The War Against Israel: 1948 to Present

I will open with a really "current" item, to satisfy those who want such things:

"Tuesday, January 29, 2013
PA arrests arms dealers in northern West Bank

"PA arrests arms dealers in northern West Bank
Published today (updated) 29/01/2013 17:45
PA arrests 'arms dealers' in northern West Bank | Maan News Agency ..."

If you're wondering what that's all about, it concerns the man immediately below, namely arch-terrorist Mahmud Abbas, who spoke before the United Gentiles General Assembly, asking to have his government recognized as the "State of Palestine". Below him on the left is Leon Klinghoffer, a hostage Abbas ordered killed during the hijacking of the Achille Lauro. The man on his right is Abbas's arch-enemy, terrorist Khaled Mashaal, the leader of HAMAS


Abbas is the head of Fatah, the main group of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). That organization was formed in 1964, when the "West Bank" (Judea and Samaria) was under Jordanian occupation and Gaza was under Egyptian occupation. To those who believe that the "State of Palestine" desires a state in the "West Bank" and Gaza only, this may come as a surprise, since the places it was founded to "liberate" did not include those areas. Be that as it may, Fatah and the PLO were the "mother of all modern terrorists". Abbas masterminded the hijacking of the Achille Lauro, from which an old man in a wheelchair was publicly pushed into the sea by Fatah terrorists. During the 1972 massacre at the Munich Olympics, Abbas was fingered by the leader of the attack as the one who provided funding for the terrorists. Shortly before this, in 1970, Jordan expelled the PLO from its territory when they tried to overthrow the king. In 1982, the government of Lebanon expelled the PLO, and its leaders took refuge in Tunisia. In 1994, in a fit of absolute insanity, Israel welcomed Abbas and his boss, Yassir Arafat, to take control of several Arab-populated regions in Israel as part of the Oslo Accords.

In 2007, two years after Israel expelled all Jews from Gaza and withdrew its military from the enclave, HAMAS staged a coup d'etat that overthrew the PLO government there. Abbas and Fatah withdrew to Judea and Samaria, where they are protected from HAMAS by the Israeli Armed Forces. Recently, when Abbas felt threatened by a further coup in Judea and Samaria by HAMAS, he ordered that only Palestinian Security Forces could own weapons: Privately held weapons were to be turned over to the authorities. The citizens, therefore, began engaging in arms smuggling, probably with HAMAS connivance. That is apparently what is behind this most recent incident.

As I said, I have posted this for the benefit of those who crave reports of current events. I am sad to say, that though the PA and HAMAS have been major nuisances in the side of Israel for several years, they will continue to play an ever-diminishing role in affairs of the region, and the PLO may be reduced in size to its UN delegation. The main players are in more distant countries, namely Turkey, Iran, Sudan and Libya.

Shalom shalom

marshlewis said:

signup.

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Hi, Marsh

How are things in New Zealand, where it's Summer? We are your opposites here in Western Oregon, and our weather forecast this time of year is several dozen different ways of saying "rain".

You probably know better than others here, having followed my posts all along, that I have been suggesting that, based on Biblical prophecies, especially, Ezekiel 38-39, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt will probably be in chaos until the coming of Messiah. In the case of Egypt, based on Isaiah 19, I noted that a cruel leader would arise there and be overthrown (though I am not sure whether this refers to Mubarak or to Mursi). Here is an article that essentially agrees with my predictions:


"Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel warned Tuesday, Jan. 29, that Syria is falling apart and no one knows what the next day may bring: “War may not break out tomorrow,” he said, “but we stand ready for any eventuality.”

"If war is not expected tomorrow, why have Israel’s armed forces, including the air force, been on their highest level of preparedness since Friday, Jan. 25? The Syrian crisis may not technically fit the description of a state of war. However, the violent turbulence in that country may at any time spill over the border into hostilities in some shape or form..."

