corrupt police states with a feudal-style ruling class) (2) It assumes that people will only work in...

Here is the list so far for sponcers to this hate America fest: ANSWER Code Pink UFPJ NION Al Awda World Workers Party Ruckas Revolutionary Communist party Moveon.org ACORN Campus Antiwar Network International Socialist Org Greens Party Muslim Student Association CPUSA

Totalitarianism and the Role of Intellectuals By PAUL BERMAN During the long months of buildup to the war in Iraq, President Bush never did succeed in convincing most of the world of the justice or logic of what he proposed to do. Many people freely granted that, after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the United States had solid reasons to wage war on Al Qaeda. But it was not immediately clear to many why an attack on Saddam Hussein would represent any kind of setback to Al Qaeda. The White House tried to suggest that the highjacker Muhammad Atta...

<p>Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- U.S.-trained Iraqi police may have taken part in some of the attacks on U.S. and Iraqi targets, the Associated Press reported, citing U.S. Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez.</p> <p>Attacks on U.S. troops and others in northern Iraq have increased in the past month. Last week, Major General David Petraeus, the 101st Airborne's commander, said Iraqi resistance was increasing. Guerrillas have launched more than 150 attacks on Iraqi civilian and police targets, the AP said, citing Sanchez.</p>

Date: Friday, November 21, 2003 6:40:58 PM EST By RICHARD SALE, UPI Intelligence Correspondent American's top man in Baghdad, L. Paul Bremer, last week fired 28,000 Iraqi teachers as political punishment for their former membership in the Saddam Hussein-dominated Baath Party, fueling anti-U.S. resistance on the ground, administration officials have told United Press International. A Central Command spokesman, speaking to UPI from Baghdad, acknowledged that the firings had taken place but said the figure of 28,000 "is too high." He was unable, however, after two days, to supply UPI with a lower, revised total. The Central Command spokesman attributed the...

In the breaking news window at Haaretz: Radical Iraqi Shi`ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr calls on his armed followers to capture Saddam Hussein `dead or alive`

<p>BAGHDAD, Iraq — A series of car bomb attacks on Monday killed 34 people, excluding the homicide bombers, in Baghdad, shattering what should have been a solemn day as Iraq began observing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.</p> <p>About 12 people were killed at the International Committee of the Red Cross (search) building in central Baghdad and 27 others were slain in attacks on three police stations. Most of the victims were Iraqis. The U.S. military said one American soldier was killed in one of the police station attacks.</p>

By CAMERON McWHIRTERAtlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer LEFTERIS PITARAKIS / Associated Press Mud covers a statue of Saddam Hussein at the Saddam Center of Art in Baghdad. Saddam, who had long been a Baath Party leader, seized control of the party and Iraq in 1979. Baath Party guerrillas attack American troops in Iraq almost daily. U.S. administrator for Iraq L. Paul Bremmer has sworn to "extirpate Baathists and Baathism from Iraq forever." Meanwhile, most Americans are left with the question: What is Baathism? At one time, Baathism was a movement espousing lofty ideals of Arab brotherhood and equality, with a...

Thu July 3, 2003 10:15 AM ET BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States is offering $25 million for any information that leads to the capture of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein or proves that he is dead, a spokesman for Iraq's U.S.-led administration said on Thursday. "(Administration head) Ambassador (Paul) Bremer will be announcing a new $25 million reward for information leading to the capture of Saddam Hussein or information confirming his earlier death," the spokesman told reporters. He said $15 million was being offered for similar information about either of Saddam's two sons, Uday and Qusay.

CAMP BOOM, Iraq - U.S. forces launched a massive operation early Sunday to crush insurgents and capture senior figures from the ousted regime in a show of force designed to stem a wave of deadly attacks on U.S. troops. The operation, dubbed "Desert Sidewinder," is taking place in a huge swath of central Iraq stretching from the Iranian border to the areas north of Baghdad, and is expected to last for several days, military officials said. Americans arrested a man in Khalis, 45 miles north of Baghdad. He is suspected of recruiting young men to launch attacks on Americans, according...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera on Thursday reported it had received a statement and videotape from an Iraqi resistance group that claimed responsibility for attacks on American forces and threatened more. It was believed to be the first such claim, and the first time a group said it had organized the increasingly bloody offensive. The Pentagon repeatedly has said the attacks - that have killed at least 18 American lives since May 1 when President Bush declared the major fighting over - were not the work of any organized resistance. Six British soldiers were...

FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - Attacks against U.S. forces showed no sign of letting up Friday after a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into a power station in Fallujah, injuring two American soldiers and blacking out much of the city - a center of anti-American hostility. At Friday prayers, imams preached anti-American sermons, claiming Jews are buying up real estate in Iraq. Based on groundless rumors, the warnings from pulpits, on leaflets and in Iraqi newspapers reflected Iraqis' fear and anger over the U.S.-led occupation. After weeks of sniping and ambushes around Iraq, American forces raided nine locations Friday "to isolate and defeat...

Road trip to Babylon boosts troops' morale By DENNIS O'BRIEN, The Virginian-Pilot © April 23, 2003 Last updated: 3:30 AM Near the reconstructed arch of Ishtar, Navy chaplains and their escorts begin exploring ancient Babylon to gain perspective for their sermons. Photo by Dennis O'Brien / The Virginian-Pilot. More dispatches from Dennis O'Brien in Iraq BABYLON -- It wasn't the order Charlie Company had hoped for -- which would be ``You're going home'' -- but it beat spending another day camped outside Kut. The Marines were sent on a one-day road trip Tuesday, and what better place to visit...

Senior Iraqi officers have scattered across the Middle East after fleeing Baghdad as the assault on the city began, according to some senior Iraqis in London who have kept close links with key figures within the country. All of them have false passports and could try to later hide in countries like Pakistan or Malaysia or Indonesia, said Ali Haitham Rashid Wihaib, who was Saddam Hussain's former head of protocol. He added that the Syrian authorities were keeping some of their "embarrassing guests" including generals and ministers hidden because of the US pressure. He, claimed in a daily, that Saddam...

Dozens, and perhaps hundreds, of Iraqi officials escaped to Syria, according to fresh assessments by intelligence organizations including the U.S., British and Israeli services, which were surprised by the large numbers involved after initial estimates that only a few dozen made their way to Syria during or prior to the war. But while the escapees include relatively high-ranking officials, and at least one minister, Saddam Hussein and his inner circle are not believed to be in Syria. The large number of Iraqis who found refuge in Syria is why Washington and London have stepped up pressure on Damascus and the...

Is perky "Today Show" host Katie Couric actually rooting for Saddam Hussein to survive U.S.'s military's repeated attempts to take him out? It sure sounded that way during a report she delivered on the fate of the Baghdad Butcher yesterday. While chatting about Saddam with NBC's Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski, the multi-million-dollar morning host asked whether U.S. officials had been able to "confirm reports he was taken to Tikrit, and then Mosul, and then hopefully to Syria." Hopefully? Surely Ms. Couric didn't mean to suggest that she actually hoped the brutal dictator would escape justice by fleeing to another terrorist-sponsoring...

In an interview in a Lebanese newspaper, Syrian President Bashar Assad has lashed out at Israel, saying as long as the Jewish state exists it will be a threat. Assad, who has expressed support for Saddam Hussein's regime in the face of coalition action, gave the interview to the pro-Syrian daily Al-Safir. His comments were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. The Syrian leader claimed the U.S. is doing Israel's bidding in the war on Iraq. "[The Americans] removed their masks and said that they wanted oil and that they wanted to re-draw the map of the region...

THE SAS has arrested four busloads of suspected suicide bombers and would-be fighters in Iraq’s western desert. The men, who are being held as prisoners of war, came from various Arab countries but all carried Syrian passports. They are thought to be among thousands of Arab zealots making their way to the battle front. Syria has issued about 2,000 passports to people volunteering to fight for President Saddam Hussein in recent weeks, raising serious concerns in Britain and America, which suspects Damascus of smuggling war supplies to Iraq. The coalition is to protest to the Syrians. Syrian officials have made...

Bin Laden tape: Text The following is the full text of an audio message purported to be by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, broadcast on Arab television station al-Jazeera on 11 February. In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate. A message to our Muslim brothers in Iraq, may God's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you. O you who believe fear Allah, by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden as He should be feared. Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always, and die not except in...