blog.Tribulationperiod.com

Land of Magog Victory!

America’s Talking Heads,

Left looking Naive & Weak,

Diplomatic Dialog is all Over,

On a US Europe Missile Shield,

Obama GIVES UP TO Magogites!

2015 will be too little and too Late,

For E.U. Missile Shield To Be In Place,

Cause last war of age will have Begun!

September 18, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Ezekiel 39:6 – And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am

the Lord.

Begin Excerpt from DEBKAfile Special Report

New US anti-missile system in Israel, Azerbaijan to replace scrapped shield in E.

Europe

DEBKAfile Special Report

September 17, 2009, 9:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

Deputy US army chief, Gen. James Cartwright and defense secretary Robert Gates amplified President Barack Obama’s statement on the US missile shield in East Europe in Washington Thursday, Sept. 17, by announcing that a new and better anti-missile missile system would be deployed in Israel and the Caucasus.

DEBKAfile discloses exclusively that the site would be a Russian military base in Azerbaijan.

Referring to the Israeli component, he said: “It is already working perfectly.”

DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose he was referring to the advanced American FBX-T radar system deployed last year in Israel’s Negev base at Nevatim, which is capable of tracking a missile launched from the Persian Gulf, the Middle East and beyond. The system, product of Ray theon, is mobile and capable of detecting incoming bodies

the size of a baseball from a distance of 4,700 km, determining its speed and angle of flight and transmitting the data to an interceptor at any point on earth.

DEBKAfile reported earlier Thursday:

The Obama administration’ s deci

sion to shelve the plan to install US missile interceptors and radar systems in Poland and the Czech Republic was released Thursday, Sept. 17. The shield was promoted by the Bush administration in the face of strong Russian opposition for the purpose of shielding Europe from long-range Iranian ballistic missile attack.

DEBKAfile reports that Barack Obama’s decision prompted Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s surprise comment Monday, Sept. 14, that his government no longer rules out further sanctions against Iran

– although the Kremlin has always denied its cooperation with the US on the Iranian nuclear issue was contingent on the removal of the US missile shield plan.

DEBKA-Net-Weekly in its coming issue (out Friday) will reveal how the shared US-Russian wish to avert an Israeli military strike against Iran produced Obama’s decision to ditch the missile shield in East Europe.
Our Washington sources report that the decision follows a 60-day assessment of the issue announced by Obama.

On Aug. 29, DEBKAfile reported exclusively from East European sources that Washington was considering the transfer of its missile plan from Poland and the Czech Republic possibly to Israel and Turkey.

This decision is an important foreign policy step for Obama; it is a prize for Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who fought the US shield plan on Russia’s doorstep tooth and nail, and a major strategic reversal for Iran. Moscow’s cooperation removes a key obstacle on the road to harsh sanctions against Iran. Acting in concert with Moscow, Washington can dispense with Beijing’s endorsement.

Nonetheless, DEBKAfile’s Moscow sources stress, it is not entirely clear how far the Kremlin is willing to go in partnering the US drive against Iran. Russian leaders will take good care not to appear to the Muslim and Arab world as Iran’s enemy or a trading and diplomatic partner who reneges on its commitments.

Our Washington sources note the Obama administration cleverly presented its surrender to Moscow as an upgrade and reorganization of US missile defenses into a more advanced, faster, and deadlier system.

Gates said Iran’s short and medium range program is not advancing as US intelligence originally estimated, and therefore the US can base its operations for now on mobile defense systems, mainly at sea, and on intercept missiles to be stationed closer to where the source of the threats.

“Anyone who says we are abandoning our plans for missile defense in Europe does not understand how we operate,” said the defense secretary.

Gen. Cartwright presented the time schedule for the new system as NOT BEFORE 2015, MEANING IN SIX YEARS.

End Excerpt from DEBKAfile

Begin Quote from last 3 paragraphs of September 18, 2009 Jerusalem Post Article by Caroline Glick, “Column One: Our irredeemable international system:”

“[Unlike Bush, Obama has enthusiastically embraced the notion that the UN should by rights have a leading role in international affairs. He has also accepted the UN’s basic notion that in the interest of world peace, the US and its democratic allies should bow to the desires of despots and dictators.

So it is that this week he abandoned US allies Poland and the Czech Republic in his bid to appease Russia. So it is that his administration has sided with ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya, who, with the support of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, sought to undermine Honduran democracy against Honduras’s lawful government and democratic defenders. So it is that the administration has sided with the genocidal mullahs in Teheran over their democratic opponents. So it is that the administration has adopted the view that Israel is to blame for the absence of peace in the Middle East and embraced as legitimate political actors Palestinian terror groups that refuse to accept Israel’s right to exist.

