INTL - Olmert breaks Israel's nuclear silence.

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DEBKAfile: Olmert breaks Israel's nuclear silence in response to US defense secretary's nuclear stance and Iran's Holocaust denial conference

The Israeli prime minister made his surprising disclosure Monday, Dec. 11: "Israel doesn't threaten any country," he said. "Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you see this on the same level when you are aspiring to have a nuclear weapon like the US, France, Israel and Russia?" the Israeli PM asked in an interview Monday, Dec. 11, with the German TV station N24 Sat1.

This was the first Israeli official admission of the possession of nuclear weapons.

DEBKAfile's military sources report that Olmert decided on this step in response to US defense secretary Robert Gates' listing of Israel as among the nuclear states surrounding Iran to explain Tehran's search for a nuclear deterrent of its own. He was the first American official to confirm Israel had a nuclear weapon and did so without consulting Jerusalem.

Olmert chose his journey to Germany, which coincided with the opening in Tehran of a conference negating the Holocaust, for his shock disclosure. This conference is taken in Israel as a vehicle for attacking Zionist legitimacy and so justifying Iran's ambition to destroy the Jewish state. Olmert used the opportunity to remind Iran's rulers that Israel possesses a large stock of nuclear weapons capable of not only smashing Iran's nuclear facilities but also disabling its infrastructure.

Olmert went on to note that the US, Russia, France and Great Britain possess nuclear weapons. But," he said. "there is no equating them with a country like Iran. You are talking about civilized countries that do not threaten… other countries with the use of nuclear weapons to destroy them."

According to our sources, the prime minister did not confer with any minister, military adviser or secret service head before delivering his dramatic revelation.

On December 10, DEBKAfile's military sources offered the view that Israel cannot afford to leave answered Robert Gates' assertion last Tuesday that no one can guarantee Iran will not use a nuclear bomb to attack Israel. Our analysts urged the Olmert government to counter Iran's constant threats by embracing a bold, proactive nuclear posture in place of the long-held passive ambiguity.

Olmert's disclosure indeed raised the profile of the Israel-Iran duel.

DEBKAfile's Tehran sources report that high Iranian officials conferred urgently Monday night, Dec. 11, with supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in search of a quick rejoinder to Olmert's surprise move. They must take into account the effect of their response on their relations with the United States; a naked military threat against Israel could nip in the bud the chance of a US-Iran engagement on Iraq such as the Baker-Hamilton panel has recommended.

The prime minister's few aides in the know took this into consideration. He has also been at pains to down-pedal intelligence of Syrian plans for a summer 2007 war so as not to upset Egyptian and Saudi efforts to detach Damascus from its close collaboration with Tehran
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Got Jesus? It's hell without Him.
...........................................................................benny

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com


GOLAN HEIGHTS – If Israel does not vacate the Golan Heights within months, a guerrilla organization allegedly formed in Syria will soon launch "resistance operations" against Israeli positions and Jewish communities in the Golan, an official from Syrian President Bashar Assad's Baath party told WND in an exclusive interview.

"If in the coming months an agreement is not forged between Israel and Syria [for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan], the Committees will begin attacks," said the official, who spoke on condition his name be withheld during an in-person interview with WND and with the G. Gordon Liddy national radio show.

(Story continues below)


The official was referring to the Committees for the Liberation of the Golan Heights, a Hezbollah-like guerrilla organization Baath party sources claim was formed in Syria to attack Israeli positions in the Golan.

The Baath official told WND Syria learned from Hezbollah's military campaign against Israel that "fighting" is more effective than peace negotiations with regard to gaining territory.

Hezbollah claims its goal is to liberate the Shebaa Farms, a small, 12-square-mile bloc situated between Syria, Lebanon and Israel. The cease-fire resolution accepted by Israel to end its military campaign in Lebanon this past summer calls for negotiations leading to Israel's relinquishing of the Shebaa Farms.

The Baath official told WND Syria's new Committees for the Liberation of the Golan Heights was formed this past June and that the group consists of Syrian volunteers, many from the Syrian border with Turkey and from Palestinian refugee camps near Damascus. He said Syria held registration for volunteers to join the Committees in June.

The official said attacks by the Committees may include the infiltration of Jewish communities in the Golan, rocket attacks against Israeli positions or raids of Golan-based Israeli military installations. He said all attacks would be launched from the Syrian side of the border.

