blog.Tribulationperiod.com

“3 C’s”, “P & S”, Then “W” Trends Are On TRACK

As Stated In BLOG Issued Sunday January 11

This is a Monday Summary of Gaza S itu

ation

Events are now setting up for the last War

To start at sometime twixt 2010 & 2015!

READ THE SUNDAY NOON BLOG

I believe the scenario now being played out in

the Gaza Strip will eventually lead to the final war of the age of the Gentiles. The sequential pattern that I outlined and described in our noon Blog on Sunday, January 11 is now in motion. The stream of Middle East events will be flowing down a river of no return as I portrayed in the Sunday BLOG. I DO NOT EXPECT THE WAR TO BEGIN BEFORE 2010, BUT I DO EXPECT IT TO BREAK OUT AT SOME POINT IN TIME BEFORE 2015. I believe once it begins it will follow the sequence of events outlined in the scriptures provided in the Sunday Blog, with the final battle in the sequence being the great slaughter at Armageddon.

The following summary of Excerpts from AFP will bring you up to date on events in the Gaza Strip and effects on the worldwide scene as of Monday, January 12, 2009.

January 12, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin a Series of Excerpts from the Agency France Presse (AFP) compiled by the Lebanese Daily Star Staff as extracted from World News Network

Death toll in Gaza onslaught approaches 900

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Compiled by Daily Star staff

Monday, January 12, 2009

Israelis hint that end may be in sight

Israel indicated for the first time on Sunday that an end was in sight to its war on the Gaza Strip, amid some of the heaviest clashes of an offensive that has killed nearly 900 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians. Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza’s main city, sparking some of the fiercest battles yet of the 16-day-old war Israel launched in what it said was a response to rocket fire, but which has failed to stop the rockets.

Civilians again fell victim in Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian enclave, one of the world’s most densely populated places where every other person of the 1.5 million population is under 18 years of age.

Two women and four children were killed in a strike on a house in Beit Lahiya, medics and witnesses said. Twelve bodies were pulled from the rubble in Tal al-Hawa including 10 fighters, according to medics.

Israeli officials suggested the Zionist state was nearing the end of its offensive, which has killed hundreds of civilians, despite having last week waved off a UN resolution calling for an immediate halt to the fighting.

“The decision of the [UN] Security Council doesn’t give us much leeway,” Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told public radio. “Thus it would seem that we are close to ending the ground operation and ending the operation altogether.”

Earlier Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the Zionist state was nearing the goals it had set for its operation, but said fighting would continue for now.

“Israel is approaching these goals, but more patience and determination are required,” Olmert said at the start of the cabinet meeting.

The premier told ministers that Israel “dealt Hamas an unprecedented blow,” government secretary Oved Yehezkel quoted Olmert as saying. “It will never be the same Hamas.”

Israeli forces have demolished some 200 smuggling tunnels beneath the Gaza-Egypt border – Hamas’ main resupply route – representing 66 percent of the total, according to military spokeswoman Avital Leibowich.

The army said it had blown up 20 tunnels on Sunday, when shrapnel from the air strikes wounded two Egyptian police officers and two children at the Rafah crossing into Gaza, a security official said.

Hamas, however, has vowed to keep fighting and on Sunday 19 rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza, to little effect.

Both Israel and Hamas last week brushed off the Security Council resolution that called on both sides to stop fighting, and the early hours of Sunday saw Israeli troops push deep into the territory’ s main population center.

Troops crept into the southern Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City, encountering roadside bombs, mortar and gunfire from Palestinian fighters, witnesses said.

The troops withdrew at daybreak, but hundreds of panicked residents fled the area, clutching small children and hastily packed bags after a sleepless night. “We couldn’t take anything with us, not even milk for the children,” said Ibtisam Shamallah, 22, as she fled with her two children.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told reporters that Israel was “examining the diplomatic channel” while continuing its offensive. “There’s no contradiction between the two,” said Barak, who is due to again send senior aide Amos Gilad to Cairo in the coming days for Egyptian-led talks on ending the war.

In all, at least 26 Palestinians were killed in clashes on Sunday, medics said.

But the exiled political chief of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, remained defiant, vowing in an address televised late Saturday that the Islamists would not strike a deal on a permanent truce with Israel.

“As long as there is an occupation there is a resistance,” he said, adding that his group will not discuss a cease-fire until Israel stops its offensive.

Since the Israeli offensive began on December 27, at least 885 people have been killed, including 275 children, and another 3,620 wounded, according to Gaza medics.

Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed in combat or in rocket attacks since the operation began, as Palestinian militants have fired more than 600 rockets, some of them penetrating deeper than ever inside Israel.

Egypt has been spearheading Western-backed efforts to end the fighting, calling for an immediate truce, opening Gaza’s border crossings, preventing arms smuggling and relaunching Palestinian reconciliation efforts.

In Washington, US President-elect Barack Obama pledged to immediately engage in Middle East peace efforts as soon as he takes office in nine days.

Also on Sunday, a senior Israeli military official told AFP that Israeli soldiers and civilians in the Occupied Golan Heights came under gunfire from inside Syrian territory. No one was hurt in the rare incident.
The Israeli military filed a complaint to the United Nations force monitoring the usually calm occupation zone.

“UN forces are currently conducting searches along the Syrian side of the border,” the official said.

In Occupied Jerusalem, Israel’s Channel Two television reported that the Zionist state has begun sending reservists into Gaza Strip to participate in operations alongside the regular army.

Israel called up thousands of reservists on December 27.

A military spokesman said reservists had already been involved in Gaza operations and were increasingly likely to be “integrated” into combat units.

In Stockholm, charities that support a hospital in Gaza said an Israeli air raid had destroyed it a day earlier.

“The clinic is totally destroyed, including its equipment and medical supplies,” Christer Aakesson of the Swedish Church’s international operations said of Saturday’s attack in a statement. “Shortly before a missile hit the building where the clinic is located the Israeli Air Force fired a warning shot so everybody inside could flee,” the statement added. “Shortly after that the army totally destroyed the building.”

Until Israel’s offensive, the building housed a maternity clinic which was then changed into an intensive care unit, Aakesson added.

She said there was no reason why the building should have become a target for an Israeli attack but she added: “A Hamas leader had his home in the neighborhood.”

A delegation of European parliamentarians entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday to assess the impact of the deadly Israeli offensive, the head of the mission said.

The eight legislators entered through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, European Parliament Vice President Luisa Morgantini said in an email received by AFP.

Accompanied by Italian Senator Alberto Maritati, they were to stay with the UN Relief and Works Agency and visit hospitals and camps for the displaced, the statement said. They planned to stay in Gaza until Tuesday, when they would “report back about the situation” to the European Parliament in Strasbourg and hold a news conference, said Morgantini.

Also on Sunday, an Israeli court extended for two days the detention without charge of two Iranian journalists accused of breaking censorship rules during the Gaza war.

“Although the court must weigh alternatives to [administrative] detention, in offenses regarding threats to state security, any other alternative is impractical,” Judge Aaron Golds of the Petah Tikva district court said in his decision to extend the remand of the journalists detained on January 5.

The court ordered the pair remain in custody for two more days and told the police to charge them.

The journalists, identified as Mohammad Sarhan and Khader Sahin, are accused of publicizing the start of Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza on January 3 before the military censor had cleared the information for publication. They were detained two days later.

All journalists in Israel must sign an agreement to abide by Israeli censorship rules in order to get government accreditation.

Administrative detention in Israel allows the authorities to hold people without charge for as long as a court extends their remand, sometimes for years. – AFP, with The Daily Star

Qatar repeats demand for Arabs to meet on crisis

Qatar on Sunday called for an emergency Arab ministerial meeting to seek ways to respond to Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, state media reported.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as urging ministers to convene under the auspices of the Arab League to discuss “steps that should be taken to face the continuing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip,” the Qatar News Agency said.

The official also said that the proposed meeting should discuss a report by the Arab ministerial delegation to the United Nations which was in New York last week to push for a ceasefire UN resolution.

The Security Council on Thursday adopted a resolution which demanded an “immediate, durable” ceasefire leading to the “full withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza. But Israel rejected calls to stop its onslaught on the Hamas-controlled territory which has left nearly 900 Palestinians dead.

Qatar has twice called for a Arab summit since the war started on December 27.