Until Obama came along, Israel could afford not to make too much of the fact that its enemies control the UN-led system of international institutions, because it could trust that the US would use its Security Council veto to prevent these forces from causing it any real harm. This is no longer the case. With the Obama administration fully on board the UN agenda, Israel and other threatened democracies like Honduras, Poland, the Czech Republic, South Korea and Japan will have to loudly proclaim the UN-based international system’s inherent moral, political and legal corruption and seek ways to undermine and weaken its power.]”

Begin Excerpt from the UK Times On Line

The Times

September 18, 2009

A shot in the arm for Russia; a possible shot in the foot for the US

Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent and Tony Halpin in Moscow

Dmitri Medvedev could be forgiven for having a celebratory shot of vodka with breakfast yesterday morning at the news that President Obama plans to abandon America’s missile defence shield in Eastern Europe. Mr Obama will have longer to wait before he can judge whether or not to celebrate.

At best, the development raises hopes of a warmer relationship between Moscow and Washington and the chance of greater co-operation on the many issues of global concern that founder under a Russian veto at the United Nations Security Council — Iran’s nuclear arsenal being the most pressing. At worst, it is proof to Moscow that Mr Obama is weak, that intransigence pays off and that the best way to get what it wants is to do nothing.

Moscow denies that any deal was made in advance, but the denial is semantic: it knows exactly what Washington wants.

In February, President Obama sent a letter to Mr Medvedev setting out the trade. A shield in Eastern Europe might not be necessary, he noted, if Russia got on board against the Iranian nuclear threat. Mr Medvedev was cool on the letter, then complained of a lack of specifics. Next week he and Mr Obama meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

That will be the time for specifics.

Washington wants tough new sanctions on Iran’s energy sector — sanctions that Russia has long opposed. Moscow seems divided on that now, at least publicly, with President Medvedev apparently mulling sanctions over, while Sergei Lavrov, his Foreign Minister, rules them out. Russia could offer other help over Iran. In 2007 it signed a deal to provide Iran with its own S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to protect it s nuclear facilitie

s. Israel has vowed to bomb Iran if it believes that the system is on its way. Saudi Arabia has offered what amounts to a bribe, promising to buy $2 billion (£1.2 billion) in Russian arms if Moscow scraps the deal — an attractive offer when Russia is trying to increase its share of the Middle Eastern arms market.

Russia’s gain is Poland’s and the Czech Republic’s loss. They have missed out on the huge American military footprint that hosting the shield would have brought them, a presence that they saw as a bulwark against an assertive Russia. Ukraine and Georgia’s chances of admission to Nato look further away than ever, as does the Alliance’s easternward expansion.

The timing is disastrous for Ukraine in particular, given the Kremlin’s determin ation to reverse the pro-Western Or

ange Revolution and ensure victory for a pro-Russian candidate at the presidential elections in January. But just as Western encroachment into Russia’s “sphere of influence” seemed only to make Moscow more belligerent, a greater sense of security could make it more inclined to leave its neighbours alone. It is a faint hope for the former Soviet states.

The reaction of the Middle East reaction has been notably mute. If Russian pressure on Tehran begins to yield Iranian concessions on its nuclear programme, Israel could begin to negotiate peace with the Palestinians. A first step would be to heed Mr Obama’s calls to halt settlement building on the West Bank.

A more compliant and less belligerent Iran would also reduce the threat of a Middle Eastern arms race, where Sunni Arab nations have started looking at the development of their own nuclear deterrents.

Saudi Arabia has argued for American protection over the region to deter an arms race. The redeployed shield could calm the nerves of Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, who have warned that they too could go nuclear if Iran is allowed to get the bomb.

Who stands to gain

Dream scenario

• Russia reverses course and backs tough new sanctions on Iran.

Withdraws aid and nuclear fuel agreements with Tehran

• Iran feels the pressure and begins to negotiate the dismantling of its nuclear weapons programme Israel feels less threatened and, in return, freezes settlements as part of genuine efforts to forge peace with the Palestinians

• Arab nations feel less threatened by Iran and drop thoughts of developing their own nuclear capability

• Russia agrees a new arms reduction treaty with the US, slashing its nuclear stockpiles. It becomes less aggressive in its overtures to anti-US Latin American states such as Venezuela and reaches a compromise on Nato expansion

Nightmare scenario

• Russia pockets Obama’s missile defence concession but finds new gripes to continue blocking sanctions against Iran. It finally supplies S300 air-defence missiles to Tehran, which it has agreed to sell but not yet delivered

• An emboldened Iran continues to develop its nuclear weapons programme

• An increasingly rattled Israel digs in on peace talks, continues settlement building on Palestinian territory and prepares to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities unilaterally. A Middle East arms race begins as Arabs look to develop their own nuclear deterrent

• Moscow continues to expand its influence in America’s backyard, meddle in the affairs of former Soviet states and use energy supply as a political weapon

• Mr Obama is LEFT LOOKING NAÏVE AND WEAK

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The UN IAEA expresses “Sincere Gratitude” to ElBaradei

For long devotion to international peace and Security.