The Golan Heights is strategic mountainous territory captured by the Jewish state after Syria used the terrain to attack Israel in 1967 and again in 1973. The Heights looks down on major Syrian and Israeli population centers, but there are a few areas where the Israeli and Syrian sides are level.

Military officials here long have maintained returning the Golan Heights to Syria would grant Damascus the ability to mount an effective ground invasion of the Jewish state.

The Heights has a population of about 35,000 – approximately 18,000 Jewish residents and 17,000 Arabs, mostly Druze. The Arab residents retain their Syrian citizenship, but under Israeli law they can also sue for Israeli citizenship. About a dozen officials from Assad's Baath party live and operate in the Golan.

WND first reported in June on the alleged formation of the Front for the Liberation of the Golan.

One month later, a man identified as the leader of the Front gave an interview to state-run Iranian television.

Israel is taking the information seriously. Amos Yadlin, head of the IDF's intelligence branch, told the Knesset in October that Syria is indeed in the early stages of forming a Hezbollah-like group.

Israeli warning: Syria preparing its army for war

The Baath official's claim of possible attacks against Israel follows a warning yesterday by the intelligence branch of the Israeli Defense Forces that Syria is preparing its army for war against the Jewish state.

Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz, head of the IDF's intelligence research division, said the Syrian army has been placed on high alert for attacks. He said Assad ordered increased production of long-range missiles and instructed the Syrian military to position antitank missiles closer to the Syrian border with Israel.

But Baidatz said while Assad is preparing for war, "on the other hand, he is not ruling out the possibility of reaching a political settlement with Israel."

IDF holds military exercises near Syrian border

In response to the information, senior military officials say the IDF is preparing for a possible breakout of hostilities by the summer.

Israeli military positions in the Golan have been put on heightened alert, according to military sources. Border fences and checkpoints have been fortified. Golan residents say they noticed the placement of additional IDF positions the past two months.

WND has learned special units, including reserve and reconnaissance branches, held a series of live training exercises in the Golan the past few weeks. Large numbers of reservists have been called up and have been practicing key scenarios for war.

The IDF also recently asked Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government to approve contracts for the production of more Israeli tanks and to postpone an earlier decision to shorten military service terms here for reserve units, according to military officials.

The military prepared an assessment, recently presented to Olmert's security cabinet, that war could breakout within months, military officials said.

The officials said the assessments, compiled by the general staff of the IDF, are based on intelligence information and what they said is the ongoing estimate by Syria and Hezbollah that military confrontations achieve results.

They said Hezbollah considered itself victorious against Israeli troops in Lebanon in July and August.

Explained a military official: "While Hezbollah took some major hits, the group's rocket infrastructure is still intact; they are capable of firing more rockets into Israel. The war ended without Hezbollah having to return [Eldad] Regev and [Ehud] Goldwasser, (the two soldiers it kidnapped in July, originally prompting the confrontations)."

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said a cease-fire imposed in August by the United Nations "achieved a political win for Hezbollah."

"It recognized Hezbollah's claims to the Shebaa Farms and called for future negotiations. It also restricts Israel's ability to stop Hezbollah from rearming and regrouping, which is what they are currently doing," the military official said.

Military officials here said the past few weeks Syria and Iran have been smuggling weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. They said the smuggling is taking place in front of a contingent of international troops stationed in Lebanon.

"Israeli overflights have detected the weapons smuggling," said an Israeli intelligence official. "We've shared the information with the U.N. and yet nothing is being done about it. Hezbollah is openly re-establishing itself in south Lebanon," an Israel military intelligence official told WND.

Assad: 'War with Israel coming'

The IDF actions come amid statements by top officials in Damascus saying Syria is preparing for a war against Israel. The officials, including Assad, claimed the Jewish state would attack Syria first.

"We must remain ready at all times. We have begun preparations within the framework of our options," Assad told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba last month. He gave a series of interviews to other media outlets making the same statements.

Assad said Israel could attack Syria "at any moment" and that Israeli leaders have abandoned the peace process and are seeking a war.

Last month, in a rare visit to the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, Syria's information minister, Mohsen Bilal, delivered what amounted to a pep speech to Golan residents, telling them Damascus would use "resistance" to liberate the strategic territory if a "political solution" does not ensure Israel vacates the Golan Heights within the next few months.

