Archive for January, 2014

Patriotic Presidents & Prime Ministers Negotiate in Strength!

Monday, January 13th, 2014

Patriotic Presidents and Prime Ministers Negotiate in Strength!

Non-Patriotic Rulers Negotiate With Political Diplomatic Dialog!

A Patriotic ruler decision Is based on what’s best for His People

A Non-Patriotic Ruler Decision is Based On What is Best for Him

A. Sharon & B. Netanyahu Represent Two Great Patriotic Rulers!

Kerry Has Been Negotiating In Numerous Middle East Arguments

Those Islamic Nations and Terrorist Groups have Forked Tongues

So Any Agreements shall only Succeed for a Short period of Time!

January 13, 2014

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Revelation 17:12,13,17 – And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. (17) For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Begin Excerpt from Israel Prime Minister’s Office

Ariel Sharon: Warrior and Commander

At the Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We take leave from Ariel Sharon, the 11th Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Arik was, first and foremost, a warrior and a commander, among the Jewish People’s greatest generals in the current era and throughout its history. He was dedicated to the security of the state from his youth, as a young fighter in the War of Independence, and afterwards as a commander in the 1956 Sinai operation, in the Six-Day War, and in the decisive battle, during the Yom Kippur War, in leading the IDF across the Suez Canal.”

“He established [the commando] Unit 101 and set two primary foundations for Israel’s struggle against terrorism: initiative and retaliation – which stand to this day. He also continued this action as Defense Minister, in distancing terrorism from our northern border.”

“He understood that above everything, our revival is our ability to defend ourselves by ourselves. I believe that he will be remembered in the heart of the Jewish People forever as one of our most outstanding leaders and most daring commanders.”  (Prime Minister’s Office)

IRAN IS A NATION THAT SPEAKS WITH A FORKED TONGUE!

Its President says one thing and its Supreme Leader says the Opposite

Such a nation is unstable in all its ways and impervious to Negotiation

January 13, 2014

http://www.tribulationperiod/

Forked tongue – The snake in the Garden of Eden, like most snakes, had a forked tongue

Function: noun

Date: 1836: Intent to mislead or deceive — usually used in the phrase to speak with forked tongue.” I hope this helps. MWOD did not identify 1836 source. An association with American Indians: “White man speak with forked tongue.” Since snakes and some other reptiles have forked tongues, I assume that there is some association, although snakes are far less mendacious than white men.

Begin Excerpt from MEMRI

Middle East Media Research Institute

Special Dispatch No. 5599

January 12, 2014

Iran‘s Double Speak (1): Rohani: Rebuild And Improve Relations With The U.S. Khamenei: America Is The Satan; Crowd: ‘Death To America’

On January 8, 2014, Iran’s President Hassan Rohani published a column on the website project-syndicate.org stating that Iran seeks to improve its bilateral relations with the U.S. and with European countries. The very next day (January 9, 2014) Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivered a speech in Qom in which he described the U.S. as an “enemy” and “Satan.” His words were accompanied by chants of “death to America” by the crowd.[1]

Below are excerpts from the statements by the two Iranian leaders:

President Rohani Calls For Improving Iran’s Bilateral Relations With The U.S.  

On January 8, 2014 Iranian President Rohani published his article “What Iran Wants in 2014” on the project-syndicate.org site declaring his government’s intent to improve relations with the U.S. and with European countries:

“We are also considering how to rebuild and improve our bilateral and multilateral relations with European and North American countries on the basis of mutual respect. This requires easing tensions and implementing a comprehensive approach that includes economic ties.

