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A Helpless World occupied by Helpless Souls!

January 29, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Only God Can Help a Helpless World or a Soul that recognizes it is Helpless to Save Itself by its own Efforts! The World cannot save itself by diplomacy or war or any other effort – It can only be changed by the God who made it!

A Soul cannot change itself by any effort on its part – It can only be changed by faith in the ability of Christ to save it.

So me consider

me to be a prophet of doom, an eternal pessimist, a man anxious to see Israel attacked, a person who is anxiously waiting for tectonic chaos to reap havoc on the earth. To be quite frank about these personal labels some have assigned me, I consider myself to be a biblical realist, because the Bible indicates all these things are coming on the earth on mankind. I am the eternal optimist when it comes to Heaven, and the things that await believers in the Millennium and Final Heaven Age.

Everyone seems to have their own person definition of a realist, and it varies from person to person and group to group. I consider a realist to be someone who believes that what the Old and New Testaments state is truly the inspired Word of God.

However, I must confess that the vast majority of mankind believes such a person to be a religious nut, not a realist.

An editorial in Haaretz, titled “A Helpless World,” caught my eye this week. The truth of it is staggering and more extensive than mankind will accept.

Nothing is going to stop the predictions made by the Word of God from coming true, and the soon coming showdown in the Middle East is going to fulfill a ton of those predictions, regardless of the efforts of mankind to bring in an era of peace and safety by any technique or human endeavor.

I Thessalonians 5:3 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

The only thing I am capable of doing is to warn mankind that the world is helpless to change its destiny, and that individual men and women can only have their final destiny changed by repentance toward God as the sinners we all are by birth and nature, and then placing their faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation.

Acts 20:21 – Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Man bought a curse on an earth that will not be completely changed until Revelation 21:1-5 is fulfilled.

Genesis 3:17 – And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Since man brought the curse on the earth, only one man has ever been born with a perfect heart that remained perfect to his death – The man Christ Jesus, the living Son of God.

Jeremiah 17:9 – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

The man Christ Jesus alone can spiritually circumcise and change the hearts of individual men and women. He is the quickening Spirit that circumcises the individual believing heart.

I Corinthians 15:45 – And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Romans 2:28,29 – For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: [29] But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Colossians 2:11 – In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

I kissed the Son when I was received him as my Savior some 63 years ago. I put my trust in him to save me from what I am, a sinner whose sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven. I do not fear the wrath of God. My appointment with eternal separation from God is cancelled by the sacrifice of Christ for ALL my sins.

Psalm 2:12 – Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.

Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Colossians 2:13 – And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you ALL trespasses;

John 3:17,18 – For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. [18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Man has finally risen to the top of his allotted cup of wrath.

Soon the first part of Psalm 2 will be fulfilled, followed by the arrival of the Son to rule and reign for a thousand years.

Psalm 2:1-5 – Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? [2] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, [3] Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. [4] He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. [5] Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

Psalm 2:7-9 – I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. [8] Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. [9] Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

This present world and mankind, whose elements are displayed on a periodic chemistry chart, is helpless to prevent the fulfillment of a curse God placed on the earth for man’s sake in the Garden of Eden. Some 1000 years after Christ’s Second Advent, the following Scripture will be fulfilled.

Revelation 21:1-5 – And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. [2] And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. [4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. [5] And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Begin Haaretz Editorial

A Helpless World

Editorial (Ha’aretz)

On January 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day will be observed for the third time. Fixed on the date of the liberation of Auschwitz, it is a memorial for the destruction of the Jews of Europe, which was first established by European countries and later adopted by the United Nations.

This welcome initiative is seemingly the climax of a process in which the Holocaust of the Jews has come to be perceived not only as a disaster for our people, but as having universal significance: a reminder of the horrors that people are capable of inflicting on other people, and also a warning – if not an alarm bell – that summons humanity to fight determinedly against present or future dangers of this kind.

For all the denunciations and the shock, it seems that the international community is also standing by helplessly, doing nothing, in the face of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who denies the Jewish Holocaust and threatens the very existence of the State of Israel. His open threats of destruction are backed by Iran’s efforts to arm itself with weapons of mass destruction that would be capable of carrying out this threat.