"If in the next coming months there will not be a political solution, military resistance will be the only solution for Syrians," announced Bilal, shouting on a loudspeaker from the Syrian border just feet from a fence that separates the Israeli controlled sections of the Golan from Syria.

'Damascus prepping public for war'

Security officials here told WND there have been indications Syria is seeking to launch a provocation. Besides Assad's statements, the officials say state-run Syrian media have been broadcasting regular warlike messages unseen since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which Syria and Egypt launched invasions from the Golan and the Sinai desert.

"The tone [in Syria] is one of preparing the public for a war," said a senior security official.

He said any Syrian provocation would likely be coordinated with Iran. Tehran and Damascus, which both support Hezbollah, have signed several military pacts.

Reuven Erlich, a Syrian expert and director of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at Israel's Center for Special Studies, told WND Assad's threats "are to be taken seriously."

"Assad's support for terrorism, for the insurgency in Iraq, for Hezbollah and his alliance with Iran are all indication of the direction in which Syria is headed. Assad needs to demonstrate he is willing to sue for peace, but everything seems to indicate the opposite. Especially following the war in Lebanon," Erlich said.

..............................................................benny

TIC...TIC...TIC...America realizes that Israel must soon attack Iran.


U.S. Doubling America’s Emergency Stockpile in Israel

14:54 Dec 12, '06 / 21 Kislev 5767
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=117274

(IsraelNN.com) The U.S. Congress gave its approval this week to double the amount of American emergency equipment stockpiled in Israel. As part of the agreement, Israel is allowed to use the equipment in case of its own emergency, as happened this summer in the second Lebanon War.

The House of Representatives also passed a bill to allow Israel to use up the remainder of the $9 billion guarantees previously approved for a three year period, which was extended by one year.

In addition, the Americans approved a motion to allow Israel to add up to $4.5 billion by 2011, thereby increasing special aid to Israel to help with war damages without having to approve additional funds.
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..............................................................benny

A Deterrence Strategy to Replace Israel’s Lost Nuclear Ambiguity

DEBKAfile Exclusive Military Analysis

December 10, 2006, 8:27 PM (GMT+02:00)





Israel’s prime minister Ehud Olmert embarks on a European tour this week that takes him first to Rome and the Vatican, then to Berlin Tuesday, Dec. 12.

In an interview with the German Der Spiegel , Saturday Dec. 9, he expressed the hope that the international community would take firmer action against Iranian president Ahmed Ahmadinejad for seeking to wipe Israel of the map. “Such talk is criminal,” he said.

Questioned on Iran’s nuclear program, Olmert said he does not object to the proposal to engage Tehran in direct talks if they lead to the program’s suspension.

As to an Israeli pre-emptive military attack on Iran, the prime minister said: “I rule nothing out.”

Friday, in a phone conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Olmert said he hoped for progress towards a Security Council vote on sanctions against Iran.




DEBKAfile’s analysts liken these wishy-washy phrases to the way US president George W. Bush used to talk in reference to the Iranian nuclear issue. This outdated verbiage from an Israeli leader is worse than useless; it conveys the impression that Israeli has been left with no nuclear deterrence policy, since designated US defense secretary Robert Gates blew Israel’s nuclear ambiguity cover at his Senate confirmation hearings last week. He succeeded in arbitrarily terminating 40 years of a posture which neither admitted nor denied its nuclear capabilities, with the United States playing along.

The incoming defense secretary took this another step: He made it clear that “no one can promise that Iran will not use nuclear weapons against Israel.”

In other words, the US has washed its hands of responsibility for stopping Iran nuking Israel (or anyone else for that matter); indeed in a nuclear confrontation, the United States will stand aside.

His words evoked no clear response from government officials in Jerusalem. Maybe they were struck dumb. Or more likely, Israeli official spokesmen have not yet caught onto the fast-moving changes in their country’s strategic values.