“We can begin by avoiding any new strain in relations between Iran and the United States and, at the same time, endeavoring to eliminate inherited tensions that continue to mar relations between our countries. While we may not be able to forget the mistrust and suspicion that have haunted Iranians’ thinking about U.S. governments for the last 60 years, now we must focus on the present and look to the future. That means rising above petty politics and leading, rather than following, pressure groups in our respective countries…[2]

Supreme Leader Khamenei: The U.S. Is “The Satan”; Crowd: “Death To America” 

The very next day, January 9, 2014, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei asserted in Qom that “Iran’s enemies assume that they imposed sanctions and Iran was forced to enter talks. No! We announced previously as well that we would negotiate with this Satan [i.e. the U.S.] on special issues mandated by [our] interests in order to remove [Satan’s] evil. One praiseworthy result of the talks was that the American leaders’ hostility to Iran and Islam was manifested to everybody… One should not take the enemy’s smile seriously” [3]

Supreme Leader Khamenei’s statement was reflected in the Friday January 10, 2014 sermon delivered by Ayatollah Mohamad Ali Movahedi Kermani, Tehran’s Friday Sermon Leader and a member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts: “Thuggish America is the great Satan. The great Satan is also the great Satan in the nuclear negotiations. They have no other interest except for hostility towards Islam. [Supreme Leader] Khamenei said that we must not fall for the deception beneath the enemy’s smile. The enemy remains the enemy and one must be wary of him.”[4]

End Notes

[1] See MEMRI-TV clip No. 4100, Iranian Leader Khamenei: The US Is the Greatest Violator of Human Rights in the World, January 9, 2014.

[2] Project-syndicate.org, January 8, 2014.

[3] Farsi.khamenei.ir, January 9, 2014; Mehrnews.com, January 9, 2014.

[4] Farsnews.com, January 10, 2014

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Troops Fighting In Syria Are From Many Different Islamic Nations And Are Getting Lots of Tactical Experience for Final War!

Sunday, January 12th, 2014

Troops Fghting In Syria From Many Different Islamic Nations

Is where Antichrist will eventually arise to unite Islamic Sects

To Attack Israel From Greater Syria AFTER Obama Steps Down

Antichrist Shall Drive Israel Into the Negev South of Beersheba

Where She Remains for some Three & One-Half Prophetic Years

 (A prophetic year has 360 days)

January 12, 2014

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

BUT Not to Worry – John Kerry is at the Peace Conference with another toe-sack of the very best diplomatic dialog manure, hoping to solve a Middle East problem which can only be solved by the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

Zechariah 13:8 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

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

Daniel 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.

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

Hosea 2:23 – And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Daniel 7:27 – And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Zechareiah 14:9 – And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.

Begin Excerpt from Ha’aretz vis Jerusalem Center for Public affairs/Daily Alert

Why the West Should Be Scared of Syria

Ely Karmon

 (Ha’aretz)

January 8, 2014

U.S. National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen said recently that the “single greatest terrorist threat” to U.S. security in 2014 “will come from Syria.” 

Nearly half of the 100,000 rebel fighters seeking to oust Bashar Assad are either jihadists or hardline Islamists (the findings from a September 2013 study by IHS Jane’s).

The jihadists have engaged in a wave of assassination of moderate Syrian rebels.

The West should seriously press Saudi Arabia and Qatar to stop financing and arming the jihadists, help Turkey physically close its borders with Syria, support the Kurdish moderate forces, and find legal ways to stop the flow of foreign fighters to Syria. 

The writer is the Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.

Begin Excerpt from MEMRI

Middle East Media Research Institute

Special Dispatch No. 55888

January 6, 2014

Jihadi Leaders Anjem Choudary And Omar Bakri Acknowledge Sending

Western Fighters To Syria

Following are excerpts from a report on British Islamist Anjem Choudary and jihadi cleric Omar Bakri, which aired on LBC TV on November 27, 2013:

Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV

Reporter: “According to British reports, British sheikh Anjem Choudary is accused of sending European mujahideen to Syria. These reports say that he belongs to the same group as Sheikh Omar Bakri Fustuq.

“We headed to Tripoli to look into it. Bakri says: ‘I am the Emir of the global muhajiroun movement, which calls to establish a Caliphate and which has 16 branches worldwide. Choudary is my disciple and the emir I appointed in Britain. The movement’s name changed to Al-Ghuraba, and then to Al-Atba’. However, the leadership committee has not changed.'”

