blog.Tribulationperiod.com

A Most Important Factor in Military Analysis of the Future War!

The Best Offense is a Great Defense!

I would advise you to hold on to this article for any future questions you may have concerning the missile scenarios of Iran, Syria, and Israel.

It is the best simplified description of the types

of hardware available in the arsenals of key Middle East countries.

April 15, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Some spectators have a difficult time following the players in a baseball game without a scorecard. It helps them to know what players the team manager has available for use in certain developing situations. Once the war gets under way in the Middle East it will be helpful to know who has what to throw against their enemy.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

Mr. Interception

Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST

April 1, 2007

The Green Pine radar system identifies the incoming Iranian Shihab-4 ballistic missile moments after it is launched.

With only minutes to spare, sirens wail throughout the country, sending the public into bomb shelters, while the Arrow ballistic missile defense system is automatically activated and an interceptor is launched from Palmahim air force base just north of Ashdod. Reaching speeds of up to Mach 7, the missile intercepts the Shihab outside the stratosphere after less than 60 seconds, thus preventing a nuclear attack.

This moment is what Arieh Herzog has been working up to for the past 40 years.

As head of the Homa Missile Defense Agency, it is up to Herzog to create the country’s defense against enemy missiles. With Iran racing toward nuclear bombs and investing unprecedented amounts of money in missile development, this is not an easy task.

In an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post, Herzog provides an inside look at the decision-making process behind Israel’s missile defense systems, led by the Israeli- and American-developed Arrow missile, one of the few operational ballistic missile defense systems in the world.

In the face of Iran’s unrelenting race to obtain nuclear power, maintained in defiance of the UN, Herzog’s job has never been more vital to the continued existence of the State of Israel. While the IDF Home Front Command recently drilled emergency services in a simulation of the aftermath of an Iranian missile strike, most senior officers are banking on the Arrow as the country’s last line of defense.

With Military Intelligence predicting that diplomatic efforts to stop Teheran’s r ace for the bomb will ultim

ately fail, senior defense officials believe that only a military strike will succeed in stopping or maybe even in just stalling the Iranian nuclear program.

Some even believe that the strike should take place at the earliest possible opportunity. What is for sure is that if Iran’s nuclear installations are bombed – by Israel or the US – Teheran would respond by firing its long-range Shihab missiles at Israel.

According to Herzog, 66, the Middle East is in the midst of an extraordinary missile race. Iran and Syria, he says, are investing unprecedented amounts of money in long-range ballistic missile capabilities – with the help of North Korea – and have all but forfeited attempts to build up a modern air force.

“The Iranians are continuously increasing the range of their missiles,” he says. “They are buying technology and in some cases are even buying complete systems from North Korea and other countries.”

This is where the recent batch of Arrow tests come in.

Last week, the IAF launched a modified version of the interceptor from Palmahim – the 16th test of the Arrow – which Herzog explains is made of components that are significantly cheaper and can reduce production costs by 20 percent, and is also better equipped to intercept incoming missiles.

Last month, the IAF conducted its first night test of the Arrow under extreme conditions relating to the altitude of the interception and the type of the target – a missile specially designed to impersonate an Iranian Shihab.

This is where Herzog’s job comes into play. He not only needs to oversee the continued development and upgrade of the Arrow but also

needs to foresee future threats.

“Our goal is to always be a step ahead of the developments of the Iranians and the Syrians,” he explains. “This is demonstrated by the different blocks of the system that we have developed since we define – years in advance – what is expected to be the future threat, and according to our assessment, we construct our multiyear program.”

Herzog further reveals that while there might be missile systems in Iranian hands that the Arrow cannot intercept, all of its “currently operational” ballistic missiles can be destroyed by the system.

IN 2002, HERZOG sat with Military Intelligence and the IAF and analyzed the status of the Iranian missile and nuclear programs. “The goal was to define,” he recalls, “what the character of the Iranian threat would be by the end of the decade.” At the time, he and his men worked from weak intelligence but, he claims, succeeded in accurately predicting the Iranian rate of progress on its missile program and developed the Arrow to meet not only current but also future threats.

“Our Arrow operational system can without a doubt deal with all of the operational threats in the Middle East, particularly in Iran and Syria,” he declares matter-of-factly.