This was apparent at a high-profile US-Israeli get-together at the Saban Forum in Washington’s Brookings Institute. The subject: “How Israel should deal with its neighbors” was put before a star-studded roster of participants: President William Clinton, Israeli vice premier Shimon Peres, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Israeli minister for strategic affairs Avigdor Lieberman, US Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, Israeli foreign minister Zipi Livni, Israeli minister of education Yuli Tamir, former Shin Bet chief and MK Ami Ayalon, as well as the US secretary of state’s senior adviser on Iraq David Satterfield, former CIA director George Tenet, former Israeli national security adviser Giora Eiland and Israeli military intelligence director Amos Yadlin.

Yet in their discussions did not scrutinize the fallout from the Baker-Hamilton report on Iraq submitted last Wednesday, or the implications of its proposal for Washington to open a diplomatic track with Tehran. No imprint was left by James Baker’s revelation to the Senate Armed Forces Committee Thursday, Dec. 7 of the message to Tehran that, subject to certain caveats, Washington would accept the continuation of Iran’s nuclear activities in return for help in securing an orderly US military withdrawal from Iraq.

The venerable Israeli statesman Shimon Peres alone voiced mild criticism of past and present US policy on Iran when he said the Islamic Republic’s strength derives from the weakness of the international community and its inability to pull together on the Iranian nuclear threat.

His words contradicted the Olmert government’s stance which shifts the onus for dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat to the international community.

Robert Gates won bipartisan acclaim in the US Senate for a new path which presages drastic US policy changes in three spheres which bear profoundly on Israel’s military and diplomatic situation: Iran, its nuclear program and a Middle East nuclear arms race.

If Olmert’s Der Spiegel interview is Israel’s definitive commentary on the new ground Gates has broken in US foreign policy, Ahmanidejad may be forgiven for assuming that Israel has nothing to say to his threats and Putin for believing he can get away with evasions on effective sanctions against Iran.

Timid diplomatic rhetoric will no longer serve. DEBKAfile’s military sources say the time has come for Israel to talk as though it has arrows in its quiver and is capable of using them. Its vanished deterrence can be retrieved, for instance, by press leaks or even an announcement that a new surface missile has been launched, which foreign media would disclose is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, or the firing of a new Israeli cruise missile from a Dolphin submarine cruising at the Indian Ocean’s point of convergence with the Arabian Sea.

This is the sort of publicity tactic Tehran employs; it works. The effectiveness of its provocative talk depends on Israel shrinking back, instead of marching forward and hitting back in kind.

Iran’s radical leaders don’t always bother with new or even true shockers. Saturday, the Iranian president recycled an oft-used claim that Iran has started installing 3,000 centrifuges for uranium enrichment at a plant in central Iran, the first step towards industrial production. Nuclear experts immediately seized on the threat embodied in this statement (as was intended) and predicted that within two years, if the centrifuges spin smoothly, Iran will be able to turn out 3-4 small nuclear bombs a year.

Iran, still far from possessing an independent nuclear bomb, has big-mouthed itself into the position of a nuclear power, while Israel, which is the genuine article, is brushed aside as a non-player.

In the past, there was a certain amount of free interplay in public discourse among civilian and military officials on strategic matters. Not today. Olmert exercises tight control over all pronouncements and holds them strictly to his guidelines. Since innovative thinking is not exactly the prime minister’s forte, as indicated by his messages to Putin and Der Spiegeli , public discourse in Israel is starved of dynamic ideas.

.................................................................benny

Dec. 12, 2006 20:44 | Updated Dec. 12, 2006 20:57
Ahmadinejad: Zionist regime will disappear, as did USSR
By JPOST.COM STAFF



Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday at the International Conference on 'World Vision on Holocaust' in Tehran that "thanks God the curve of Zionist regime's life is on the decline adding that this is a divine promise and will of world nations," according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.

"Those [who have] supported the Zionist regime during their lifetime," said Ahmadinejad, "should be aware that its lifetime will be over and their interests as well as reputation will be endangered.

"Just as the ground was prepared to assign such a regime, the Zionist regime will be overthrown by its supporters," he added.

Ahmadinejad went on to say that "when I said the Zionist regime must be wiped off [the map], the Zionist media of course harshly blasted me, but everyone must know that just as the USSR disappeared, this will also be the fate of the Zionist regime, and humanity will be free."

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the conference "is a sick phenomenon that shows the depth of hatred of the fundamentalist Iranian regime."

Much of the Western World has condemned the conference as well.