-- Egypt, Syria are falling apart – an Israeli nightmare unfolds

As good as articles such as this are at selling newspapers and causing blips in the stock market, they are of little value in understanding what is going on. That understanding can only come, if one realizes that the coming outbreak of hostilities with Israel will not be caused by unsettled conditions in Egypt and Syria; it will be caused by the word of God: on the one hand, by the 4000 year faith of the Jewish people in that book, which led to the creation of the modern State of Israel; and on the other hand, by the nations of the world rejecting that book and calling for the destruction of the Jewish nation.

Israel may well be drawn into occupying Lebanon and southern Syria in order to keep the danger of chemical attack far from Israeli civilians; but the real reason will be that God allotted that land to Israel in the first place. Why did He do so? Because control those northern areas is essential for the long-term peaceful settlement of Israel. What is unfolding before our eyes, is a grudging acknowledgment that God was right.

I have not been predicting that Israel will occupy Lebanon and Syria, just noting that this is, indeed, part of the inheritance God had set aside for the Jews to live in. Even today, I don't believe there are more than a handful of Jews who think this will come to pass; but it will certainly happen, either before or after the defeat of the Turkish-led attack.

Shalom shalom

Chris81 said:

Probably not the most Christian thing to say but wow those women are hot!

Israel definitely has some attractive women in its military that for sure.

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It's the M-16s

lismore said:

Very interesting thread.

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We've never met, so I might say, "Who are you?" to which you might reply,
"I'm fine. How's yourself?

tulc said:

Still not sure why we should care.
tulc(peace peace to you also!)

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Hi, Tulc.

In Israel, "Shalom" is used as a greeting, meaning, essentially, "Hello". "Shalom shalom" (literally "Peace peace", as you say) essentially means "Goodbye". "L'hitra'ot" means "See you later". If you ever get a chance to visit Israel and have an extra ticket, get in touch with me so I can go with you. I can practice my Hebrew there, which doesn't amount to much more than those three words.

I haven't said that you ought to care about Israel and the Middle East; it's just that I'm surprised Christians like you aren't more interested. I've been fascinated with Israel, ever since the Six Day War. You were only 10 at the time, so I don't imagine it had much impact on you. At the time, I was 19 and a nominal Catholic, so I wasn't aware of the prophetic significance of the war. I did know that Jesus was Jewish, though, and that he lived over there; so the place held special significance to me. You might have had a similar experience in 1973, when you were 16; but apparently you didn't. I guess you and I were just brought up differently. As a Catholic, I heard about Israel every Sunday during the reading of the Gospel.

Here's a news item for you:

"Egyptian president’s aide calls the Holocaust a US hoax
DEBKAfile January 29, 2013, 10:23 PM (GMT+02:00)

"Fathi Shihab-Eddim, a key figure in Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s government, claimed that the Holocaust was a hoax cooked up by US intelligence and the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis 'simply moved to America,'..."

-- Egyptian president’s aide calls the Holocaust a US hoax

Now, that Fathi character REALLY was missing something in his education. Either that, or he's a pathological liar. That said, the Arabs really ARE an ignorant people, with little honest knowledge of the outside world; and people in the Muslim Brotherhood are enemies of Israel; so I'm not shocked by this behavior. To some readers who thought the Arabs all have telephones to the Almighty, though, the article may come as something of a surprise. Mursi himself, by the way, called the Jewish people "descendants of dogs and apes", showing a distinct ignorance of zoology.

L'hitra'ot

IRAN AND ISRAEL

I mentioned earlier, that Iran's recent space launch was a thinly-disguised step in nuclear weapons delivery technology. Here's an article on the matter:

"Iran launches monkey into space, showing missile progress
January 28, 2013|Yeganeh Torbati | Reuters...

"The West worries that long-range ballistic technology used to propel Iranian satellites into orbit could be put to use dispatching nuclear warheads to a target.