Although Qatar does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, it has housed an Israeli trade office since 1996, the only one in the Gulf.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani ruled out the closure of the office, at least for now.

“If Arab countries decide collectively to sever relations, we will join the Arabs,” Sheikh Hamad said in an interview with Al-Jazeera television. “They only want Qatar to make a sacrifice [while] they continue to deal with the Jewish state,” he added in reference to Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania, which have diplomatic relations with Israel.

In Cairo on Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah pressed his rivals in Hamas to accept an Egyptian plan to end the war.

“We hope that the [Hamas delegation] will reach an agreement without hesitation,” Abbas told journalists after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who floated his peace plan on Tuesday. “The situation does not allow us to lose time.”

Hopes for peace are increasingly focused on Egypt’s mediation efforts since both Israel and Hamas brushed off the UN resolution calling for a truce.

The Egyptian plan seeks to meet Israel’s requirement of preventing weapons going to Gaza through tunnels from Egypt and Hamas’ demand for a reopening of Gaza’s borders to normal traffic.

Abbas stressed that he wanted an international force in Gaza rather than controlling traffic on the Egyptian side of the border, as suggested by European countries.

An Israeli defense official said Egypt’s plan foresaw forces loyal to Abbas, which were kicked out by Hamas in 2007 after a power struggle following the Islamists’ victory in 2006 elections, being redeployed on the Gaza side of the border alongside a bolstered Egyptian force.

Under a 2005 deal, Egypt’s Rafah crossing with Gaza, the only one to bypass Israel, can only be opened

to normal traffic if European Union observers and Palestinian Authority forces are at the border. But Hamas ousted forces loyal to Abbas from the Gaza Strip in June 2007 and the EU monitors subsequently left.

Israel said on Saturday that Egypt had proposed an “upgraded version” of the 2005 deal, that would see a beefed-up frontier force loyal to Abbas alongside a strengthened Egyptian border force.

Such a move would require amending the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty limiting Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula, with the Israeli defense official saying the Jewish state “would be in favor” of the proposals.

Several EU countries and Turkey have offered to send troops to the border as part of an eventual monitoring mission, but Egypt has reportedly rejected the idea of foreign forces on its borders.

A Hamas delegation from Gaza and representatives of the Syrian-based leadership arrived in Cairo on Saturday and held talks with Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s pointman for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, on Sunday.

Mussa Abu Marzuk, the Damascus-based deputy head of the Hamas politburo, had said Friday that his movement wanted “clarifications” on the plan.

For his part, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting Mubarak that Berlin would send a team to Egypt in the coming days to discuss ways of offering technical help and expertise to control smuggling.

The US Army already had an engineering team supporting Egyptian tunnel-hunting forces on the border, although they have left since the Israeli offensive began.

In Algiers, visiting Iranian Vice President Hossein Dehgan said Sunday that Israel must stop its “genocide” against the people of Gaza.

Dakhane told reporters after meeting Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika that they agreed there must be a halt to the “genocide,” which was the result of a “savage Israeli policy” in the Gaza Strip, the APS news agency reported.

APS said that Dakhane also discussed with the Algerian president the possibility of holding a summit on the Gaza situation, bringing together other Arab and Islamic countries.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem accused Israel of committing war crimes during and argued that the UN should put more force behind its ceasefire call.

“The Security Council should adopt a binding resolution on a ceasefire … which also would include war crimes committed by Israel,” Moallem said at a joint news conference with his Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim.

“Israel has committed war crimes … killing women and children, relief workers, journalists and using white phosphorus bombs,” he noted.

Moallem said he was “surprised the UN Security Council does not report such crimes… and it does not form an independent commission of inquiry” to investigate.

He said Syria, France, Turkey and Qatar were all trying “to reach a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory, a lifting of the blockade and the opening of the crossing points.”

He also outlined the possibility of an international conference on rebuilding Gaza after

the war ends.

Earlier, after meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Amorim called for “mobilization to put pressure on Israel to cease its aggression,” the official Syrian ArabNews Agency said.

In Geneva, a senior Israeli diplomat lambasted the Swiss government in a newspaper interview after Bern lent its support to a UN draft resolution condemning human rights violations in Gaza.

Ambassador Ilan Elgar told the SonntagsZeitung he found Switzerland’s support for the resolution “very problematic, because Switzerland is in this way taking sides against Israel.”

Switzerland was the only Western European country to back the draft resolution, supported by 32 members of the UN Human Rights Council, condemning the “grave human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.”

The resolution tabled late Friday underlined the civilian toll, especially in Gaza, and called for “the immediate cessation of Israeli military attacks” as well as an “end to the launching of crude rockets against Israeli civilians,” the latter a concession to members of the European Union. – AFP, with The Daily Star

Protesters hit streets worldwide

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators rallied in cities around the world over the weekend to call for an end to Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The two biggest protests took place in London and Paris on Saturday, with largely peaceful demonstrations in both capitals turning violent as the day wore on.

In London, angry demonstrators hurled sticks and stones at police outside the Israeli Embassy as officers in riot gear and on horseback charged the crowd to keep them away from the building in the upmarket Kensington district.

Police made 24 arrests.

Veteran left-wing campaigner Tariq Ali, who had led the march, said: “The most appalling violence is happening in Gaza – a few punch-ups outside the Israeli Embassy is neither here nor there.”

Organizers estimated that 100,000 people attended the London rally, which began in Hyde Park before progressing to the Israeli embassy.

Police estimated the crowd at 12,000.

About 30,000 people marched through Paris, the Interior Ministry said, and more than 90,000 joined protests in more than 120 towns and cities elsewhere in France.

In the capital, thousands of French men and women of Arab origin carrying Palestinian banners joined forces with left-wing militants amid cries of “God is Greatest” and “Israel murderer.” Protesters smashed a bus shelter and a telephone box in central Paris, and bottles were later thrown at riot police and shop windows smashed.

Police fired tear gas after mobs overturned motor scooters and set them on fire.

A march in the southern city of Nice descended into violence. Seven police were hurt and 11 rioters arrested as youths broke off from a 2,500-strong crowd of protesters and smashed shop windows.

Demonstrations also took place on the streets of other European cities including Athens, Berlin, Budapest, Oslo, Sarajevo and Stockholm.

In Sarajevo, peace activist Svetlana Broz told a 1,000-strong pro-Palestinian demonstration that the city knew better than others “what happens when the world remains silent at a time when innocent civilians suffer,” referring to the bloody siege of the city in the 1992-95 war in the former Yugoslavia.

Police in Oslo fired tear gas after a small group among a crowd of 2,000 pelted them with stones, and up to 5,000 demonstrators gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm to call for an end to the military campaign.

More than 6,000 people gathered for a peaceful rally in Berlin, with similar shows of support for the Palestinians in Munich and Cologne.

In western Germany, some 10,000 people, largely from the ethnic Turkish community, protested in Duisburg. Police briefly intervened when demonstrators threw snowballs at a window bearing Israeli flags.

Innsbruck in western Austria staged a peaceful protest of 3,500 people waving banners saying “Stop Israeli terror” and 7,000 protesters turned out in Bern, Switzerland.

In Athens, more than 2,000 people took part in a protest staged by left-wing groups, and thousands more demonstrated in Milan and Turin.

In Washington on Saturday several thousand protesters descended on the White House in support of Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza, and other protests took place across Canada and in the Mexican capital.

As many as 10,000 people, according to organizers, gathered from about 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) in Washington’s Lafayette Park, across from the White House, chanting “free Palestine” as protest leaders and activists spoke from a podium.

“There are many young people. We feel it’s one of the most important demonstrations for Palestine ever in the US,” said Eugene Puryear, a coordinator of the Washington protest, which was organized by the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) coalition.

Protesters waived Palestinian flags, wore keffiyehs – a traditional Palestinian headdress – and waived signs, some of which read “Stop the Gaza holocaust” and “Free Palestine, let Gaza live.” They then led a march passing in front of the headquarters of The Washington Post newspaper to protest “its hard pro-Israeli line,” Puryear said, before heading to the offices of construction equipment giant Caterpillar and military contractor Lockheed Martin, both of which are key suppliers to the Israeli armed forces.

“I came because there are innocent children dying daily in Palestine. The American people need to know the truth,” said 13-year-old Razan Ali, a Palestinian-American who bused in from New York.

A dozen buses filled with protesters came from New Jersey and another seven buses drove in from New York.

