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Iran, Hizbullah, and Syria Seeking Blood Vengeance!

February 16, 2008

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Although I do not expect the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh to lead to a major Middle East War this year, there is no question that Syria, Hizbullah, and Iran are in serious consultations as to how far they can go in retaliation against Israel without giving her justification before the international community to knock out Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran does not want a major Middle East war until she has a sufficient arsenal of mounted deterrent nuclear warheads.

Iran does not want a nuclear war. She wants a conventional war where she has a definite numerical advantage. I do guesstimate Iran will be ready to start a major Middle East war at some point in time between 2010 and 2015, which will end at the battle of Armageddon, some three and one-half years following its initiation.

Proverbs 29:10 – The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.

Mughniyeh was a very bloodthirsty man who hated, and shed the blood of hundreds of just souls, in his acts of ungodly terrorism.

In stark contrast is the man Christ Jesus, who Islam proclaims is not the Son of God. He did not shed any man’s blood, but allowed his blood to be shed as a living sacrifice for the salvation of all the souls, who would come to his Father by faith in his sacrifice as the complete offering for all their sins.

I Corinthians 1:18 – For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

I Peter 2:24 – Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Hebrews 7:24-27 – But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. [25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. [26] For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; [27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

Soon he will return, and those who have denied him as the living Son of God will perish at the hand of the one who died that they would not be required to suffer such a fate. He is indeed the only God, and he is most assuredly the God of grace and mercy, but he is also the God of justice.

Revelation 19:13-21 – And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

[14] And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

[15] And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. [16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

[17] And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; [18] That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. [19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. [20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

[21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

The two articles which follow give credence to the genuine seriousness the horrific bomb assassination of Mughniyeh’s has created, and vengeance against Israel and America is more than just a possibility.

Begin Jerusalem Post Extract from Lebanese Daily A-Saphir

Lebanese daily: Hizbullah raises alert

Hizbullah has raised its alertness in southern Lebanon to a “high level” following Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s threat to avenge Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh’s assassination on Tuesday, which Nasrallah claimed Israel was responsible for.

According to the Lebanese newspaper, A-Saphir, Hizbullah has positioned roughly 50,000 “fighters” along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Hizbullah also evacuated several political and social headquarters, the report said.

The report also said that the American embassy in Lebanon had put its staff on alert, and that all American officials in the area had been asked to be more careful and vigilant in general.

Begin DEBKAfile REport

Iran and Israel Poised for Possible Military Clash over Mughniyeh’s Death

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report

February 16, 2008, 2:53 PM (GMT+02:00

Tehran is bent on avenging the death of its top terror tactician Imad Mughniyeh who was struck down by a bomb planted in his car in Damascus Tuesday, Feb.

13. Even before the high-ranking Iranian military investigation team, headed by Gen.

Ghassem Soleimani, chief of the IRGC’s al Qods Brigades, began a rush job the next day, Israel was singled out as the target for punishment by Iran, Hizballah and Syria.

Syria also launched a probe to identify the long arm which hit the shadowy master terrorist under the noses of its security services.

Some of the theories and rumors swirling around these probes were planted to muddy the waters by Iran, Syria, Hizballah, Israel and some Lebanese quarters.

Arab newspapers, for instance, claimed Saturday that new leads link Arab intelligence services to the crime; ex-Israeli undercover agents pointed the finger at Lebanese Christian Maronites.

An intriguing conspiracy theory emanating unexpectedly from Western sources was suggested by the veteran CNN correspondent Jim Clancy.

In his view, Mughniyeh, the consummate master of deception, may still be alive. Others took the theory further and suggested his death may have been fabricated to provide Iran, Syria and Hizballah with a strong casus belli to attack Israel without further delay, and so repeat the Arabs’ Yom Kippur success 35 years ago in catching Israel unawares.

According to this line of thinking, because Iran is forging ahead with the development of a nuclear weapon which Israel has said is unacceptable, rather than wait for Israel to strike, the clerical rulers of Tehran resolved on preemptive action.

Mughniyeh’s death, real or phony, provided the motive.

DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources have gleaned some facts from the early stages of the highly secretive inquiries and separated them from the theories.

1. Tehran, Damascus and Hizballah are determined to inflict military-terror punishment on Israel whom they accuse of liquidating their key agent, Imad Mughniyeh.

Most Israeli government spokesmen see this attack coming in the form of a terrorist strike against an Israeli or Jewish target overseas, on the lines of the 1992 bombing attacks on the Israeli embassy and Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires which cost more than 100 lives. Nonetheless, the army, navy, air force and homeland defense forces are on a high state of preparedness on Israel’s northern borders.