Omar Bakri: “I am the Emir of the Muhajiroun movement. I keep a commissioner in each country. Choudary was commissioner in Britain, and now he is the deputy of the new commissioner I recently appointed. This was because I needed him for other tasks, since I had to leave. […]

“Anjem Choudary is now calling me…”

Bakri’s phone rings and he answers

Omar Bakri: “Salaam alaikum.”

Anjem Choudary: “Alaikum asalaam. How are you doing, sheikh?”

Omar Bakri: “Sheikh Anjem, how are you?”

Anjem Choudary: “Thank God, I’m fine.”

Omar Bakri: “I am speaking with you loudly. I have got with me LBC TV in Lebanon.”

Reporter: “We asked to shift the conversation over to Skype. Choudary, who in the past spent some time in Lebanon, said that he was proud to help Muslims around the world. He said that people who want to go to Syria can get help from him.”

Anjem Choudary: “Secondly, of course, as Muslims, we must be very proud of our own brothers, when they stand and are willing to give their lives to defend their own fellow Muslim brothers and sisters and to defend their honor. They say there are maybe 200 or 300 [foreign fighters in Syria]. I believe that the figures are much bigger than this. They are concerned about the many people – in fact, really, in their thousands – who are traveling from Britain and Europe to help their brothers overseas. This is unstoppable.”

Reporter: “Sheik Omar Bakri says that his movement has been sending mujahideen to various parts of the world.” 

Omar Bakri: “We have supported, and we continue to support, the Islamic nation, by sending aid to Muslims, wherever they may be. We have sent young men to Kashmir, to Bosnia, to Chechnya, to East Turkestan, to Somalia, and even to Palestine.” […]

Reporter: “Bakri says that four Britons carried out suicide operations in Syria a week ago, and that he and Choudary vet people volunteering to join the jihad in Syria, and then, the volunteers are sent to Turkey, and from there to Syria.” […]

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

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Al-Qaeda is Closing the Islamic Moon Crescent!

Saturday, January 11th, 2014

An Islamic moon crescent gap will soon be closed by the Al-Qaeda

Books exposing the Political Motivations of Obama are no Surprise

President Obama Took Power As the Commander-In-Chief in 2009

And kept a Political Promise in 2011 to Hold on to His Liberal Base  

Plus gain support from non-liberals tired of US foreign Engagement

This was one of his Political Decisions that Produced a Second Term

Between 2009 & 2013, 19,836 Iraqi civilians Died by Terrorist Acts

Iraq will be one of Daniel 7 horns that attacks the Post Obama Israel

It is Possible that Iraq Will Divide into Kurd, Sunni, & Shiite Sections

But the Future Antichrist from Greater Syria will Unite Iron and Clay

And reign over a huge caliphate until the arrival of Jesus’ 2nd Advent

The DMBC Mid-East 2008 & 2004 Prophetic Poem 1s Being Fulfilled!

My Web Poem follows the Washington Post October 11, 2011 Excerpt.

January 11, 2014

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Begin Archive Headline Excerpt from Washington Post

October 21, 2011

President Obama will withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011, ending a long war that deeply divided the country.

Begin the 2008 and 2004 Archive Poem Material

American forces are now beginning Withdrawal,

Between 2010 & 2015 Iraq will fight for Survival,

And Obama’s Administration Will Go into Denial!

A lasting democracy cannot stand Islamist Trials,

Syrian and Iranian terrorists will both pour Vials,

Democracy ends and Islamic Jihad becomes Style,

Iran-Iraq-Syria-Turkey-Lebanon Extend For Miles

In iron 5 toed crescent planning a thing quite Vile!

Morocco-Algeria-Tunisia-Libya-Sudan West Of Nile

Complete 10’s of Daniel 2 & 7 from beast most Wild

At Armageddon Second Advent bodies will lie in Piles

Troop withdrawal opens door for a Jihad after Awhile

Leaving democracy seekers in Iraq no reason to Smile!