Yet the international community is not excited.

It has not gone into overdrive in order to at least deny Iran nuclear weapons. It sometimes seems as if this community is more concerned with ceremonies and memorial days to cleanse its conscience over its inaction in the face of past catastrophes than it is with dealing with the catastrophes that are occurring now, or that are on the horizon.

End Haaretz Editorial

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Will Hamas Agree to a Negotiating Fatah-Hamas Government?

January 28, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Fatah says its willing to force Hamas to pay a price in blood to form a joint negotiated Palestinian Authority

government. Such a government might be able to negotiate with Israel to bring in a false peace.

Fatah and Hamas have escalated the growing conflict between them to gain control of the Palestinian Authority. The guns and financial help supplied to Fatah recently by the United States and Israel is apparently being used against Hamas.

In order to stop the fighting, it appears that Fatah is attempting to get Hamas to soften its extreme stance toward Israel, so that some sort of peace agreement can be made with Israel. If Abbas can get a joint Fatah-Hamas Palestinian Authority government agreement with Hamas, and Hamas will recognize Israel’s right to be in the land, some sort of peace plan could be worked out. It would be a false peace of relatively short duration on the part of Hamas and Fatah, but on the surface they would lead Israel to believe it was genuine.

The two DEBKAfile reports, which follow, show the escalation of the conflict between Hamas and Fatah, and the determination of Fatah to accomplish the aforementioned objectives.

Begin DEBKAfile Report Number 1

Fatah-Hamas battles in Gaza

leave 25 Palestinians dead, including children, 50 wounded since Thursday night

DEBKAfile

January 28, 2007, 12:07 AM (GMT+02:00)

The two factions have again broken off the talks on a coalition government which violent infighting has repeatedly interrupted since last year.

The last five victims were killed in clashes which swept Gaza all day Saturday.

Friday night, tit-for-tat rocket attacks were staged against the homes of Hamas foreign minister Mahmoud a-Zahar and head of the Fatah-oriented internal security service Rashid Abu Shbak. Neither was hurt.

Fatah-al Aqsa Brigades abductors threaten to kill Hamas captives in revenge for the murder of one of their leaders in Gaza Thursday night.

Begin DEBKAfile Report Number 2

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Fatah is willing to sustain 200 to 500 dead to prevail over Hamas in Gaza, Hamas Damascus-based leader Khaled Meshaal is warned

January 28, 2007, 12:14 AM (GMT+02:00)

Mahmoud Abbas’ close associate, the Palestinian-Kurdish tycoon Mohammed Rashid, flew into Damascus Saturday night, Jan 27, with an ultimatum for Meshaal. During the day, Palestinian casualties from Hamas-Fatah factional battles rose to 25 with dozens of wounded.

Rashid told the Hamas leader that this was his last chance for a ceasefire. If he agreed, Abbas would return to the negotiating table and go back to the proposals they had discussed when they met in Damascus last week. If not, his Fatah forces were ready to sustain up to 500 dead to win control of Gaza.

Abbas lieutenant Mohammed Dahlan is commanding the Fatah side.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Saturday both factions turned their guns on each other’s senior commanders.

Fatah death squads stormed Hamas mosques, seized and executed three officers of Hamas’ special units. Hamas reciprocated by eliminating Fatah commanders.

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the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. You may use material originated by this site.

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More Blarney for Israeli Peace and Safety Mindset!

January 28, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Today’s article from the Boston Herald, which follows our introduction, says that Israeli newspapers are agog over a recent report in Haaretz, which discusses a possible peace treaty between Syria and Israel.

This Will Not Happen – But its proposal does add fuel to a “Peace and Safety Mindset,” when considered with P.A. and Israeli Peace Talks of the last Three Weeks!

I don’t expect a peace treaty with Syria, but naturally hope I am wrong!

A s I

have stated so very frequently: I do expect a “Peace and Safety Mindset” to hatch and grow in Israel.