Hizballah announced Saturday, Feb. 16, that it had placed 50,000 of its members on the ready for any eventuality (i.e. directives from Tehran). Personnel at the US embassy and other institutions in Beirut were ordered to be on their guard for attacks, keep a low profile and refrain from using their cell phones.

2. Iran’s supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave the order for Tehran to take charge of the inquiry to identify the hand which killed Mughniyeh, according to our Iranian sources.

No time was lost in obeying him. Wednesday, Feb. 14, hours after the assassination, a military mission was in Damascus, led by Gen. Soleimani, whose al Qods Brigades are responsible on behalf of the IRGC for Iran-sponsored terrorist operations in Iraq, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Its other members are Adm.

Mohammad Fadavi, Dep. Commander of the IRGC Navy, who set up the near-clash between Iranian speedboats and US warships in the Strait of Hormuz in January; and Gen. Morteza Rezai, former chief of the IRGC intelligence branch.

3. DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources add that the appointment of Soleimani, a close crony of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to lead this sensitive mission, confirms the president’s dominance in national operational decisions, in concert with the Revolutionary Guards. Their decisions are submitted to Khamenei for final endorsement.

Two people, therefore, Ahmadinejad and Khamenei, will determine the nature and scale of Iran’s retaliation for the loss of its high-value master terrorist and strategist.

4. Soleimani’s preliminary report reveals that the damage was worse than first thought. Not only was Mughniyeh killed by the bomb planted in his car but also some of his bodyguards and senior Hizballah operatives.

Syria’s secret services have fallen down completely in guarding Iranian officials and officers resident or visiting their capital.

5. The national team directing Israel’s emergency actions was set up without publicity. Our sources disclose it is headed by the Mossad chief Meir Dagan and composed of prime minister Ehud Olmert, defense minister Ehud Barak, chief of staff Gaby Ashkenazi, and Shin Beit director Yuval Diskin. The only hint of Dagan’s key role came with the announcement Friday, Feb. 16, that his term of office as head of the Mossad had been extended for another year until the end of 2009.

Many will take this announcement as an indirect admission of the Mossad’s responsibility for killing the Hizballah commander and a reward for its director.

The Iranian and Israeli teams, keeping their cards close to their chests, are tensely watching events, poised to seize control of any unforeseen situation before it gets out of hand. Four days after Mughniyeh’s death, a military clash appears unavoidable.

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WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND!

February 16, 2008

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Hajj Imad Mughniyeh was a cold blooded, ungodly, Islamic fanatical terrorist, who for more than 20 years was successful in escaping capture by the free world, while becoming the darling of the Muslim

world with each new blood letting episode.

Justice is sometimes a long time in coming to the ungodly, but it always does, in this life or the life to come.

Revelation 13:9,10 – If any man have an ear, let him hear. [10] He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Revelation 6:9-17 – And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: [10] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? [11] And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. [12] And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; [13] And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. [14] And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

[15] And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; [16] And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: [17] For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Begin Asian Times On Line Article

Death of Hezbollah kingpin: A war

awaits

By Ehsan Ahrari

February 15, 2008

Those who live by the sword must die by the sword.

Imad Mughniyeh must have known the adage, and now he, like all of his alleged victims, has met a violent death, of all places, in Syria, where he was hiding because that was perceived to be the safest place for him.

The 45-year-old Mughniyeh was said to be one of Hezbollah’s top security strategists and high on America’s list of wanted “terrorists”. His last reported public appearance was at his brother Fuad’s funeral in 1994 in Beirut.

Mughniyeh was killed by a car bomb in Damascus on Tuesday in an up-market district that houses an Iranian school, a police station and a Syrian intelligence office, Hezbollah announced on Wednesday.

Hezbollah immediately accused Israel of assassinating Mughniyeh, who led the group’s security network dur ing the 1975-90 civil war

in Lebanon. He was reportedly targeted by the Israelis for many years, while the Americans had a US$5 million award for information leading to his arrest.

“After a life full of jihad, sacrifices and accomplishments … Hajj Imad Mughniyeh … died a martyr at the hands of the Israeli Zionists,” Hezbollah said. “The martyr had been a target for Zionists for 20 years.”

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office responded in a brief statement, “Israel rejects the attempts of terror elements to attribute to Israel any involvement.”

The United States was explicit in expressing satisfaction at his death. According to State Department’s spokesman Sean McCormack, “The world is a better place without this man in it. He was a cold-blooded killer, a mass murderer and a terrorist responsible for countless innocent lives lost. One way or another, he was brought to justice.”