A branch of the Defense Ministry’s Research and Development Directorate, Homa was established in 1991 and given a mandate to oversee the development, procurement and the integration of missile defense systems, once needed for crude Iraqi Scuds and now for advanced long-range Iranian Shihabs.

Herzog has had a long career in the defense establishment and worked for 30 years at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), where he served as head of the MABAT Division which develops space-based systems and technologies, before becoming head of Homa.

In addition to overseeing the development and production of the Arrow, he is also in charge of maintaining relations with the US Congress and administration to ensure that Israel’s security needs remain on their agenda. Today, 50 percent of financing for the Arrow comes from the US government.

While most of the Arrow’s components are made by IAI, Boeing supplies 35% of the Arrow’s main components and subsystems, including the warhead’s electrical system, the radar shell (radome), missile casing and electronic subsystems.

Israel’s first steps into the field of missile defense were taken in 1985, two years after US president Ronald Reagan launched his Star Wars missile defense initiative. Then, IAI began joint development with the Americans of a missile defense system called Arrow.

At the beginning, Herzog says, the Defense Ministry was not directly involved, but in the late 80s everything changed because of the immediate Iraqi ballistic missile threat.

Close to 20 years ago, the Arrow project was established to address the threat posed by the relatively crude Scud missiles, like the 39 Iraq fired into Israel during the Gulf War.

But as the project developed, the defense establishment was determined not to focus on past wars but

to look ahead to future threats including faster rockets launched from further away, possibly with multiple and nuclear warheads. Nearly $3 billion has already been invested in the system, with two-thirds coming from the US Missile Defense Agency.

While the Arrow is the country’s first line of defense against Iranian missiles, air force Patriot batteries – used during the Gulf War – serve as the backup interception system.

In the beginning, the Arrow project encountered some failures during testing. These hurdles were quickly overcome, and in 2000 Herzog reached his first milestone when the IAF declared “initial operational capability” upon delivery of the first Arrow battery. Since then, hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in the system, and the IAF – which already uses the Arrow 2 – is in the midst of developing a third and fourth block of the system.

Another project overseen by Homa and currently under development by Rafael – the Armament Development Authority – and the US-based Raytheon is called David’s Sling and is a missile defense system that is capable of intercepting the medium-range rockets plentiful among Israel’s neighbors. The system, Herzog says, could become operational by the end of the decade.

David’s Sling provides a solution to the Iranian-made Zelzal and Fajr – both in Hizbullah hands before the Second Lebanon War – as well as the Fatah 110 and 300-mm. and 220-mm.

Katyushas.

Another system – although not under Herzog’s responsibility – is called Iron Dome and is being developed to intercept short-range rockets like the Kassam and the Katyusha.

“In the end we need a solution, since these medium-range rockets have the same effect on a family in Haifa as the longer-range missiles do,” he says. “They have a range and destructive capabilities close to the Scud, but because of cost effectiveness, the current systems – Patriot and Arrow – are not appropriate and we needed to find something cheaper.”

ISRAEL FACES a number of immediate threats from missiles in the region. Firstly in Iran, the Islamic Republic has developed a series of long-range ballistic missiles called the Shihab which started as 1 and is now at 3D with an estimated range of 2,200 kilometers.

The Shihab 4 and 5 are liquid-propelled missiles that are still in planning stages and are supposed to be Iran’s first missiles capable of taking satellites into orbit. They will reportedly have a maximum range of close to 6,000 km. The technology for these missiles comes mostly from North Korea but also from Russia. Last April, OC Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin revealed that Iran had recently obtained North Korean BM-25 surface-to-surface missiles with a range close to 3,000 km and capable of reaching Europe armed with a nuclear warhead.

Syria’s missile array is made up mostly of Scud-class missiles, led by the D class rocket with a range of 700 km. Syria recently conducted a successful test of the Scud D which western sources say was developed with assistance from North Korea. Syria is also believed to have chemical warheads available for a portion of its Scud missile force.

With the missile threat looming and possibly closer than ever to materializing, Israel is interested in beefing up its defense systems. While declaring that the country has no intention of stopping Arrow development or production, Herzog admits that he recently submitted a request to the Pentagon to receive information on two US-made missile defense systems – the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense and Aegis.

