blog.Tribulationperiod.com

Welcome Wagon Weekend in Syria – Is there a False Peace Prize

?

January 24, 2007

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There has been a steady flow and series of meetings in Syria, involving Fatah, Hamas, Syrian, and Iranian representatives for the past several days, as I have

been reporting in previous Blogs.

There is currently a meeting going on between delegations from Iran’s House of Parties, the Syrian ruling Baath Party, and the Nation Progressive Front of Syria.

I strongly suspect the terrorist nations, sponsoring and headquartering the many terrorist groups, are finally beginning to plan a way to lull Israel into a false sense of security.

If I am correct, then more secret meetings will be held behind closed doors between Iran, Syria, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al-Aksa Martyr’ s Brigade

s, Hezbollah, the Shiite Madhi terror group in Iraq, and al-Qaeda, during the course of this year.

There have been so many reports of secret negotiations between Israel, Syria, and Fatah, that it reminds me of times in the NSA when the Head Shed knew something top secret was going on, and the rest of us, out in the compartments, were trying

to second guess them as

to what it was they knew, while we were in

the dark.

I have stated repeatedly for 30 years – WATCH THE TERRORIST GROUPS – when they all stop their activities against Israel, I can assure you it will be because of secret meetings behind closed doors, and it will be the time that fulfills I Thessalonians 5:3.

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.

Quite frankly, my guesstimate of a united Jihad attack occurring at some point in time between 2008 and 1012 is looking better and better as a reasonable estimate.

Begin Teheran Times Article

Delegation from Iran’s House of Parties arrives in Syria

Teheran Times

January 24, 2007

DAMASCUS (IRNA) — A delegation from Iran’s House of Parties headed by Ayatollah Hossein Mussavi-Tabrizi arrived in Syria Monday evening to hold talks with senior members of the country’s political parties.

The delegation, comprising a number of representatives from different Iranian political parties, arrived in Damascus at the invitation of Syrian ruling Baath Party.

It was welcomed at Damascus airport by Iran’s Ambassador to Syria Ghazanfar Roknabadi and a number of senior officials of Syrian political parties.

The Iranian delegation is scheduled to meet with officials of Baath Party and the National Progressive Front of Syria.

Speaking to reporters upon arrival at the airport, Mussavi Tabrizi expressed hope that the visit would further promote Tehran-Damascus ties in all fields.

He stressed that closer political bonds between Tehran and Damascus was necessary in dealing with foreign and international challenges facing the two states as they shared joint security as well as political and economic interests.

End Teheran Times Article

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A Subdued Horn Plucking!

January 23, 2007

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Daniel 7:8 – I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Daniel 7:24,25 – And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from t

he first, and he shall subdue three kings. [25] And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

I have long believed that one day Lebanon would become one of the horns in the territory once occupied by the fourth beast of Daniel.

I do believe the preparations are now being made to eventually pluck up by the roots, both its ruler and democratic sovereignty, when the antichrist finally surfaces to public view.

I believe the two other Islamic nations, who will have their rulers and sovereignty plucked up by the roots by the antichrist, are Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

I am simply saying that I believe the “three” represented in Daniel 7:8 and 24 are most likely Lebanon, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, with other possibilities being Jordan, Libya, Sudan, and Kuwait. I have given my reasons for these choices in several previous Blogs.

The current uprising of Hezbollah and some Christian groups, against the existing democratically elected government of Lebanon, is setting the state for an eventual coup in Lebanon. At the time of this report in the Jerusalem Post Article, which follows, the casualty count was one dead and 60 hurt.

By the time this particular coup attempt is finished, I do expect the casualty count to climb into double figures on the number killed, and the number injured

will leap into the hundreds.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

One dead, 60 hurt in Lebanon clashes

AP and JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST

January 23, 2007

One person was killed and dozens more wounded in clashes between government supporters and pro-Hizbullah demonstrators throughout Lebanon on Tuesday.

Opposition protesters paralyzed Lebanon by burning tires and cars at major thoroughfares in the capital and its approaches to enforce a general strike that aims to topple the government.

Clustering in small groups to man the blazing roadblocks, opposition supporters escalated their nearly two-month protest. Commuters were stranded and an eery silence hung over many commercial districts.

