Pre-Plucking before Antichrist is Revealed,
Middle East Islamic Leaders being Plucked
Islamic Jihad Afghanistan to Mediterranean,
Taking Advantage of the Spirit of Revolution,
Overthrowing A Lot Of Pro-American Leaders!
January 28, 2011
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Daniel 7:8 – I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Begin 2 Excerpts from Jerusalem Post Headlines
Excerpt 1
2 killed in Egyptian clashes, ElBaradei under house arrest
One woman killed in Cairo, another man shot to death in Suez, reports al-Jazeera; ElBaradei arrested after hiding in mosque; tens of thousands continue to clash with police in at least 11 of Egypt’s 28 provinces.
Excerpt 2
Thousands in Jordan protest, demand PM step down In 3rd day of protests, opposition supporters took to the streets in Amman to express their anger at rising prices, inflation, unemployment.
Begin Excerpts from Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs/Daily Alert
January 27, 2011
Begin Excerpt 1 from AP Washington Post
Iran’s Allies Gain Clout
Brian Murphy
From Afghanistan to the Mediterranean, evidence of Iran’s reach is easy to spot: as a power broker in Iraq, in deep alliances with Syria, and as a big brother to Lebanon’s Hizbullah and Hamas in Gaza. Tehran’s proxy portfolio suddenly has a bit more aura after Hizbullah’s latest successful political gambit in Lebanon.
To those keeping score, it would appear that
Iran is winning some important points around the Middle East at the expense of Washington and its allies.
“Certainly there is more visible Iranian influence around the region,” said Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar.
“But these are no longer just vassals of Iran. As they move into political roles, there will be changes that Iran cannot control.” (AP-Washington Post)
Begin Excerpt 2 from Washington Post
In Egypt, Protests Show Signs of Cohesion
Sherine Bayoumi and Leila Fadel
The demonstrations in Egypt continued Wednesday despite a strong police presence and hundreds of arrests. There were secularists, socialists and Islamists all walking together and demanding change with a unity that for years eluded Egypt’s opposition. “The psychological barrier of fear has been broken,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research for the Brookings Doha Center. “Eighty million Egyptians saw [Tuesday’s protests]. They saw that it’s okay to come out and that there is safety in numbers.” (Washington Post)
Begin Excerpt 3 from Washington Post
As Arabs Protest, Obama Administration Offers Support
Scott Wilson and Joby Warrick
The Obama administration is openly supporting the anti-government demonstrations shaking the Arab Middle East, a stance that is far less tempered than the one the president has taken during past unrest in the region. As demonstrations in Tunis, Cairo and Beirut have unfolded in recent days, President Obama and his senior envoys to the region have thrown U.S. support clearly behind the protesters, speaking daily in favor of free speech and assembly even when the protests target longtime U.S. allies such as Egypt. (Washington Post)
Begin Excerpt 4 from Wall Street Journal
U.S. Diplomats Urge Regimes to Embrace Change to Block Islamist Radicals
Jay Solomon and Bill Spindle
(Wall Street Journal)
The Obama administration intensified diplomatic pressure on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to initiate wide-ranging political overhauls.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior officials have decided not to seek wholesale political change in Cairo and other Arab capitals, but instead to prod their allies into embracing reform movements that, so far, appear to be largely secular and grass-roots in nature.
Begin Excerpt 5 from the Daily Beast
A Manifesto for Change in Egypt
by Mohamed ElBaradei
Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei arrived back Egypt on Thursday despite direct threats against his life. On the eve of his return, the former U.N. official who is the Mubarak regime’s most high-profile opponent on the young people who’ve taken to the streets, political Islam, and the role of the United States. Plus, full coverage of the protests in Egypt.
When Egypt had parliamentary elections only two months ago, they were completely rigged. The party of President Hosni Mubarak left the opposition with only 3 percent of the seats. Imagine that. And the American government said that it was “dismayed.” Well, frankly, I was dismayed that all it could say is that it was dismayed. The word was hardly adequate to express the way the Egyptian people felt.
Then, as protests built in the streets of Egypt following the overthrow of Tunisia’s dictator, I heard Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s assessment that the government in Egypt is “stable” and “looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people”. I was flabbergasted—and I was puzzled. What did she mean by stable, and at what price? Is it the stability of 29 years of “emergency” laws, a president with imperial power for 30 years, a parliament that is almost a mockery, a judiciary that is not independent
? Is that what you call stability? I am sure not. And I am positive that it is not the standard you apply to other countries. What we see in Egypt is pseudo-stability, because real stability only comes with a democratically elected government.
If you would like to know why the United States does not have credibility in the Middle East, that is precisely the answer. People were absolutely disappointed in the way you reacted to Egypt’s last election. You reaffirmed their belief that you are applying a double standard for your friends, and siding with an authoritarian regime just because you think it represents your interests. We are staring at social disintegration, economic stagnation, political repression, and we do not hear anything from you, the Americans, or for that matter from the Europeans.
So when you say the Egyptian government is looking for ways to respond to the needs of the Egyptian people, I feel like saying, “Well, it’s too late!” This isn’t even good realpolitik. We have seen what happened in Tunisia, and before that in Iran. That should teach people there is no stability except when you have government freely chosen by its own people.
Of course, you in the West have been sold the idea that the only options in the Arab world are between authoritarian regimes and Islamic jihadists. That’s obviously bogus. If we are talking about Egypt, there is a whole rainbow variety of people who are secular, liberal, market-oriented, and if you give them a chance they will organize themselves to elect a government that is modern and moderate. They want desperately to catch up with the rest of the world.
Instead of equating politic al Islam with
al Qaeda all the time, take a closer look. Historically, Islam was hijacked about 20 or 30 years after the Prophet and interpreted in such a way that the ruler has absolute power and is accountable only to God.
That, of course, was a very convenient interpretation for whoever was the ruler. Only a few weeks ago, the leader of a group of ultra-conservative Muslims in Egypt issued a fatwa, or religious edict, calling for me to “repent” for inciting public opposition to President Hosni Mubarak, and declaring the ruler has a right to kill me, if I do not desist.
This sort of thing moves us toward the dark ages. But did we hear a single word of protest or denunciation from the Egyptian government? No.
Despite all of this, I have hoped to find a way toward change through peaceful means.
In a country like Egypt, it’s not easy to get people to put down their names and government ID numbers on a document calling for fundamental democratic reforms, yet a million people have done just that. The regime, like the monkey that sees nothing and hears nothing, simply ignored us.
The young people of Egypt have lost patience, and what you’ve seen in the streets these last few days has all been organized by them. I have been out of Egypt because that is the only way I can be heard. I have been totally cut off from the local media when I am there. But I am going back to Cairo, and back onto the streets because, really, there is no choice. You go out there with this massive number of people, and you hope things will not turn ugly, but so far, the regime does not seem to have gotten that message.
Each day it gets harder to work with Mubarak’s government, even for a transition, and for many of the people you talk to in Egypt, that is no longer an option. They think he has been there 30 years, he is 83 years old, and it is time for a change.
For them, the only option is a new beginning.
How long this can go on, I don’t know. In Egypt, as in Tunisia, there are other forces than just the president and the people. The army has been quite neutral so far, and I would expect it to remain that way.
The soldiers and officers are part of the Egyptian people. They know the frustrations. They want to protect the nation.
But this week the Egyptian people broke the barrier of fear, and once that is broken, there is no stopping them.
Mohamed ElBaradei was awarded the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize along with the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, which he headed at the time. Since his retirement at t he end of 2009,
he has emerged as a political force in his native Egypt. His book,
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