That “mindset” is hatching, and apart from a few “growing pains,” it should grow erratically in form and strength until a sudden lightening Jihad is launched against Israel, by Islamic forces across her northern border.

The “mindset” will be based on what seems to Israel to be a glimmering, faint light of an eventual end to years of trouble in the land, which was first highlighted when they began to return to Israel in the thirties of the last century.

One would hardly expect Hizbollah, Syria, Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, and Iran to be beating the drums of war standing on Israel’s northern border, shouting threats across it, just before they charged south across it. As my daughters often say to me – Get Real, Dad!

Biblically speaking, there can only be one kind of peace in Israel – A false peace induced into the minds of Israelis by the cunning deceit of Islamic nations.

So, either way, if there should be a peace treaty signed with Syria it would only be a brief f

alse peace.

If the peace is only in the form of a “mindset,” it will only be a brief false peace. One way or the other a false peace is coming to Israel.

Begin Boston Herald Article

Israel, Syria talks a real possibility

By Boston Herald editorial staff

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Newspapers in Israel are agog over a recent report in one of them, Haaretz, that “unofficial” negotiators from Syria and Israel reached agreement on a draft document to normalize relations between the two antagonists. Israeli newspapers are usually correct about such matters.

If there’s the slightest chance that negotiations could move to an “official” level, the United States should not try to stand in the way of an agreement no matter how much the Bush administration despises Syria.

Some analysts have said the administration may fear that a deal with Israel could free Syria for more interference in Lebanon, in Iraq and in support of terrorists generally.

Last summer, said Haaretz, Syria asked that the talks shift to the official level, in secrecy, with participation by the United States (which was said to have been kept in the loop up to that point). Israel rejected that proposal for unspecified reasons and nothing has happened since.

A deal with Israel would blacken Syria in the eyes of all the world’s Islamofascist warriors.

It could break the current Syria-Iran alliance, always an odd construction because Iran is largely Shiite and Syria largely Sunni (though ruled by the tiny Alawite sect). It could make it easier for Israel to attack, or threaten to attack, Iranian nuclear facilities if Israel ever felt the need.

Israel would insist on shutting down Syrian support of Hamas and Hezbollah and Syria would have incentives not to violate those terms of an agreement – or at least not get caught. (The draft agreement printed by Haaretz said the two countries would cooperate “in fighting local and international terrorism of all kinds” and “for a stable and safe Middle East.”)

The draft called for a demilitarized Golan Heights returned to Syria. This was Syrian territory used to bombard Israeli settlements in the plain below before Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The area would become a park controlled by Syrian police and accessible to tourists from Israel without visas or border formalities.

The United States and the United Nations would be asked to guarantee the new border, which would be the pre-1967 border. Surely the Bush administration can bring itself to encourage such a promising deal.

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We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site

is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. You may use material originated by this site.

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More Twisted Shiite Prophecy from Iran!

January 27, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

It would not surprise me, after the arrival of the Mahdi and the Islamic version of Jesus, if the Shiites tried to associate this pair as their version of the Prophet John the Baptist and Jesus, when in reality they should be associated with the “Beast” and “False Prophet” of Revelation 13 – Just a thought. I have long taught the possibility that

the Antichrist will claim the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11, which he kills, are none other than the Antichrist and False Prophet. The Antichrist and his False Prophet will deceive all followers of Islam and many other false beliefs. He will not only deceive followers of all false religions, he will put in the hearts of the 10 Islamic nations that attack Israel to follow the Mahdi in a great slaughter of non-Muslims.

But why would God allow the false prophet to delude billions of people into believing that the “Wicked” one was sent by Him? And why would God put in the hearts of the 10 Islamic leaders

of the 10 nations to give their kingdoms to the Beast? The answer to both questions is the same.

II Thessalonians 2:8-11 – And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: [9] Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, [10] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. [11] And for this cause God shall send them a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

Simply stated, those who were truly born again, by believing the Word, were then taught the truth by the Word, and will not be deceived by one who brings a teaching contrary to the Word of truth. There are very few in this century that know the truth, or that even want to know it.

