blog.Tribulationperiod.com

Presidential novice now lives tortured life since first he practiced to Deceive.

Assad, Iran, Hizballah launch a 3-point offensive on foreign Intervention

We’ve reached the Point that whatever we do will be deemed Incorrect

Leaving our allies in a position where they have difficulty in believing Us!

US is now using a Naval Threat against the 3-Point offense military Tactic.

If the threat fails, hopefully Israel, NATO and our allies will unite with Us

To knock out the chemical stockpiles before terrorists can capture Them

August 26, 2013

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin Excerpt from DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis

The sarin shells fired on Damascus – by Syrian 4th Division’s 155th Brigade – were followed by rockets on Israel and car bombings in Lebanon

DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis

August 24, 2013, 11:32 AM (IDT)

In the space of 48 hours, the Assad regime, Iran and Hizballah launched a three-point offensive against foreign intervention, DEBKAfile reports..

Here are some facts: The sarin nerve gas atrocity of Wednesday, Aug. 21, alleged to have claimed more than 1,000 lives, was the work of the 155th Brigade of the Syrian army’s 4th Division, headed by President Bashar Asad’s younger brother Gen. Maher Assad.

The poison gas shells were fired from the big Mount Kalmun army base south of Damascus, one of the three repositories of Syria’s chemical weapons. In response to a demand from Moscow last December, Assad collected his chemical assets in three depots. The other two are Dummar, a suburb 5 kilometers outside Damascus, and the Al-Safira air base, west of Aleppo.

Not a single shell or gram of poison gas is loaded for use at any of the three sites without an explicit directive from the president or his brother.

Therefore, the clamor raised by the US and French presidents, Western prime ministers and Russian leaders for an independent investigation to turn up evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Syria and identity of its perpetrator – the Assad regime, says the West, and a rebel provocation, according to Moscow – is nothing but playacting. The facts are known and the evidence is present. And the price for refusing to come down to earth and putting an immediate stop to this horrifying precedent may be unimaginably grim – not just for Israel and Jordan – but for the rest of the Middle East and beyond.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commented Thursday, Aug. 22 that Iran is using Syria as its testing ground while closely monitoring international responses to its actions.

His remark followed the four Grad rockets fired on northern Israel the day after the chemical attack in East Damascus. His words were scarcely noticed, mainly because Israel’s own spokesmen were busy spreading a blanket of disinformation over the attack, attributing it vaguely to “Global Jihad” (whatever that is).

DEBKAfile’s military sources affirm that, just as the Assad brothers orchestrated the chemical shell attack on Syrian civilians, so too did Hizballah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah set in motion the rocket attack on Israel.

By good fortune, the two which exploded in built-up areas caused damage but no casualties and a third was intercepted by Iron Dome.

Nasrallah had his disposal two Palestinian terrorist groups functioning in Lebanon and Syria under direct Iranian command. They are the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestinian – General Command (PFLP-GC) and Jihad Islami – both of them eager to attack Israel.

Then, on Friday night, two car bombs blew up outside Sunni mosques in the northern Lebanese town of Tripoli, killing 42 people and injuring 500.

The triple coordinated outrages added up to a dire warning from Tehran and Damascus about what they have in store for the region and especially Syria’s neighbors, as payback for foreign intervention in the Syrian civil war.

On the subject of intervention, the French daily Le Figaro took the liberty last Thursday, Aug. 23, of lifting wholesale and publishing without credit We were the first publication in the world to reveal on Saturday, Aug. 17 the entry from Jordan into southern Syria of a unit of US-trained Syrian rebel commandoes, under the caption: Reported Syrian gas attack after first US-trained rebel incursion from Jordan.

In that report, DEBKAfile was also the first to expose Assad’s poison gas attack as a warning of the heavy price he would exact for intervention in the Syrian war by foreign forces or by rebels trained by foreign forces – in this case US instructors and officers based in Jordan.

CBS News reported Friday that US and Israel intelligence monitoring known chemical weapons sites detected activity there 20 minutes before the chemical shells were fired Wednesday. Those agencies were therefore on top of valuable advance information, but did nothing to stop – or even warn against – the coming poison gas attack.

Washington and other Western capitals as well as Israel continued to circle around reality Friday and Saturday, when Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel let it be known that US warships had been sent to the region for possible cruise missile attacks, in case the president decided on action against Syria.

The Secretary “forgot” to mention that, had the president really wanted to do something, all he had to do was keep the USS Truman aircraft carrier, which was present in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, the day of the chemical attack, from sailing out through the Suez Canal Thursday.

Furthermore, America doesn’t need to send more warships to the region for possible attacks on Syria. It holds plenty of assets at US air and missile bases crisscrossing the Middle East, southern and central Europe and the Persian Gulf. All are fully capable of conducting a variety of operations against Syria without bringing in extra warships.

Except that none of these assets has so far been ordered into action.

What could the Obama administration do if it was so minded?

DEBKAfile’s exclusive military sources described three options available: One: Striking the Syrian unit which perpetrated the poison gas last Wednesday east of Damascus. Two: Destroying the Syrian army three chemical weapons depots. Or Three: Coordinated attacks on the first two targets.