Yasmina Farej, a 54-year-old who came from Brooklyn, said she had been motivated to join the protest because of “the war in Gaza; they bomb the innocent children.”

Thousands more protested across several Canadian cities, calling for an “immediate ceasefire” and especially targeting conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his support of Israel.

In Montreal, some 2,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators chanted “Israel the assassin” and called for a ceasefire in the impoverished Gaza Strip. Some brandished dolls spattered with red paint representing children killed by the Israeli military.

Several hundred protesters also gathered in front of the US Embassy in Mexico City in opposition to what they called the “criminal aggression” in Gaza. Some protesters set shoes ablaze and hurled them against the embassy gates.

There more protests around the world on Sunday both in support of and opposed to Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Thousands of students, trade unionists and politicians marched through the center of Madrid to denounce the Israeli action in Gaza and call for peace.

Protesters marched between the Plaza de Cibeles and Puerta del Sol, brandishing placards that read “Stop the genocide in Palestine” and “We are all Palestinians.” Some members of the crowd wore Palestinian flags to show their solidarity with the people of Gaza, where almost 900 people have been killed since the Israeli offensive began on December 27..

In Brussels, Muslim associations, center-left politicians and pressure groups began their own rally to call for a halt to the conflict. Organizers said they estimated between 10,000 and 15,000 people would attend.

Around 4,000 people marched through the western Austrian town of Bregenz, despite the extremely cold weather, organizers said. The demonstrators, including families with children, waved Turkish, Palestinian and Arab flags, played music and carried signs with slogans like “Let Gaza live.” Some wore T-shirts that said “We are all Palestinians.”

Jewish groups across Europe also held rallies in support of Israel and denouncing Hamas.

Thousands of British Jews rallied in central London.

Counter-demonstrators lining the side of the square chanted throughout the rally, waving placards reading “We are all Hamas. Boycott Israel,” “Israeli terrorist cowards” and “End the siege – talk to Hamas.”

Similar pro-Israeli demonstrations were also held in the German cities of Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich, with authorities saying altogether 2,000 people took part. Police in Marseille, southern France, said around 4,000 people marched through the city in support of Israel’s right to “self-defense.”

Outside of Europe, pro-Palestinian rallies were also held across Asia earlier Sunday.
In Hong Kong, more than 1,000 students and ethnic minorities took part in a protest organized on social networking website Facebook.

The group, holding placards and banners, marched from Victoria Park to the US Consulate demanding the United States stop supporting Israel’s war. In Indonesia, 20,000 Muslims staged a peaceful rally Sunday in the capital, Jakarta. Protesters from the Islamic Prosperous Justice Party gathered at the national monument in Jakarta and marched through the streets.

In Pakistan, security forces used tear gas and batons to repel pro-Palestinian protesters who tried to attack the US Consulate in Karachi. – AFP, with The Daily Star

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ROD OF GOD COMES TO BEING PEACE – Part 1

Rejected Son Returns as Judgment Rod to Bring Peace

to Us!

January 12, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Psalm 2:7-9 – I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

[8] Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

[9] Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

ISAIAH 11:1 – And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

He came as a direct descendant of David, the son of the man Jesse, as a human man child made of a woman by God in the Virgin Mary’s womb – a sinless man who was both the Son of man and the Son of God.

When Isaiah wrote in 700 BC most did not believe his report, as is the case today. Christ grew up before his heavenly Father as a perfect tender plant of flesh and blood, and in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily. He revealed himself to those who would believed he had been sent by his Father. He had no attributes of great human beauty manifested in his flesh – his beauty was the inner beauty of his Spirit. It was the beauty of God in him reconciling the world to himself.

Isaiah 53:1,2 – Who hath believed our report

? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? [2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

ISAIAH 11:2 – And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

Isaiah 42:1 – Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Isaiah 61:1,2 – The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the MEEK; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; [2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

The prophecy of Isaiah 61:1,2 was fulfilled by Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth more than 700 years after it was written. He proclaimed himself as the one who was sent to tell them it was the acceptable year of the Lord to bring in the kingdom by Messiah, but that rejection of it would bring the day of vengeance of their God.

Luke 4:16-20 – And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. [17] And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias.

And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, [18] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the POOR; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, [19] To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

[20] And he closed the book, and he gave it again to

the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue

were fastened on him.

He did not base his judgments or rebukes on the human senses, but on the Word and Indwelling Spirit of his heavenly Father.

ISAIAH 11:3 – And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

John 12:44-50 – Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. [45] And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. [46] I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. [47] And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. [48] He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. [49] For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what

I should speak. [50] And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

His judgments were merciful and full of promise to those who were poor in spirit and meek toward God.

Matthew 5:3 – Blessed are THE POOR in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:5 – Blessed are THE MEEK: for they shall inherit the earth.

But the time is coming when he will smite the earth and slay the wicked.

ISAIAH 11:4,5 – But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. [5] And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

His coming judgment is pictured by his return on the white horse of Revelation 19:11 judging those who did not repent of their sins and receive his righteousness by his gracious offer of salvation.

Revelation 19:11 – And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

II Thessalonians 1:7-10 – And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, [8] In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: [9] Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; [10] When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Philippians 3:9 – And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Galatians 3:26 – For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:26 – To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Romans 3:28 – Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Although no man can know the day of his coming, I am of the opinion the initial attack against Israel to start the final war of this age, which sets in motion the events of Luke 21:25, is likely to occur at some point in time between 2010 and 2015. When this war begins the saved can know their final redemption at the first resurrection is drawing night.

Ephesians 4:30 – And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

I Peter 2:1-4 – Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, [2] As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: [3] If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

[4] To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

Luke 21:25-28 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. [27] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

[28] And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Hama s

is in VERY DIRE Straits!

It is desperate to claim a Victory,

Before agreeing to a UN Ceasefire,

Wanting to shoot down Israeli Plane,

Or take an Israeli soldier as a Captive,

Or just do something to say it won War!

A truce will come in followed by Ceasefire,

Which eventually is likely to produce a Calm

Of temporary “Peace & Safety” Across Israel!

I expect the truce to occur within three Weeks,

Paving a Way for the Middle East War Outbreak,

Starting at some point in time twixt 2010 & 2015!

January 11, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

The back of Hamas is being broken in the Gaza Strip. It will be a long time before they forget this current hammering defeat. They will not go out of existence, nor will they stop their yelling, screaming, chanting, threats, and flag burnings. Nor will Iran and Syria stop supporting them. But this crushing of their leaders and military infrastructure will necessitate a period of recovery, such that a ceasefire will soon come in, followed by a period of calm, which I believe will eventually lead to a long desired prolonged truce that fulfills the prophetic intent of “peace and safety” found in I Thessalonians 5:3,4. When it does come into the zone of fulfillment the Islamic nations that despise Israel will certainly “know it,” for they will be involved in the conspiracy that set it up. The attack from the north by these Islamic forces is likely to begin at a point in time lying between 2010 and 2015. Once it begins it will drive Israel into the Negev Wilderness, where she will remain trapped as a nation for 1260 days, but will breakout at the battle of Armageddon, which ends the 1260 days at the Second Advent of Christ.

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.

Ezekiel 38:14 – Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?

Daniel 11:41 – He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

Daniel 7:25 – 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.

Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Revelation 11:3 – And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand

two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Revelation 11:2 – But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

Zechariah 14:1-3 – Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

[3] Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Zechariah 13:9 – And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

Revelation 16:16 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Revelation 19:18-21 – 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.

Begin Excerpt 1 from Jerusalem Post

‘Hamas badly hit, but will fight on’

January 11, 2009

JPost.com staff and Herb Keinon , THE JERUSALEM POST

IDF Military Intelligence Head Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin on Sunday briefed cabinet ministers on the Gaza operation, stressing the dire straits Hamas and its leadership was in.

According to Yadlin, Hamas had realized its error in not anticipating an Israeli response to the ongoing rocket fire, and expecting neither a ground operation nor the cold shoulder the world has shown the group.

He spoke of the cracks in Hamas resilience, its disconnected leadership in Syria, and its waning public support following the extensive Israeli attacks on the organization, but predicted that while Hamas realized that it had no choice but reach a compromise with Israel, it was not about to succumb, and was still capable of striking Israel and the IDF.

Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Yuval Diskin noted that the number of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel since the start of Operation Cast Lead was substantially lower than what security forces had predicted.

