Russia Challeng ing
American Power Monopoly in the Middle East!
August 17, 2007
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
I do not expect Russia or China to be involved in the attack that initially drives Israel into the Negev Wilderness, but I am certain they will both be involved in the final battle that occurs three and one-half years after the initial attack by the 10 Islamic nations of Revelation and Daniel, namely, the battle of Armageddon.
Daniel 11:41 – He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries
shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
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. (A Prophetic year = 360 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 t
he 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. (Time = 1 year) (Times = 2 Years) (The Dividing of Time = ½ Year)
I do not believe the United States, Russia, China, or Europe will put troops on the ground to become involved in the initial attack, nor do I believe they will shell or launch missiles and aircraft into the Middle East countries.
They will simple stay out of the conflict, out of fear of generating a world wide conflict, and let Islam and Israel slug it out in a high tech conventional war. After Israel is confined to the Negev Wilderness for three and one-half years, Antichrist will issue a call to help him forever end “The Jewish Problem,” and both Russia and China will come down to the final great battle of Armageddon.
Revelation 16:16 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Daniel 11:45 to 12:1 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
[1] And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Revelation 19:19-21 – That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. [19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. [20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
[21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
The following Guardian article by Simon Tisdall gives an excellent outline of Russia’s attempt to reestablish itself as a world power.
Begin Guardian Article
Putin’s power play
Simon Tisdall
August 16, 2007 7:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/simon_tisdall/2007/08/putins_power_play.html
The declaration earlier this month by Admiral Vladimir Masorin, the commander of the Russian navy, that Moscow intends to re-establish a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean, is under close scrutiny from Washington to Tel Aviv.
While more an aspiration than established fact so far, the move carries myriad, challenging implications, ranging from the US Sixth Fleet’s regional monopoly on naval power to the security of trans-Caucasian and north African energy supply routes.
But it is the prospect of Russia reactivating its cold war naval bases in Syria, at the ports
of Tartus and Latakia, that could have the most dramatic geopolitical impact. By raising Syria’s stock in the region, analysts say such a move could further complicate western attempts to achieve settlements in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Defensive missile and surveillance systems around any Russian installations might also shift the military balance to Israel’s disadvantage. A stratfor.com intelligence brief said:
“A Russian naval presence off the Syrian coast could allow Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime to better inoculate itself against a potential attack by the US or Israel … The Russians would be offering an attractive insurance policy. “Though Damascus could not rely on [the Russians] to actually defend Syrian interests, their mere presence would change the threat environment for Israel and make things like low-level flights over Assad’s summer home a bit riskier.”
The 720th Logistics Support Point at Tartus has been in disuse since 1991, when the Soviet Union imploded. Yet it remains the only Russian military base outside the post-Soviet commonwealth of independent states. Last year Russia reportedly dredged Tartus and began to build a new dock at Latakia.
Russian reports claim Moscow’s plans are causing “serious concern” in Israel, where intelligence sources said they fear the bases “will turn into major centres of electronic surveillance and air defence centres and, as such, threats to Israel’s national security”.
The Kommersant newspaper said the plans were a long way from implementation.
Analysts believe that given its still-depleted resources, the Russian navy would have difficulty extending operations to the Mediterranean, even with help from its northern and Baltic fleets as envisaged by Admiral Masorin. But as the Kyiv Post noted, the Russian Black Sea fleet’s lease on its Sevastopol base is hostage to Ukraine’s volatile relations with Moscow – and will in any case expire in 2017, necessitating a renegotiation or a move to new quarters.
Wary of Israel’s possible reaction, Syria denies it has any intention of hosting a new Russian military presence. But in the murky world of Middle East politics, such statements are not taken at face value.
Syria’s previous collaboration and arms purchases from Moscow, and the two countries’ common friendship with Iran, are taken as evidence that a new base agreement could be a logical step at some stage. On some readings, Damascus could threaten to give a go-ahead to the Russians if its increased cooperation with the US over Iraq fails to extract concessions on Lebanon or desired guarantees that Washington will not pursue regime change.
President Vladimir Putin, involved in a bare-chested global game of military and diplomatic one-upmanship with the US, may also be using the Syrian naval bases as pawns. Analysts say they could equally be used to increase Russian leverage over the US-led peace process – or to control Syria’s future behaviour, depending on where Moscow’s perceived interests lie at the time.
According to Dmitri Trenin of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Moscow’s pragmatic (and by implication, unprincipled) foreign policymakers are “looking for opportunities wherever they may be”. That means building influence in the Middle East in particular.
For this reason, said Pavel Baev of the Eurasia Daily Monitor, Mr Putin, waiting to see how the twin crises in Iraq and Iran play out, is hedging his bets. One example: now that panicky Arab states are pursuing nuclear programmes to match Iran’s, Russia wants its share of the resulting business in the Gulf.
Yet at the same time, Moscow is helping Iran complete its Bushehr nuclear facility.
The bottom line is that Russia is manoeuvring to profit from what it sees as an irresistible window of opportunity – the power shift that would follow a US defeat in Iraq, Mr Baev said. “In the envisaged no-holds-barred power play, Russia would not have any allies but could enjoy perfect freedom of manoeuvre and exploit the advantage of not being afraid of any oil crisis.”
“Declaring its adherence to pragmatism, Moscow is in fact increasingly adopting anti-Americanism as its guiding political idea.” Toying with military bases in Syria was just part of a bigger, bolder bid to challenge US regional and global leadership.
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.