Among other acts, Mughniyeh had been accused of involvement in the 1983 bombings of the US Embassy and US Marine and French paratrooper barracks in Beirut, which killed more than 350 people, as well as the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and the kidnapping of Westerners in Lebanon during the 1980s.

The world may be a better place, but the chances of another outbreak of violence between Hezbollah and Israel have escalated by more than a few notches.

Mughniyeh had a shady background throughout his adult existence.

He was born in poverty, but no one knows for sure whether in Lebanon or Iran.

It is unlikely it will ever become known who is responsible for his death, but that is of the least consequence.

What is important is that, even though the Hezbollah-Israeli hot war of July-August 2006 is officially over, that war continues. Israel cannot get over the fact that its conventional deterrence – that pretty much established to the Arab world, through the 1967 and 1973 wars, that the Israeli armed forces were invincible – was seriously jeopardized in 2006. The best-equipped forces in the Middle East could not eradicate the Hizbollah.

After the ceasefire, neither Hezbollah nor the Israelis has ceased preparations for the next skirmish, except that the next round is likely to be bloodier and more destructive than the one in 2006.

Not too many authoritative volumes can be expected to be written on the Hezbollah-Israeli war of 2006; however, persons of Mughniyeh’s background must have played a crucial role in it – he was Hezbollah’s head of special operations. In that capacity, he must have had a role in the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers that ignited the war.

To understand the significance of Mughniyeh to Hezbollah, the following comment is pertinent. It was made to Anthony Shadid of the Washington Post by Ali Hassan Khalil, who is a member Parliament with Amal, another Shi’ite Muslim group allied with Hezbollah, “This is a loss of a major pillar in resistance work. He was an expert at making victories and building fighting capacities against Israel. He played an essential role in all resistance activities, especially the last war.”

Mughniyeh undoubtedly also played an unpublicized but important role in the ongoing behind-the-scenes tug-and-pull between the Israeli, Iranian and Syrian intelligence forces. He had become a major figure in Hezbollah’s shadowy military apparatus, and a central pro-Iranian figure.

In that capacity, he was important both operationally as well as strategically.

He also had long-standing ties to Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network.

Unfortunately, the death of one violent man, more often than not, leads to even more violence. The streets of Damascus – where Mughniyeh was killed – and Beirut – where he had lived – are already abuzz with talk of vengeance.

Translated into the language of high politics, this means that the chances of an outbreak of violence between Hezbollah and Israel are high. Syria and Iran – the real players in this fight – are not about to take on the Israel. But Damascus knows that Israel is itching to get even with Hezbollah. Similarly, Tehran knows that both the US and Israel are eagerly looking for an opportunity to neutralize its nuclear option.

In the high-powered calculations of nation-states – especially major regional actors, which Iran, Syria and Israel are – the promotion of their strategic interests are much too vital to be sacrificed by risking wars. Entities like Hezbollah, on the contrary, are eminently expendable.

Small wars” -a la the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel – are also acceptable, even though they contain the risk of escalating into a major war. Not many people wish to hear this, but in those calculations, even a high level of “collateral damage” (another bureaucratic and dehumanizing phrase that serves as a euphemism for civilian death) is “acceptable”, as long as those who lose their lives are not Iranians, Syrians or Israelis.

Aside from a possible outbreak of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel related to Mughniyeh’s death, another option for Syria and Iran might be to destabilize Lebanon.

That option is least risky in the sense that it would not necessarily lead to a war between Israel and Syria, but it would keep both the US and Israel more focused on Lebanon, rather than on either Iran or Syria. Lebanon is likely to suffer the consequences of the games that are being played between Iran, Syria and Israel.

Lebanon’ s civilian

s have never chosen to live by the sword. However, one miserable consequence of being a Lebanese is that some

one else is determining that they must die by the sword.

Ehsan Ahrari is professor of Security Studies (Counterterrorism) at the Asia-Pacific Center of Security Studies. Views expressed in this essay are strictly private and do not reflect those of the APCSS, the United States Pacific Command, or any other agency of the US government.

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TRIPLE SET OF ASSASSINATORS!

ASSASSINATORS SEEK ASSASSINATOR’S ASSASSINATORS!

Syria, the Major Lebanese Official Assassinator is now investigating the Assassination of the most notorious Middle East Terrorist Assassinator, while stating his “Assassination Ruined Hopes of Peace.”

Multiple Choice Test Question

Who is Syria most likely to find guilty of Mughniyeh’s assassination?