The conference, organized by the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Institute for Political and International Studies, is being attended by 67 participants from 30 countries, including several from Europe, American white-supremacist politician and former Ku Klux Klan member, David Duke, and half a dozen haredim from the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta sect.

The Neturei Karta participants, conspicuous in their traditional black garb, were repeatedly interviewed on television wearing badges with the Israeli flag crossed out that read: "A Jew, not a Zionist." Post comment | Terms


....................................................................benny

MK Eldad: If world doesn't stop Iran, we will


Published: 12.11.06, 21:30



MK Ariyeh Eldad (National Unity) addressed the comment made by PM Olmert confirming that Israel has nuclear weapons.

MK Eldad said that "If Olmert indeed meant to forgo Israel's policy of ambiguity there should be a clear message to the world from us – if you don't stop Iran, we will, at any price." (Attila Somfalvi) ....................................................benny

WAR - Senator Rick Santorum Today: Iran WILL Be Attacked by the USA per Bush

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For those of you who are GB impaired, or don't listen to Glenn Beck, today's first hour had a shocking revelation:

The United States will attack Iran if Iran proves or detonates a nuclear weapon. They will not leave it up to Israel to do the dirty work.

The bottom line is that Senator Santorum has spoken with President Bush and that if Iran tests a nuclear weapon we will attack. And per his insider information within the intelligence community, the Iranians are closer to developing a nuclear weapon than the public is being lead to believe. And the lack of understanding by the American public is a failure of leadership. Europe, including England will sit this one out. It will be ourselves and Israel against the world.

This will all occur before 2008.

Paraphrasing Senator Santorum:


Quote:
First off, I'm of the belief we can never allow it to happen (Iran to test a nuke). I have to believe the President of the United States, of whom I've spoken with on numerous occasions, if he has any kind of intelligence about this happening, we will take out the sites.


He also believes, as does Glenn, that we will be in a "hot" war with Iran within 12 months.

Sleep tight. Prep faster. And listen to our nuclear experts here.
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............................................................benny

FWIW Shadizar;

By studing the history of nuclear weapons developemt - one can, with reasonable assurance, arrive at a reasonable (real time) "time table" of how long it takes a 'modern' nation to develope a nuclear device.

The Manhatten Project; which was the inital effort (by the United States). Began in, we'll say 1941. The scientists of the "Manhatten Project" did not know - for certainty, that an atomic bomb could be built! They didn't have the trigger assembly worked out; they didn't have the "enriched fissionable materials processing worked out. And they had to "work out" the amounts needed, the manner in which to 'enrich' the uranium. (I could go on a bit more about the experimentation. But the REAL BOTTOM LINE is this.

From 1941 untill the actual testing of the world's first nuclear bomb - WAS 5 YEARS! And from 1941 untill 1945, there were built 3 nuclear devices, not just one.

The Russians begin to immeadately, upon the testing of the U.S.'s first Atomic Bomb; to establish their own nuclear project. Sooooooooo!

Using 1945 as their (The Russians) serious beginning date; they exploded their own atomic bomb in 1949!

Iran, who has had all the needed experimentation done (by the world's nuclear powers - as they developed their own nuclear arsenals). Started her nuclear program with all the "experimentation" worked out; all the needed equipment already *KNOWN*.....

All the needful informations for the designs for nuclear devices to be found - for public information, was our public libararies - which has since, I am given to understand, been removed from said public libararies - after that information was already secured by any interested party(s).

History puts the TEN YEAR 'estimate' as a Fallacy, put forward as 'pablum consumption' for the "Sheeple" and not the actual "state" of the 'actual'current state of the nuclear development in Iran...............................................................benny

Germany's Turn
In January the EU's six-month Presidency will go to Germany. As you probably know, I think something big in the way of Bible prophecy may be brewing. Everything seems to point to it -- from the conclusions of the recent Euromed Ministerial Conference in Finland, to the release of the Iraq Study Group's report and coinciding shakeups in Washington. On both sides of the Atlantic there is a common and urgent goal -- cooling down a hot, simmering Middle East.

As dangerous as the situation may be, however, there are other reason for thinking something big may happen. Mixed into this turbulent pot of circumstances we find a pattern of events that, in my opinion, fit perfectly the prophetic picture -- from the rebirth of Israel to a covenant that, starting in January, is about to be confirmed for a period of seven years Israel's AP pdf I ENPI pdf.