Iran should give him the

Iranian Metal Of VALOR,

And make a citizen of Iran rather than Egypt,

For allowing Iran time to develop a Nuke!

An Islamic inspecting an Islamic Nation

Is like ACORN investigating Obama,

Or Congress investigating ACORN!

September 18, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

America is fast approaching the state that Israel reached before judgment came upon her in 587 B.C. and now what will America “do in the end thereof?”

RULE OF THE DAY IN GOVERNMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS IS TO COVER UP!

TRUTH IS NOW A NOVELTY IN UN

INTERNATIONAL FOREIGN POLICIES!

CORRUPTION RUNS RAMPANT IN ALL FACETS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY!

PROSTITUTION ACCEPTED AND PRACTICED IN HIGH GOVERNMENT!

Jeremiah 5:7-13 – How shall I pardon thee for thi

s? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. [8] They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife. [9] Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? [10] Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord’s. [11] For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. [12] They have belied the Lord, and said,

It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: [13] And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

Jeremiah 5:31 – The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

Begin Excerpt 1 from Jerusalem Post

IAEA: Iran can make nuke and is building a delivery system

September 17, 2009

Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST

Experts at the world’s top atomic watchdog are in agreement that Teheran has the ability to make a nuclear bomb and is on the way to developing a missile system able to carry an atomic warhead,

according to a secret report seen by The Associated Press.

The document drafted by senior officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency is the clearest indication yet that the agency’s leaders share Washington’s views on Iran’s weapon-making capabilities.

It appears to be the so-called “secret annex” on Iran’s nuclear program that Washington says is being withheld by the IAEA’s chief.

The document says Iran has “sufficient information” to build a bomb.

It says Iran is likely to “overcome problems” on developing a delivery system.

End Excerpt 1 from The Jerusalem Post

I STARTED TO RUN EXCERPT 1 FROM THE JERUSALEM POST 17 SEPT, BUT THOUGHT IT BEST TO WAIT UNTIL I RECEIVED WHAT I KNEW WAS GOING TO COME, NAMELY THE UNITED NATIONS DENIAL DEFENSE OF ELBARADEI’S STATEMENT LAST WEEK. THE TWO KEY WORDS IN THE FOLLOWING EXCERPT 2 TO CAREFULLY CONSIDER ARE “UNDENIABLE EVIDENCE” AND “CONCRETE PROOF.” I SUSPECT THESE TWO WORDS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED WHEN THE FIRST BOMB IS TESTED.

Begin Excerpt 2 from The Jerusalem Post

IAEA denies report, stands by ElBaradei’s recent assessment

September 17, 2009

AP and Jpost.com staff , THE JERUSALEM POST

The UN nuclear watchdog dismissed an Associated Press report that said the agency had concluded Iran was on its way to producing nuclear weapons, Reuters reported late Thursday night.

In a statement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reaffirmed chief Mohamed ElBaradei’s September 9 warning that allegations the agency was sitting on undeniable evidence of Iranian bomb work were “politically motivated and baseless.”

“With respect to a recent media report, the IAEA reiterates that it has no concrete proof that there is or has been a nuclear weapons program in Iran,” the statement quoted by Reuters said.

Earlier, AP reported that experts at the agency were in agreement that Teheran has the ability to make a nuclear bomb and is on the way to developing a missile system able to carry an atomic warhead.

Associated Press said it saw a secret report which claimed as much.

The document drafted by senior officials at the IAEA, AP said, was the clearest indication yet that the agency’s leaders share Washington’s views on Iran’s weapon-making capabilities.

It appears to be the so-called “secret annex” on Iran’s nuclear program that Washington says is being withheld by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaraedi.

The document says Iran has “sufficient information” to build a bomb. It says Iran is likely to “overcome problems” on developing a delivery system.

The document was released as the West was gearing up to hold talks with Teheran, in an effort to resolve the standoff over the Islamic Republic’s refusal to freeze uranium enrichment and heed other UN Security Council demands.

A meeting was set for October 1, and representatives from the six world powers –

the US, the UK, China, Russia, Germany and France – will be in attendance.