For Options Two and Three, the attack would have to destroy all the poison shells at once before they exploded and leaked contamination across wide regions of Syria and neighboring Turkey, Israel and Jordan. The Syrian ruler is capable of having the shells’ contents mixed and armed ready for use ahead of a US attack, thus maximizing the deadly impact of lethal gases across a broad Middle East region.

Notwithstanding the grave risks of action, the consequences of inaction by the US and Israel would be worse: It would give Damascus and Tehran a green light for escalating their viciousness – and not just against the Syrian people. If the barbarity is not stopped, they will get away with making nerve gas and other poison substances acceptable weapons for fighting their foes. Lebanon and Israel are in extreme jeopardy.

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MIDDLE EAST DIPLOMATIC DIALOGUE THREAT RESULTS

“ASSAD’S STRENGTH STEMS FROM OBAMA’S WEAKNESS”

August 25, 2013

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin Excerpt from MEMRI

Middle East Media Research Institute

Special Dispatch No. 5418

August 22, 2013

Following Reports On Chemical Attack In Syria, Articles In Arab Press Blame International Community, U.S. For The Massacre

Following reports that over 1,000 people, most of them women and children, died in an August 21, 2013 chemical attack by the Syrian regime in the Al-Ghouta region near Damascus, heads of the Syrian opposition placed the blame for the attack on the international community and especially on the U.S., who, they said, have failed to confront the Assad regime for over two years. George Sabra, president of the Syrian National Council and a senior official in the Syrian National Coalition, an umbrella organization of the Syrian opposition, said: “It’s not just the regime that is killing us and our children. It’s America’s hesitancy that is killing us. It’s the silence of our friends that is killing us. It’s being abandoned by the international community that is killing us. It’s the indifference of the Arabs and Muslims that is killing us…”[1] A letter sent by the Syrian National Coalition to the U.N. Security Council said: “The Security Council’s failure to discharge its responsibility regarding the situation in Syria places the usefulness of this [body] in question… and threatens what is left of its legitimacy…”[2]

Articles published today (August 22, 2013) in the Arab press, and especially in the Saudi and Qatari press, likewise held the international community and the U.S. responsible for the massacre. Especially noteworthy are two articles. The editorial of the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi stated that it was the inaction of the international community in the past two years that had led to the massacre. Tariq Al-Homayed, a columnist and former editor in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, wrote, in a similar vein, that the massacre resulted from the absence of a clear American policy in the Middle East.

The following are excerpts from the two articles.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi: It Is The International Community That Committed The Massacre

Al-Quds Al-Arabi claimed in its editorial that the international community’s silence over the past two years was the real cause of the massacre in Syria: “The pictures and sights of women and children [killed in] the massacre in Rif Damashq [province], which claimed hundreds of victims, were horrifying. At dawn yesterday [August 21, 2013], Syrian regime forces committed a horrifying and unprecedented massacre when they shelled the [region] of western and eastern Al-Ghouta [in Rif Dimashq province]. Footage broadcast on the satellite channels and on YouTube showed the bodies of children and infants, as well as pictures of children in a state of fainting or asphyxiation… The fact that this massacre was carried out while an international inspection team[3] was staying [only] a few kilometers away is cause for bewilderment… “In committing this massacre, the Assad regime provoked the international community and defied the American administration, which [had previously claimed] that the use of chemical weapons would constitute a red line. [The Assad regime] responded [to this] by telling the world that it would be the one to decide the lines and their color and that it would do as it pleased.

“Last evening, hours after the massacre was committed, the UN Security Council assented to requests by a number of parties and convened an emergency session. However, given the horror provoked by the sights of the [events] in Ghouta, is it [really] important whether the UNSC convened or not? Is it [genuinely] important whether the UNSC expressed its astonishment and condemned or expressed grave concern [about the massacre]? [For] this will have no impact, as long as the UNSC contents itself with flowery pronouncements and does not invoke Chapter 7 [of the UN Charter][4]…

“This horrifying massacre, which resulted in the death of more than 1,000 people, half of them women and children, who were killed in their sleep – was [actually] committed by the international community via the hands of the Bashar Al-Assad regime. [The international community’s] silence, and [the fact that] it was content with publishing announcements over the past two years, are the true causes of this outcome.” [5]

Tariq Al-Homayed: It Was America’s Muddled Policy In The Region That Encouraged Assad To Perpetrate The Massacre

In a similar vein, Tariq Al-Homayed, the former editor of the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, wrote that it was America’s failed policy in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Egypt, that had encouraged Assad to perpetrate the massacre in Al-Ghouta. Assad’s strength, he said, stemmed from Obama’s weakness.