The idea, he explains, is to be able to prepare the infrastructure for the possibility that they will be purchased by the IDF or be deployed here in time of war. Last month, US Army officers from the European Command were here for the Juniper Cobra exercise held every two years during which the two countries run missile defense simulations.

“Our main goal is to determine interoperability between the Arrow and the other systems,” Herzog says. “By this, we can guarantee that the systems will be interoperable and that a doctr

ine on how to use the systems together is in place.

The decision of whether to deploy the systems in Israel will need to be made on a diplomatic level between the two governments.”

He skirts the question of whether the US will deploy its missile defense systems here free of charge, as they did in the first Gulf War, but says that his recommendation is that the IAF buy the new upgraded version of the Patriot, called PAC-3. “This would definitely assist Israel and if there is a budget, it should be purchased,” he says, adding that for the time being it does not appear to be at the top of the IAF’s list of priorities.

Herzog is also in favor of selling the Arrow to allies. Both Turkey and South Korea have expressed interest. At the moment, however, a sale is not on the table and will only be made following a joint decision with the US.

Turning to the Second Lebanon War, Herzog says that an operational missile defense system against the short-range Katyusha – close to 4,000 pounded the North – could have changed the outcome.

“Active protection can dramatically reduce the number of casualties,” he says, adding that as a result the government benefits from better “diplomatic maneuverability.”

“If someone thinks that a large percentage of his missiles will be intercepted, he will think twice before attacking.”

Although he, like all Israelis, wishes for peace, he says practically, “As long as there is a threat we will need to protect ourselves.”

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Another Islamic Horn is growing into its Place in Antichrist’s Kingdom!

April 14, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Daniel 7:24-27 – 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 the 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. [26] But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. [27] And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (“Him” refers to the Messiah, the Son of man in 7:13,14)

Daniel 7:13,14 – I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. [14] And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

When a best selling book was written in the fifties about six emerging European Common Market nations, it began to cause many theologians to rapidly change their minds as to where the antichrist would eventually arise. Prior to that time most had believed he would arise out of the old Seleucid dynasty, which was formed by one of the generals who divided Alexander’s Grecian Empire into four sections.

Many believed the Assyrian, in the fifth chapter of Micah, would be the antichrist, and that he would arise in, and come out of, modern day Syria.

Before the European Common Market theory arose, a majority believed antichrist would come out of the southern half of the old Roman Empire, rather than out of the European northern half. But the great popularity of the aforementioned book ascended to the highest levels of acceptability, and previous beliefs were dwarfed to obscurity. The book indicated that the six original members of the Common Market would soon be joined by four other nations to reach ten, and then be joined by the eleventh horn, who would be the antichrist of Daniel’s fourth beast in chapter seven.

However, soon there were ten horns, then there were eleven, then more, then fifteen, and more continue to be added. But the astounding popularity of this book, and

the thousands of preachers and other teachers who have taught it, have left a legacy that is difficult to conv ince they might not be correct

in what they have taught, and are still teaching.

I have been concerned, since the book was first published, about the possibility it might cause many to be deceived when he does not arise in Europe, but in Syria. Quite frankly, I watch both

Europe and Syria just like a hawk, and, if I do see him rising in Europe, I most assuredly will accept it.

I am prepared for both. But many are so convinced he must come out of Europe, I doubt if anything would change their minds.

Daniel 7:23 – Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

The beast of Daniel 7:23 does indeed represent the old Roman Kingdom, and it certainly did tread down “the whole world,” that is, the “known” world of Daniel’s day. Have you ever thought that perhaps we were meant to take the expressions of Daniel’s day concerning the world, and believe that is the only part of the present world the antichrist will dominate completely? The ten horns will arise out of “the whole world” of Daniel’s day. But why do they have to be European nations? Were not Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, northern Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and northern Sudan part of the old Roman Empire under the Emperor Trajan? And are not these countries the descendants of Ishmael, the first son of Abraham, and Keturah’s six sons by Abraham, and the two sons of Abraham’s nephew Lot, Moab and Ammon by his two daughters? Are not these descendants of Abraham the ones who have hated and battled the sons of Abraham through Israel for many centuries? In any case, since I guesstimate Antichrist’s attack against Israel is likely to occur before the end of 2012, I expect to know where he will arise one way or the other in the next few years, that is, if I survive the grave before he arises.