"Bruno Gruselle of France's Foundation for Strategic Research said that if the monkey launch report were true it would suggest a "quite significant" engineering feat by Iran.

"'If you can show that you are able to protect a vehicle of this sort from re-entry, then you can probably protect a military warhead and make it survive the high temperatures and high pressures of re-entering,' Gruselle said.

"The monkey launch would be similar to sending up a satellite weighing some 2,000 kg (4,400 pounds), he said. Success would suggest a capacity to deploy a surface-to-surface missile with a range of a few thousand kilometers (miles)."

-- Iran launches monkey into space, showing missile progress - Chicago Tribune

The monkey launch was probably a fairly short-range, suborbital (parabolic trajectory) event. Since Iran has been known for some time to possess missiles of considerable range, the main significance was the size of the payload and shielding. The chart below shows that a 2000 kg weapon could produce a blast in the megaton range, a very powerful device.


Actually, it was Iran's earlier space launches of orbiting spy satellites that raised my eyebrows. THAT article, from a year ago, is this:

"Why the World Isn’t Freaking Out About Iran’s Plasma-Powered Spy Sat
By Noah Shachtman 05.16.12 6:30 AM...

"Originally scheduled to launch last October, the “Fajr” (Dawn) satellite could be the first Iranian spacecraft with an ability to maneuver in orbit. Unconfirmed reports say it may even use a pulse plasma thruster to get the job done...

"Tehran has already placed four spacecraft into orbit, starting with the 2005 launch of the Sina-1 joint Russian/Iranian satellite. In 2010, Tehran even sent a rat, two turtles and several worms into space. (A 2011 mission with a monkey on board was not so successful.) Next week’s scheduled launch of the 110-pound, solar-powered Fajr imaging satellite — due to stay in orbit for 18 months, at a height of 180 to 270 miles up — is just the latest."

-- Why the World Isn't Freaking Out About Iran's Plasma-Powered Spy Sat | Danger Room | Wired.com

It's the altitude that catches my attention there. Here is an altitude chart for Electromagnetic Pulse explosions:


The Iranian satellite was to orbit at 290-430 km altitude, which is in the range of an effective EMP burst, that could knock the US back into the stone age. A 50 kg payload like that satellite is probably too small to carry a nuclear device; but with their recent successful monkey launch, it's easy to see that with just a little fine tuning, they could get a 200 kg weapon in orbit, maneuver it to right where they want it over, say, North Dakota, and fry microelectronic devices all over the country. It wouldn't require a very large device: a 10 kiloton device, such as Iran already has enough uranium to produce, would do the job just fine.

The only thing the world is waiting for, it seems, is Iran to successfully detonate a nuclear warhead. When that happens, the entire planet can fill its pants at the same time; because Iran's ballistic missile capabilities, which it is testing today, will then all at once put every country on earth in danger. They will not just be able to use nuclear extortion on Israel, but on the whole world.

Meanwhile, earlier reports of an explosion at Iran's Fordow underground nuclear enrichment facility have proved false:

"UN nuclear watchdog backs Iran's denial of Fordow explosion

"The IAEA, in an unusual move, made a brief statement following media reports of significant damage at the underground Fordow uranium enrichment site.
By Reuters | Jan.29, 2013 | 9:42 PM | 4"

-- UN nuclear watchdog backs Iran's denial of Fordow explosion - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

There has been much talk of a possible Israeli airstrike at places like Fordow. While I don't doubt that Fordow will be hit in any significant campaign to neutralize Iran's nuclear potential, I think the Fordow plant itself is something of a red herring. The most important place to hit, would be the place or places where the bomb is being assembled.

Time will tell in this matter. All I can say is, "Don't be utterly surprised at anything that happens in this department."

Shalom shalom

JustMeSee said:

tl; dr

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et?

