Israel

Whose Will?

Stories (and developments) of this ilk weary me:

Hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the security credentials and the political strength to pull off a peace deal with Palestinians now that the U.S. has brokered a new start to direct talks.The big question is: Does he have the will?

[…]

Though Netanyahu has built his political career in part as an outspoken critic of peace moves by past Israeli leaders, he has shown surprising pragmatism in dealing with the moderate Palestinian leadership of the West Bank.

Hawkish Natanyahu goes to talk with moderate Abbas — how about that. (That’s an observation, not a question.)

The Associated Press titles this particular piece thus: Talks to test Netanyahu’s will for peace.

No “will for peace” test for Abbas.

Fair and balanced.

Wait. That’s a different news outfit.

Here’s a bit more from the story/analysis:

The international community backs the Palestinian demand.

[…]

The Palestinians joined the talks only after the international Quartet of Mideast mediators issued an accompanying statement Friday calling for an agreement “that ends the occupation which began in 1967.”

A senior Palestinian official said the Palestinians had received assurances from the U.S. that it will remain heavily involved and push for a solution based on the 1967 borders.

What does the international community “back” for Israel?

Nothing good, apparently.

And that, too, is a sign of the end times.

Survival: USA, President Obama, Israel

Can they all survive these perilous times?

I got to pondering that question on Tuesday of this week (ie April 6, 2010).

My conclusions?

  • I do not see how President Obama can survive to complete his first term in office.
  • Nor do I see how the United States can survive almost three more years of what it has experienced in the first year plus of the Obama Presidency.
  • About Israel, well, take man’s measuring rod and she’s doomed also.

I should remind you at this point that I am a two-separate-kingdoms Christian. I am apolitical and my comments are likewise.

I believe we are in a period of intense peril for the USA, for President Obama, and for Israel. I believe this great peril exceeds anything any of those three have experienced before (at least if we limit the scope of that comment to the modern nation-state of Israel and not historical Israel).

The course presently charted for the US will hasten its collapse or at least the collapse of her system of government (which would be catastrophic enough). I will not elaborate on why I think that.

President Obama surely has more than the usual potential assassins plotting his destruction. Again, I’ll not take the time to elaborate. I don’t see how the Secret Service can keep him safe.

Israel need only look at the radical change this week in the American nuclear posture to doubt her own survivability. The US has just declared it has taken a nuclear counterstrike off the table as a response to a non-nuclear WMD attack. If the US will not retaliate that way to such an attack on itself, why should Israel think the US will stick its neck out for her when she’s attacked with chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons? Couple that with other developments of late, and Israel appears dangerously alone.

Well, I have taxes to do. And a Sunday School class to prepare to teach in the morning. And missionary reports from Mexico to get ready for tomorrow afternoon’s Mission Board meeting. And other pressing matters pressing me. I already spent too much time on this. I shall have to forego the pleasure of expanding my points.

In closing, these points:

  1. As I understand the Scriptures, Israel survives, thanks only to dramatic divine intervention.
  2. About the United States and about President Obama, I don’t know. I’m not that kind of prophet.
  3. I just don’t see how they survive another three years.
  4. I pray they do.

I call on God’s faithful people to pray that way as well.

PS: Am I going off the deep end?

PS, Jr: I’m not fearful nor paranoid. Nor am I a kook. 😉

The Deepening Iran Crisis

OK, so I’m a little slow…. In his article dated October 5, 2009, George Friedman of Strategic Forecasting reports:

Two major leaks occurred this weekend over the Iran matter.

In the first, The New York Times published an article reporting that staff at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear oversight group, had produced an unreleased report saying that Iran was much more advanced in its nuclear program than the IAEA had thought previously. According to the report, Iran now has all the data needed to design a nuclear weapon. The New York Times article added that U.S. intelligence was re-examining the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) of 2007, which had stated that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon.