He wrote: “Had it not been for Obama’s muddled policy in the region – and Egypt is the latest [example of it] – Assad would not have dared to continue his crimes, like the crime of yesterday’s massacre in eastern Al-Ghouta, in which a terrifying number of Syrians died, most of them women and children (and the numbers are still rising). Obama’s position on the Egyptian crisis gave Assad a clear indication that he could continue [evading responsibility]. Washington’s position [on the events] in Egypt indicates one of two things: Either it wants to avoid [intervening in] the Syrian crisis by [intervening in] the Egyptian issue [instead], or else it has no idea whatsoever how to deal with the events and it is unable to take any strategic position on the imminent collapse of the region… Assad, with the reasoning of a mafia don, assessed [the extent of] Washington’s incompetence [in dealing with the events], and understood that he could take advantage of the discrepancy between the positions of [the various Arab], regional and international parties [concerning Egypt] – a discrepancy that exists because of the muddled American [policy]… That is why he committed his heinous crime yesterday…”

Al-Homayed also attacked the U.S., without naming it explicitly, for its failure to support the popular revolutions in Egypt and Syria, and hinted that it is supporting terrorism in these countries: “…The heinous crime that [Assad] committed against women and children [yesterday] reminds us of the wisdom of [Saudi] King ‘Abdallah bin ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz, who, in his historic [August 16, 2013] speech, warned those who were interfering in the affairs of Egypt [hinting at the U.S. and the West] that they were ‘supporting the terrorism they were claiming to fight.’ Indeed, that is what is happening right now in Syria, and this is what happened in Egypt! Those who thwart the Egyptian state by supporting a Fascist group [i.e., the Muslim Brotherhood] are supporting terrorism, especially when they ignore [the fact] that 30 million Egyptians came out against the Muslim Brotherhood. Those who ignored the Syrian revolution – which was initially non-violent despite Assad’s violence – and continued to ignore it for two years even after 100,000 people were killed and [despite] the interference of Iran and Hizbullah [on Assad’s behalf], are likewise supporting terrorism…

“The truth is that it is not surprising that Assad continues to commit his crimes against Syria and the Syrians, for Assad’s strength stems from Obama’s weakness.”[6]

Endnotes:
[1] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London) , August 21, 2013.
[2] Ikhwansyria.com, August 21, 2013.
[3] At the start of the week, a team of U.N. inspectors arrived in Damascus to investigate claims that chemical weapons had been used in some of the country’s regions.
[4] Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter allows the U.N. Security Council to “determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression” and to take military and nonmilitary action to “restore international peace and security”.
[5] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), August 22, 2013.
[6] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), August 22, 2013.

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US STYLE ISLAMIC DEMOCRACY IS IMPOSSIBLE IN MID-EAST.

THE CURRENT MESS IN THE 10 EXCERPTS WILL LEAD TO WAR

FOLLOWING THE DEPARTURE OF THE PRESIDENT FROM OFFICE

HIS SUCCESSOR WILL EXPERIENCE THE CHAOS OF GREAT WAR!

August 24, 2013

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

II Timothy 3:1-4 – This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. [2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, [3] Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, [4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Please read the following 10 Excerpts from August 23, 2013, then ask yourself: Can any event other than the 2nd Advent of Jesus Christ straighten out this political and immoral mess?

Begin 10 Excerpts from Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs/Daily Alert

Excerpt 1 – New York Times

Obama Officials Weigh Response to Syria Assault

Mark Landler, Mark Mazzetti and Alissa J. Rubin

The day after a deadly assault in Syria that bore many of the hallmarks of a chemical weapons attack, senior officials met at the White House on Thursday to deliberate over options for the U.S. Among American officials, there was a growing belief that chemical weapons had been used in the latest attack on Wednesday east of Damascus. (New York Times)

Excerpt 2 – Washington Post

Among Many Egyptians, a Dramatic Shift in Favor of the Military

Mary Beth Sheridan and Abigail Hauslohner

How can a country that revolted against an autocratic regime less than three years ago now embrace strong-armed military rule? The Egyptian public’s rejection of Morsi is rooted in the wildly high hopes that ordinary Egyptians had for the Arab Spring – and their bitterness at how democracy failed to deliver jobs or social justice.

“Islam is the solution” was the Muslim Brotherhood’s pledge. “But this didn’t happen. There was only more injustice,” said cabdriver Mohammed Abdul Qadir, 43, whose life only got worse as the already weak economy sputtered. There were gasoline shortages. Food prices climbed. Crime rose as Mubarak’s police force melted away. And there were constant, sometimes bloody, protests by workers and political groups. “What we have seen in the past year has made me long for Mubarak’s rule,” Abdul Qadir said. (Washington Post)

Excerpt 3 – USA Today

Ex-Egyptian President Mubarak Leaves Cairo Prison

Sarah Lynch

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was released from prison Thursday after more than two years in detention and was headed to a military hospital because of his health, Egyptian state TV reported. (USA Today)

Excerpt 4 – Prime Minister’s Office

Netanyahu: Syria Chemical Attack Proves We Cannot Allow Dangerous Regimes to Acquire Dangerous Weapons

Prime Minister Netanyahu said Thursday: “The reported use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians is terribly disturbing. If verified, it will be a horrible addition to the roster of tragic crimes committed by the Syrian regime against the people of Syria.”