I just did a piece on Iran's "space" program, and noted that it was essentially a program for testing nuclear delivery systems. Was I being unfair? What about all the other countries of the world, testing space launch vehicles. Are they also simply covering up for tests of nuclear delivery systems? One way to find out, would be to compare space-launch states with their nuclear capabilities.
Houston, we have a problem;


and it seems to be a world-wide problem, not just an Israeli one. What does the Bible say about nuclear proliferation? You might be amazed to find that it mentions it, in connection with the war against Israel:

Zech 14
[1] Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
[2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
[3] Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle...

[6] And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
[7] But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light...

[12] And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
[13] And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour...


The "plague" that shall strike the nations attacking Israel (the "United Gentiles", or UN) describes a nuclear war. But where will this nuclear attack come from? Will it come from Israel? With so many counties having nuclear bombs and launch vehicles, I dare say it will come from everywhere; as the passage says, "every one against his neighbor".

I don't expect the Zechariah 14 attack to happen for a few years (at least seven or eight); but the world is certainly preparing itself for it. This will be the final battle of this age, aka Armageddon, bringing in the Messianic Millennium.

Shalom shalom

I have been reading several versions of Israeli airstrikes into Lebanon and/or Syria. In some reports, a convoy of trucks were hit, presumably carrying rockets; and in others, a "scientific/ military research center" was hit. The Israeli government and military are famously mum about such things, so all the information has to come from overseas sources, often from sensationalist journalists eager to get a story but with few or no facts to work from. The Lebanese and Syrian governments have also made statements. What I think happened is summed up as follows:

"Syrian state television said that Israel Air Force fighter jets struck a “military research center” in Syria’s Damascus province, near the border with Lebanon, at dawn on Wednesday.

"Two people were said to have been killed and five wounded in the attack on the site in Jamraya, which the report described as one of a number of “scientific research centers aimed at raising the level of resistance and self-defense.”

"The building was destroyed, the Syrian military command said in a statement carried by state media. It said the planes flying below radar level crossed into Syria just north of Mount Hermon, and returned the same way.

"Lebanese sources reported the entry of 12 IAF aircraft in two waves on Tuesday afternoon and evening. The fighter planes flew over the southwestern Lebanese town of Nakoura, then headed northeast over Bint Jbail toward the Syrian border, according to the reports.

"At 2 a.m. the jets were reportedly heard heading back to Israel."

-- US officials: Israel notified us of intention ... JPost - Defense

A "scientific research center" is the sort of thing the Syrian government would call a chemical weapons facility.

Anonymous sources in the US say that Washington was informed about this attack that nobody in either Israel or the US is officially commenting on, and that the Syrians and Lebanese are no doubt giving skewed accounts of.

The main significance of all this, is Iran's reaction. A week ago, Iran issued a warning, saying "An attack on Syria is an attack on Iran". So far, there has been no response. Iran can go one of two ways: (1) an attack on Israel through its Gaza and Lebanese (Hizbullah) surrogates, or (2) an attack on the Straits of Hormuz. The easiest path, from Iran's perspective, is an attack on Israel -- which is probably why Israel has been shifting its Patriot missiles to the Haifa area. Hizbullah has some 50,000 rockets at its disposal for use against Israel; but if it uses them up now, it won't have any left over if and when Israel attacks Iran itself over the nuclear weapon issue.

I expect only a token response from Iran, if any. This was a wise move on Israel's part, because Israel is dictating the timing of events instead of Iran. It picked off Gaza first, and is now working on Hizbullah. Very soon, Iran will be left with having to defend its own territory FROM its own territory; and its most opportune targets there are not Israeli, but American.

It appears that CF is trying to get me to stop posting; but for the sake of the readers, I will continue until they shut me down yet again. One thing I have been accused of is "spamming", which is defined thus:

"Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages, especially advertising, indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media."

-- Spam (electronic) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would appreciate if any of the readers would tell me when I have sent

1. bulk messages, or
2. advertising

As for sending indiscriminately, I believe I am sending these messages only to one address, namely, CF.