I do not question that Europe will come down as part of the mass of many nations that join antichrist in Jerusalem for the final battle of Armageddon, but I am confident that the initial attack of the tribulation period will be by the Antichrist leading Islamic nations against Israel.

Begin Article Extracted from YNet News

300,000 rally against Turkish government

Secular Turks march to try to stop ruling AK Party from picking Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as their presidential candidate due to his Islamist roots

Reuters

April 14, 2007

Around 300,000 Turks marched on Saturday to try to stop the ruling AK Party from picking Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as their presidential candidate next week because of his Islamist

roots.

The AK Party has its background in political Islam, and a possible presidency headed by Erdogan has split this secular but predominantly Muslim country seeking European Union membership. “Turkey is secular and will remain secular forever,” shouted protesters as they waved national flags and banners of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, revered founder of the republic which separated religion and state.

Tens of thousands of people were bussed into the capital Ankara from across the country to attend the rally organised by a staunchly secularist association in Tandogan square, one of the biggest gatherings in recent years.

A police official told Reuters the figure of 300,000 protesters was being circulated on police radio. Some 10,000 police were on duty, but crowds were generally calm.

Many of the speeches attacked the United States and the European Union, calling on Turks to defend their country – echoing a rise in nationalism over the past year.

Thousands of people waving flags and clutching portraits of Ataturk also gathered at his mausoleum, a place where Turks seek solace in times of tension.

Turkey’s secular elite, which includes army generals and judges, fear Erdogan as president would try to undermine Turkey’s strictly secular state.

The AK Party has a big enough majority in parliament to elect Erdogan, or anybody else it chooses, to the seven-year post as head of state. The party is expected to name its candidate on April 18.

Parliament is due to vote in May.

“We’re warning the deputies in parliament. We’re worried that the secular character of Turkey will be removed if Erdogan or Bulent Arinc (AK Party member and parliament speaker) is elected president,” Said Huseyin Ozen, a retired teacher.

Erdogan denies any Islamist agenda and says he has broken with his past and is now a conservative democrat. Erdogan, who has presided over strong economic growth and the launch of EU entry talks, has not confirmed whether he will run. While he is Turkey’s most popular and charismatic politician, opinion polls suggest a majority of people in the country do not want him to become president.

Last stand

“We’re here to defend the republic. We’re here to defend the women’s rights which Ataturk gave to us … I hope Erdogan will not become president,” said Sanem Erdem, a 28-year-old shop owner.

Outgoing President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Friday the country’s secular system of government faced its gravest danger since the founding of the republic in 1923, in comments seen as a direct attack against the AK Party.

The stark warning from Sezer, ahead of polls that could give Turkey its first head of state with Islamist roots, came on the heels of similar remarks by the powerful army chief on Thursday. The army – the most respected institution in Turkey according to opinion polls – has ousted four governments from office in the past 50 years, most recently in 1997.

Analysts say the rally will be the last opportunity for secularists to pressure the AK Party to pick a compromise candidate for head of state, a seat which carries great symbolic weight in Turkey.

“The road to Cankaya (presidential palace) is closed to sharia (Islamic law),” a group of youths chanted at the rally in a reference to Islamic law practiced in many Muslim countries.

Erdogan and the AK Party stress they are faithful believers in secularism, which combines a strict separation of state and religion but also carries heavy undertones of nationalism and a strong central state.

Critics say efforts by the AK Party to remove a ban on Islamic-style headscarves, to expand religious Islamic teachings, appoint religiously minded members to senior positions in the Turkish bureaucracy and to ban alcoholic beverages from local municipalities point to the contrary.

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Hamas has not, is not, will not, and indeed cannot change its Ideology!

April 14, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

From my first contact with Iranian Shiites in the fifties, it was evident even then that if they practiced what they professed to believe, there could never be anything other that a deceitful false peace between the fanatical elements of Islam and the Jews. I was never able to develop any type of friendship with the Shiites. I know the vast majority of the Hamas are Sunni, but Hamas adopted the ideology of the Shiites.