“Iran is closely watching whether and how the world responds to the atrocities committed by Iran’s client state Syria and by Iran’s proxy Hizbullah against innocent civilians in Syria. These events prove yet again that we simply cannot allow the world’s most dangerous regimes to acquire the world’s most dangerous weapons.” (Prime Minister’s Office)

Excerpt 5 – Times of Israel

Four Rockets Fired at Israel from Lebanon

Haviv Rettig Gur and Elie Leshem

Four rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel on Thursday, damaging several homes in the Acre-Nahariya area. An Israeli anti-missile battery intercepted one of the rockets. Lebanese media reported that two volleys of rockets had been fired from a Palestinian refugee camp east of the Lebanese city of Tyre. There was an attempt to fire a third volley, but the missiles fell short of the border. IDF sources said they regarded the incident as a one-off attack by a jihadist group rather than the beginning of a wider campaign. (Times of Israel)

Excerpt 6 – Israel Defense Forces

In Response to Rocket Fire, IDF Targets Terror Site in Lebanon

The Israel Air Force on Thursday night targeted a terror site between Beirut and Sidon in response to a barrage of four rockets launched at Israel. Israel will not tolerate terrorist aggression originating from Lebanese territory. (Israel Defense Forces)

Excerpt 7 – YNet News

Sunni Islamists Seen Behind Rocket Attack

Ron Ben-Yishai

The area from which the rockets were launched, near the village of Al Kalila south of Sidon, is predominately Sunni, harboring Palestinian refugee camps known for their cooperation with Lebanon’s Sunni jihadist groups. There have been at least four or five such incidents in recent years when radical jihadist Sunni groups have perpetrated terror attacks in southern Lebanon in an attempt to cause a flare-up between Hizbullah and Israel. (Ynet News)

Excerpt 8 – Times of Israel

Rocket Narrowly Misses Dozens of Holocaust Survivors

Dozens of elderly Holocaust survivors, in a facility in the Acre area, came very close to being hit by a Katyusha rocket fired into Israel from southern Lebanon on Thursday which fell a short distance from their facility, causing damage to “four or five homes” and two cars, Channel 2 TV News reported. The residents heard the warning sirens but were unable to reach bomb shelters before the rocket struck. (Times of Israel)

Excerpt 9 – Jerusalem Post

Abbas: No Progress in Peace Talks with Israel

Gil Hoffman and Khaled Abu Toameh

There has been no progress whatsoever in the first four meetings between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators since diplomatic talks restarted, PA President Mahmoud Abbas told a visiting group of Israeli Knesset members in Ramallah on Thursday. Abbas said he was not optimistic that the talks will succeed. He also said the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails was unrelated to the launching of the peace talks.

PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo told Voice of Palestine radio that Israel remained opposed to the presence of a U.S. official at the talks, calling the absence of a U.S. representative “problematic.” (Jerusalem Post)

Excerpt 10 – Commentary

The Palestinians Don’t Want to Be Alone with Israel

Jonathan S. Tobin

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, has publicly complained about PA negotiators having to actually talk one on one with their Israeli counterparts: “The Americans from the beginning were supposed to be there. I don’t see why the Israelis don’t want the Americans there, as witnesses….These are not two-way negotiations.”

The Palestinian negotiators fear being trapped in a room with the people they are supposed to be crafting a deal with. That is because the last thing they want is to actually reach an agreement they’d have to justify to a Palestinian people that is still not ready to accept a Jewish state no matter where its borders are drawn. (Commentary)

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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 US Fleet of 152 Predators, 96 Reapers & 23 Global Hawks is Growing

But Number of USAF Drone Pilot Volunteers have Not Matched Growth

Final War of the Gentile Age Will Surely be High Tech, But Not Nuclear

August 23, 2013

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

SEE ARCHIVE PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 321 DIAGRAM

Daniel 7:24,25 – And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. [25] And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until A TIME AND TIMES AND THE DIVIDING OF TIME. (3 and ½ Prophetic Years = 1260 Years)

A Time = 360 days = 1 Prophetic Year Times = 720 days Dividing of Time = ½ Year

I Corinthians 15:41-46 – There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. [42] SO ALSO IS THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: [43] It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: [44] It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. [45] And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. [46] Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

I Corinthians 15:17-22 – And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. [18] Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. [19] IF IN THIS LIFE ONLY WE HAVE HOPE IN CHRIST, WE ARE OF ALL MEN MOST MISER-ABLE. [20] But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. [21] For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Daniel 12:3-7 – AND THEY THAT BE WISE SHALL SHALL SHINE AS THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE FIRMAMENT; AND THEY THAT TURN MANY TO RIGHTEOUSNESS AS THE STARS FOR EVER AND OVER. [4] But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. [5] Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. [6] And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, HOW LONG SHALL IT BE TO THE END OF THESE WONDERS? [7] And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and SWARE BY HIM THAT LIVETH FOR EVER SHALL IT BE FOR A TIME, TIMES, AND AN HALF; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE FINISHED.