If anyone knows why CF has intentionally targeted me, and removed or closed nearly ALL my messages, please let me know. This is certainly bullying, not to mention, dare I say, "un-Christian" behavior; though since CF has declared me to be a non-Christian, I suppose I am unable to judge that.

While CF is playing its petty games against me, there actually are other things going on in the world: namely, we are moving at a fast pace towards a global nuclear war, in which Israel will be blamed. Never mind, that perhaps 99% of the world's nuclear arsenal is not in Israeli hands; Israel will be blamed. Just how this will be done, I don't know -- I suspect they will be accused of having started the war through "spamming".

In my past post, I said Iran had not yet responded to the attack, attributed to Israel, on what was likely a Syrian chemical weapons facility. As of today, Iran has responded with a threat of "dire consequences". That's pretty much in line with what I predicted would happen, namely, that they would do nothing.

Meanwhile, Iran has announced that it will essentially double its production of near-weapons-grade uranium.

cf. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/w...et-to-accelerate-uranium-enrichment.html?_r=0

The UN, aka the "United Gentiles", meanwhile, has declared that Israel is in violation of UN laws ("spamming" laws, I imagine), by settling Jews on unoccupied land. The issue is that the settlers are Jews and not Muslims, I imagine. The land in question is "state land", which has had that status since Ottoman times. It has never been privately owned, nor has it ever been allocated by the UN to any country other than Israel and the British Mandate.

Whatever the logic behind this move, if indeed there is any logic to it, the UN's action is simply serving to provoke countries against Israel, and ultimately, to a war that will indeed have "dire consequences". This was predicted in the Bible -- of course in Zechariah 14 and several chapters of Revelation, as I have already noted, but also in the Psalms:

Pss 2
[1] Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
[2] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
[3] Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
[4] He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
[5] Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
[6] Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
[7] I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
[8] Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
[9] Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
[10] Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
[11] Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
[12] Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

In Hebrew, this is


The word translated as "heathen" is גוים ("goyim"), which is the Hebrew word for "nations", though the KJV also translates it as "gentiles". This is why I sometimes call the UN the "United Gentiles", for that is literally what it is. Not only does the UN rage against Israel, it does so nearly incessantly. As I said, this can only lead to war; and as it also says, God laughs at their plans from heaven.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: THE NEW YORK TIMES TOLD THE TRUTH!

In an article concerning the alleged Israeli airstrike against targets in Lebanon or Syria, the NYT said the following:

"Syria and Israel are technically in a state of war but have long maintained an uneasy peace along their decades-old armistice line (not boundary). Israel has mostly watched warily and tried to stay out of Syria’s raging civil war, fearful of provoking a wider confrontation with Iran and Hezbollah. In November, however, after several mortars fell on Israel’s side of the border, its tanks struck a Syrian artillery unit. Thousands of Israelis have crowded gas-mask distribution centers over the last two days. On Sunday, Israel deployed its Iron Dome missile defense system in the north, near Haifa, which was heavily bombed during the 2006 war with Lebanon"

-- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/world/middleeast/syria-israel.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

It's marrow to my bones, to hear this. The article is laden with contradictions, but not contradictions by the news service. The Russian spokesman, for instance, Aleksandr K. Lukashevich, said,

"There are many assertions around in the international press. I have seen this statement, but we have no information about this from our American partners. I know for sure that Israeli side warned Washington..."

-- op. cit.

The "warning" that Israel allegedly gave Washington was reported from an anonymous source by the NYT. That same source said the attack was not against a "science facility", but against a convoy illegally transporting missiles into Lebanon. Mr. Lukashevich discredited half of what the anonymous source said (about the convoy), but credited the other half (about Israel notifying Washington). That fact is that Washington has not officially acknowledged any Israeli notification, Israel has not acknowledged having carried out a strike, and we only have the word of Bashar Assad that a "science facility" was struck.