I suppose if I had been taught from the cradle that the resurrection of the dead depended on the Christians killing the Jews, and came to think it was Allah’s truth, to the extent it became a living part of a heartfelt conviction, then any person who even imagined there was a chance I would make peace with the Jews, would be a bigger fool than myself. It is beyond my comprehension why Jews could possibly believe Hamas would ever keep any peace agreement with them.

Please consider the following article from Arutz Sheva to understand why I know Hamas is not going to keep any peace agreement with Israel. It must be very exasperating for the Israelis to know they can’t have peace with Hamas, Hizbullah, and Iran, and yet be surrounded by Western Peaceniks who keep telling them they can!

The problem I have encountered with peaceniks, in most cases, is their inability to understand the mindset of Islam from having lived among them. And I am also aware the majority of peaceniks have never read the Koran, but a few of those who have, advised me it is not what the Islamic faith actually practices. I must, in all honesty, confess I h

ave known quite a few Christians who have read the entire Bible, but rarely practice it.

However, modern day Christianity is not a forced religion, but for the Middle East Arab and Persian populations, it is enforced by family and state.

Romans 11:25 – For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Romans 11:32 – For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Jeremiah 30:7 – Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

Romans 11:26 – And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Revelation 16:15,16 – Behold, I come as a thief.

Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. [16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Dr. Ismail Radwan’s sermon in the following article reiterates classic Hamas ideology quite accurately.

And indeed it follows the teachings of the Koran and Islamic fanaticism.

This is why war, not a lasting peace, must eventually come to the Middle East to end the Age of the Gentiles by bringing in the fullness of its iniquity at Armageddon.

Begin Arutz Sheva Article

Hamas Issues Islamic Call for Genocide on PA Television

by Ezra HaLevi

April 13, 2007

(IsraelNN.com) – While Hamas has sought to strike a moderate tone in order to renew international funding since the Mecca Agreement with Fatah, it continues the calls for genocide of Jews.

In a recent sermon on PA TV, Hamas spokesman Dr. Ismail Radwan reiterated Hamas’s classic ideology that:

* The Hour – the Islamic resurrection and end of days – is dependent on the killing of Jews by Muslims.

* The remaining Jews will unsuccessfully attempt to hide, but the rocks and trees will expose them, calling out “there is a Jew behind me, kill him!”

* “Palestine… will be liberated through the rifle,” meaning that Israel will be destroyed through violence.

The Hamas spokesman ended his sermon with a prayer to Allah to “take” Israel and the USA.

The following is the full text of the Hamas spokesman’s call for genocide of Jews, translated by Palestinian Media Watch:

Hamas spokesman, Dr. Ismail Radwan (PA TV, March 30, 2007): “The Hour [Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, and the rock and the tree will say: ‘Oh, Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, kill him!’

“We must remind our Arab and Muslim nation, its leaders and people, its scholars and students, remind them that Palestine and the Al Aqsa mosque will not be liberated through summits nor by international resolutions, but it will be liberated through the rifle.

It will not be liberated through negotiations, but through the rifle, since this occupation knows no language but the language of force…

“O Allah, strengthen Islam and Muslims, and bring victory to your Jihad-fighting worshipers, in Palestine and everywhere… Allah take the oppressor Jews and Americans and their supporters!”

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Simple Simon met a High Tech Salesman, Going to the War.

Said Simple Simon to the Salesman, Let me buy your Wares. Now Simon Syria i s

not simple, because the Salesman was the Russian Bear!

April 13, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

The success of the 20,000 Syrian forces in the Operation Desert Storm War did not go unnoticed at the time, but most of the Western world has forgotten it.

Some continue to estimate Syria’s military capabilities with their 1991 potential to wage war.

The last 16 years has seen Syria get a wide array of high tech weaponry primarily from Russia, with loans from Iran to purchase a lot of it.

And, in last Summer’s stalemate between Hizbullah and Israel, the world got to see just the bottom rings of this new military hardware employed by Hizbullah in Lebanon.