Diskin stressed the blow to Hamas’s ability to smuggle weapons via the Philadelphi Corridor due to the IAF attacks on it, and noted that alongside the inevitable anger at Israel for the bombardments, Gazans were angry at Hamas for bringing on such devastation to the Strip. He also noted that Hamas was executing Fatah supporters under the auspices of the ongoing clashes in the Strip.

Diskin said that Hamas was waiting for an agreement which would enable it to end the battles with some dignity, or reach some isolated military achievements. He also said that Iran was attempting to tighten a lethal noose consisting of Gaza, Syria and Lebanon around Israel’s neck.

Earlier at the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the IDF was getting close to the objectives set for Operation Cast Lead.

The prime minister warned that what had been achieved thus far in an “unprecedented effort” must not be lost at the last moment.

“Israel is approaching the goals it set for itself, but we require further patience, determination and effort so that our citizens can feel safety and stability,” said Olmert. “The Israeli public, especially the residents of the South, have the necessary patience and willingness – so does the government!”

Olmert also hit back at the mounting international criticism of the Gaza operation.

“No country in the world, even those preaching morals to us, would have shown the tolerance and restraint that we have,” he said.

“We have never agreed that anyone decide for us if we are allowed to strike at those who send missiles into our kindergartens and schools, and we never will,” continued the prime minister.

Olmert defended the Security Cabinet’s decision to continuation of the Gaza operation in spite of Thursday’s night’s UN Security Council resolution which called for an immediate and durable cease-fire.

“I must note that UN Security Council Resolution 1860 also sharply rules out continued attacks directed against civilians and does not forbid urgent action against them,” he said.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak emphasized that Operation Cast Lead was continuing even as diplomatic options were being examined.

“We are continuing to act in order to restore quiet to the South and to prevent weapons smuggling via the Philadelphi Corridor,” Barak said.

“The IDF is operating by air, land and sea and is also exploring the diplomatic channel,” he continued. “There is no contradiction between the two.”

Commenting on the operation following the meeting, Communications Minister Ariel Atias said that he had the impression that “Olmert is seeking more public backing, and that this operation won’t end till the goals are reached.”

Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit also stated that the goals of the operation were “to bring a long-term end to the fire on southern residents, and put an end to the smuggling. We would be happy if these objectives could be reached in other [non-military] ways, otherwise, we will continue [with the current operation].”

Housing Minister Ze’ev Boim was more direct in expressing the necessity of Operation Cast Lead.

“If we don’t expose the infrastructure, including the missile-production lines and take control of the Philadelphi Corridor, I think that in the next round [of violent confrontations] we will be hit by longer-range missiles and as yet unused weaponry, such as anti-aircraft cannons,” he warned.

Begin Excerpt 2 from Jerusalem Post

IDF confirms: Reservists now participating in Gaza operation

January 11, 2009

YAAKOV KATZ, AP and JPOST.COM STAFF , THE JERUSALEM POST

For the first time since Operation Cast Lead began over two weeks ago, the IDF on Sunday announced that reservists have been sent into the Gaza Strip to participate in the military effort.

The army refused to say whether the announcement was

an indication that the third phase of the operation had begun.

Defense officials have said that the IDF is prepared for a third stage in which ground troops would push further into Gaza, but are waiting for approval from the government.

The first phase consisted of aerial bombardment, and the second saw ground forces enter Gaza, seize open areas used to fire rockets and surround Gaza City.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity as military plans have not been made public, said the army also has a contingency plan for a fourth phase – the full reoccupation of Gaza and toppling of Hamas.

A limited number of reservists have been deployed as of Sunday, the army said. At the beginning of the operation, the cabinet gave the IDF approval to call up tens of thousands of reservists.

Earlier on Sunday, IAF planes attacked at least twenty smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor, on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. The tunnels were being used to smuggle weaponry into Gaza, according to the IDF.

The IDF said that it would continue to expand operations against such tunnels along the Corridor.

Also on Sunday, the IAF said that over the weekend Hamas operatives tried to shoot down an Israeli plane using an anti-aircraft missile.

The army has said that Hamas possesses several shoulder-held ground-to-air missiles, and in air raids overnight Saturday, the IAF hit a Gaza mosque in which a number of them were stored.

Meanwhile, in one of the fiercest ground battles since the start of Operation Cast Lead, IDF troops battled Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza City suburb of Sheikh Ajleen.

Fighting in Sheikh Ajleen erupted before dawn and continued into the day as IDF infantrymen and tanks advanced toward Gaza City and its approximately 400,000 residents, Palestinian witnesses said. Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they ambushed the soldiers, leading to some of the heaviest fighting since Israel sent ground forces into the territory on January 3.

Gunfire subsided in the early afternoon, with the IDF in control of buildings on the neighborhood’s outskirts.

At least 40 Palestinians had been killed across Gaza by Sunday afternoon, according to Gaza health officials. M any were noncomb

atants, they claimed, including four members of one family killed when a tank shell hit their home near Gaza City.

There were no reports of IDF casualties.

On Sunday, the IAF dropped additional leaflets urging Gaza residents to report the whereabouts of Hamas operatives, even providing a phone number to call.

“You can call the numbers listed below to inform us about the locations of rocket launchers, warehouses, tunnels and terrorist groups operating in your area,” the leaflet said in Arabic, promising “confidentiality guaranteed.”

On Saturday, leaflets were dropped on Gaza City warning residents of a wider offensive.

“The IDF is not working against the people of Gaza but against Hamas and the terrorists only,” the leaflets said. “Stay safe by following our orders.”

Since Saturday night, the IAF hit at least seven rocket cells, as well as the launcher used to fire the Grad-type rockets at Beersheba on Sunday morning.

In searches in the northern Strip on Sunday the IDF found several weapon caches, one of them containing communication equipment.

IDF armored corps destroyed homes believed to contain weapons, and in one case a tank crew opened fire at Hamas operatives planting a bomb.

The IDF has repeatedly stated that Hamas fighters are wearing civilian clothes and endangering civilians by operating out of heavily populated residential areas.

Overnight Saturday, IAF aircraft bombed over 60 Hamas targets in Gaza, including the home of Hamas military chief Ahmed Ja’abri.

Ja’abri was not expected to have been at home at the time as he is believed to be in hiding, possibly under Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, in another bunker, or in an apartment building filled with civilians.

Also in overnight air raids, the IAF hit a mosque in Rafah which served as a training camp and meeting place for Hamas operatives as well as an anti-aircraft missile warehouse, the army said.

The air force also bombed nine tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor and about ten other weapons storehouses throughout the Gaza Strip.

An IDF official told Army Radio that soldiers reported killing over 40 Hamas gunmen during overnight operations, while troops themselves emerged unscathed.

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While Gaza is Burning,

Betting on two dead Horses,

One is Fatah in the land of Israel,

OTHER Is Antichrist In European Union,

Many prophetic buffs are betting on the EU,

And Fatah has a track record of a proven Loser,

As Caroline Glick Points Out In The Jerusalem Post!

Israel has enemy Fatah w ith

in and Islam foes Without,

The Beast of the East has surrounded her and lives in Her!

Beast of the East attacks at a point in time twixt 2010 & 2015!

January 11, 2008

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

A much weakened Hamas will come out of the crushing defeat it is experiencing from Israel, and Fatah will be much stronger and respected because of the terrible effects of what Hamas brought on the citizens of Gaza.

As a consequence of this thrashing by Israel and the destruction of tunnels and weaponry hid in them, I expect Hamas to spend a long time in restructuring. This should result in a period of relative calm as soon as Israel is satisfied it has sufficiently weakened Hamas. It should lead into a longer range truce extension than before, which will eventually fulfill the biblical mode of “peace and safety” mindset scenario in I Thessalonians 5:3,4.

The first excerpt from DEBKAfile describes the thrashing Hamas is experiencing at present, and the futility of riding the dead horse belief Antichrist will come out of the European Union. The second excerpt describes the insanity of believing the Fatah will ever be an acceptable peace partner. Fatah is a dead horse in the peace process.