I have noted before, that the one thing that is most likely to make friends of Turkey and Iran, who are at present bitter enemies because of the Syrian conflict (They back opposite sides), is for Israel to enter the conflict -- at which point, every country in the Middle East, along with most of the rest of the world, will join hand-in-hand in attacking Israel. Once that happens, Turkey (Magog) will be allied with Iran (Persia), Sudan (Cush) and Libya (Phut), as it says they will be in Ezekiel 38-39, for an attack against Israel.

They will attack, and Israel will win.

Shalom shalom

MORE ON THE AIRSTRIKE IN SYRIA

MIDDLE EAST ON HIGH WAR ALERT

debkafile: High military alerts declared across the region including Syrian Golan units, the Turkish, Jordanian, Lebanese and Israeli armies, US units in Turkey and Jordan and Russian warships off Syria. Western intelligence agencies predict more military action between Israel, Syria, Hizballah and possibly Iran.

-- Russia slams Israeli attack on Syria. US forces in Jordan on alert

SYRIA SUGGESTS "SURPRISE" RETALIATION

"In Beirut on Thursday Syria's ambassador said Damascus could take "a surprise decision to respond to the aggression of the Israeli warplanes". He gave no details but said Syria was "defending its sovereignty and its land".

-- Syria protests Israel attack, warns of 'surprise'

Notice that none of the high alerts are anywhere near Iran. Everyone seems to fully expect Captain Renault's "usual suspects" to do what they usually do -- namely, attack Israel with a terrorist operation. If Iran were to authorize Hizbullah to hit Israel with a major missile attack, it wouldn't have any "punch" left over to retaliate for an Israeli strike on Iran itself. If I were the leader of Israel around now, I would be saying


...and passing out gas masks. That seems to be what's happening. If God wants there to be open warfare, though, there will be open warfare -- these things happen by surprise sometimes. For encircled Bashar Assad, I imagine a war with Israel would come as something of a relief. One thing's for sure: If the Israelis captured him as a prisoner, he'd be in a lot better hands than if his own people got hold of him.

Shalom shalom

ABOUT THE TARGET OF THE AIR STRIKE IN SYRIA

"The Jamraya facility, several miles west of Damascus, produces both conventional and chemical weapons, said Maj. Gen. Adnan Salo, a former head of the chemical weapons unit in the Syrian Army who defected and is now in Turkey.

"Hezbollah indirectly confirmed its military function in condemning the attack on Arab and Muslim “military and technological capabilities.” That raised the possibility that Israel targeted weapons manufacturing or development, in an attack reminiscent of its 2007 assault on a Syrian nuclear reactor, a strike Israeli never acknowledged.

"But military analysts said that the Israeli jets’ flight pattern strongly suggested a moving target, possibly a convoy near the center, and that the Syrian government might have claimed the center was a target to garner sympathy. Hitting a convoy made more sense, they said, particularly if Israel believed that Hezbollah stood to acquire “game-changing” arms, including antiaircraft weapons."


-- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/w...ndercut-israels-strategy-of-silence.html?_r=0

Some points worth noting here:

1. The facility that was hit was, according to eyewitnesses, being used to manufacture, among other things, chemical weapons -- to wit, mustard gas, which not only kills but also leaves extremely painful, lingering wounds on survivors. These weapons were enroute to Hizbullah strongholds in Lebanon, to be mounted on their 50,000 plus rockets to be used against Israeli women and children. In other words, if Israel indeed carried out this attack, they had darned good reason

2. The flight pattern of the aircraft indicates that the weapons plant was not the only target, but that convoys carrying deadly weapons into Lebanon were at least intended targets as well. According to the 2006 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, southern Lebanon was to be free of armed militias. Instead, Lebanon has hosted thousands of militiamen with tens of thousands of missiles, all under the noses of UN presumed "peacekeepers". Before the world goes blaming Israel for starting this war, I'd like that same world to tell me why they have been so silent these past six years about this endangerment of Israelis (Jews, Arabs and Druze alike, I might add).