To believe that Syria really desires true peace with Israel is actually a pipe dream from the poppy fields of Afghanistan. They want the Golan Heights back so they can more affectively control the battlefield tactics in the war they intend to eventually start with Israel.

The Jerusalem Post article, which follows, is an excellent analysis of the true motives and activities of Syria.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

Analysis: Don’t underestimate Syria’s military

Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST

April 12, 2007

While the Knesset heard about potential scenarios for reaching peace with Damascus on Thursday, senior defense officials warned of an unprecedented military buildup in Syria and said that prevailing in a war with Israel’s northeastern neighbor would not be as simple as some might have been led to believe.

Following the Second Lebanon War, IDF Military Intelligence noticed a change within the Syrian military. Syria feels empowered by Hizbullah’s surprising success last summer and Damascus now believes it can use Hizbullah-like tactics in a future confrontation with Israel and possibly even defeat the once-thought-to-be invincible IDF.

“For years we thought that the IDF had a clear upper hand over Syria’s military,” a top official told The Jerusalem Post.

“After the war in Lebanon we now know that this assumption was not accurate.”

Syria has emphasized missile development in recent months. According to Western sources, Syria has the ability to independently manufacture Scud missiles, and it has 300 of them deployed just north of the demilitarized zone in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.

A division of some 10,000 troops is responsible for operating the missiles, which include an small number of Scud D’s with a range of 700 kilometers and said to be capable of carrying nonconventional warheads. Syria has close to 30 launchers for its Scud missiles, according to foreign sources.

Syria keeps the projectiles in bunkers at several locations; most are in

a valley near Hama, where it has built a missile electronic and assembly facility.

Syria has a massive military divided into 12 divisions and totaling close to 400,000 soldiers at full mobilization.

One of the divisions is made up of 10,000 elite commandos, a formidable force that would serve as Syria’s first line in an offensive against the IDF.

Since the Second Lebanon War, Syria has established new commando units and is said to have increased urban and guerrilla warfare training.

“Syria saw the difficulty the IDF had during the fighting inside the southern Lebanese villages and now the military there wants to draw us – in the event of a war – into battles in built-up areas where they think they will have the upper hand,” explained a source in the IDF Northern Command.

Over the last year, the Syrian military has made only two major acquisitions: a number of advanced Russian anti-aircraft systems called Stretlets. It has not received new fighter jets, tanks or armored personnel carriers for a number of years.

According to Yiftah Shapir – a researcher with the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University – the Syrian military plans to use short-range Katyushas alongside the long-range ballistic Scuds in any future conflict with Israel.

“Syria was impressed by Hizbullah’s strategic success, with its use of small rockets and Israel’s inability to neutralize them,” Shapir said. “This is a weapon that is not traditionally used in conventional wars, but can be.”

While Ibrahim “Abe” Suleiman – the Syrian nati onal who appeared before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee

on Thursday – might be right in his prediction that peace between Israel and Syria is possible, war, officials said, was no longer impossible.

Both militaries have raised their level of alert along the border and while the IDF h as incre

ased its presence on the Golan Heights – mostly with troops who are training – the Syrians have also moved units as well as military infrastructure closer to the border.

In satellite images broadcast this week on CBN News in the US, reporter Chris Mitchell revealed Syria’s three major missile sites.

One site – referred to as the “heart” of Syria’s missile program – is in Hama, where a weapons factory is surrounded by more than 30 hardened concrete bunkers that house multiple launchers and missiles. In just minutes, experts said, these launchers could deliver more than a ton of nonconventional warheads anywhere in Israel.

Another missile site near Homs contains a previously undisclosed chemical warhead facility where a drive-through building leads to a facility where warheads are installed on ballistic missiles.

These images do not necessarily indicate that Syria plans to attack Israel, but they do send a clear message to the IDF and the Israeli leadership: Do not underestimate us.

End Jerusalem Post Article

The European and American publics are so anxious for peace in the Middle East they are grasping at wheat grains in the wind, stirred up by the ancient art of Syrian willowing, and some of the leading Democratic congressional leaders are frantically chasing these winds of deceit.

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Intellectually, some say there are No Absolutes!