Begin Excerpt 1 from DEBKAfile

Meshaal Intervenes to Stop Hamas-Gaza from
Succumbing to a Ceasefire

DEBKAfile Special Analysis

January 10, 2009, 11:55 PM (GMT+02:00)

Saturday, Jan. 10, Day 15 of Israel’s Gaza Strip offensive against Hamas, top Palestinian leaders gathered in Cairo for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Jemal Abu Hashem, who rarely appears on public, Salah Bardaweel, leader of Hamas parliament faction, and Heiman Ta’a, member of the military wing’s command, were allowed to exit Gaza Friday after signaling their willingness for the first time to discuss an unconditional ceasefire.

After traveling to El Arish in northern Sinai Friday, they were flown to Cairo by an Egyptian military plane.

Saturday, they were joined by two colleagues from Damascus, Hamas’ senior operations chief Imad al Alami and politburo member Muhammad Nasser. Separately Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority chairman and head of the rival Fatah also arrived in Cairo.

The Hamas delegates were preparing for their talks on Egypt’s ceasefire proposals to begin Sunday with intelligence minister Gen. Omar Suleiman, when their Damascus leader, Khaled Meshaal, dropped his bombshell.

Speaking over Damascus TV, he declared Hamas must fight on until Israel ends its military offensive, withdraws from the Gaza Strip and opens the enclave’s crossings. Egypt too must open the Rafah gate. Hamas would never accept any restrictions on its armament – a hint at Israel-Egyptian plans to block the Philadelphi route – and would treat international monitors as an “occupation” force.

Meshaal demanded an immediate Arab summmit which Egypt and Saudi Arabia have firmly refused. Israeli losses were much higher than admitted, he said, adding that Saturday, Hamas rockets had hit Israel’s Palmachim missile and satellite base more than 50 miles away.

DEBKAfile’s sources report that the Hamas leader’s emotional tirade raised suspicions in Jerusalem that he may have obtained pledges from Tehran and Hizballah for a last-ditch operation to save Hamas

from collapse. They also noted the widening rift between Hamas-Damascus and Hamas-Gaza, which is paying dearly for Palestinian “resistance.”

The Hamas leaders’ resort to Egypt’s good offices three days after rejecting its proposals came after the failure of the UN Security Council resolution of Friday night, which stressed the urgency of a ceasefire and called on member-states to help “prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition and to ensure the sustained reopening of the crossing points…”

Hamas also turned down the UN motion, while Israel said it was “unworkable” as long the rockets kept coming.

Our military sources report that Hamas was preparing to haggle over ceasefire terms, chiefly the opening of the crossing points, to save face, but had come closer than ever before to accepting a pause, any pause, without counter-demands – until Meshaal intervened.

Six developments brought Hamas near to breaking point, our military sources disclose:

1. Desertions are spreading among the 18,000 rank and file and police officers, who were left out in the open to shoot missiles and rockets and fight off Israeli attacks, while Hamas leaders and commanders stayed under cover in bunkers.

Seeing the fading resistance, Hamas’ Grad rocket specialist, Ami Mansi, emerged from hiding Saturday and took over a mortar position against Israel troops. Quickly identified, he was killed by an Israeli helicopter missile with two aides. That night, Al Qaeda’s Gaza commander, Ghassen Maqdad, was killed in Khan Younes in the south
.
2. The Hamas hard core of fighters, estimated at 3,500 before the war, has suffered painful losses – at least 550 men, including high profile operatives. Israeli forces continued to press forward Saturday, disabling Hamas’ bunker hideouts, booby-trapped tunnels and buried passages designed to serve as escape hatches and the abduction of Israeli soldiers.

Their missile production workshops have been destroyed but Hamas is not finished yet, say Israeli military sources.

Saturday, 12 Israeli soldiers suffered minor injuries.

3. Signaling an intense push ahead, Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets over the Gaza Strip Saturday with this warning: “The IDF will soon raise the level of attacks on tunnels, weapons caches and terrorists. For your own safety and that of your families, keep your distance from places where terrorists are hiding, active and store weapons.”

4. The commander of Hamas’ military wing, Muhammad Jabry, has lost his credibility after failing to follow through on his vow that Israeli troops would never set foot in Gaza City. Our military sources disclose that as of Saturday, the Gazan capital is virtually defenseless after desertions left Hamas bunkers, defensive tunnels and anti-tank positions unmanned.

Hamas tacticians have decided to deploy their dwindling manpower to maintain the missile and rocket-fire, which began dipping from 40 Thursday, to 30 Friday and 20 Saturday.

5. The southern town of Rafah is in the same dire straits as Gaza City.

6. Gaza’s population is increasingly estranged from its invisible Hamas rulers, accusing them of fighting their battles to the last civilian. Hamas has planted booby-traps, weapons caches and firing positions in private homes, so that civilians take the brunt of explosions and counter-attacks.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report senior IDF commanders are anxious to build on Hamas’ weakness at this moment to step up the tempo of their offensive and finally push Hamas to the wall. Israel will then

be placed in position for attaining its targets – an end to Hamas’ eight-year missile assault on the South and its ability to rearm as well as the release of the captive Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit.

But Meshaal’s intervention may have put paid to a promising diplomatic initiative in Cairo.

BEGIN ARCHIVE BLOG ISSUED IN 2007

Where Oh Where Will the Assyrian Antichrist Arise?

November 29, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

The area I have spent watching for the rise of the Assyrian Antichrist for the last 40 years has primarily been Syria and Lebanon. Archive Prophecy Updates 62 to 69 cover my reasons for watching this area. I am very interested in changes in government in both these countries.

BEGIN ARCHIVE PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 66

WHAT IS THE NATIONALITY OF THE ANTICHRIST?

Part 5

May 3, 2003

Please read Updates 62,63,64, and 65 before reading 66

Micah 5:1-4 – Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. [2] But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. [3] Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. [4] And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

These verses, exposited in Parts 1 through 4, were written more than 700 years before the birth of Christ. And yet they present:

Bethlehem as His birthplace, His rejection as ruler over Israel, His last Passover in the daughter of troops Jerusalem, His head beatings by the troops of Pontius Pilate, Herod, and the High Priest, His rejection as the judge of Israel, His Father’s siege against Israel because of their rejection of the Son (which has lasted some 2000 years), Christ’s temporary rejection of Israel, His Second Advent as Messiah after Israel’s travail of 1260 days in the Negev Wilderness, at which time His brethren will return with Him to the nation of Israel, and the first 1000 years of His eternal kingdom, which phases into the final heaven age when the present earth and heavens pass away.

Micah 5:5 – 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.

Now, in verse 5, we find that “this man” will himself “be the peace” because He personally brings it in by Himself when he returns to be “great unto the ends of the earth” for 1000 years. “This man” who brings “the peace” of a thousand years is, of course, Jesus Christ. He is the primary contextual subject from verses 1 through 5. What happens to motivate His return to bring in the millennial reign is the movement of the Assyrian into the land of Israel. It is the final defeat and destruction of “the Assyrian” that will mark Christ’s Second Advent, and the beginning of His millennial reign.

When Micah wrote his prophecies the Assyrians had already driven into the northern Kingdom of Israel, and all that remained of Israel proper was its southern Kingdom of Judah. So what were the borders of the land of Assyria when Micah wrote the fifth chapter of his book? The borders of the Assyrian territory stretched northward from roughly where Ramallah is located in the West Bank to the present day southern border of Turkey, and eastward to the Mediterranean Sea to establish its western limits, then westward across the Euphrates River to the Tigris River north of modern Baghdad in Iraq.

Technically, I suppose one might be able to say this future “Assyrian” might come out of southern Turkey, northern Iraq, or Lebanon, but since modern day Syria occupies some 85% of the area covered by the Assyrian empire at the time of Micah’s writings, I am persuaded the Assyrian antichrist will come out of Syria. The possible argument that Micah 5:5 was fulfilled during the old Assyrian invasion of Micah’s day, is thwarted by the context pattern of the four verses before it all still being unfulfilled at the time they were written, and then being linked contextually to verse 5 by “this man,” and “the peace.” Additionally, this argument is smashed by the verse that follows it.

Micah 5:6 – 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.

From the time of Micah’s writings to the present day, Israel has never “wasted the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof.” I will exposit specifically on both these locations in Prophecy Update Number 67, Lord willing.