(A) Israel

(B) Israel

(C) Israel

(D) All of the above

February 15, 2008

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

REMEMBER THE MARINE LEBANESE BARRACKS

In Heaven the sun is shining, and American marines do shout,

There’s joy galore in barracks, ungodly Mughiyeh has shipped out,

And in a land waiting his arrival, the gates of Hell open on its shore.

Where justice for his terror, he will know forevermore.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

‘Assassination ruined hopes of peace’

JPost.com Staff and AP, THE JERUSALEM POST

February 14, 2008

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Thursday said that Syria will “prove beyond any doubt” who is responsible for the assassination of Hizbullah arch-terror

ist and operations officer Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus.

Mu allem s

aid that Syria is conducting an investigation and that “we hope to have the results soon.”

He also said that the assassination has destroyed “all hopes to revive the peace process” between Israel and Syria.

“Whoever seeks peace does not act in terror.

Whoever seeks peace does not place a siege on the Gaza Strip while almost a million and a half Palestinians are struggling for their lives.”

Syrians will sue the United States for providing Israel with weaponry that was used to kill Syrian citizens during

the Second Lebanon War, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem threatened Thursday, a day after

the US administration announced a new set of sanctions on the Assad regime.

“We will punish the United States,” Mouallem said during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki. “There are Syrians who were sacrificed during the Israeli was against Lebanon, and they will file a law suit against America, Which provided Israel with the weapons.”

He also said that investigations are under way into who was behind the car bomb that killed Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus, adding that he expected the perpetrators to be found soon.

“Syrian security forces are continuing investigations into this terrorist crime and we hope you will hear results soon,” he said. “We as a state will show with full proof the party involved

in this crime and who stands behind them.”

Moallem described the killing of Mughniyeh, who has been implicated in a string of attacks against Americans, Israelis and Jews, among others, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as a blow to peace.

He said those who killed Mughniyeh “assassinated any attempt to revive the peace process,” hinting for the first time that Israel might be involved.

For his part, Mottaki said that the matter of the assassination came up in his talks with Syrian president Bashar Assad and he said Israel was retaliating for its “losses” in the Second Lebanon War and “imagined it could exact a heavy price by assassinating one leader of the Lebanese resistance.”

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A HORNED TOE FOR PLUCKING!

February 15, 2008

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Daniel 2:42 – And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

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.

FOR A FULL EXPOSITION OF THESE TWO SCRIPTURES IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL PLEASE SEE ARCHIVE PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBERS 233B, 234A, 235A, 236A, AND 236B.

In our last Blog I presented the case for Iraq being in phase one of being eventually cemented in as one of the 10 toes of the great statue in Daniel 2, which I have indicated would be the case for 30 years.

In this Blog I present the same case I have also presented for some 30 years, that the nation of Lebanon will also be one of the 10 horns whose leader would eventually be plucked up, and that it would join Iraq as one of the 10 toes to attack Israel.

Begin Excerpt from BBC Article

February 14, 2008

Hezbollah chief threatens Israel

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has warned that the militant group is ready for “open war” with Israel, after the killing of one of its leaders in Syria.

Nasrallah made the declaration during a fiery speech at the funeral of Imad Mughniyeh in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.

There is huge tension in the city, where thousands are attending Mughniyeh’s funeral and rivals have held a memorial for ex-PM Rafik Hariri.

It is three years since Hariri was killed, plunging Lebanon into crisis.

Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Tuesday.

Correspondents say the events come at a tense time, with no president and no working parliament.

A huge security operation is under way amid fears of clashes between the pro-Syrian Hezbollah supporters and the anti-Syrian Hariri supporters.

About 8,000 army and internal security force troops have been deployed, with the aim of keeping the two factions apart.

The BBC’s Mike Sergeant in Beirut says the two events will separate

them naturally, but there are fears that people departing from mixed neighbourhoods could clash with rival groups on the streets.

Israel on alert

Mughniyeh’s funeral, which Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki is attending, is taking place in the Hezbollah stronghold of the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Speaking to the crowds of mourners via a giant video screen, Nasrallah blamed Israel for his death and said its war against the Jewish state was not over.

“Zionists, if you want this sort of open war, then let the whole world hear, so be it!” he declared.

Nasrallah said that Israel thought that Mughniyeh’s death “would lead to the destruction of the resistance… but they are wrong”.

He insisted: “The blood of Imad Mughniyeh will make them [Israel] withdraw from existence.”

Israel has rejected Hezbollah’s claims that it is responsible for Mughniyeh’s assassination, but nonetheless has put its embassies and other missions around the world on high alert and boosted troop deployments on the Lebanese border.