This brings us back to Germany's EU Presidency. It seems that Germany's Angela Merkel is prepared to lead the way for deeper European integration and more EU presence on the global stage Read about it here. And, at her side, she will have a former member of the EU's Javier Solana's personal staff helping guide her way Read about it here. And Solana, as you know, is the author of the seven-year covenant that's waiting to be confirmed.

As I've been reporting, people are finally beginning to notice Solana Read about it here. But, if you have read my book, you know that I've been following his rise since 1999. What caught my attention was Solana's sudden appearance among a 10-nation military alliance known as the Western European Union. The reason I was watching this alliance is because, since I read Hal Lindsey's, The Late Great Planet Earth, I thought a 10-nation alliance in Western Europe was what we students of Bible prophecy were all to be expecting. However, at that time hardly no one except Constance Cumbey and myself were watching this alliance. But, many are now.

In January the new director of the UN will take his post. His task is to restructure the weak international body and turn it into a strong mechanism for achieving world peace. An important new instrument that may soon be at his disposal is the Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) AoC pdf. If you haven't yet read up on the initiative, I strongly recommend that you do. That's because the AoC is meant to bring about lasting peace in the Middle East and beyond, and make war against all forms of religious fundamentalism. The resolution proposal will be presented to the Security Council in September of 2007. If it makes it through the process, the final vote on the AoC will come in September 2009 -- just in time to be in full force in middle of the seven-year period.

This Thursday and Friday the EU will hold its important December summit Read about it here. With all that is now before us, the outcome of this summit will be especially interesting. In a speech before the EU Parliament, the current Finnish Presidency began its term by saying the EU can't wait any longer for its new Foreign Minister. And, with the EU's energy crisis growing deeper, there is strong agreement the bloc must begin speaking with one voice. In fact, it's even rumored that German plans on giving Solana its seat in the Council. Then, on January 1, it will be Germany's turn at the EU's Presidency.

See what I mean? There's a whole lot going on.

Stay tuned!

..........................................................benny

Iran Nukes Prompt Concerns within Mideast

December 14, 2006
The Christian Science Monitor
Howard LaFranchi

The United Nations Security Council is considering a watered-down resolution of sanctions aimed at punishing Iran for pursuing its uranium- enrichment program - a process that could lead to development of a nuclear weapon. But with the United States seemingly occupied with Iraq, and with Russia and China still balking at any action that would suggest "humiliation" of a valued trade partner, doubts are rising over how much the Europe-sponsored resolution will be worth.

"Nothing has changed for the better with respect to this resolution and what it says about determination to stop a very dangerous scenario before it gets out of control," says Gal Luft, codirector of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security in Washington. "The Iranians are moving ahead. The world is acting in ways that reduce the chance of having a real impact on that - and countries in the region are taking note of both."

Indeed, as prospects wane for tough international action against Iran, some countries in the region are expressing alarm at the pace of Tehran's progress toward mastery of the nuclear cycle. And they seem to be saying, "If the international community is not going to do something about it, we will." Such an attitude is raising fears of a Middle East arms race.

Noting that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries announced over the weekend their interest in developing a cooperative nuclear-energy program, former Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross said, "Who is that message for? Let me tell you, it's not for Iran. It was for us."

Ambassador Ross, now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, also said at an event Tuesday that the Saudis are telling the US, "Stop them - or that [nuclear power] is the way we go, too."

The regional warnings on Iran come amid reports that the Saudis have also warned the US that they might be compelled to enter on the side of the Sunnis in any Iraq that the US had abandoned to civil war.

The countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council are Sunni powers expressing concerns over the rise of Shiite Iran, Mr. Luft says, which adds one more worrisome ripple to the signs of growing Sunni-Shiite tensions in Iraq and Lebanon. "They are saying that if there is to be a Shiite bomb, then they will need a Sunni bomb to counterbalance it," he says. "They don't want that, but if their neighbor Iran goes nuclear in this climate of deepening Shiite-Sunni divisions, they don't see how they could sit aside and not match it."

The Security Council draft resolution circulated this week by France, Britain, and Germany forgoes the proposed blanket sanctions against Iran that drew a Russian rebuff. Instead, it outlines sanctions focused on the country's uranium-enrichment process - targeting Iran's atomic-energy agency, facilities involved in the uranium-enrichment program, and individuals and companies associated with the program.