As a result, at least seven international flights to Beirut have been cancelled.

Violence was reported involving stone throwing, fist fights and even firing of guns.

Police said 14 people sustained gunshot wounds in disturbances between opposition supporters and pro-government activists in central and northern Lebanon. Michel Aoun, a senior opposition leader, told Al-Arabiya television that the seven wounded were opposition members.

Several people were injured in scuffles in neighborhoods of Beirut as well as in central, eastern and northern Lebanon.

In Israel, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Tzahi Hanegbi expressed concerned over the developments in Beirut, saying the opposition’s attempt to overthrow Sinora’s government could enflame the region, following a period relative calm following the summer’s war.

“We are talking about an Iranian and Syrian attempt to topple the legally elected government,” Hanegbi said.

Police and troops deployed in the thousands across the country worked to open roads, sometimes negotiating with protesters, but they refrained from using force. In some instances, the military separated the two opposing sides who scuffled and exchange insults and stones or charged the crowds, managing to open some roads.

Troops brandishing automatic rifles and batons kept hundreds of people from each side separated and away from motorists, and made few arrests on the coastal highway north of Beirut near the Christian port city of Jounieh.

Shots were fired in the air, apparently by security forces to disperse the crowds.

Hizbullah chief Sheik Hassan Nasrallah and other opposition leaders called for the strike that was backed by labor unions. Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and his supporters urged Lebanese to ignore the call, a move endorsed by banking associations and business leaders.

Soldiers and firefighters moved in to remove the obstacles, but black clouds could be seen billowing into the air around the capital and on major highways in testament to their limited success.

Witness accounts and television footage suggest that the opposition had shut down many neighborhoods and suburbs of the capital, Beirut, as well as areas around the country. Nonetheless, Beirut Mayor Abdel-Munim Ariss, put on a brave face, telling Al-Arabiya television that the city was functioning normally.

Many workers stayed home, either in support of the strike or simply fearing violence. Some schools which had earlier said they were open sent mobile text messages to parents announcing closures because of the unrest.

Blazing roadblocks cut off the road to Beirut international airport and

the highway linking Beirut with the mountains and the road to Damascus, the Syrian capital.

Aviation officials said the country’s only international airport was operating as normal, albeit with fewer staff.

The director general of Civil Aviation, Hamdi Shawq, told Al-Arabiya that the airport was working, but passengers were having difficulty reaching and leaving it by road.

Five flights arrived at the airport, six others left but another seven flights were canceled.

Government officials described the disturbances as an attempted coup.

“It is one of the chapters of the putsch,” said Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh said of the opposition action. “This will fail as in the past, and the legitimate government of Lebanon will remain steadfast,” he told Al-Arabiya television. In another television interview, he called the protesters “thugs.”

Another Cabinet minister, Ahmed Fatfat, expressed concern that there would be more violence between the rival sides.

“The opposition is attempting a coup by force … This is not a strike. This is military action, a true aggression and I’m afraid this could develop into clashes between citizens,” Fatfat, the youth and sports minister, told Al-Arabiya.

End Jerusalem Post Article

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I Have Held the Position Ex-IDF Chief Yaalon Holds for 58 Years!

January 23, 2007

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I read this article by Hillel Fendel from Israel Nation News Arutz Sheva with great joy, because I have held the position Ex-IDF Chief Yaalon holds since 1948. Because I am a Christian I believe the outcome the Bible predicts for the Israeli-Islamic final conflict in the Middle East, so I know that a majority will not agree with the conclusions Yaalon has expounded in the Arutz Sheva release. Israel will continue to make all sorts of concessions to their enemies, but to no avail, and in the end will pay a terrible price for having done so.

However, it is so very refreshing to read an article that tells it like it is by a military man who knows the folly of concessions to Islam.

Begin Arutz Sheva Article

Ex-IDF Chief of Staff: Israeli Concessions Won´t Help

Arutz Sheva, National News Net

By Hillel Fendel

January 22, 2007

“An end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not solve the problems of the Middle East,” Yaalon says. “Israeli concessions will only strengthen extremist Islam.”