April 12, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

I was informed during my University and Seminary years, by some very intelligent teachers I studied under, that “there are no absolutes!” I can understand why they made that statement, but I did come to believe in one “absolute” after I put my graduate years behind me. Ironically, as far as being able to academically validate it is an “absolute,” I cannot. And yet all of my anticipations of future events are based on this one “absolute” in perhaps all the universe. It is the Bible, the living word of the living God. My interpretations of it are not “absolute,” because I am quite fallible in my

interpretations of Scripture, but the Scriptures themselves are infallible.

I must confess that my belief in its “absolute” infallibility does make it a lot easier to draw “absolute” conclusions as to the certainty of some of the characteristics of future events in the Middle East. One of those “absolutes” is the impossibility of a genuine lasting peace coming to the Middle East prior to the Second Advent. Another “absolute” is that a peace will come to the Middle East before Messiah’s return, but it will be as phony as a three-dollar bill! Another “absolute” is that it will fool Israel and the rest of the unbelieving world, because when they declare they have obtained it, sudden destruction will come on them.

The Scriptures are not “absolute” as to whether the false peace will come in by negotiations, force, diplomacy, or a truce (hudna), only that it will come into place before Armageddon.

I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – 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. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Mark 13:34-37 – For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

[35] Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: [36] Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. [37] And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

I Thessalonians 5:5,6 – Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. [6] Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

I am a child of light, not of darkness, and I am wide awake to the events in the Middle East, which are crying out that the false peace is not too far away, at least not in the distant future.

When Israel’s Messiah came at his First Advent, Israel had strayed so far away from the absolute truths of God’s Word, that they could not “see” the Son of God visiting among them and, as children of darkness, they paid a terrible price. To “watch” implies knowing all one can know of him and his coming before he comes.

Luke 19:41-44 – And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, [42] Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. [43] For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, [44] And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Matthew 23:37-39 – O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto

you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Begin Voice of America (VOA) Article

Israel’s Parliament Reviews Unofficial Israel-Syria Talks

By Jim Teeple

Jerusalem

April 12. 2007

A Syrian-American businessman and a former senior Israeli diplomat briefed a high-level Israeli parliamentary committee Thursday about their efforts to revive Israeli-Syrian peace talks. VOA’s Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem that both say peace is possible between the countries.

Ibrahim Suleiman, a Syrian-American businessman with close ties to Syria’s leadership, and Alon Liel, the former director general of the Israeli foreign ministry briefed the influential Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about the prospects for peace with Syria. After their talks, they told reporters they believe Israel and Syria could conclude a peace agreement in six months.

Suleiman and Liel held eight rounds of Swiss-brokered unofficial talks over the past three years.

Both men say the talks took place with the knowledge and approval of senior officials in both countries. Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has downplayed the talks, saying Suleiman does not speak for the Syrian government, but Knesset members invited him to Israel to explain Syria’s position. Suleiman says Syria is ready for peace with Israel.

“Syria is ready to talk peace right now,” he said. “I am convinced that Bashar Assad [Syria’s leader] is very sincere and

very realistic in his talk. He wants to talk peace with Israel. Israel, please answer him. Talk peace to him.”

Israel and Syria held multiple rounds of peace talks brokered by officials in the Clinton administration, but the talks collapsed in 2000 over the issue of who would control the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Israel captured the area along with the Golan Heights in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

During their unofficial talks, Suleiman and Liel drew up a plan for Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights, and for Syria to stop its support for Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas. Under their plan the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee would be turned into a park that could be used by both Syrians and Israelis. The two say they submitted the plan to their respective governments, but received no response. Alon Liel says he doubts if further progress can be made unless Syria scales back its ties with Iran, but if Syria does that, peace talks could be revived.

“Nobody can speak on an exact timetable, but the feeling is that we were very close twice already on the official bilateral level,” he said. “I think we are even closer today with the ideas we created in our channel.”

Israel’s government had no official comment on today’s meeting.

Unofficial talks between Israelis and their Arab neighbors are nothing new.

Similar talks between Israelis and Palestinians in the early 1990s led to direct talks resulting in the 1993 Oslo Peace Accord.

End VOA Article

Remember the “absolutes” – There cannot be a true peace, only a brief false peace, but the “way” it will come in is not an “absolute,” So, just WATCH!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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. Secti on 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.