The second leak occurred in the British paper The Sunday Times, which reported that the purpose of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly publicized secret visit to Moscow on Sept. 7 was to provide the Russians with a list of Russian scientists and engineers working on Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

[…]

If Netanyahu went to Moscow to deliver this intelligence to the Russians, the only surprise would have been the degree to which the Israelis had penetrated the program, not that the Russians were there. The Russian intelligence services are superbly competent, and keep track of stray nuclear scientists carefully. They would not be surprised by the charge, only by Israel’s knowledge of it.

[…]

Two conclusions can be drawn. First, the Israelis no longer need to add to their knowledge of Russian involvement; they know what they need to know. And second, the Israelis do not expect Iranian development to continue much longer; otherwise, maintaining the intelligence capability would take precedence over anything else.

It follows from this that the use of this intelligence in diplomatic confrontations with Russians and in a British newspaper serves a greater purpose than the integrity of the source system. And that means that the Israelis expect a resolution in the very near future — the only reason they would have blown their penetration of the Russian-Iranian system.

[…]

The least that can be said about this is that the Obama administration and Israel are trying to reshape the negotiations with the Iranians and Russians. The most that can be said is that the Americans and Israelis are preparing the public for war. Polls now indicate that more than 60 percent of the U.S. public now favors military action against Iran. From a political point of view, it has become easier for U.S. President Barack Obama to act than to not act. This, too, is being transmitted to the Iranians and Russians.

It is not clear to us that the Russians or Iranians are getting the message yet. They have convinced themselves that Obama is unlikely to act because he is weak at home and already has too many issues to juggle. This is a case where a reputation for being conciliatory actually increases the chances for war. But the leaks this weekend have strikingly limited the options and timelines of the United States and Israel. They also have put the spotlight on Obama at a time when he already is struggling with health care and Afghanistan. History is rarely considerate of presidential plans, and in this case, the leaks have started to force Obama’s hand.

So there you are.

If that’s going to keep you awake, you just as well read the full article, eh? Here you are: Two Leaks and the Deepening Iran Crisis

“Mark my words,
it will not be six months
before the world tests Barack Obama
like they did John Kennedy.”
—Joe Biden

Make It Rocky Road

No, not ice cream.

The not-so-distant future here in the United States, as forecast by a Chuck Baldwin (whoever he is):

It is no hyperbole to say that the U.S. federal government has been on a “Ban God” bandwagon for the past 50 years. Whether it kicks prayer and Bible reading out of school, bars military chaplains from praying in Jesus’ name, burns Bibles in Iraq, removes state supreme court chief justices from their positions for posting the Ten Commandments, or threatens high school principals with jail for asking the blessing, the federal government has invoked the judgment of Heaven upon our country as surely as did Old Testament Israel.

Although the comfortable, sports-crazed, TV addicts probably aren’t paying attention, this country is on the verge of an implosion like you cannot believe. For anyone who cares to notice, the signs are everywhere.

First of all, Israel and Iran are on the verge of war. And right now, I’m not concentrating on the “why” or “who’s right or wrong” of the equation. I’m simply telling you, war between Israel and Iran could break out at any time. And when it does, the chances that it will not become nuclear and not become global are miniscule. Yes, I am saying it: the prospects for nuclear war have never been greater. […]

Secondly, America is on the verge of total financial collapse. By the end of this year, America’s budget deficit will stand at around $2 trillion. The debt gap is many trillions more than that. But the nail in the coffin for America’s fiscal health will be the decision by China to dump the U.S. dollar. Ladies and gentlemen, this will be the death knell for our financial stability and a painful lesson in sowing and reaping.

[…]

Third, the paranoia regarding the Swine Flu being demonstrated by both government and media spokesmen begs a giant push for some type of “government solution.”

[…]

Exactly how and when all of the above will actually materialize is yet to be seen. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that within the next few months, the world that we know today is going to vanish. And most Americans are totally unprepared for what’s coming.

If you are able to get out of debt, do it. If you need to scale down your lifestyle in order to be better prepared for difficult days, do it. If you don’t have guns and ammo, buy them.