Revelation 17:16,17 – And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. [17] For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall

be fulfilled.

Begin WorldNetDaily.com Article

Iran prepares people for ‘Messiah Miracles’

Government broadcasts

series on imminent appearance of apocalyptic Islamic ‘Mahdi’

January 27, 2007

Official Iranian radio has completed broadcasting a lengthy series on the imminent appearance of a messianic figure who will defeat Islam’s enemies and impose Islamic Shiite rule over the entire world – even speculating on specific dates the so-called “Mahdi” will be revealed.

English-language transcripts of “The World Toward Illumination” programs can be found on the website of IRIB, a public broadcast arm of Tehran.

“Be joyous my heart, miracles of the Messiah will soon be here,” reads a poem used to conclude the first broadcast. “The scent of breaths of the
One we know comes from near. Grieve not of sorrow and melancholy, as assured I was … last night that a Savior will come, it’s clear.”

After the coming of the 12th imam, or Mahdi, “liberal democratic civilization” will be found only in “history museums,” explained the program.

“Contrary to the views of western theoreticians, who usually depict an ambiguous and dark future for mankind, Muslim experts believe human history, despite its many ups and downs, has a very auspicious fate,” explained the program. “Muslims believe hopes for the realization of such a happy ending for the world are called ‘Awaiting Redemption,’ and means waiting for man’s problems to be solved by the Savior at the end of time. This awaiting influences many, and inspired them with activity and enthusiasm in confronting darkness and oppression for changing the existing situation. …”

This messianic figure will be a direct descendant of Muhammad, according to the broadcasts.

“In short, when he reappears, peace, justice and security will overcome oppression and deceit and one global government, the most perfect ever, will be established,” it said.

The Mahdi will appear suddenly, according to the report, in Mecca. Though no one can know the day, Shiites believe, the report actually suggests possibilities in the Muslim calendar.

The Mahdi will lead a cataclysmic battle against a descendant of Muhammad’s archenemy, Abu Sofyan, culminating in the cities of Kufa and Najaf. His enemy, though, is destroyed later in Jerusalem.

“Another beautiful moment of the Savior’s appearance is the coming down of Prophet Jesus (PBUH) from heaven,” says the report. “Hazrat Mahdi receives him courteously and asks him to lead the prayers. But Jesus says you are more qualified for this than me. We read in the book Tazkarat ol-Olia, ‘the Mahdi will come with Jesus son of Mary accompanying him.’ This indicates that these two great men are (sic) complement each other. Imam Mahdi will be the leader while Prophet Jesus will act as his lieutenant in the struggle against oppression and establishment of justice in the world.

Jesus had himself given the tidings of the coming of God’s last messenger and will see Mohammad’s ideals materialize in the time of the Mahdi.”

As WND reported last month, in a greeting to the world’s Christians for the coming new year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he expects both Jesus and the Mahdi, to return and “wipe away oppression.”

“I wish all the Christians a very happy new year and I wish to ask them a question as well,” said Ahmadinejad, according to an Iranian Student News Agency report cited by YnetNews.com

“My one question from the Christians is: What would Jesus do if he were present in the world today? What would he do before some of the oppressive powers of the world who are in fact residing in Christian countries? Which powers would he revive and which of them would he destroy?” asked the Iranian leader.

“If Jesus were present today, who would be facing him and who would be following him?”

Ahmadinejad’s mystical pre-occupation with the coming of the Mahdi is raising concerns that a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic could trigger the kind of global conflagration he envisions will set the stage for the end of the world.

In a videotaped meeting with Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli in Tehran, Ahmadinejad discussed candidly a strange, paranormal experience he had while addressing the United Nations in New York last September.

He recounts how he found himself bathed in light throughout the speech. But this wasn’t the light directed at the podium by the U.N. and television cameras.

It was, he said, a light from heaven.

According to a transcript of his comments, obtained and translated by Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin, Ahmadinejad wasn’t the only one who noticed the unearthly light. One of his aides brought it to his attention.