January 31, 2008

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

From the beginning, I was in favor of going into Iraq, destroying Saddam’s regime, killing or capturing him, and then getting the heck out of the country ASAP.  Why the ASAP statement?  Because to stay there was only to postpone the inevitable, the internal battle for control of the country between Kurds, Sunni, and Shiites, and to believe the “lasting” democracy could be maintained very long AFTER we left was sheer madness.  So I considered it far better not to stay sacrificing American lives for what was inevitable AFTER we left, as well as the shattering effect it would have on our economy.  The longer we stayed the more lives we would lose, and the further down the drain our economy would plunge.

The great publicity being given to the election of a democratic government this week as a great achievement I applaud but, as a realist, knowing what I do about Middle East Arab and Persian history, I want to assure you that at some point in time between  2010 and 2015 the new Iraqi democratic government will be overthrown, and a strong man will emerge to govern the country as an Islamic Republic. 

I believe what I wrote in Special Prophecy Update 170B almost five years ago, which immediately follows.

SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 170B

May 5, 2004

A Democratic Government Cannot Stand in Iraq!

I was 100 percent in favor of invading Iraq and ending the reign of Saddam the Butcher, and 100 percent in the corner of those who wanted to see the Baath Party out of power, but I have consistently been 100 percent in favor of NOT trying to establish a democratic type of government like ours, because such a government would only stand for a few months, and the cost of American lives would not be worth the price.  IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ESTABLISH A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IN IRAQ THAT WILL LAST – IT WOULD ONLY LAST AS LONG AS A LARGE AMERICAN ARMY WAS IN PLACE TO ENFORCE IT, AND AMERICANS WILL CONTINUE TO DIE IN  HIT-AND-RUN-ATACKS WHILE THEY REMAIN TO MAINTAIN SUCH A GOVERNMENT.

I could have gotten out of fighting in Vietnam, but I chose to go.  I did not go because I believed we could win the war and establish a non-corrupt regime in the southern half of the country.  I went because I believed it was essential to stopping the spread of communism to other countries in the Far East.  The support the Soviet Union poured into Vietnam and Afghanistan broke the financial back of the communist monster, which led to the breakup of the Soviet Union, and its demise as one of two great world powers.  I believe it was absolutely essential that we go into Afghanistan.  Its unbelievable mountainous terrain and deep sheltered valleys made it the perfect terrain for a Taliban government to be the breadbasket of terror led by Osama bin Laden.  And we simply could not eliminate the numerous terror camp training facilities and headquarters with missiles and air strikes, no matter how sophisticated the state of our technical expertise was at that time.  And, for that reason, I am still in favor for troops to be maintained there in order to prevent a reoccurrence of the same scenario.  Iraq is a flat land compared to Afghanistan, and, once we had deposed Saddam and crushed his regime, I knew we had the advantage of destroying any threat that arose against our interests in the region with missiles and air strikes following our withdrawal.  I am 100 percent in favor of the worldwide war on terrorism, but 100 percent in opposition to attempting to form a democratic form of government in Iraq like ours in this generation.  Sure, I wish it were possible, it is an idealistic, noble daydream, but we are fighting Islamic windmills with toothpicks, and the price in blood we are paying for it cannot be justified by a final result that will be marked by failure to see it fulfilled. 

The real problem in Iraq began in 1932, the year I was born.  Iraq was also born that year as the first of the League of Nations mandate states.  So, after 1932, Iraq was formally independent.  There was still, of course, a large measure of British influence and power there, but it was certainly independent earlier than any of the other Arab states.  The British were largely responsible for the impossible attempt to merge together four major contentious groups into one state, the Shiite, the Sunni, the Kurds, and the Assyrians.  It would have been far better to have four countries with separate borders than to attempt to put four wildcats into a sack and call the sack a state.  And there are many other smaller groups of ethnic wildcats that also were placed in the sack.  It was inevitable that a government would eventually come into existence that would be held together by absolute force of a dictator.  It is most unfortunate that the dictator who finally grabbed power was Saddam.  Most dictators are happy to rule their own country with an iron hand, but Saddam had illusions of grandeur to be the great Islamic messiah who would even exceed the greatness of Saladin the Kurd and, in the end, be ruler over all of the Arab world.  The only real solution to the problem, generated in 1932, is to establish governmental borders that separate the four major ethnic groups, and let each group internally fight it out as to the kind of government they want.  After the dust has settled you may only have two or three states continuing to fight each other for dominance, but they will be fighting each other rather than the United States and Israel.