Bashar Assad's regime is crumbling, apparently, and as outgoing US Secretary of State Clinton just said today, Iran is pouring thousands of troops and much equipment into Syria for a last stand. With Assad's days numbered, Western analysts are rightly concerned that his chemical arsenal will fall into the wrong hands -- not only Hizbullah's, but Al-Nursa's as well (an Al-Qaeda affiliate). They would be concerned about these things, even if Israel did not exist; but Israel has an added onus:

Bashar Assad is a mass murderer and a war criminal, in the eyes of the international community. He needs friends in the Arab world, and the surest way to win friends among Arabs is to kill Jews. That may sound absolutely sick, but it is unfortunately absolutely true. I find it hard to think it a coincidence that Israel is being drawn into this conflict at the very time that the UN "Human Rights" commission is accusing Israel of war crimes because they are building homes for their citizens. If you want "sick", that smells of butyric acid-enhanced puke, mixed with month-old rotten meat.


For all those here who were saying, two months ago, that Israel would never go to war against Iran, I wonder if you're reconsidering what you said now. One good thing about Israel's being drawn prematurely into this conflict, is that they may have a go at Hizbullah, to neutralize their arsenal, before they have to attack Iran's nuclear weapons facilities. Otherwise, Israel would have to prepare for a massive missile attack from Lebanon at the same time as having to execute a delicate operation against the Iranian heartland.

The danger to the rest of the world, which has shirked its responsibility of dealing with Iran and left it all in the lap of Israel, is that once Hizbullah has emptied its quiver, about the only place Iran will be able to effectively retaliate for an attack -- from ANYONE -- will be the Persian Gulf, where the US and its NATO allies have valuable assets. The recent Al Qaeda attack in Algeria, where hostages were taken and killed from Japan, the Philippines and all over the world, ought to tip people off that Israel's enemies don't confine themselves to killing Jews: All the civilized world is in danger from them.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and for your children. We are entering into very dangerous times.

Shalom shalom

I have been keen to scan the headlines, to see if there is any follow-up from the Iranian/ Syrian side to the purported Israeli airstrike in Syria a few days ago. I am happy to report, that there is nothing substantive from that quarter. The most pertinent article I could find, was news that the Russians have denied planning a meeting between US, UN, Russian and Syrian Opposition leaders to discuss Syria. The official Russian comment on the matter was:

“As it stands today, there is no such meeting mentioned in the program of the Russian Foreign Minister,”

-- February 1, 2013 — RT News line

There was also news yesterday, that the leader of the Syrian Opposition spoke of a willingness to negotiate with Assad. He was promptly criticized by the other leaders of the opposition.

My take on the matter is that (A) yes, the Russians are indeed holding talks with the Syrian opposition, and (B) that that same opposition exists only on paper; and that no statements, private or public, by any of its "leaders" should be taken seriously.

There was some talk that the attack today on the US Embassy in Ankara was somehow connected with the airstrike near Damascus. That is extremely unlikely: The Ankara attack showed signs of having been planned for a long time; and the ones responsible were the same anti-Israel group that killed several Jews in Bulgaria a while back. The great significance there is that, once again, Israel's enemies will "retalliate" "against Israel" by attacking ANY target of opportunity, be it Pro-Arab Jews, Japanese, Americans, Iraqis, Iranians, French or Tanzanians -- in other words, that Israel's enemies are actually enemies of the civilized world. Also, the word "retaliation" on the lips of an Arab is ludicrous: Arabs are still "retaliating" against one another over things that happened 1400 years ago; and each of their "retaliations" is the result of careful planning that began long before the "offending incident" occurred.

My guesses as to what will happen in the coming year in Syria:

1. As the Assad regime continues to crumble, Syria and its allies will try to provoke a war with Israel. Israel may oblige them, for their own reasons, and

2. The whole region, save Israel, is going to hell in a handbasket.


Shalom shalom

TURKEY LURCHES AGAINST ISRAEL -- AND AGAINST THE UNITED STATES!