The Iranian president recalled being told about it by one of his delegation: “When you began with the words ‘in the name of Allah,’ I saw a light coming, surrounding you and protecting you to the end.”

Ahmadinejad agreed that he sensed the same thing.

“On the last day when I was speaking, one of our group told me that when I started to say ‘Bismillah Muhammad,’ he saw a green light come from around me, and I was placed inside this aura,” he says. “I felt it myself.

I felt that the atmosphere suddenly changed, and for those 27 or 28 minutes, all the leaders of the world did not blink. When I say they didn’t move an eyelid, I’m not exaggerating. They were looking as if a hand was holding them there, and had just opened their eyes – Alhamdulillah!”

Ahmadinejad’s “vision” at the U.N. is strangely reminiscent and alarmingly similar to statements he has made about his personal role in ushering in the return of the Shiite Muslim messiah.

He sees his main mission, as he recounted in a Nov. 16 speech in Tehran, as to “pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance.”

According to Shiites, the 12th imam disappeared as a child in the year 941.

When he returns, they believe, he will reign on earth for seven years, before bringing about a final judgment and the end of the world.

Ahmadinejad is urging Iranians to prepare for the coming of the Mahdi by turning the country into a mighty and advanced Islamic society and by avoiding the corruption and excesses of the West.

All Iran is buzzing about the Mahdi, the 12th imam and the role

Iran and Ahmadinejad are playing in his anticipated return. There’ s a new me

ssiah hotline. There are news agencies especially devoted to the latest developments.

“People are anxious to know when and how will He rise; what they must do to receive this worldwide salvation,” says Ali Lari, a cleric at the Bright Future Institute in Iran’s religious center of Qom.

“The timing is not clear, but the conditions are more specific,” he adds. “There is a saying: ‘When the students are ready, the teacher will come.'”

End WorldNewsDaily.com Article

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We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. You may use material originated by this site. However, if you wish to use any quoted copyrighted material from this site, which did not originate at this site, for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner from which we extracted it.

A Lot of Meeting s

about Peace this Week!

January 27, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

I cannot guarantee what will come out of all these meetings, but I can tell you they have been going on for about three weeks, and that efforts were made to keep them from public knowledge for some time.

The cat does appear to be out of the bag at this time, at least partially. I have not seen so many individuals and countries talking about peace for some time, and I am naturally hopeful it is the beginning of a temporary time of peace in Israel. If it should happen, it will not come in suddenly, but rather after a painful time of anxiety and uncertainty for all parties, in which talks are plentiful, while application of agreements from the talks moves at a snail’s pace.

About a dozen countries and groups of countries have been involved in the talks, and that number is likely to grow over the next few weeks.

I have long contended that an attack against Israel by Islamic nations will not take place as long as American troops are positioned in Iraq. If the following statement by Iraqi General Babaker Shawkat Zebari, reported in the Mi ami Her

ald, is a good estimate of American troop withdrawal timing, then my estimate of an Islamic attack against Israel at some point in time between 2008 and 2012 seems reasonable.

Begin Miami Herald Article

Iraqi general: U.S. can withdraw by 2008

Miami Herald

JOHN MILBURN

Associated Press

January 26, 2007

FORT RILEY, Kan.

– The Iraqi army will have enough equipment and strength to allow most U.S. troops to withdraw by 2008, Iraq’s army chief said Friday.

Gen. Babaker Shawkat Zebari said the Iraqi army would soon be able to provide security for its own nation and stand with the U.S. and other countries in the larger war on terror.

Zebari visited Fort Riley to observe the training of the U.S. transition teams that are advising the Iraqi army.

He also visited the commander of a brigade of soldiers that will be heading to Iraq soon.

Those soldiers are part of the 21,500 additional troops sought by President Bush as part of a security crackdown in Baghdad.

Through a translator, Zebari said the additional soldiers will be sufficient to restore order in Iraq.

In December, a close aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told The Associated Press that the Iraqi leader believed his troops would be able to take over security for the country by June.

Wearing civilian clothes, including a heavy winter coat, Zebari watched U.S. soldiers train with others playing the role of Iraqi soldiers. He said the training was good, but he noted that successful training of Iraqi forces will require increased cultural awareness by Americans.