The continuous argument I have heard echo across the world’s political scenario from before Operation Desert Storm through Operation Iraqi Freedom is this – DO NOT DISTURB THE STABILITY OF THE REGION!  And everyone seems to agree on how important it is to NOT disturb it!  I totally disagree!  I was hoping we would go in, get rid of Saddam, his henchmen, and his Baath Party, then pull out as quickly as possible, and let all hell break loose between the Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, and many other ethnic groups that make up Iraq.  They would not be able to concentrate on how much they hate us and Israel, because they would be too busy hating each other.  Then, after the smoke and killing ended in a truce, Iraq would probably be splintered into three separate countries, Kurdistan dominated by Turkey, Sunnistan dominated by Syria, and Shiitestan as a part of Iran.  As far as I am concerned, the more instability, political turmoil, and confusion we see among all of the nations of Islam, the better off the United States (the big Satan as we are called) and Israel (the little Satan) will be in the world’s fickle climate.  If I thought there was any possibility of  installing a lasting democratic type of government in Iraq, then I would say it would be worth the price we are paying in American blood to do so, but it is a futile pipedream, no matter how noble it may seem to those who favor it.  I have been a supporter of both father and son Bush in their presidencies. I do continue to admire them both, and will vote for the son in November. However, I do not agree with the idea of attempting to establish a democracy in the midst of Islam because it is impossible – admirable, but beyond the scope of possibility in this generation.  We need to get out and let them slug it out among themselves.  In any case, whatever happens, Iraq will be one of the tens associated with Daniel 2 & 7, and Revelation 13 and 17.  The Lamb King of the soon coming Kingdom foretold in Revelation 17:14 is the King of the Kingdom found in Daniel 2:44 and 7:27, and he is the only one who can bring lasting peace and stability to the Middle East under a theocracy. The Old Roman Empire had a large southern flank that, at one time, included all of what we know as the Islamic nations stretching from Morocco to Iran, which number more than the ten required to choose from as being the toes or horns in Daniel and Revelation.

Daniel 2:42,44 – And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. [44] And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Daniel 7:24-27 – And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. [25] And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. [26] But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. [27] And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Revelation 13:1 – And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Revelation 17:12-14 – And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. [14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

End Archive Prophecy Update 170B, 2004

Begin Excerpt from UK Independent

Iraq embraces the election that will shape its future

Crucial test for Prime Minister Maliki and democracy as American forces begin withdrawal

By Patrick Cockburn

Saturday, 31 January 2009

Campaign posters are pasted over the concrete blast walls across Iraq as parties urge followers to vote in today’s provincial elections. They will determine the political landscape of Iraq as American troops withdraw.

The last provincial polls four years ago helped ignite the civil war between Sunni and Shia, because the once-dominant Sunni community felt marginalised. Today’s ballot, followed by a parliamentary election later this year, will determine which parties will hold power in the Sunni and Shia communities.

Unlike the 2005 election, when many Iraqis argued that real power stayed in the hands of the Americans, the vote on 31 January will take place as the 142,000 US troops in Iraq begin to depart. In keeping with the federal constitution, the new councils will exercise greatly enhanced powers such as the right to appoint and dismiss governors as well as preparing their own budget.

The election will be a crucial test for the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has had a spectacularly successful year during which he faced down, at different times, the US, the Kurds and his Shia rivals. He has been strengthening his own small Dawa party by using state funds and patronage to buy the support of tribal leaders.

The political elite in Iraq has an unsavoury reputation among voters as a kleptocracy interested only in plundering oil wealth and incapable of providing electricity, water supply and sewage disposal. The election will take place against a background of improved security but also disillusionment with post-Saddam leaders. “If things do not improve I fear there will be a neo-Baathist takeover in a few years,” said one former government minister.