End Excerpt 2 from The Jerusalem Post

DOES A “SECRET ANNEX” ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM EXIST? I DO NOT KNOW, BUT I COULD CARE LESS, BECAUSE IF IRAN IS NOT TRYING TO MAKE A NUCLEAR WARHEAD FOR THEIR SHIHAB MISSILE, THEN I DON’T BELIEVE AHMADINEJAD IS A SHIITE MUSLIM.

Begin Excerpt 3 from DEBKAfile Special Report

IAEA denies report, stands by ElBaradei’s recent assessment

September 17, 2009

AP and Jpost.com staff , THE JERUSALEM POST

The UN nuclear watchdog dismissed an Associated Press report that said the agency had concluded Iran was on its way to producing nuclear weapons, Reuters reported late Thursday night.

In a statement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reaffirmed chief Mohamed ElBaradei’s September 9 warning that allegations the agency was sitting on undeniable evidence of Iranian bomb work were “politically motivated and baseless.”

“With respect to a recent media report, the IAEA reiterates that it has no concrete proof that there is or has been a nuclear weapons program in Iran,” the statement quoted by Reuters said.

Earlier, AP reported that experts at the agency were in agreement that Teheran has the ability to make a nuclear bomb and is on the way to developing a missile system able to carry an atomic warhead.

Associated Press said it saw a secret report which claimed as much.

The document drafted by senior officials at the IAEA, AP said, was the clearest indication yet that the agency’s leaders share Washington’s views on Iran’s weapon-making capabilities.

It appears to be the so-called “secret annex” on Iran’s nuclear program that Washington says is being withheld by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaraedi.

The document says Iran has “sufficient information” to build a bomb. It says Iran is likely to “overcome problems” on developing a delivery system.

The document was released as the West was gearing up to hold talks with Teheran, in an effort to resolve the standoff over the Islamic Republic’s refusal to freeze uranium enrichment and heed other UN Security Council demands.

A meeting was set for October 1, and representatives from the six world powers – the US, the UK, China, Russia, Germany and France – will be in attendance.

Sarkozy accuses Iran of hiding nuclear weapons program which threatens Israel

End Excerpt 3 from DEBKAfile

IF MY HEADING DESCRIPTION OF IAEA MOHAMED ELBARAEDI SEEMS UNJUSTIFIED, VERY HARSH, BIASED, UNFAIR, AND UNJUSTIFIED, IT IS BECAUSE I HAVE BUILT UP THIS OPINION OVER HIS LONG OPERATION AS THE HEAD OF THE UNITED NATION’S IAEA.

Begin Excerpt 4 from DEBKAfile

DEBKAfile Special Report

September 16, 2009, 9:09 AM (GMT+02:00)

The first Western leader to expressly admit knowledge of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, French president Nicolas Sarkozy said: “It is a certainty to all of our secret services. Iran is working today on a nuclear (weapons) program.” He added: “We cannot let Iran acquire nuclear” weapons because it would also be a threat to Israel.” Sarkozy spoke during a meeting at the Elysee presidential palace with lawmakers from his UMP party Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The French president said he would not shake the hand (of Iran’s president at the UN General Assembly) of “someone who wants to wipe Israel off the map.”

DEBKAfile’s militlary sources add:

French intelligence has thus gone further than US intelligence agencies which maintained in an assessment to leaked to the media on Sept. 10: “Iran has created enough nuclear fuel to make a rapid, if risky, spring for a nuclear weapon,” and “Iran has deliberately stopped short of the critical last steps to make a bomb.”

France is one of the five permanent UN Security Council members with veto powers.

Together with Germany they have agreed to meet Iranian representatives on Oct.

1 for talks, although Tehran insists they will not cover its “inalienable nuclear rights.”

Begin Excerpt 5 from Middle East Online

IAEA gives ElBaradei honorary title

IAEA expresses ‘sincere gratitude’ to ElBaradei for his devotion to international peace, security.

September 10, 2000

VIENNA – The UN atomic watchdog voted Thursday to bestow an honorary title of Egyptian-born Director General Emeritus on the agency’s chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, who steps down in November.

The title was voted on the last day of a meeting of the 35-member board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The resolution is to be formally adopted at the IAEA’s general conference next week.

He is scheduled to step down on November 30 after three terms in office and will hand over to Yukiya Amano of Japan.

ElBaradei was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for his work at

the agency.

One of the final items on this week’s meeting, which wrapped up Thursday, was a resolution in which the board “expresses its sincere gratitude and appreciation to ElBaradei for his devotion to the objectives and functions of the agency and to the cause of international peace and security during his distinguished and successful tenure as director general.”