Revelation 10:1,6,7 – And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: [6] AND SWARE BY HIM THAT LIVETH FOR EVER AND EVER, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: [7] But in the days of the voice of THE SEVENTH ANGEL, when he shall begin to sound, THE MYSTERY OF GOD SHOULD BE FINISHED, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

I Corinthians15:50,51 – 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,

Begin Excerpt from the Siasat Daily via World News

US Air Force lacks volunteers to operate drones

August 23, 2013

The US Air Force is unable to keep up with a growing demand for pilots capable of operating drones, partly due to a shortage of volunteers, according to a new study

Despite the importance placed on the burgeoning robotic fleet, drone operators face a lack of opportunities for promotion to higher ranks and the military has failed to identify and cultivate this new category of aviators, Air Force Colonel Bradley Hoagland wrote in the report published for the Brookings Institution think tank.

In 2012, the Air Force had a goal to train 1,129 “traditional” pilots and 150 drone pilots to operate Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk robotic aircraft.

But the Air Force “was not able to meet its RPA (remotely piloted aircraft) training requirements since there were not enough volunteers,” the report said.

As of last year, the Air Force has 1,300 drone pilots, making up about 8.5 per cent of the force’s aviators, compared to 3.3 per cent four years later.

The fleet of unmanned aircraft includes 152 Predators, 96 Reapers and 23 Global Hawks, which is large enough to fly 61 combat air patrols.

The military measures air power in terms of combat air patrols, or CAPs, which are supposed to provide 24-hour air coverage over a designated area. It typically takes three or four drones to make up a combat air patrol.

But goals for expanding the patrols are increasing “at a faster pace than the AF (Air Force) can train personnel to operate these systems,” the study said.

One of the factors behind the shortfall is a high rate of attrition among the drone operators, which is three times higher than for traditional pilots, it said.

Another factor is the intense tempo of operations for drone missions over the past decade.

The constant drone flights mean operators, unlike their counterparts in other specialities, lack the time for additional education and training to attain a higher rank, undercutting their career prospects, the author wrote.

The problem is reflected in a 13 percent lower promotion rate to the rank of major over the past five years, compared to other military fields.

The fewer number of promotions is also fed by a military culture that still does not fully appreciate the skills of drone pilots, Hoagland said.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. 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.

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.

Saudis and a few Arab Kingdoms give Egyptian Army financial Support

They’ve Been Running Scared Of Iran-Iraq-Syria-Hizbullah-Hamas Link

And need Egyptian Army to be a part of their defense against the Link

August 22, 2013

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin Excerpt from Wall Street Journal via Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

August 21, 2013

In Egypt, the U.S. Should Hold Its Nose and Back the Military

Bret Stephens

(Wall Street Journal)

A policy is a set of pragmatic choices between unpalatable alternatives designed to achieve the most desirable realistic result.

Restoring the dictatorship-in-the-making that was Morsi’s elected government is neither desirable nor realistic.

Bringing the Brotherhood into some kind of inclusive coalition government in which it accepts a reduced political role in exchange for calling off its sit-ins and demonstrations is not realistic.

What is realistic and desirable is for the military to succeed in its confrontation with the Brotherhood as quickly and convincingly as possible. And it beats the alternatives of outright civil war or victory by a vengeful Muslim Brotherhood.

Politics in Egypt today is a zero-sum game: Either the military wins, or the Brotherhood does. If the U.S. wants influence, it needs to hold its nose and take a side.

Begin Archive June 16, 2010 Blog

Ancient and Modern kings contingency escape plans are Common!

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, And Kuwait Are Now Running SCARED,

And Iran is putting on a great show to prove they should be Afraid.

Rest assured the leaders of these 5 & others have Quick Exit Plans,

IF Turkey, Greater Syria, Iran, Hizbullah, And Hamas Attack Israelis,

Since They Don’t fit Iran plans to be Kings of States in its Caliphate.

June 16, 2010

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin Archive August 29, 2007 Blog

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan not among the 10 horns of Daniel 7!

August 29, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

I have been contending for some 33 years that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt would not be among the 10 toes and 10 horns found in the Second and Seventh Chapters of the Book of Daniel.

There are several reasons I have consistently maintained this position and the individual reasons for each country are sprinkled throughout our Archives, but there is one reason that is paramount, which applies to all three. Simply this – They are too buddy-buddy with the United States, and any major Jihad attack plans would be guarded to the death in order to prohibit such information from leaking to any one of these three Islamic countries. The fact that Egypt and Jordan signed peace agreements with Israel is looked upon as a betrayal of Islamic Law by Syria, Iran, and Iraq, and Saudi Arabia’s rulers playing “footsy” with the United States is considered an act of betrayal to Jihad. The latest Daily Star staff article, which follows, attests to the scalding comments of Saudi Arabia against Syria that have certainly added fuel to a fire which will not allow the Saudis to be privy to any secret plans of Jihad.

Begin August 24, 2007, Excerpt from The Daily Star

Daily Star staff

Friday, August 24, 2007

BEIRUT: Riyadh-based Oukaz lashed out at the Syrian regime Tuesday accusing it of having plotted the assassination of Lebanese politicians starting with Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt.