The election of 2005 led to more violence because Sunni Arabs and many of the Shia poor did not accept them as valid and did not vote. This time round all parties accept the rules of the game.

A poll reflecting the real allegiances of voters will determine who holds power in important parts of Iraq. Nineveh, the capital of which is Mosul, has a Sunni Arab majority but has largely been ruled by Kurds in alliance with the US since a 2004 Sunni uprising. The Kurds have 31 out of 41 seats in the local council because the Sunni mostly did not vote in the last election. Anbar, the giant province where almost all are Sunni Arabs, and once the heart of the rebellion against the US occupation, is seeing a battle for the allegiance of the Sunni community. This is between the Iraqi Islamic Party, which won by default last time round, and the Awakening Councils, tribally-based anti-al-Qa’ida militias backed by the US military which have strong popular support.

The Shia parties are also split. Four years ago they joined the all-powerful United Iraqi Alliance backed by the immensely influential Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. This coalition’s aim was to enable the Shia, 60 per cent of Iraqis, to win elections and take over as Iraq’s dominant community. They largely succeeded, but the coalition is no more.

The Grand Ayatollah is staying neutral this time around. The most powerful party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), is at odds with Mr Maliki’s state-backed Dawa party. Followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia once controlled much of Shia Iraq, still have support among the poor and will back independent candidates.

The venom with which party rivalry is conducted is because state patronage is the main source of job in Iraq where half of the population is unemployed. Everybody, from a policeman to a teacher, needs a letter from a political party to get a job. ISCI, which currently controls Baghdad council and most of the Shia provinces, has a powerful political machine but is widely unpopular because of its corruption.

Mr Maliki’s Dawa party currently only rules one province, Kerbala, but is organising tribal councils with government funds. The Prime Minister burnished his nationalist and non-sectarian credentials last year by attacking the Sadrists in Basra, Amara and Sadr City. The Iraqi army only won with US military help, but Mr Maliki refused to sign a status of forces agreement with the US until it agreed to pull troops out of urban areas by this summer and from Iraq by the end of 2011. He also attracted popular Arab support by moving against Kurdish control of Nineveh province and other territories disputed by Arabs and Kurds. This made him a lot of enemies among Kurds and other Shia political leaders. He needs to do well in the elections if he is going to continue to centralise power and increase his authority.

The election in numbers

*More than 14,400 candidates are vying for a seat in today’s poll. Around 3,900 are women.

*There are 440 seats up for grabs, across 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces.

*300,000 observers – local and international – will monitor the poll.

*Salah al-Rekhayis, who calls himself the “Iraqi Obama”, is running in Basra and hopes to be the 1st black Iraqi to win an election.

*When there were last elections in Iraq – in January 2005 – there were 92 attacks each day. On Wednesday when some early voting took place, there was just 1 according to a US military spokesman.

*6 candidates have been killed prior to the elections – 3 on Thursday.

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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.

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A Middle East True Democracy In Iraq Was Never Possible!

Friday, January 10th, 2014

A Middle East True Democracy in Iraq was never Possible

January 10, 2014

For 39 Years I have identified Iraq as one of the ten horns that would attack Israel

A Struggle will continue with Al-Qaeda but Iraq will eventually be one of the Ten!

January 10, 2014

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Ramadi and Fallujah are in Anbar Province which is the largest province in Iraq.  It has borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.  

This makes it  absolutely necessary to complete  a  massive defense barrier and complex  construction  maze  from the tip of the Sea of Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba.

The Yearly Totals of Civilian Deaths in Iraq have doubled in the last two Years:

Source:  UN Assistance Mission to Iraq

(2009 – 3,056)    (2010 – 2,953)    (2011 – 2,771)     (2012 – 3,238)    (2013 – 7,818)

Begin Excerpt  From  BBC News

January 8, 2014

Is Iraq losing control of its biggest province?

Al-Qaeda-linked fighters and Sunni tribes have taken control of key cities in Iraq’s large Anbar province. Here is a guide to what’s happening.