Most of the last session was taken up with speeches of praise for ElBaradei who gave a short address and was given a standing ovation by delegates, diplomats who attended the closed-door meeting said.

He was presented with a silver platter as a gift.

People in the room said the Israeli delegate was not in his seat while other countries paid tribute to ElBaradei.

During his 12 years as head of the agency, he has frequently riled nuclear-armed United States for his outspoken views.

Nuclear-armed France, with no evidence, has accused ElBaradei of being too soft on Iran. Yet France itself, and more so the US have frequently accused of exaggerating if not outright lying about Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iran insists it has the right to develop civilian nuclear technology, which it says is aimed at generating energy for its growing population.

Israel is the only country in the Middle Ease that actually has nuclear weapons.

Observers say due the strong Jewish and pro-Israel lobbies in the US and some European countries, these countries have taken a hypocritical stance in relation to nuclear issues in the region.

Two of his three successors — Sigvard Eklund who headed the agency from 1961-1981 and Hans Blix who was director general from 1981-1997 — were similarly awarded the title Director General Emeritus after they left.

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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

For more detailed information go to:

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

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AMERICA NEEDS TO BACK ISRAEL – NOT “TOUGH LOVE” THEM!

PLEASE DO TAKE TIME TO READ THIS ARTICLE BY BARRY RUBIN

IN MY OPINION HE’S ONE OF THE 3 BEST LIVING JEWISH ANALYSTS

I CAN’T RECALL EVER DISAGREEING WITH ANYTHING HE’S WRITTEN!

September 17, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin Excerpt from ‘The New Republic’ via The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs/Daily Alert

The arrogance of the advice-givers.

Barry Rubin

September 11, 2009

One remarkable thing about watching the Middle East is how what’s celebrated as brilliant in Europe or America is errant nonsense.

Writing such stuff makes people successful and gives them an audience of millions. What they say is so ridiculous that one wants to laugh, yet so totally accepted as true in Washington and European capitals that the laughter would be laughed at.

The article to which I refer is by Jacob Weisberg in the June 22 Newsweek, entitled, “A Friend in Need: Barack gets tough on Bibi.” It is far more terrible because Weisberg is neither leftist nor anti-Isr ael

but has simply imbibed what “everyone says.”

Let me quickly add that while I don’t know Weisberg personally, I’m confident in saying he has no serious training in the Middle East, speaks neither Arabic nor Hebrew, spends little time researching the region, and has no real qualification for making the judgments he does. Here’s the theme: Israelis are so stupid about their country, situation, and region on the life-and-death issues which they have been dealing with for decades that they must be saved in spite of themselves by people who have no knowledge or experience on any of these things. No other country in the world is so frequently told this kind of thing which I hear all the time from Europeans, too.

Is it so hard to comprehend that our views and behavior are based on years of experience and study

? That we know best how to save ourselves and have been doing a far better job of it, against tremendous odds and unhelpful kibbitzers, than many others

? That heeding their prescriptions would be disastrous, in fact have already proven so? After all, the tragic history of the last 20 years has largely resulted from listening to the same advice he gives now.

When one tries to explain these things in conversations, however, you can see their eyes go blank and

their ears close up.

Weisberg’s article follows this pattern. The United States, he says (and these are main elements in the rhetoric among supporters of the Obama administration and several European governments) must show Israel “tough love,” lean “harder on Jews and the Arabs to get serious about a deal,” and stop “fostering Israeli illusions that there [is] an alternative to trading land for peace.”

All three of these arguments are based on false premises.

Tough love: This derives from the late 1980s and early 1990s when

the left side of the Israeli spectrum was pushing the land-for-peace and negotiate with the PLO arguments against their rivals on the right. A little U.S. pressure, they argued, would help get talks going.

A lot has happened since then, however, notably the 1992-2000 Oslo process. This proved to the vast majority of Israelis that the Palestinian leadership (and Syria, too, for that matter) wasn’t ready or interested in peace. Disillusioned, a lot of these people supported Ariel Sharon and the disengagement from the Gaza Strip, the results of which (Hamas takeover, rocket fire) made them even more disenchanted.

That’s why the Labour party¬ which invented the land-for-peace argument in the first place and made the Oslo agreement and offered a two-state solution in 2000 ¬is now in a coalition government with the Likud party. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not a “right-wing” or “hard-line” leader but someone who speaks for the national consensus, a consensus based on education through painful, bloody experience.

Israel also faces a more hostile Europe, an Iran racing toward nuclear weapons, an intransigent and incompetent Palestinian Authority, plus Hamas and Hizballah.