“For the last 30 years Syria has set up a clear-cut plan to systematically kill Lebanese leaders to incite strife among various Lebanese sects, and consequently reinforce its presence and role in Lebanon,” the newspaper said

The Saudi daily has published in its Tuesday issue a special report from Beirut tackling the role of Syria in Lebanon since 1975. The daily described the current Syrian regime as “a regime of slaying and slaughter,” and accused it of making use “of all possible means to restore its influence in Lebanon after their withdrawal in April 2005.”

“The Syrian regime has long worked on inciting hatred and conflicts among the Lebanese and has currently created what could be labeled as ‘death teams’ to silence anyone who dares to speak against Syrian influence in Lebanon,” Oukaz reported.

The daily blamed Syria for plotting all the assassinations of March 14 figure which took place following the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri. Oukaz also accused Syria of killing former presidents Bashir Gemayel and Rene Mouawad.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb

Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Syria escalated in the last week or so because of discord over Lebanon.

Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa said last week the kingdom’s regional influence was in a state of paralysis. Riyadh snapped back saying Damascus was trying to incite disorder and conflicts in the region.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated after the February 2005 Hariri assassination, which ultimately led to Syria’s withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon after a three-decade military presence.

“The Syrian regime has brought nothing but harm to the Lebanese as well as the Palestinians in Lebanon; fueling inter-Lebanese and Lebanese-Palestinian skirmishes in an attempt to boost its role in Lebanon,” the daily said. – The Daily Star

Begin Archive June 14, 2010 Excerpt from MEMRI

Middle East Media Review Institute

Iran Demonstrates Its Deterrent Strength in Military Maneuvers

By: Y. Mansharof and A. Savyon*

Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.615

June 14, 2010

Introduction

Against the backdrop of the accelerated diplomatic contacts in advance of the fourth round of Security Council sanctions against Iran, and following U.S. President Barack Obama’s implied threat of a nuclear attack against Iran, Iran conducted two extensive naval maneuvers in quick succession, in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

The first exercise, Great Prophet V, was conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), April 22-25, 2010[1]; the second, the eight-day Velayat 89, was launched on May 5 by the Iranian Army’s naval corps, on 250,000 square kilometers stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and the northern part of the Indian Ocean. With these maneuvers, it seems that Tehran is seeking to show the deterrent strength and continuous presence in international waters of its two militaries – the IRGC and the army[2] – against what it perceives to be an intensification of threats against it.

It should be noted that immediately after the conclusion of the IRGC maneuvers, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei promoted IRGC naval deputy commander Ali Fadavi to the post of commander – which might indicate that his predecessor has been discharged.

Senior political and military officials in Iran clarified that the exercises were aimed at showing Iran as a regional power that will provide the region’s security needs; at defying the U.S. – the world power “enemy” – and demonstrating Tehran’s might and capabilities; and at signaling to the countries of the region that they should join the new security order that Iran is trying to establish in the region, rather than seeking protection from the U.S.

Further, official Iranian spokesmen reiterated to the West that Iran is fully capable of closing off the Strait of Hormuz – which would have very serious ramifications for oil prices worldwide – and made a clear threat to harm American interests in the region.

Iran’s Regional Security Perception

Just prior to the maneuvers, senior Iranian officials set out the main points of Iran’s regional security perception; under this perception, the security of the entire region, which holds the strategic reserves of the world’s energy resources, is the sole responsibility of the countries of the region – with Iran at the helm because it is the undisputed regional superpower. Moreover, Iran’s security perception rejects all reliance on aid or defense from foreign forces outside the region, and demands that they immediately remove themselves from the region.

Since Iran is the focal point of this new security order, its Gulf neighbors will have only token representation in the defense force. Accordingly, a military delegation from Qatar participated in the IRGC maneuvers, but only as observers; military delegations from Iraq, Oman, and Qatar were also observers in the Iranian army maneuvers, but only in the final stage.[3] In effect, under the cover of conciliatory rhetoric and of offering to provide a defensive umbrella for its neighbors, Iran is clearly threatening its smaller, weaker Arab neighbors, and attempting to dictate its policy to them.

Iran’s security perception is coordinated with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent call for a new world order, and a “new security order” for the Gulf. In an Army Day speech, on April 18, 2010, a few days before the maneuvers, Ahmadinejad expressed his country’s aspiration to establish this new security order: “Experience shows that the presence of several [foreign forces] has brought the region nothing but undermined security, slaughter, and hostility. Therefore, there is no need for the presence of foreign forces to provide security for the region… They must leave our region – this is not a request, but an order, and the will of the local nations… They must go back home, leaving the nations of the region to manage [their own affairs].”[4]

Also, during the maneuvers, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said, “The forces of the arrogance [i.e. the U.S.] must know that the countries of the region do not need their presence in the Persian Gulf at all.”[5]

IRGC deputy commander Hossein Salami stressed that the exercise posed no threat to the countries of the region, and called on them to conduct joint maneuvers with Iran, in what he said would be “the beginning of a security-regional-local order based on cooperation, which will enable the countries of the region to make decisions by themselves without foreign intervention on issues of the security of this sensitive region.”[6]