What’s going on?

In short, the government lost control of the strategic cities of Ramadi and Falluja, to the west of Baghdad.

In Falluja, Sunni militants from an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), joined forces with armed men from leading anti-government Sunni tribes and took over.

In nearby Ramadi anti-government Sunni tribes also took charge after the army withdrew amid rising anti-government sentiment. Some militants, possibly linked to ISIS, have been trying to assert their control in a few parts of Ramadi, but are being challenged by the tribes.

Analysis: Anbar violence goes beyond sectarian conflict

Iraq army asks tribal leaders to end violence

But there’s always violence, so why is this so important?

Anbar is Iraq’s biggest province, has a Sunni Arab majority and borders Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

It is the first time insurgents have controlled territory in Anbar province since 2004, when they were driven out by US-backed Iraqi troops.

The takeover is a serious threat to the authority of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and a major setback to efforts to quell sectarian violence in Iraq, which has seen an upsurge since US troops completed their withdrawal two years ago.

Ramadi and Falluja have about one million people between them and the loss of these two key cities would embolden militants and disgruntled Sunni communities and threaten the unity of Iraq.

Anbar was at the heart of the insurgency which followed the US-invasion of Iraq in 2003 and resistance there has never been extinguished.

Begin World News Excerpt Via Reutera

Iraq moves up the tanks, guns for looming Falluja assault

January 7, 2014

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The Iraqi army deployed tanks and artillery around Falluja on Tuesday, security officials said, as local leaders in the besieged city urged al Qaeda-linked militants to leave in order to avert an impending military assault.

Security officials and tribal leaders have said that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki agreed to hold off an offensive to give people in Falluja time to push the militants out. But it is not clear how long they have before troops storm the town, close to Baghdad, where U.S. forces fought notable battles a decade ago.

“Tribal leaders appealed to the prime minister to halt the attack and stop shelling Falluja,” an Iraqi special forces officer told Reuters. “We’ve done our part of the deal. Now they should do theirs. If not, a quick offensive is coming.”Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an al Qaeda affiliate also active across the border in Syria, overran police stations in Falluja and another city in Iraq’s western Anbar province last week.Many in Iraq’s once dominant Sunni Muslim minority, the main group in Anbar, share ISIL’s enmity toward Maliki’s Shi’ite-led government. But some tribal leaders in the province have been trying to steer a middle course between the two.Late on Monday, tribal leaders from Falluja met and decided to set up a new local administration to run the city and appointed a new mayor and police chief. One Sunni tribal leader in the city told Reuters: “We are sending a clear message to the government – ‘go ahead and fight al Qaeda outside Falluja and we ourselves will deal with the issue inside the city’.”

MALIKI

Iraq‘s U.S.-equipped armed forces have killed dozens of militants in recent days in shelling and air strikes, officials say. The scale of casualties among civilians, the security forces and tribal fighters is not yet clear.

Iraqi security forces backed by tribal fighters regained control in the centre of Anbar’s provincial capital Ramadi on Monday, another special forces officer said. Clashes continued in the surrounding areas on Tuesday, he added. In the city centre, government offices, hospitals and markets reopened.

Baghdad political analyst Ahmed Younis said Maliki, whose prospects of a third term in a parliamentary election due in April have been dented by bombings and other violence across the country, would seize an opportunity to show himself as an assertive leader by taking the fight in Anbar to the militants.

“The Falluja battle is a matter of when and not if,” said Younis. “Victory for Maliki will not be certain without clearing out Falluja, and for him it’s al matter of survival.

“His message to voters will be: the strongest man is your best choice.”

It is unclear how many fighters ISIL has in Falluja, or how much support it might have from residents, making it hard to predict the course of any offensive by Iraqi troops.

In late 2004, more than 10,000 U.S. troops fought weeks of street battles with several thousand insurgents in the city, 40 km (25 miles) west of suburban Baghdad.

ISIL appears to have much smaller forces and many may choose to slip away if faced with an all-out army assault.