Today the last thing Israelis need or want is pressure to make more concessions to the Palestinians. They’ve already made a lot; these didn’t lead anywhere good. What Israel needs today is not “tough love” but real support.

Push “harder on Jews and the Arabs to get serious about a deal”: The false assumption here is that getting an agreement, any agreement, is a desperate need of the two sides and of the region as a whole.

In fact, Israel is doing very well without any comprehensive peace agreement.

The economy is doing fine; morale is high; security improved. Moreover, this concept pays no attention to the idea that a deal can be a bad one, inherently instable and leading to more violence.
It never enters the minds of these people that a “peace” agreement that was broken or had dangerous provisions (giving up strategic territory; east Jerusalem; empowering a radical regime in a next-door Palestinian state; opening the door to foreign Arab or Iranian armies entering; bringing in millions of Palestinian Arabs to Israel) could leave Israel far worse off.

As for the Palestinian leadership, far from being desperate for a deal it is desperate to avoid one on anything other than its own unrealistic terms.

Stop “fostering Israeli illusions that there [is] an alternative to trading land for peace.” This one makes me laugh.

Everyone in Israel knows that there can be no comprehensive agreement without trading land for peace.

The question is, however, whether any comprehensive agreement on decent terms is possible at this time.

In addition, the question is also which land.

Israel has focused on three to five percent of the West Bank that is strategically important and has large concentrations of Israeli population.

Finally, if someone doesn’t understand that the barrier to peace is the Palestinians and not Israel, any advice they give Israel is going to be worthless.

As for those giving advice, here’s what we’ve seen in the last six months from those who want to “save” others by imposing their own vision:

–The idea that stopping construction on Jewish settlements would bring some Arab concession has already proven wrong.

–The idea that engagement with Iran would work has already proven wrong.

–The idea that the United States could successfully engage Syria in a set of mutual compromises has already proven wrong.

–The idea that an Obama charm offensive would bring higher levels of Arab support has already proven wrong. And that’s just in six months!

Let’s have a little humility and readiness to listen, please, from those who would play with the lives of other people.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), with Walter Laqueur (Viking-Penguin); the paperback edition of The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan); A Chronological History of Terrorism, with Judy Colp Rubin, (Sharpe); and The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley).

Originally Posted at GLORIA Center

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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to:

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

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Obama’s way is the way of the carnival side show Barker!

The Iranian Persian Way is the way of a pipe charmed Cobra!

The Syrian

Way is the Way of Side-winding Desert Rattlesnakes!

Obama is painfully learning “The Syrian Way” as a Bear Cub Novice,

Trying to get honey from a bee’s tree nest wearing padded boxing Gloves,

This invariably leads to numerous painful stings without acquiring any Honey!

Teddy Roosevelt’s policy with Arab pirates was ‘walk softly and carry a big Stick’,

Obama carries a big American stick – But Islam learned he uses Diplomatic Dialog,

And the chances he will use the stick are slim – They knew Teddy Roosevelt Would!

September 17, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin Excerpt 1 from www.bitterlemons-international.org via Jerusalem Post

The Syrian way

September 13, 2009

David Schenker , THE JERUSALEM POST

Shortly after taking office, in a dramatic departure from Bush-era policy, President Barack Obama made good on his pledge to reestablish dialogue with Syria. In recent months, in an effort to build confidence and improve the relationship, the administration has dispatched seven delegations to Damascus, including multiple visits from its top Middle East diplomat

and peace envoy

and senior military officials.

Much of the discussion has focused on stabilizing Iraq, an area where Syria-the leading point of entry for al-Qaida-affiliated insurgents since 2003-could potentially make a significant contribution. Washington also sought Syrian assistance in bolstering the embattled government in Baghdad.

The administration chose Iraq because it was assumed to be a topic of “mutual interest”, a belief seemingly confirmed in June 2009 by Syrian Ambassador to Washington Imad Mustafa, who described Iraq as “a very strong opportunity to cooperate with this administration”.

THREE MONTHS later, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that Damascus is falling short. Not only are jihadis continuing to flow into Iraq via Syria, but the Assad regime appears to be actively working to undermine the stability of the Iraqi government. The recent carnage in Baghdad tells the story.

On August 25, Iraq withdrew its ambassador to Syria to protest the suicide bombings that killed nearly 100 Iraqis a week earlier. In his videotaped confession, the mastermind of the attacks admitted he planned them on orders from a man in Syria.

Adding insult to injury, the attacks emanating from Syria came just one day after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was in Damascus for talks with President Bashar al-Assad about border security.