The “Assyrian” of Micah 5:5 is not a European, an American, a Russian, an Eskimo, an Aborigine, an Ethiopian, or a platypus. He is an Assyrian, who becomes chief prince of the land where descendants of Meshech and Tubal were dwelling when Ezekiel wrote his prophecies. I will elaborate on this in future updates, Lord willing. The expression involving “seven shepherds and eight principal men” is an ancient oft used Hebrew idiom. It was the Hebrew manner of expressing “more than enough.” Seven is the Hebrew word for “complete,” implying “enough,” and when “eight” is added to it, the expression means “more than enough.” When the Assyrian comes into Israel, and treads within its borders north of Beersheba for 1260 days, then Jesus will return to restore peace for 1000 years on this planet. Christ’s Second Advent is accompanied by some 5/6 of the Assyrian’s armies being destroyed by the brightness of His coming. His destruction of the Assyrian and his false prophet will make whatever force Israel is able to muster up in the Negev for the battle of Armageddon “more than enough.”

When the Assyrian sets on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, as the willful King of the North preparing to launch his final attack on Israel at the battle of Armageddon, he will be beyond all help by men and Satan.

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.

Ezekiel 38:14-16 – Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? [15] And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: [16] And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

Zechariah 13:8,9 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. [9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Daniel 11:45 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

II Thessalonians 2:8 – And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Revelation 19:19-21 – 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.

Ezekiel 38:22 to 39:2 – And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. [23] Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord. [1] Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: [2] And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:

Micah 5:5,6 – 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.

Begin Excerpt from Jerusalem Post by Caroline Glick

Column One: Betting on a dead horse

December 18, 2008

Caroline Glick , THE JERUSALEM POST

Imagine what would happen if all the horse racing experts in the world got together and bet their money on a dead horse to win the Kentucky Derby. As far-fetched as that sounds, today all the who’s who in foreign affairs are either supporting or actively enacting an analogous policy toward the Palestinian Fatah movement.

Cheered on by the Olmert-Livni-Barak government, this week the Security Council passed Resolution 1850, which among other things calls on all UN member nations to provide political and financial support for Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas’s government. And no doubt the call will be answered with enthusiasm. Over the past year, Fatah received $1.7 billion in international aid – some $600 million more than the world’s foreign policy gurus promised to give last December.

But Fatah is a dead horse. Even if it were to sign a peace deal w

ith Israel – and really meant to keep it – the deal would be a dead letter because the Palestinian people themselves want neither peace with Israel nor Fatah.

Fatah lost the Palestinian Authority’s January 2006 legislative elections to Hamas. In June 2007 it was violently ousted from Gaza by Hamas. And next month, on January 9, Abbas’s term of office as PA chairman will end. If Abbas refuses to relinquish power on January 10, as far as the Palestinian people are concerned, Hamas will be right to reject his authority and to seek to overthrow his government in Judea and Samaria.

With the massive backing he enjoys from the US, in all likelihood Abbas will remain in power on January 10 and will refuse to run for reelection.

Palestinian journalists and Fatah officials in Ramallah readily acknowledge that were Abbas to face Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in open elections, Haniyeh would win big. And this is Fatah’s fault.

OVER THE past 13 years, Palestinian society has come to view jihad against Israel and the US as its definitive goal. And Fatah brought about this state of affairs.

Fatah indoctrinated the Palestinians to support jihad through a massive campaign of media incitement. Fatah has controlled the Palestinian media since 1994. Although it lost that control in Gaza in June 2007, aside from declaring their support for Hamas, Gaza’s media today are no different than they were when Fatah was in charge.

By convincing Palestinian society to support jihad, Fatah paved the way for Hamas’s takeover. Although Fatah operatives have killed more Israelis than Hamas has, Hamas still has more credibility in the jihad department. This owes mainly to Fatah’s image as a US and Israeli stooge.

Fatah’s American and Israeli champions justify their support for it by noting that since Hamas took over Gaza, Fatah has been willing to fight Hamas. But Fatah – which is begging Israel to reconquer Gaza for it – has not tempered its commitment to Israel’s destruction. The reason it fights Hamas is because Fatah’s leaders rightly view Hamas as a mortal threat.

In an interview with Jerusalem Post editor David Horovitz last week, US Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton, who as US security coordinator for the PA has been working with Fatah militias for the past three years, praised the US-trained Fatah forces now deployed in Jenin, Nablus and Hebron as “state-builders.”

Dayton also defended Fatah’s behavior during Hamas’s coup in Gaza. Noting that some 250 Fatah members were killed during the coup, Dayton claimed that

Fatah forces fought well before they surrendered. In his words, “These aren’t people that simply, immediately raised their hands and surrendered. I know this.

It took five days… They were clearly outgunned and still they stood their ground for five days.”

Perhaps this is true. But what Dayton ignored is the fact that Hamas would never have been able to build up a force capable of outgunning Fatah forces if Fatah leaders hadn’t let it.

IN SPITE of the fact that the entire Israeli-Palestinian peace process was predicated on Fatah’s pledge to disarm and disband Hamas, from 1994 until the 2007 coup, Fatah and Hamas were strategic allies and constant collaborators in their common war against Israel. Indeed, at the time of the coup, as partners in the PA’s unity government, Fatah and Hamas were closer than ever.

When on January 9 Fatah finds itself lacking any legal basis to lead the PA, Hamas will be sitting on top of the world. In addition to enjoying the support of the majority of Palestinians, Hamas is now second only to Hizbullah in Iran’s terror proxy pecking order.

Hamas cemented its alliance with Iran in December 2005 and it has only benefitted from its proxy status. Iran has provided Hamas with hundreds of millions of dollars. And to Iran’s monies must be added US and European financial assistance. Using the massive inflows of US and European contributions, Fatah transfers tens of millions of dollars to Gaza each month to pay the salaries of 70,000 Fatah-aligned PA employees in Gaza. That money frees Hamas from the need to develop Gaza’s economy, enabling it to devote itself to building up its war machine against Israel.

Iranian military assistance includes both training and equipment. Thanks to Israel’s decision six months ago to implement a largely one-sided cease-fire toward Hamas, since June, Hamas has doubled both the size and the range of its rocket and missile arsenals. Today it fields more than 10,000 rockets, missiles and mortars and has extended their range from 20 to 40 kilometers, placing major cities like Beersheba and Ashdod under threat.

If the government ever permits the IDF to defend the South by launching an offensive in Gaza, Hamas will be able to put up a very strong fight. Thanks to Iranian assistance and Israeli passivity, today Hamas’s forces are organized much like Hizbullah forces were in 2006.

Hamas has raised a 16,000-man army divided into eight brigades. Its forces possess advanced anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles. Like Hizbullah, Hamas has developed sophisticated intelligence capabilities. And like Hizbullah it has constructed 50 kilometers of tunnels and bunkers along Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt.

As a member of the Iranian camp, Hamas deters Israel from attacking it by raising the specter that any serious IDF operation in Gaza will be answered by the entire axis. An Israeli strike in Gaza is liable to be greeted not only by Hamas but by Hizbullah, Syria and Iran.

Hamas allies drove this point home over the past week.

As Hamas escalated its rocket offensive against Israel, Iran launched state-sponsored rallies in support of Hamas and announced it is sending a “humanitarian aid” ship to Gaza to break Israel’s naval blockade. Hizbullah launched identical protests and likewise stated its intention of sending a “humanitarian aid” ship to Hamas.

Then, too, the Hamas-controlled UNRWA announced on Thursday that it is suspending its food assistance to Gaza to protest Israel’s blockade of the Gaza coastline. This in turn will generate an outcry in Europe and give Iran and Hizbullah an excuse to attack Israel for refusing to let their “humanitarian aid” ships dock in Gaza.

TO DATE, Israel’s strategy for contending with Fatah’s demise has been to deny it. As for Hamas, the Olmert-Livni-Barak government has adopted Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s favored policy of speaking loudly and carrying no stick. As Abbas moves from failure to failure, they cling to him ever more tightly as Israel’s irreplaceable interlocutor.

After Hamas renewed its war against Israel this week, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Barak have all threatened to take action against Hamas. But at the same time, they have sent emissaries to Egypt to beg Hamas to reconsider its decision.

Since Abbas gave his final refusal last month to Olmert’s pleas to finalize a peace deal with Israel before US President George W.

Bush leaves office, and since Hamas renewed its missile offensive against Israel last month, Livni, Barak and Olmert have found it impossible to justify their policies to the public. With elections around the corner and with dozens of rockets and mortars now being launched against the country daily, Yediot Aharonot’s leftist military columnist Alex Fishman tried to help them out.