SYRIA

The violence has underlined how civil war in Syria has inflamed a broader confrontation across the Middle East between Shi’ite Iran, the main ally of President Bashar al-Assad, and Sunni powers like Saudi Arabia, which back the Syrian rebels.

The United States said on Monday that it would speed up deliveries of military hardware, including drones and missiles, to Iraq. It has ruled out sending back troops, two years after Washington ended a near-decade-long occupation.

Maliki, who rose to power in the electoral system installed after the U.S. invasion toppled the Sunni Saddam Hussein, has maintained ties with the United States while also staying close to Washington’s adversaries, Iran and Assad.

During the anti-American, anti-Shi’ite insurgency that raged in Anbar following the 2003 invasion, local tribes eventually rose up against al Qaeda, stifling its influence. But the international movement has regained ground in western Iraq in the past year, helped by foreigners coming from Syria.

ISIL has for some months been tightening its grip on Anbar, a thinly populated region the size of England, with the stated aim of creating a Sunni religious state straddling the border into Syria’s rebel-held eastern desert provinces.

The exact relationship between ISIL fighters in Syria and Iraq is not clear, although they describe themselves as part of the same group. ISIL has been fighting fellow Islamists in Syria for the past week, losing ground and men to rival groups who say they oppose ISIL’s approach and foreign leadership.

The governor of Anbar, Ahmed Khalaf, told Reuters that ISIL’s problems in Syria explained an upsurge in violence in western Iraq. He said: “When the al Qaeda groups come under pressure in Syria, they flee to safer havens.”

(Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Begin Excerpt from Middle East OnLine

January 5, 2014

Begin Excerpt from Middle East OnLine

Iran to Iraq:  You give men and we give weapons in battle against Al-Qaeda

Deputy chief of staff General Mohammad Hejazi says Islamic republic is prepared to provide military equipment and advice to Iraq.

January 5, 2014

TEHRAN – Iran’s deputy chief of staff General Mohammad Hejazi said Sunday the Islamic republic was prepared to provide military equipment and advice to Iraq to help it battle Al-Qaeda. “If the Iraqis ask, we will supply them with equipment and advice, but they have no need of manpower,” Hejazi was cited by the official IRNA news agency as saying. Hejazi said there had not been any request from Iraq to “carry out joint operations against the ‘takfiri’ terrorists,” a term used to describe Al-Qaeda.Iraqi forces are preparing a major attack to retake the city of Fallujah, which has been taken over by fighters from the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is also a major force in the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria.

Both Iran and Iraq are predominantly Shiite Muslim nations, and their governments have strengthened political and economic ties in recent years.Iran is also a key ally of the Assad regime and acknowledges having sent what it calls “military advisers” to Syria, although there are claims it also has combatants there.

Al-Qaeda is a Sunni Muslim organisation that views Shiites as apostates

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When Iraq eventually becomes one of the ten horns, Look out Israel!

Begin 2 Excerpts from Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs/Daily Alert

Excerpt 1 – Israel Hayom

The Jordan Valley: Israel’s Security Belt

Efraim Inbar

(Israel Hayom)

The Jordan Valley, the only available defensible border on the eastern front, is indispensable for Israel’s national security. Designing stable defensible borders in accordance with the current, but transient, political circumstances is strategically foolish.

If Israel wants to maintain a defensible border along the Jordan Valley, it also needs to secure the road from the coast to the valley via an undivided Jerusalem and via Maale Adumim – 15 km. (9 miles) from the river. This is the only safe route via which Israel can mobilize troops from the coast to the Jordan Valley in case of emergency.

Maale Adumim serves as the linchpin in establishing an effective line of defense along the Jordan Valley against aggression from the east. Building in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim will secure the road to the Jordan Valley and prevent the division of Jerusalem.

The writer is director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University.

Excerpt 2 –Le Figraro

 Israel Determined to Maintain Control of the Jordan Valley

Cyrille Louis

“It’s the only relevant site to establish a defensible border, and no one should be surprised that we intend to preserve it,” explains Uzi Dayan, former national security adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Le Figaro-French)

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

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