Somehow, I don’t think he has FAFA solely in mind with that last sentence. If I’m right, I disagree with him. Vigorously. Biblically, in my view. (For the record, I do not agree 100% with Chuck Badlwin’s rhetoric and so forth. Not even close. I reference this article to expand your world view a bit — perhaps — but certainly not to endorse Mr. Baldwin or his theology.)

Anyway, you can read the full article here: It Is Going To Be A Rocky Road — it might do you some good.

Oh, you’re wondering what FAFA is, I suppose.

Firearm-Assisted Food Acquisition — another acronym of my very own arrangement and a PC-friendly way of saying hunting — Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! 🙄

Oh, having disclaimed Mr. Baldwin, allow me to claim Jesus and His Word:

“In the last days,
perilous times
shall come.”
2 Timothy 3:1

Persian Pickles

A pickle isn’t just something to eat. A pickle is also something to try to get out of. A problem, in other words. A dilemma.

And of course you know Iran is ancient Persia.

So here you go, straight from the folks at Stratfor:

Misreading the Iranian Situation

After the last round of meetings between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama, the Israelis announced that the United States had agreed that in the event of a failure in negotiations, the United States would demand — and get — crippling sanctions against Iran, code for a gasoline cutoff. In return, the Israelis indicated that any plans for a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be put off. The Israelis specifically said that the Americans had agreed on the September U.N. talks as the hard deadline for a decision on — and implementation of — sanctions.

[…]

Obama’s assurances notwithstanding, there accordingly is no evidence of any force or process that would cause the Iranians to change their minds about their nuclear program. With that, the advantage to Israel of delaying a military strike evaporates.

Here are a few more isolated statements from the above article:

  • Moreover, the Israelis have Obama in a box.
  • If that’s true, then the current crisis is more dangerous than it appears.
  • Given that, the United States might as well do the attacking.
  • It isn’t clear that Obama can do that, however.
  • That consensus causes foreign leaders to take risks; it also causes Obama to have an interest in demonstrating that they have misread him.
  • We get the sense that everyone is misreading everyone else.

Then, at the end (where you would expect to find it), the closing paragraph:

The current situation is not as dangerous as the Cuban Missile Crisis was, but it has this in common: Everyone thinks we are on a known roadmap, when in reality, one of the players — Israel — has the ability and interest to redraw the roadmap. Netanyahu has been signaling in many ways that he intends to do just this. Everyone seems to believe he won’t. We aren’t so sure.

I wonder what Joel C. Rosenberg has to say about this whole mess. OK, I just peeked. There’s this and this and this.

Bomb. Bunker. Both.

Just so you know: Israel’s Iran choices narrow.

The orchestrated roar of air force exercises designed to signal Israel’s readiness to attack Iranian nuclear facilities are belied, perhaps, by a far quieter project deep beneath the western Jerusalem hills.

Dubbed “Nation’s Tunnel” by the media and screened from view by government guards, it is a bunker network that would shelter Israeli leaders in an atomic war — earth-bound repudiation of the Jewish state’s vow to deny its foes the bomb at all costs.

Lash out or dig in? The quandary Israelis call existential seems close to decision-point. Iran’s uranium enrichment has already produced enough raw fuel for one nuclear weapon, U.N. inspectors say, though Tehran denies having military designs. Next month’s international good-faith talks offer no clear relief to Israel, which wants world powers to be prepared to penalise Iran’s vulnerable energy imports but sees Russia and China blocking any such resolution at the U.N. Security Council.

That the Obama administration signed on to negotiating without preconditions — a potential disavowal of the United States’s past demand for an enrichment halt — may only crank up Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ticking clock.

[…]

“There are three clocks at work here: technical, in terms of Iran’s advances; operational, in terms of our capabilities and their precautions; and diplomatic,” Eiland said.

“The questions is when and how these clocks might become synchronised for a ‘window’ in which Israel would act.”

Sleep well.

Above all, love God!