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference today, the former Chief of Staff said, “Conventional wisdom has it that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will bring stablity to the Middle East. It is also widely felt that the core problem is Israel’s occupation [of Judea and Samaria] and that a two-state solution will solve the 100-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

“These two mistaken assumptions,” Yaalon said, “do not allow a new type of thinking that can truly solve the problem.”

The Palestinians have no interest in a two-state solution with Israel, Yaalon said: “They have never agreed to any partition of the land. They objected to the Peel Commission’s proposal in 1937, and to the UN’s plan in 1947, and again in 2000 in Camp David. Arafat’s rejection then of Ehud Barak’s generous offer [of 95-98% of Judea and Samaria] and the war he launched instead showed that his goal was to prevent a two-state solution and, especially, the recognition of Israel… The fact that Kassams continue to fly from Gaza also prove this… Hamas has made it quite clear as well: they are interested in one Arab state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.”

Similarly, he said, “The objective of Hizbullah is not the liberation of southern Lebanon – but rather the destruction of Israel… World War

III is currently underway; a clash of civilizations between the West and radical extremist Islam. Al-Qaeda did not arise because of Israel, and the State of Israel was not yet around when the Muslim Brotherhood was formed [in 1928]…”

“Therefore,” Yaalon said, “in my opinion, a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not bring calm to the Middle East… The lack of an authoritative Palestinian leadership

that is capable or willing to implement a two-state solution, and the fact that an entire young Palestinian generation is being brought up on hatred and death, shows that the two-state paradigm is not relevant now, if at all.”

Listeners to public taxpayer-supported Israel Radio were prevented from hearing Yaalon’s words, as broadcaster Gabi Gazit cut off the

broadcast after three minutes. Gazit said he would return to the speech if Yaalon said something more “actual and hot.” On the other hand, Gazit “allowed” the broadcast of the left-wing speech of Defense Minister Amir Peretz nearly in its entirety.

“We have experienced too many golden calves in the past years,” Yaalon said, “that were supposed to give us hope and provide quick solutions. What we need is leadership that will give true solutions, not spins.”

Among these quick-fix “golden calves” was, presumably, Ariel Sharon’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and northern Shomron. Yaalon was replaced at the IDF helm by Sharon and Defense Minister Mofaz shortly before the Disengagement, after Yaalon said the withdrawal would strengthen terrorism.

“Unilateral Israeli concessions will only strengthen Islamic Jihad and terrorism,” Yaalon emphasized again today.

“International pressure upon Israel for further concessions, or unilateral Israeli withdrawals, are seen as weakness and will only encourage them to continue to attack Israel and the West.”

Regarding Iran, the former IDF head said that we must stop thinking in terms of an immediate solution, and rather seek a long-range approach: “There is no choice other than a conflict with the Iranian regime. The entire world must understand that the Iranian problem is not a local one, and that the transfer of technological and financial means to Iran must be stopped immediately… Those who do not prevent the transfer of these means are bringing the conflict closer.

The Syrian and Iranians must be punished by the world; they pushed Hizbullah to war but were not punished.”

Regarding Israel’s preparedness for the recent war in Lebanon, Yaalon said, “The problems were not in the soldiers or the equipment, but rather a failure of military and political leadership.

With the upcoming changes of personnel, I am confident that the army will return to itself very quickly.”

Asked about his own role in Israel’s lack of sufficient preparedness for the war – Yaalon was Chief of Staff from 1992 to 1995 – he said that he will be happy to answer this question after he testifies on the matter before the Winograd Commission. The commission, headed by former Tel Aviv District Court Justice Eliyahu Winograd, is investigating the events and preparations leading up to the summer’ s Lebanon War.

End Arutz Sheva Article

I agree with this article completely, but it will not be heeded. The only kind of pe ace th

at can come to Israel at the present time is a temporary false peace. However, after Messiah returns, the Canaanites will be driven out of Israel, and there will finally be a true peace in Israel.