The Goals of the Maneuvers

According to Salami, the IRGC maneuver was aimed at stepping up the force’s deterrence, and at showing the positive role Iran plays in the security of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.[7] He said that Iran had to develop a long-distance striking capability against enemy vessels and to adopt a strategy of fighting the enemy across a broad geographical area.[8]

Mojtaba Zolnour, Supreme Leader Khamenei’s representative in the IRGC, called the maneuvers a message of peace to the neighboring countries.[9] Iranian National Security Council secretary Saeed Jalili likewise explained that their message to the countries of the region was one of security and peace, and that “in effect, these maneuvers are a demonstration of Iran’s capability to provide the region with security and to deal with any type of destabilization of security in the Persian Gulf.” He elaborated that “the presence of our friends [i.e. the Qatari representation] in part of the exercise shows them how Iran can use its capabilities to provide stability and security to the region,” adding, “It is the Gulf countries that must provide security [in the region], because we are capable of instilling security there and dealing with [attempts to] destabilize [it].”[10]

The IRGC weekly Sobh-e Sadeq explained that one of the goals of the exercise was to convey a message to some Gulf countries that they shouldn’t continue to serve the interests of Iran’s enemies, and that they should work together with Iran to set a new security order in a Gulf free of any foreign presence: “The countries of the region… – particularly those who for various reasons are psychologically affected by the exercise – are worried… because they [perceive] the exercise [itself] as a threat. For this reason, the countries conducting the maneuvers are trying to reassure these [worried] countries by various means.

“The policy of several Persian Gulf countries gives Iran’s enemies a chance [to act against Iran]. This arouses security concerns in Iran – but despite this, for years [this country] has tried to explain to [its neighbors], by conducting various exercises and shows of military strength, that it is the countries of the region that must provide security in the Persian Gulf, and that they can actualize this mission by cooperating [with each other].”[11]

Iranian Army naval corps commander Habibollah Sayyari pointed out the strategic importance of the corps’ Velayat 89 exercise, which took place over 250,000 square kilometers, from the Strait of Hormuz to the international waters of Pakistan and India. He said that the exercise was aimed at defending Iran’s maritime borders and protecting the security of the Aden Gulf region,[12] and that it was to show Iran’s determination to defend its interests in international waters and to convey the message that there is no need for foreign forces in the region to protect peace there. He added that Iran would deal harshly with any threat directed against it, and called the maneuvers a message of peace to the countries of the region.[13]

Threats Against the West

Closing the Strait of Hormuz

Along with the threats to Iran’s Arab neighbors, senior Iranian officials have also threatened U.S. interests in the region, repeatedly underlining Iran’s ability to close off the Strait of Hormuz. IRGC political bureau head Yadollah Javani explained in April in the Javan daily that Iran controls the world’s economy via oil, and that the world economy is Iran’s hostage. In the article, titled “Persian Gulf Security – For All or For None,” he argued that “the reality that over 63% of the [world’s] energy reserves are in the Persian Gulf and the states surrounding it ties the world economy and the economic forces to this region… [If] the role of oil in the modern world is comparable to role of blood in economic life, then the life of the economy of the industrial world is in Iran’s hands. In light of these conditions, does the U.S.’s threat to Iran seem logical?…

“By presenting some of Iran’s defense capability in this exercise, the IRGC has shown that Iran has both the strength and the capability to close off the Strait of Hormuz, and [by doing so] can strip the security from the Persian Gulf. It is also grimly determined to do so in the event of an attack on the rights of the Iranian nation.

“Thus, the main message of the Great Prophet V exercise should be considered to be deterrent.”[14]

Jajlis Security Committee member Parviz Sarvari also said that Iran has the strength to stop the passage of over 62% of the world’s energy resources via the Strait of Hormuz in response to increased sanctions against it.[15]

Threats to the U.S.

IRGC deputy commander Ali Fadavi, who was promoted to commander following the maneuvers, said that the maneuvers had proven that Iran “can not only meet the security needs of the region’s countries, but can also pose a greater threat to the enemies… We can threaten U.S. bases across the Persian Gulf and in the Strait of Hormuz.”[16]

An article in the IRGC weekly Sobh-e Sadeq stated, “The display of part of Iran’s ability to control the Persian Gulf passages and to simulate a situation of hell for American forces and warships in this exercise can be without a doubt very effective in response to Obama’s statements.”[17]

Also Islamic Coalition Party Secretary General Mohammad-Nabi Habibi said that the exercise had demonstrated Iran’s high capability for responding to an American attack: “If the United States makes an insane move, the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will squeeze the West’s throat in the Strait of Hormuz… The nation’s response to the enemy on sea will be a lot harsher than from land, and this message may follow the logic of ‘all or nothing.'”[18]

Showcasing New Weapons and Weapons Systems

During the IRGC exercises, there were Iranian media reports on simulated takeovers of warships and sinking of destroyers. IRGC deputy commander Hossein Salami said that during the exercise, IRGC forces destroyed simulated enemy warships, practiced asymmetrical attacks [that is, terror and suicide operations] against enemy targets, practiced operations in rough seas, and conducted ongoing activity through all hours of the day and night, including training in firing shore missiles and surface-to-surface missiles. He added that Basij members also tested their ability to use IRGC naval vessels [apparently for suicide operations against enemy forces].[19]