Expect me to be tossed off of CF shortly, for some fabricated infraction of the rules.

The war against Israel is approaching a critical juncture. I have been saying all along, the in accordance with Ezekiel 38 and 39, Turkey would soon align itself with Iran, Sudan and Libya against Israel. This has not been the case for some time, because Turkey and Iran have chosen to back opposing sides in the Syrian conflict. I also said that the one sure way for Turkey and Iran to put aside their differences, was for both to find common cause in attacking Israel. That is currently happening, in the most incredible way:

Before anyone has even been able that an Israeli strike even took place, and before there is even agreement as to what target was struck, the Foreign Minister of Turkey has ACCUSED THE PRESIDENT OF SYRIA OF CONSPIRING WITH ISRAEL TO BOMB HIS OWN BASE!!! That is simply so Alice-in-Wonderland fantastic, it is a sign that all parties involved have absolutely flipped their nuts; and mark my words, this is the beginning of an attack by Turkey against Israel, and of Iran joining in that attack.

The article is at Turkey's FM denounces Syria's Assad for not responding to alleged Israeli strike - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Turkey does not know the precise details of the alleged attack, the foreign minister said, adding that if Israel were to attack any Muslim country, Turkey would respond, Hurriyet reported. Additionally, the foreign minister claimed that the Syrian president has made a secret deal with Israel.

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If your head is spinning, trying to understand this, let me backtrack a bit:

1. As part of the "Arab Spring" revolution across the Middle East, NATO-backed rebels attacked the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al Assad. Shortly thereafter, Turkey, a NATO member and close ally of US President Barack Obama, backed the rebels and recognized them as the sole legitimate authority in Syria.

2. Iran is a long-standing ally of President Assad; because under his watch, Iran is able to smuggle advanced weapons across Syrian territory to Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon. Iran needs Hizbullah, in order to a front from which to attack Israel; and it needs to attack Israel, in order to have credibility in the Arab world that it wishes to dominate.

3. Turkey has been trying for over a decade, to forge friendly relations with its neighbors Syria, Iraq and Iran, and to thus have access to the oil, gas and mineral resources of not only those countries, but also of the newly-independent Turkic-speaking and petroleum-rich countries of Central Asia. The Syrian conflict has thrown a great monkey wrench into the works here, and Turkey has been desperately trying to find a solution -- backing the rebels in Syria, for instance, at the same time as they break American sanctions on Iran by buying Iranian oil.


4. Since Israel has been at war with Syria for the past 65 years, Syria's ally Hizbullah has repeatedly staged massive missile attacks against Israel, and there is evidence that Assad has been transfering chemical agents such as mustard gas to Hizbullah, it is reasonable to assume that Israel would be aligned against Assad. Add to this, the fact that Iran has declared its intention to annihilate Israel, and is building a nuclear weapons program to carry out these threats, and Israel has no choice but to align itself -- WITH TURKEY, THE US AND THE REST OF NATO -- against the Iran-Assad-Hizbullah coalition. This is all the more true, since US President Obama has only today strongly supported Israel's attack on the Syrian weapons and abruptly cut off talks with Iran.

Considering what I just said, it would be reasonable to believe that Turkey would be SUPPORTING, not CONDEMNING the Israeli airstrike. Instead, they have condemned it, threatening war with Israel, AGAINST THE WISHES OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION.

This is the breaking point that I have long been talking about. In the background of this, I might add that Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan has recently announced that he will open negotiations with Russian and China to join the Shanghai Cooperation Council:

Erdogan Serious About Turkey's BidFor Shanghai 5 Membership

Read more: Erdogan Serious About Turkey's Bid For Shanghai 5 Membership - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
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The great shift has begun, a shift that many here on CF have said over and over again would never happen. Ezekiel 38-39 is well on the way.