Micah 5:5-7 – And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. [6] And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

[7] And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

(Please Review Archive Prophecy Updates 66 and 67 for a Full Exposition of verses 5 & 6)

Zechariah 14:16-21 – And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. [17] And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

[18] And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. [19] This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment

of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. [20] In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. [21] Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and IN THAT DAY THERE SHALL BE NO MORE THE CANAANITE in the house of the Lord

of hosts. (Please See Archive Prophecy Update Number 136)

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Staving off a possible attack on Iranian Nuclear Facilities!

January 22, 2007

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Iran has been working to achieve several goals, but the two foremost at present are: (1) To protect their nuclear facilities

from destruction by aerial assault by America or Israel, and (2) To continue to prepare for the future Jihad against Israel they believe must occur, by continuously equipping, training, and motivating their forces and allies to be better trained, both in-country and across the Middle East. It has cost them dearly by depletion of their oil revenues in paying for accomplishment of these two goals. The sanctions imposed recently against Iran, though very weak in character, have further aided the downward slide of the Iranian economy. The pouring out of Iranian funding to Syria, Hamas, and Hizbollah must slow, but it has already met most

of its objective.

Because of the downhill plunge of the Iranian economy, it i s po

ssible the prediction in the following Jerusalem Post article may come to fruition. However, if the Chief Ayatollah should soften his nuclear stance, it will not mean that Iran will no longer have the same two major goals, only that they will proceed toward them at a slower rate.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

Ayatollah seeks softer Nuclear Stance

JPost.com Staff and AP, THE JERUSALEM POST

January 21, 2007

Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is considering softening his country’s defiant stance on the Iranian nuclear program in face of immense pressure from Western powers, the London-based Sunday Times reported.

According to the report, sources close to the Ayatollah favor the appointment of a more moderate team for international negotiations regarding the supervision of Iran’ s nuclear facilitie

s.

The move would come amid rising opposition within Iran to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hawkish and often confrontational methods of challenging the West’s position on Iranian nuclear development.

Khamenei, who has final say over Iran’s foreign policy, security and armed forces, is considering a proposal which would allow an international group made up of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to oversee and monitor the nuclear program, the report stated.

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad on Sunday defended his economic policies from domestic criticism and said recent UN Security Council sanctions would never deter the country from pursuing its nuclear program.

“The (UN) resolution was delivered dead.

Ten more similar resolutions will not affect our economy and our policy,” t he president said in a speech broacast live on state-run television as

he delivered a budget for the new year.

“Falsely, they want to imply that we have had costs in this regard,” the president said – an apparent reference to recent news stories in the West that prices of food and other basics have risen in Iran since the UN sanctions were imposed in late December.

Earlier Sunday, Iranian state-run television reported that Iran plans three days of military maneuvers, including short-range missile tests, beginning Sunday – its first since the UN Security Council imposed sanctions against it in late December.

“The elite Revolutionary Guards plans to begin a three-day missile maneuver on Sunday near Garmsar city,” said the broadcast. The city is located in northern Iran on the edge of Kavir desert, about 100 kilometers southeast of Tehran.

“Zalzal and Fajr-5 missiles will be test fired in the war game,” the television quoted an unnamed commander of the guards, as saying. Both are considered short-range missiles.

“The maneuver is aimed at evaluating defensive and fighting capabilities of the missiles,” the commander was quoted as saying.

Iran conducted a total of three large-scale military exercises last year as tensions with the West and the United States rose.

End Jerusalem Post Article

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Iranian Oil Revenue Backing makes Russia Richer, Syria Stronger, and Iran Poorer!

January 22, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

With the promise of financial backing by Iranian oil revenues, Syria has loaded up on massive amounts of high tech weaponry purchases from Russia. With every passing month Syria is becoming militarily stronger and much better prepared to wage a successful war against Israel.

Russia is getting richer and Syria is getting stronger. Both are draining Iran of its revenues received by oil exports, primarily to China. When now-President Ahmadinejad was running for the office, he promised to lift

the economic status of the poor families in Iran. His economic plans have done quite the opposite, and Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not at all pleased with the situation.

I have a strong suspicion the tremendous outflow of oil revenues from the Iranian economy, with no return, is going to stagger “the man in the street’s” lifestyle to no small degree.