In a front-page commentary on Thursday, Fishman gave four major justifications for their decision to allow Hamas to build up its armed forces without an Israeli challenge for the past six months.

First, he argued that had Israel not given Hamas a free pass for six months, Israel wouldn’t have been able to negotiate the surrender of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem to Fatah.

Presumably this is so because had Israel opted to fight Hamas, Fatah would have sided with Hamas against Israel. Of course, given Fatah’s preference for Hamas over Israel, it is unclear why negotiating with Fatah is in Israel’s interest. But Fishman ignores that issue.

Fishman then claimed that by not attacking Hamas for six months, Israel has allowed two Palestinian “states” to be established – the Hamas state in Gaza, and the US- and Israel-sponsored Fatah state

in Judea and Samaria. And again, this is supposed to be a good thing because if only one Hamas-Fatah state existed in both areas, then the Olmert-Livni-Barak government wouldn’t have been able to negotiate the surrender of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem to Fatah. The fact that Hamas can and will overthrow a Fatah-run state in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem as easily as it overthrew the Fatah-run state in Gaza went unnoted by Fishman for some reason.

Fishman also argued that Israel’s decision to stand down against Hamas has improved Israel’s relations with Egypt. This assertion rings hollow, though. Throughout this period of supposedly improved relations, Egypt has continued to turn a blind eye to massive Iranian arms transfers to Hamas through its territory.

Finally, Fishman asserted that Israel’s unilateral cease-fire toward Hamas has been a good thing for Israel because it facilitated the return of the so-called Saudi peace plan to the regional agenda. But since the Saudi plan requires Israel to commit national suicide by withdrawing to the indefensible 1949 armistice lines and accepting millions of hostile, foreign-born Arabs as immigrants, it is hard to see why its return is a positive development for Israel.

And still, with Hamas now in the driver’s seat and ready to roll out its new war against Israel

together with its many allies, everyone who is anyone is putting his money on Abbas, who in less than three weeks will lose his last vestige of democratic legitimacy.

In his interview with the Post, Dayton couldn’t think of a way that Hamas could be ejected from Gaza. On the other hand, it is self-evident that if the people betting on Abbas get their way and Israel gives Fatah Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem, Hamas will quickly take over those areas as well.

That’s what happens when you bet on a dead horse. You lose.

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http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.

You may use material originated by this site. However, if you wish to use any quoted copyrighted material from this site, which did not originate at this site, for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner from which we extracted it.

A New Islamic union sure as Taxes,

A union of power which soon Maxes,

Much more dangerous than Evil AXIS,

A Trilateral Strategic Middle East

BLOC,

Syria, Turkey, and Iran overrun old Iraq!

AFTER a U.S. pullout the Trilateral Attacks,

And Iraq becomes one in a quadruple Pack,

Once there are four there is no turning Back,

Four strike Israel’s north – Six in south Intact,

Then all 10 horns push Israel into Negev Tract!

Initial Attack Likely To Occur Twixt 2010 & 2015!

Israelis stay 3 and ½ years in Negev Wilderness!

Before Second Advent Russia unites with the Pack,

At Armageddon Coming Antichrist’s Attack TO BACK!

I‘ve been watching this lining up for the last 2 Years!

I think you will find these 2 excerpts a reason to Fear!

January 10, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

As I am writing this BLOG the United Nations is preparing a new draft proposal to end the Gaza conflict, since the first one was rejected by both Israel and Hamas. In the draft of the new proposal there is a portion proposing UN Turkish troops keep security at the Gaza Border Crossing assisted by PA troops from Fatah. Consider this when reading the rest of

this BLOG!

Begin Excerpt from Middle East Media Review Institute (MEMRI)

Middle East Media Review Institute – (MEMRI)

January 6, 2009

Inquiry Article No. 490

Recent Attempts to Form Strategic Regional Bloc: Syria, Turkey and Iran

By: O. Winter *

Introduction

In August and September 2008, a series of meetings and mutual visits took place among the Syrian, Iranian, and Turkish heads of state. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad visited Turkey and Iran in the first week of August, and a few days later, on August 14, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan then visited Damascus in early September.

In reference to these visits, it was reported in the Arab press that Syria was attempting to form a strategic bloc with Iran and Turkey, and to establish a trilateral consultation and coordination mechanism with them. The Syrian press stated that the three countries held similar positions on many regional issues, including the Iranian nuclear dossier, the geographical unity of Iraq, and the intra-Palestinian conflict, and that they would be able to shape the future of the region

according to their interests.

Following are excerpts from statements and articles on this topic.

Arab Diplomatic Sources: Syria Trying to Form a Trilateral Strategic Bloc in the Middle East

The Qatari daily Al-Watan reported, citing Arab diplomatic sources, that Syria hoped to form a trilateral strategic bloc in the Middle East comprising Syria, Iran, and Turkey, and that this had been the object of Assad’s August 2008 visit to Teheran and Ankara. According to the sources, Damascus believes that strengthening ties and coordination among these three countries at this time would promote the achievement of equilibrium in the Middle East.

The sources denied, however, that the bloc would be a political axis or an alliance, saying that it would only be a coordination and consultation mechanism for addressing various issues on the regional and international agenda. They added that Syria would be holding a trilateral summit in Damascus in order to determine the exact format of this coordination, and to confront the serious dangers and challenges facing the Middle East.

Assad: “There Is Real Cooperation Among These Three Countries”

In a September 17, 2008 interview on Iranian TV, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad discussed the relations among Syria, Iran and Turkey: “At present, there is real cooperation among these three countries; however, this cooperation must be extended to include other countries as well, especially Iraq, because we are neighbors. The main factor prompting [this cooperation] was the lessons we derived from the past.

Furthermore, the mistakes made by the enemies have shown that lack of cooperation works against us.

“Currently, the [Syrian-Iranian-Turkish] cooperation is mainly on the political level, but we hope to extend it [to other spheres as well]. I discussed this [issue] with the Iranian leadership during my visit to Iran, and [with the Turkish leadership] during my visit to Turkey and during the Turkish prime minister’s visit to Syria.”

On August 6, 2008, the day after Assad’ s return from Turkey, hi

s political and media adviser Dr. Buthayna Sha’ban explained that the reciprocal visits were part of consultations on regional issues currently underway among the three countries, mainly on the issues of Iraq, Iran’s nuclear dossier, and the situation in Palestine. Sha’ban said that the three countries agreed that Iran had the right to pursue its nuclear program for peaceful purposes,

in accordance with international charters. She added that consultation among them had always served the security, peace, and stability of the region and had counteracted war and aggression.

She said that the three countries were concerned and apprehensive about the situation in Iraq, and that they saw “Iraq’s unity, independence, and sovereignty over its resources and land as [a principle of great] importance.”

Syrian Government Daily Teshreen: Trilateral Coordination Will Shape the Future of the Region

In an editorial in the Syrian government daily Teshreen, editor-in-chief ‘Issam Dari wrote that Turkey, Iran, and Syria would determine the future of the Middle East: “As prominent countries, Turkey, Syria and Iran can not only play an influential role in the region, but also shape [its] future in accordance with the will of their own peoples and that of the peoples of the entire region. This, in order to stop the brazen interference by outside [forces] – interference that must be rejected outright as incompatible with the supreme interests of the Arabs and those of their neighbors and friends.

“The Syrian president’s visit to Turkey, and his previous visit to Iran, were part of the joint and persistent effort by the three friendly countries for high-level coordination, aimed at achieving the aspirations of the peoples in the Middle East. Apparently, this coordination alarms those with plans that are hostile to [these] peoples, and as a result [this coordination] has come under unceasing attacks – which are unlikely to stop anytime soon – aimed at distorting and misrepresenting it, and at sabotaging Syria’s relations with Iran and Turkey. However, these depraved attempts [to stop the coordination] will not succeed, since the three countries are aware [of them] and are determined to safeguard their supreme national interests, and to safeguard the welfare and the future of the region.

“Accordingly, this [tripartite] coordination will determine the nature of the next phase – which will be shaped by parties that are from the region and are interested [in its affairs], and which throughout history have proven their ability to defend themselves and their culture.”