The resolution removes any reference to Iran's first nuclear power plant at Bushehr, while focusing on a pilot enrichment facility at Natanz. That change satisfies one Russian demand, but Russian officials have held out for additional changes.

If the resolution is passed by the Security Council before the end of the year, as some diplomats expect, it would be nine months after the international community first demanded that Iran cease its uranium enrichment or face tough trade and financial sanctions. By early next year, it will have been two years since the Bush administration deferred to European diplomacy to try to halt a program that Mr. Ahmadinejad says is purely peaceful but that European officials have concluded is designed to deliver nuclear weapons.

Some analysts say the US is so preoccupied with Iraq - and tied up in debate over whether it should engage Iran in diplomatic efforts to stabilize Iraq - that it has weakened its determination to stop a nuclear-armed Iran from emerging. They note that the resignation of John Bolton, US ambassador to the UN, who is a fierce opponent of nuclear proliferation to dangerous "rogue states," has lowered the US profile in the struggle with Iran at a crucial moment.

Others note that while the US goes along with diplomatic efforts to curtail Iran's nuclear progress, President Bush continues to insist that "no options are off the table" in terms of guaranteeing that Iran never develops the bomb. They speculate that if Iran continues its nuclear march, the US could take military action to at least seriously damage its program before the end of Mr. Bush's term, claiming it had favored diplomatic action until the risk dictated another course.

In the meantime, Iran claims it has neared mastery of the nuclear cycle, from mining of uranium ore to its enrichment into fuel for nuclear facilities. Last weekend, Ahmadinejad announced his country had "begun" the installation of 3,000 centrifuges - which, if true, could be a major step toward large-scale uranium enrichment. He used the announcement to needle his international opponents, crowing that "resistance of the Iranian nation" has spurred the nuclear progress, even while forcing the world "to retreat tens of steps over Iran's nuclear issue," according to Iran's Fars news agency.

Nuclear experts say it is hard to say how much of this is "bluster" or to what degree it reflects real progress in the Iranian program. "A lot depends on what a phrase like 'beginning to install' really means," says David Kay, a security specialist at the Potomac Institute in Arlington, Va. "I don't think anyone would say they are 'mastering the fuel cycle,' which was another of [Ahmadinejad's] claims."

Mr. Kay notes, for example, that what is known about Iran's initial centrifuge "cascade," as the high-speed facility allowing uranium enrichment is called, suggests "they are still at a very, very preliminary stage" in their capabilities. "From what we hear the facility is down as much as it is up," he says. All this suggests Iran is still at least four years away from the ability to build a bomb, he says.

Yet as rudimentary as the program may still be, Luft says Iran is taking important but little-noticed steps to weather even weakened international sanctions. In a new report, his institute says Iran is acting to address its "Achilles' heel" - its lack of gasoline-refining capacity - by expediting construction of two new refineries, signing gasoline import contracts with "friendly countries" like Venezuela, and undertaking a crash conversion program to convert 1.2 million vehicles a year from gasoline to natural gas. Iran has the world's second-largest natural-gas reserve.

"They are taking all kinds of innovative measures, and showing by the high priority they are giving these measures that they do not intend to change course and capitulate on their nuclear program," Luft says. "It's become a matter of national pride."

In a similar way, he says that the Gulf countries are not talking about a nuclear program for energy reasons - but with national security in mind. "If you sit on top of the world's biggest pile of oil and gas, the last thing you need is nuclear energy," he says. "They would be doing this for security interests, not for energy."
.....................................................................benny

EU Monitors Flee
It's a complicated mess. But, some understanding may be possible. The Bible tells us ultimately what to expect -- the Middle East peace process shifting to the EU. That makes it easier.

Today's news report says that the EU monitors sent to guard the Gaza/Eygpt border have fled their posts Read about it here I Here's why. If you recall, the EU's first military type deployment into the Holy Land was to send these monitors. This is where at the press conference following the Quartet's decision to send EU forces, three large sixes strangely appeared on the wall.



And, when the EU Council endorsed sending EU forces to enforce the Israeli/Lebanon cease-fire, the biblical number of prophecy -- even more strangely -- appeared again.