As a result, I expect the head shed religious leaders of Iran, both moderate and conservative, to put a lid on the President’s fanatical war rhetoric and international threats, at least until some progress is made to improve the poor working man’s lot in the Iranian economy. The sanctions imposed by the international group of nations, as weak as they were, have damaged an economy already hit hard by oil profit revenue outflow, and this might lead Iran’s religious leaders to make the President allow some form of new international nuclear inspections.

Begin DEBKAfile Report

Syrian Armed Forces Revamped

January 15, 2007, 4:40 PM (GMT+02:00)

15 January: The Syrian army has begun striking out in new directions for the first time since Bashar Asad succeeded his father as president seven years ago, DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military sources reveal.

Two new mechanized divisions are under construction. When they are completed in the coming spring, the Syrian armed forces will consist of 12 divisions – five deployed opposite Israel on the Golan, of which 3 are in forward positions facing Israeli troops and tanks and 2 further back on call as reinforcements should war erupt.

Two armored divisions are stationed outside the Syrian towns of Homs and Der’a; the Republican Guard division 569 is permanently assigned to securing the ruling Asad family in Damascus; an infantry division is posted on the Syrian-Turkish border and ano

ther on the Syria-Iraq frontier.

Hafez Asad’s military doctrine was based on Syria being too poor in money and technology to maintain modern air and naval forces; it must therefore rely on a very strong anti-air defense system based on large quantities of medium range missiles, mostly Soviet Scuds-B, -C and –D, equipped with chemical and biological warheads.

These missiles are capable of reaching every densely-populated corner of Israel.

When Asad the younger assumed power in June 2000, he more or less adhered to his father’s military concept with two important exceptions:

He signed a mutual defense pact with Iran binding each country to come to the aid of the other against an external aggressor.

The pact covered a merger between the Syrian and Iranian military industries, including Syria’s missile factories (the biggest is an underground facility near the northern town of Homs). Syria thus procured advanced missile technology from Iran.

Asad’s second project was to develop commando units for penetrating Israel’ s home front in the even of a war with the Jewi

sh state. Ten of these battalions have been created.

But the Israel-Hizballah war of summer 2006 was the Syrian ruler’s real eye-opener.

He saw the legendary IDF fail to subdue the enemy; Hizballah pounding northern Israel’s towns and villages day after day and forcing one million Israelis

to abandon their homes. And he saw Hizballah using anti-tank rockets with devastating effect against advancing Israeli armored forces regardless of steady Israeli air bombardment.

The Syrian army has consequently undergone fundamental changes in weaponry and self-perception:

1. Its high command has been freed of its long sense of military inferiority to the IDF, despite Israel’s considerable strength.

2. There will therefore be far less inhibitions in the way of retaliating for Israeli military attacks, big or small, against Syrian territory. This freedom from restraint could also apply to Israeli spy planes penetrating Syrian air space.

3. Syria is preparing its army, especially the commando battalions, for such reprisals to take the form of cross-border operations.

4. S ince the second half of November, 2006, small special units of 10-12 men are

in training as terrorist teams for strikes inside Israel, starting with the Israeli Golan.

5. Anti-tank rockets have been introduced as standard equipment in all units down to company level.

6. In Moscow last month, the Syrian president signed a big arms deal with Russia.

7. He was taken round a base near Moscow for a display of the latest Russian anti-air missiles. In particular, he exam ined the S-300PMU2 FAVORIT system, which is designed to defend strategic facilities and armed forces aga

inst attack by modern aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles in heavy ECM environments.

This air defense system is equipped with 30N6E2 fire-control radar, a 96L6E target acquisition and designation radar, eight 5P85SE launchers and 48N6E2 missiles with a range of 200km against aircraft and 40 km against ballistic missiles.

The system can engage six targets simultaneously with 12 missiles.

DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military experts describe this as a highly sophisticated, extremely expensive piece of hardware. Each battery costs $600 million.

Our sources report that before he left, Assad clinched a deal with Moscow to purchase this system on credit from Iran as part of Tehran’s arms transactions with the Russians.

This is worrisome news indeed. It will place in the radical Asad regime’s hands a strategic weapon capable not only of downing Israeli planes while still in Israeli air space, but also US and European aircraft taking off from carriers in the eastern Mediterranean.

End DEBKAfile Report

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