Syrian Government Daily Al-Ba’th: The Three Countries’ Positions Are Similar, If Not Identical

An editorial in the Syrian government daily Al-Ba’th contended that Syria, Iran, and Turkey held similar positions on most regional issues: “Syria, Iran, and Turkey are countries of prominence and presence – politically, economically, and in terms of human [resources] – and they have important converging interests. This means that any crisis afflicting a neighboring country invariably affects them, directly or indirectly, as it affects other countries in the world, albeit to a lesser degree.

“This conclusion is not new; what is significant, however, is Syria’s initiative to broaden its contacts and engage its neighboring countries in a discussion on all issues of regional importance in the spheres of politics, economy, and security. This, in accordance with the common interests and aims of the countries and people of the region, who, in the recent years, have been suffering the consequences of the U.S. occupation of Iraq – and are still suffering from it.

“Even more important are [Syria’s, Iran’s and Turkey’s] similar, if not identical, positions on burning issues [such as] the occupied territories in Iraq and Lebanon, Iran’s nuclear dossier, support for national conciliation in Palestine, the lifting of the Gaza siege, Iraq’s unity and stability and the withdrawal of the occupying forces, support for the Lebanese national dialogue, and support for Iran’s right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. These were the main issues in President Assad’s talks with the Iranian and Turkish leaders.

As’ad ‘Aboud, editor of the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra, underlined Syria’s, Iran’s, and Turkey’s opposition to the U.S. presence in Iraq: “Who is paying the price of the current situation in Iraq?! Isn’t it the Iraqi people, and after them the other countries in the region?! The decision to invade Iraq – wasn’t it imposed on the countries of region in [complete] contradiction to their wishes and their efforts to ensure their own stability?! Did Iran support the war against Iraq – despite its [enmity] with [former] Iraqi president Saddam Hussein?! Did Turkey support the war against Iraq?! Didn’t the Syrian president clearly declare that Iraq is a quagmire that is difficult to exit, [thus] openly opposing the war?!”

Syrian Weekly: Turkey Has Realized Where Its Interests Lie

An editorial in the Syrian weekly Abyadh Wa-Aswad stated that Turkey had despaired of joining the Western world and had realized that its real interest lay in renewing its contacts with the Middle East countries: “In light of the economic interests and common denominators shared by Syria, Turkey, and Iran – including geographic [proximity] [and similarities in] religion, beliefs and positions – it has become more important than ever to conduct a political process that reflects this reality and protects these interests. [This move] has prepared the ground for redrawing the map of cooperation among [certain] countries in the region, [namely Syria, Turkey, and Iran], especially since their main common denominator is their categorical rejection of all Western dictates, and their rigorous adherence to the national and regional interests of every country…

“After soberly scrutinizing the [history of] the previous century, the [Turkish] government realized that dancing to Europe’s tune is a waste of time… unless it is willing to completely surrender to the West’s will – which it refuses to do. It has realized that the right way is to rejoin the Arabs, since its real interests lie in the [Middle East,] with which it shares a common history and family ties [as well as common] religion, ideology and interests.

“[Turkey] has rejoined the Arab [world] through the Syrian gate, with the aim of preserving its regional status… Perhaps it was the threats to which the West has exposed it – especially after the U.S. invasion of Iraq and its support for the establishment of a Kurdish state which could threaten Turkey from the rear – that caused the young Turkish leadership (Erdogan and Gul) to advance in the correct and logical direction, [i.e.] towards the region to which they belong. [This move] has created a united regional strategic force to safeguard the interests of the people [in the region], which the West wants to harm…

“The factors uniting the three countries far outweigh their links with the West and the U.S. The rapprochement among Turkey, Syria, and Iran should be a model for other countries, which should [likewise] unite based on mutual interests and respect.”

Main Headline of Syrian Weekly: “Syria-Iran-Turkey – A New Map of Regional Cooperation”

Abyadh Wa-Aswad (Syria), August 10, 2008.

Iranian Columnist: The Trilateral Front – A Major Regional Force that Will Restrain America’s Rampage in the Region

Iranian columnist Dr. Mohammad Sadeq Al-Hosseini, who is secretary-general of the Arab-Iranian Dialogue Forum, wrote in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida: “The prevailing view in knowledgeable circles is that a consensus – if not an alliance – is forming among Teheran, Ankara, and Damascus. [This alliance] will transform these three countries into a major regional force that will act to restrain America’s rampage in the region. Similar cooperation emerged during the era of the late [Syrian] president Hafez Al-Assad in the wake of the Kurdish rebellion, which spawned dangerous developments that threatened the security of the three countries. [The Kurdish issue] may be an important factor in reviving this trilateral [alliance today]…

“The war in the Caucasus, and its ramifications for U.S.-Russia relations, will offer the influential countries of the region a great opportunity to put their own stamp on what Washington envisaged as ‘the New Middle East.’ This [stamp] will be based on [these countries’ own] positions and standards, rather than on those of the U.S., [which] has lost the war in the Caucasus.

“Accordingly, it can be said with confidence that a main outcome of this war is [the emergence of] a regional front that is free from U.S. dictates.”

*O. Winter is a research fellow at MEMRI.

Begin Excerpt from Far’s News Agency

November 5, 2007

Article Nr.

8608140338

Inevitable Iran-Turkey-Syria-Russia Alliance

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- The Middle East has acquired immense strategic value as one of the determining fulcrums in the global balance of power due to its being the world’s largest known storehouse of low-cost energy supplies.

The region’s geopolitical importance, the kaleidoscopic nature of politics among its states, the presence of volatile social and political forces within them and the interference of world superpowers all insure that the region will remain a potentially explosive source of tension for years.

Emboldened by its military strength after World War II, Moscow prepared to carve up its southern neighbors. It demanded territorial concessions and control of the Bosporus from Turkey and refused to withdraw from northern Iran, which it had occupied in 1941. Turkey and Iran rebuffed Soviet coercive diplomacy with the support of the United States and became key allies in the American effort to contain Soviet expansion.

The Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) was a defense alliance between Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and Great Britain. Originally named the Baghdad Pact, the name was changed when the Iraqi revolution led Iraq to withdraw in 1959.

The United States had observer status in the alliance but was not a party to the treaty. The fall of the shah removed the American shield from Iran, sounded the death knell for the anti-Soviet CENTO alliance and sailed Iran towards new horizons.

Now the same faith is on the road for Turkey. The measureless and injudicious backup given by the occupying power in Iraq — the US government — to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and to Massoud Barzani, the former tribal leader of the Iraqi Kurds and now the leader of the Iraqi Kurdish region.

Turkey, taking into consideration the ongoing assaults by the PKK terrorists in the southeastern regions and the measureless backup given by US government to Iraqi Kurds, has drawn up a new strategic alliance policy that weakens ties with the US and strengthens relations with Iran and Syria, its millennium-long neighbors.

The US has failed to keep its promise to Turkey to confront the PKK. Turkey now feels that it has no choice but to attack the PKK’s sanctuaries in northern Iraq together with Iran.

Iran is also suffering from similar assaults originating from the same terrorist group located in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq under the name of Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK).

The US and Iran are increasingly at odds over a range of issues, and Turkey has stood nearby the US as an old and devoted ally for the past 57 years, but now the sympathy of Turkish people towards the US had fallen sharply over the past couple of years, and it will take decades for US to recover it.

It seems it is now mandatory for Turkey and Iran to form a common cooperative ground in regard to common problems and interests. New and stronger cooperative action in the economic field by Turkey and Iran will play a major role in the eradication of the political distrust and concerns between the two countries. The parties have announced an upcoming doubling of the volume of their trade.

Both countries have already agreed on the elimination of the main source of discord: support for each other’s separatist and oppositional organizations. Iran has committed to adding the PKK to its list of “terrorist organizations.” Turkey has done the same concerning the anti-Iran terrorist group “Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO).”

The second stage is the escalation of high-level cooperation between Turkey, Iran and Syria and this is moving forward, as well.

Aversion to American global policy, in particular to the actions of the US in Iraq, the common allies of Syria and Iran, and also shared economic interests, will lead to the merging of the political strategies of Russia and Turkey. Countries that were previously historical opponents will turn into partners in the creation of a new Eurasian coalition.

The final effect of the region’s aversion to American policies will be the formation of the “union of four:” Russia, Turkey, Iran and Syria. Of course, this rapprochement between Ankara, Moscow, Damascus and Tehran will definitely affect Washington’s position in the Middle East.

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