Maj. Gen. Carter Ham, commander for the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, said he suggested that Zebari send Iraqi soldiers to the northeast Kansas post for training, and Zebari agreed it was a good idea.

End Miami Herald Article

The following three articles give a good account of the numerous recent peace discussions for those who like to stay current on this subject.

Begin Arutz Sheva Excerpt Number 1

Top Israeli Officials Meet With PA Chairman in Switzerland

Arutz Sheva, National News Net

Thursday, January 25, 2007 / 6 Shevat 5767

“Back channel” meetings between Israeli and Palestinian Authority are continuing unabated, this time in Switzerland.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas were scheduled to meet in Switzerland Thursday, the highest level of face-to-face contacts since Abbas met with Olmert last month.

Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh met with Abbas Wednesday night and continued prior discussions concerning easing travel restrictions on PA Arabs and further financial aid to the democratically-elected Hamas-ruled Authority.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed earlier this month to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s recommendation that the two conduct their negotiations in “back channel” talks in order to avoid media attention.

A report published on the WorldNet Daily website this week revealed that the government has agreed in principle to withdraw from most of Judea and Samaria since Olmert met with Abbas in December.

Negotiations have been quietly proceeding apace for the past two or three weeks, according to sources quoted by WND reporter Aaron Klein.

According to Egyptian and EU sources, one of the plans currently under consideration involves handing over control of central and southern Yesha to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s security forces. In northern Yesha, the transfer of responsibility to Abbas’ security forces over the area would be monitored by Jordan and EU observers.

A top level meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas is scheduled for next month with U.S. officials in Washington D.C. They are expected to discuss the parameters for the creation of a PA state.

The quiet discussions away from the camera lights were to focus on “the principles of a permanent agreement between Israel and the Palestinians,” according to media reports.

The talks began with a surprise meeting between Olmert and Abbas on a Saturday night in late December, the first such conference between Israel and the PA in more than two years. The meeting focused primarily on money.

Israel is currently holding some $500 million as part of the freeze on transferr ing funds it collects on behalf of the PA that began after the general public

in the PA democratically elected the Hamas terror organization to rule the government.

Olmert agreed at the meeting to release $100 million for humanitarian purposes, a sum Abbas hoped to use to pay government employees who have not received their full salaries since March.

Moreover, Olmert’s bureau chief Yoram Turbowicz and his political advisor Shalom Turgeman were sent to Ramallah early in December for secret talks with Abbas.

Olmert also spoke with the PA chairman during the meeting, which focused on a prisoner swap for the release of IDF officer Gilad Shalit, who is still being held by PA terrorists seven months after they kidnapped him, last June.

It was the first meeting by Israeli emissaries with the PA chairman.

Begin Arutz Sheva Excerpt Number 2

Livni, Peres, Abbas Share Visions for PA State at World Forum

Friday, January 26, 2007 / 7 Shevat 5767

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tzippy Livni, Shimon Peres, and Mahmoud Abbas shared their visions for a two-state solution within the disputed borders of Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni made the formation of Palestinian state her top diplomatic priority during her speech at the forum of world leaders. According to Livni, the formation of a state for the Arabs within the biblical territories of Judea and Samaria is “not an illusion. It’s there. It’s achievable.”

“I would like to negotiate, to speak, to meet, to talk,” Livni said, signaling an Israeli desire to yet again restart bi latera

l peace talks. “There is nothing I want more. … This is part of our dream; this is part of our goal.”

While acknowledging that terrorism must be reigned in for a two-state solution to be viable, Livni compared any future decision by the Palestinian Authority to stop terror with the Israeli government’s decision to expel 10,000 citizens from their homes during the Gush Katif Disengagement of August 2005.

“There are difficult decisions to take on both sides, and fighting terrorism is one of those decisions, and we cannot afford to put this obstacle aside. I know that it is not easy,” Livni said. “I can say it was also difficult for me to vote in favor of the disengagement plan. I voted to uproot Israelis, in order to give peace a chance.