Senior Iranian officials announced new domestically-produced weapons and equipment such as sophisticated helicopter gunships similar to the U.S. Cobra and an anti-cruise-missile defense system for operational use. It should be noted that in most cases these were neither sophisticated nor domestically produced, and that the reports were designed to foster the illusion of deterrence in the minds of the neighboring Gulf countries and in the West. Furthermore, it is known that Iran is experiencing a severe problem with aging, obsolete aircraft and equipment.
The Iranian media announced the deployment of hundreds of Ya-Mahdi-model stealth missile boats, and a destroyer (the missile boats, according to Tabnak, are equipped with sophisticated weaponry, i.e. torpedoes and guided missiles, with enhanced capability to destroy targets such as warships);[20] the launching of “Nour smart missiles” and Nasr, Sa’akeh, Fajr 3 and Fajr 5 missiles, and cruise missiles; and remote-piloted vehicles with bombing capability.[21]

Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that in the IRGC maneuver were used shore-to-sea and sea-to-sea cruise missiles, and that “these capabilities are a severe warning to countries outside the region [i.e. the U.S.].”[22] Vahidi added that Iran had inaugurated a production line for sophisticated Mesbah 1 aerial defense systems against cruise missiles and low-flying aircraft. He said that the system, which could fire 4,000 rounds per minute, could also identify and destroy unmanned craft. He added that the new system was equipped with a three-dimensional interception radar and an optical guidance system.[23]

In addition, Iran reportedly brought in 10 domestically produced Tufan felicopter gunships, equipped with rockets, advanced anti-tank missiles, and 20-mm cannon.[24]

The army’s Velayat 89 maneuvers used, inter alia, swift-boat commando units, torpedoes, missiles, mine-laying systems, and radar.[25] On May 6, the second day of the army maneuvers, Iranian army naval, land, and air forces practiced repelling an enemy attack in the Gulf of Oman, with “light and heavy submarines,” warships, helicopters, and air units. Army helicopter gunships practiced identifying and destroying maritime and underwater targets.[26] Later, the maneuver included firing missiles and training in intelligence gathering on simulated enemy forces with UAVs.[27]

* Y. Mansharof is a research fellow at MEMRI; A. Savyon is Director of the Iranian Media Project.

Endnotes:

[1] For an excerpt from an IRIB report on the first maneuver, see http://memri.no-ip.info/IranFiles/iranianwargames1.wmv.
[2] Iran has a twofold military structure: The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), established in 1979 to assure the survival of the regime against the army which was loyal to the Shah, is the military arm on which the revolutionary regime has relied ever since. The IRGC receives preferential treatment vis-à-vis resources and armament over the traditional army. The IRGC is apparently in charge of Persian Gulf security, holds Iran’s nuclear and strategic missile plan, and has arms for operation outside the country. Most Iranian government ministers and senior regime officials have come from its ranks.
[3] The head of the Qatari delegation, ‘Abd Al-Rahim Ibrahim Al-Janahi, said that Qatar wanted to avail itself of Iran’s military expertise and conduct joint maneuvers with it. IRNA (Iran); April 24, 2010; Fars (Iran), May 12, 2010.
[4] Fars (Iran), April 18, 2010.
[5] Fars (Iran), April 26 2010.
[6] Fars (Iran), April 25, 2010.
[7] Fars (Iran), April 25, 2010.
[8] ILNA (Iran), May 12, 2010.
[9] Press TV (Iran), April 24, 2010.
[10] Borna News (Iran), April 23, 2010
[11] Sobh-e Sadeq (Iran), April 26, 2010
[12] Mehr (Iran), May 4, 2010.
[13] Mehr, Press TV (Iran), May 4, 2010.
[14] Javan (Iran), April 26, 2010.
[15] Fars (Iran), April 26, 2010.
[16] Press TV (Iran), April 25, 2010. http://www.presstv.com/pop/Print/?id=124406. Iranian Army naval corps commander Habibollah Sayyari confirmed that on April 21, 2010 an Iranian F-27 flew above the USS Eisenhower in the Gulf and filmed it, saying that “Tehran is entitled” to do so. Fars (Iran), May 4, 2010.
[17] Sobh-e Sadeq (Iran), April 26, 2010.
[18] Tehran Times (Iran), April 28, 2010.
[19] Fars (Iran), April 25, 2010; Tabnak, Iran, April 22, 2010.
[20]Tabnak (Iran),
April 22, 2010. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124059§ionid=351020101.
[21] IRNA Mehr, Press TV (Iran), April 25, 2010.
[22] Fars (Iran), April 26, 2010.
[23] Fars (Iran), May 2, 2010; Tehran Times (Iran), May 5, 2010.
[24] Tehran Times (Iran), May 2, 2010.
[25] Fars (Iran), May 5, 2010.
[26] Fars (Iran), May 6, 2010.
[27] Mehr (Iran), May 6, 2010.

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