Security sources said the alert could remain in force for weeks or even months.

Call for unity

Lebanon has been experiencing some of its worst internal violence since the assassination of Mr Hariri in a Beirut car bombing sparked a political crisis three years ago.

His murder led to massive domestic and international pressure which forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon after a presence of 29 years.

Three years on, thousands of Lebanese braved the pouring rain to gather on Martyrs’ Square in Beirut’s city centre where Mr Hariri is buried.

Many carried flags and photos of Mr Hariri and other anti-Syrian politicians killed in recent years in attacks.

To symbolise the unity of Lebanon’s religious communities, church bells rang out at the same time as the Muslim call to prayer.

Lebanese Culture Minister Tarek Mitri made an appeal for national unity.

“The hazard of history has made it such that a large number of Lebanese will be commemorating the loss of Prime Minister Hariri while others will be mourning, a large number of Lebanese too, would be mourning one of the leaders of Hezbollah,” he said.

“Let us hope that this will not be a divisive factor, another divisive factor, in Lebanon.

We need to heal our divisions, we need to transcend what divides us.”

But our correspondent in Beirut says that in recent days, the political rhetoric has been getting sharper on all sides and has now been joined by heightened emotions following

the killing of Mughniyeh.

‘Murderer and terrorist’

Mughniyeh, in his late 40s, had been variously described as special operations or intelligence chief of Hezbollah’s secretive military wing, the Islamic Resistance.

He was top of the US “most wanted” list until he was replaced by Osama Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders following the 11 September 2001 attacks.

Analysts say his death is a significant blow to Hezbollah, which battled Israel in the 2006 Lebanon war with help from its Iranian and Syrian backers.

Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by a group of Shia Muslim clerics after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. It has emerged in recent years as a major political and military force in Lebanon, after military successes against Israel.

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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:

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from which we extracted it.

ANOTHER STATUE TOE CEMENTED!

SHIITE AND SUNNI VALENTINE DAY KISS AND MAKE UP!

February 14, 2008

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

After the horrific Iran-Iraq war in the 1980’s and the attempted effort to establish a western style democracy in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was defeated, a man sent me back one of my books written in the 1970’s as an indication I was totally wrong in my assertion the ten toes of the great statue in Daniel 2 were Islamic nations.

It was because the events up to that time had supposedly proven that Iran and Iraq would never join together to fight anyone, and that Iraq would become a democracy.

But I knew the common hatred they had for Israel was greater than the dislike between Shiite and Sunni and, that within a short period of time, after a sufficient number of American troops pulled out, Iraq would return to an Islamic form of government.

I believe the last four years have shown that will be the case. This current trip by Iran’s President Ahmadinejad is a landmark not only as the first-ever trip by an Iranian leader, but also a landmark in the process that marks the cementing of Iran as a toe on Daniel’s statue.

My guesstimate of an attack against Israel by the 10 toes at some point in time between 2010 and 2015 is looking better and better.

Daniel 2:41-44 – And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. [42] And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and

partly broken. [43] And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. [44] And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (A COMPLETE EXPOSITION OF THESE VERSES IS FOUND IN ARCHIVE PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 233B)

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Begin Excerpt from World News Associated Press Article

Iran’s president to visit Iraq in March

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN Associated Press Writer

February 14, 2008

BAGHDAD — Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will make a landmark visit to Iraq on March 2, the first-ever trip by an Iranian leader, the Iraqi government said Thursday.

Ahmadinejad will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani during his two-day visit, according to an

Iraqi government spokesman.

“The two countries will discuss bilateral relations and joint projects,” spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.

The two neighbors fought a ruinous eight-year war in the 1980s that left an estimated 1 million people killed or wounded. But relations have improved since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Iran is overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim, and Iraq has a roughly 60 percent Shiite majority that emerged from decades of marginalization to become the country’s dominant force after Saddam’s ouster.

Ahmadinejad’s trip was announced last month but Iraqi officials only unveiled the date on Thursday.

Also Thursday, officials said Iran has postponed the next session of expert-level talks on security with U.S. diplomats.

The U.S.-Iran talks, which had been slated for Friday, would have been the fourth in a series that is designed to deal with Iraqi security. Iraqi officials serve as the go-between in arranging the talks and sit in on the discussions.

“We have been informed by the government of Iraq that Iran has again postponed the trilateral talks on security in Iraq,” U.S. Embassy spokesman Philip Reeker said. “We have been saying for weeks that we are ready to sit down for talks.

Now it is increasingly clear that Iran is not.”

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