Despite Syrian protestations to the contrary, the bombings were not an aberration. In mid-July – a month after the initial US-Syrian military talks about border security – several armed fighters with Syrian passports were arrested in Mosul, another Iraqi city beset by suicide attacks. At about the same time, Assad himself hosted anti-American Iraqi Shi’ite militia leader Muqtada Sadr, whose Mahdi Army has proven a significant impediment to efforts to stabilize Iraq.

Regardless of whether the latest attacks were perpetrated by al-Qaida or Baathist insurgents, Damascus bears responsibility. For the past six years, the Assad regime has provided al-Qaida carte blanche to attack neighboring states via its territory. The relationship between this terrorist organization and this terror-sponsoring state remains complicated. Likewise, even now Damascus continues to oppose extradition of Iraqi Baathists who are working to destabilize the government in Baghdad.

After half a year of its good-faith effort to forge a partnership with Damascus based on “mutual respect and mutual interest”, the Obama administration has hit a wall. While Syrian officials routinely articulate a desire for improved relations with Washington, the Assad regime has yet to take steps necessary to make this possible. From Iraq to Lebanon to its ongoing support for Hamas, and despite Washington’s conciliatory steps, Damascus remains intransigent.

Concerned that Iraqi-Syrian tensions could undermine efforts to rehabilitate Syria, Washington has yet to condemn Damascus for its role in the Baghdad bombings, preferring instead to describe the events as an “internal matter” between the governments. Based on the priority Washington ascribes to Iraq, however, a stronger US response is warranted.

TO DATE, the administration has been rather generous in response to Syria’s promises to improve its behavior.

Based on Syria’s pledge to cooperate with US Central Command on border security issues, for example, this past June the Obama administration undertook to return an ambassador to Damascus, a seat vacant since 2005. In July, the administration likewise eased the process of granting export licenses to Syria’s aviation industry, another conciliatory gesture designed to encourage better behavior.

Absent critical Syrian follow-through on Iraq, Washington may want to reevaluate its conciliatory approach. While the administration is unlikely to take dramatic steps anytime soon, it could deliver a powerful message to the Assad regime during the UN General Assembly in mid-September. Syrian officials have been advocating an Assad-Obama summit for months and are hoping to engineer a meet and greet on the sidelines of the New York meeting.

Given the ongoing problems posed by Syria, Obama would be well advised to snub Assad in New York.

Despite the best of intentions, the Obama administration approach has not yet convinced Damascus to change its ways. While it may be premature to throw in the towel and resume the Bush-era policy of isolation, if Syria’s current behavior in Iraq persists it should provoke a policy review that adds some sticks to the arsenal of carrots already deployed against Damascus. The recent suicide bombings in Baghdad suggest an absence of mutual US-Syrian interests in Iraq. Apparently, the Assad regime does not want a strong, democratic and stable Iraq. As the US starts to draw down its forces there, Washington’s Syria policy should reflect this reality.

The writer is a senior fellow

in Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

From 2002-2006, he was the Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestinian affairs advisor in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. This article originally appeared in www.bitterlemons-international.org

Begin Excerpt 2 from National Review via Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs/ Daily Alert

September 15, 2009

Diplomatic Engagement with Syria

John P.

Hannah

Syria is a brutal anti-American dictatorship that, along with its closest ally, the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a charter member of the State Department’s “state sponsors of terrorism” list. Since 2003 the Syrian-Iranian axis has worked tirelessly to defeat the American project in Iraq. Hundreds of unreconciled Baathists are harbored in Syria. Thousands of foreign jihadists have been welcomed at Damascus International Airport. After receiving money, training, and arms, they have been transported to the Iraqi border to engage in jihad – resulting in the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of Iraqis. Syrian Military Intelligence (SMI) – headed by President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law, Asef Shawkat (sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for his links to Iraqi terrorism) – has been up to its eyeballs in this activity, its agents actively facilitating the work of al-Qaeda in Iraq’s most lethal foreign-fighter networks.

True, the flow of jihadists from Syria has slowed significantly, but this has far more to do with al-Qaeda’s diversion of recruits to the more promising Afghan theater than it does with any Syrian measures. When it comes to anti-American dictatorships in general, and Syria in particular, history suggests that leverage and pressure, not reassurance and unconditional concessions, are the most reliable ways to ensure that diplomatic engagement advances U.S. goals. The writer, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was national security advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney from 2005 to 2009. (National Review)

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My world

of the last 77 years is seeing ‘change’ I never imagined in my Youth,

Obama is now attempting to change the A mer

ican Governmental Structure,

Osama and Ahmadinejad desire to change world governmental Structure,

Obama’s new American solution is having more governmental Control!