So there are difficult decisions, but the best way is to give an answer, and not to say, ‘Okay this is too difficult, let’s find something else.'”

The Israeli government has already formed a committee to study the ability to remove as many as 100,000 Jewish residents from their homes in the areas considered for the creation of a Palestinian State.

Livni cautioned PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas against compromising with extreme elements within the Authority, labeling Abbas one of the “moderate” forces within the PA. The term often is used despite calls by Abbas at a Ramallah Fatah rally last week for arms, ostensibly received to protect him and his Fatah faction from Hamas, “to be turned against Israel,” which he referred to as “occupying forces.”

Livni added in her address that PA Arabs currently living in Judea and Samaria should remain in a new state to be created on those lands, as opposed to the PA demand that they be allowed to find homes within all of Israel.

While Abbas also stressed his commitment to return to the negotiating table, he reiterated long-standing Arab demands that other Arabs be resettled in Israel, and not in any newly created Palestinian nation.

“The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is one of the most serious conflicts that require a solution,” Abbas said during his address. “I am fully convinced that despite all the difficulties, an atmosphere conducive to the resumption of the peace process exists, one that could lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

He added that a “just solution” must be found to solve the “refugee crisis,” stating that “refugees wishing to return to their homes … should be permitted to do so at the earliest practical date.”

Abbas stressed that a permanent resolution is necessary to end the long-standing conflict, as opposed to any temporary decisions, urging Israel to begin discussing issues of final border status and insisting on the Israeli borders of 1967 as a starting point.

“We have the road map, a road map that includes the Arab initiative as well as President Bush’s vision regarding the two-state solution,” Abbas said. “What is required now, in all honesty, is for us to trace the beginning and the end of this peace process.”

Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres also addressed the forum, expressing a vision of shared economic cooperation between Israel and the PA.

He said Israel and the Palestinians should work together alongside Jordan to stimulate foreign investment in the region.

Peres stated that Israel, Jordan and PA have already agreed in principle “to take the whole length of the frontier,” a 500 kilometer-long strip along the current Israeli-Jordanian border, “and convert it into an ongoing economic zone.”

“We cannot save the Dead Sea unless we do it together.

We cannot build new industry … unless we do it together,” Peretz added.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has already announced plans to gather the Quartet committed to Middle East peace (US, UN, European Union and Russia) in Washington D.C. at the beginning of February. She will return to the Middle East for a summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman Abbas, two weeks later.

Begin Jerusalem Post Excerpt

Abbas and Livni meet in Davos

Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST

January 26, 2007

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas implied on Friday there was a limit to how long he would persist with efforts to form a unity government with hardline Hamas militants, raising the possibility that he would move within weeks to call early elections if he fails.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said after meeting Abbas on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum that she and the Palestinian leader had tried to explore “any way to push the process.” But she suggested the road to peace would be long, with their meeting just one among many.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II told the forum that the need for progress was urgent because the Palestinian-Israeli standoff was at a “critical juncture.”

“We cannot afford to miss this opportunity,” Abdullah said, adding that the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation was a “firestarter” with vast potential to destabilize the region.

“I believe that time is running out” to solve the crisis, he said.

He said he hoped momentum would grow to restart talks after a meeting of the Quartet – the US, the European Union, Russia and the UN – in February in Washington.

Livni said, “The next big thing is the trilateral talks.” she said, referring to the planned meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Abbas and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sometime in the next month.

Abbas said he thought that meeting could move things forward.

“I think the Americans are really serious this time,” he said.
Abbas said he would give two or three weeks more to pursue unity talks with Hamas and would expect to move toward calling early Palestinian elections.

Abbas’s chief aide, Saeb Erekat, said that should not be interpreted as a hard deadline or as an attempt to press the negotiations with Hamas, which have been held up over the militant group’s refusal to disavow its call for the destruction of Israel.

Abbas was going from Davos to Spain, where he was expected to meet with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Late last year, Spain joined France and Italy in proposing a Middle East peace initiative that has earned a lukewarm reception from Israel and the Palestinians.

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