Ahmadinejad’s Iranian Islamic Solution to ALL the World’s Problems

Is to raise A banner of the message of the Mahdi’s soon Coming,

To develop a society based on divine and idealistic Sharia Law,

That is Based on THE KORAN of Ali ibn Talib and The MAHDI,

Islamic society designed to become one world Caliphate!

Osama wants a Sunni Caliphate, Ahmadinejad Shiite!

Most Americans are not sure what Obama Wants!

I just want Messiah to come bringing Change!

So I won’t be concerned about Health Care,

Or issuing BLOGS about Middle East War!

Or struggling against my sinf

ul Nature!

Which won’t END until it finally Dies,

By a natural death or the Rapture!

Hebrews 9:27,28 – And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: [28] So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

I Corinthians 15:50-52 – Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. [51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Romans 7:12 to 8:5 – Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

[13] Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. [14] For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

[15] For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. [16] If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. [17] Now then it is no more I that do

it, but sin that dwelleth in me. [18] For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. [19] For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

[20] Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. [21] I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. [22] For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: [23] But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

[24] O wretched man that I am!

who shall deliver me from the body of this death? [25] I thank God through Jesus

Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. [1] There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: [4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [5] For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Galatians 3:24-26 – Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. [25] But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. [26] For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

I John 1:8-10 – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

September 16, 2009

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin MEMRI Excerpt

Middle East Media Review Institute (MEMRI)

Special Dispatch Number 2535

September 15, 2009

Ahmadinejad Critiques ‘Western Theory of Development’ as Aimed at Liberal Democracy, Free Market Economy, and Moral Relativism – And Proposes Iranian Alternative Based on ‘Divine and Idealistic Values,’ ‘Society of Ali and the Mahdi’

In a September 10, 2009 speech to university professors, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad critiqued “the West’s theory of development,” which he said was aimed at “the dominance of liberal democracy, the establishment of a free market economy, the favoring of moral relativism, and the non-interference of moral values in social relations.” He argued that this theory had reached a dead end, and that it was Iran’s role to give the world an alternative model for advancement – one based on “divine and idealistic values rather than material ones,” and on the society of Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Mahdi.

At a September 8, 2009 farewell ceremony for outgoing Iranian Intelligence Minister Mohsen Ejei, Ahmadinejad said that the mission of Iran’s Islamic regime was to raise the banner of Mahdism (i.e. the message of the Mahdi’s imminent arrival) throughout the world.

Following are excerpts from an English translation of his September 10 speech, as published by Press TV. [1]

The Western Theory of Development “Has Reached a Dead End”

“If we accept the dominant [global] order for development, we will not get anywhere for a thousand years, because the origins of this theory are elsewhere [i.e. in the West], and the rules of development were formulated by them. Iran’s nation and society [possess] all the necessary elements for a leap towards growth and superiority, but what prevents the nation’s leap is the absence of a clear definition of the ultimate goal.

“In Western society, according to the theory of development, all efforts are aimed at the dominance of liberal democracy, the establishment of a free market economy, the favoring of moral relativism, and the non-interference of moral values in social relations. This [approach] has a dark future, but all efforts are along [these lines]. According to this theory, U.S. society has reached the peak of social development, and, [in order] to paint the world in their own shade, they have created various international bodies [oriented towards] their particular culture, and they try to sway the countries of the world to fall into line with them.

“It is evident that this theory has reached a dead end, and even if we want to [follow] its path, this road will end in a precipice.”

“Can the World Imagine a Template for the Past, Present, and Future of Human Society That Is Superior to the society of Ali and the Mahdi?”

“Our nation, with its ancient cultural heritage and its [adherence] to a [set] of divine and idealistic values, cannot in any way walk along a path which has been defined [based] on material values.

Can the world imagine a template for the past, present, and future of human society that is superior to the society of Ali [ibn Abi Talib, the first Shi’ite Imam] and the Mahdi, [the Shi’ite messiah]?”

Alluding to the results of the June 12 elections, Ahmadinejad said: “[Even] if there are a thousand elections in Iran, with 100 percent participation, in the opinion [of the West], they will still not be democratic.”

He continued: “We have no alternative except returning to ourselves, and the duty of the universities in Iran is to [outline] our utopia and our ideal society, so that all forces and potentials move in that direction, and so that we have a society with its own economy, culture, politics, and art.”

“Our enemies cunningly and intelligently try to [preoccupy] us with small concerns, so that we do not think and achieve great goals.

“Today the world [is] disappointed with the dominance of the [Western] theory of development, and has reached a dead end. Today our mission is not limited to the internal affairs of [our] country; it is a worldwide mission to open a way for global human society to escape from this disappointing situation.”

[1] Press TV (Iran), September 10, 2009. The text has been lightly edited for clarity.

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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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