I don't want to place too much significance to such occurrences. But, I don't want to completely ignore these strange events either. They may have happened for a reason. As you know, these aren't the first time that we have seen this number associated with these prophetic looking events.

So, what's actually going on in Gaza? Only last week the EU's Javier Solana said that Hamas had blown their chance Read about it here. After that, while Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was away on a trip seeking money, three children belonging to a top Fatah official were mercilessly murdered. Naturally, mood in the Gaza street began shifting away from Hamas. When Haniyeh heard about the murders, he called his trip short. Israel, aware of the money that Haniyeh was bringing, ordered the border crossing closed. Fighting erupted between Hamas and Fatah and the EU border monitors fled. At the time of writing, the latest news is Haniyeh is back in Gaza, but without his money.

So, again, what's going on? It looks like the EU may have decided to do something that it has never done before -- get tough. You see, the EU didn't only say the bloc will support the Palestinian government of Mahmoud Abbas, it also said it would support the Lebanese government of Fouad Saniora Read about it here. In other words, the EU actually appears to be drawing a line in the Middle East sand. And, as far as Bible prophecy goes, this sudden change of heart in the EU could be very significant.

Especially as we approach 2007.

...................................................................benny

INTL - EU Wants Clarification on Olmert 'Nuke' Comment

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EU Wants Clarification on Olmert Comment



The European Union is seeking clarification of a recent comment by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in which he seemingly acknowledged his nation’s previously unacknowledged nuclear weapons program, United Press International reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 13).

“Mr. Olmert should further explain what this information really means,” said Finnish Defense Minister Seppo Kaariainen, head of the EU defense council.

“I hope that the international crisis management that began this summer in Lebanon can be continued without disturbances,” he said. “The EU will carefully observe what reactions the Israeli explanation sparks in the region” (United Press International, Dec. 13).

The United Nations and the international community should demand that Israel allow access to its nuclear sites, the Arab league said yesterday.

“Pressure must be exerted on Israel through the International Atomic Energy Agency to open its nuclear facilities in a transparent manner,” said Mohammed Sobeih, assistant secretary general in charge of Palestinian affairs. “It is essential that Israel comply with international resolutions.”

“Everyone knows that Israel possesses weapons of mass destruction which could reach as far as 2,000 kilometers and all Arab capitals are within this range,” he added (Agence France-Presse, Dec. 13).

The International Atomic Energy Agency indicated that it would not respond to Olmert’s statement, in which he listed Israel alongside several known nuclear powers while addressing suspicions about Iran’s atomic program, RIA Novosti reported today.

Acknowledgement of Israel’s nuclear arsenal could press other Middle Eastern nations to seek their own atomic weapons, according to experts.

“This may lead to a further softening of the nuclear nonproliferation regime, which, unfortunately, would be a very dangerous development indeed,” said Sergei Markov of the Russian Public Chamber (RIA Novosti/SpaceWar.com, Dec. 14).

Former chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said yesterday that Olmert’s indirect comments are not likely to produce such a response, the Associated Press reported.

“So long as it’s muted and not acknowledged … it might be easier for [Arab nations] to refrain from, or hold back, proposals that they too acquire nuclear weapons,” he said.

Israel’s Middle Eastern neighbors are already aware of its reputed arsenal, Blix said.

“The whole world is fairly sure that they have about 200 weapons, and beating around the bush I think doesn’t change very much they are part of the nuclear landscape. ................................benny

Finnish PM gives presser at EU summit
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Friday, December 15, 2006 (Brussels):


Matti Vanhanen, Finnish Prime Minister and President of the European Council, said at a news conference on Thursday that the pace of accession to the European Union depends "on the acceding countries' ability to comply with the rules".

"The criteria must be strictly adhered to. But on the other hand, no new criteria should be set", he said, referring to the possibility of setting new accession demands.

His words were echoed by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who said the enlargement standards cannot be lowered.

"If we want to be serious about enlargement, we have to tell the candidate countries that all the criteria have to be respected", he said.

That was the only way new countries would be able to see how important their accession was to present members of the EU.

"This is the way that we show our seriousness about having them with us in the future" said Barroso, who went on to welcome Romania and Bulgaria as the next members of the European Union from the first of January 2007.

Middle East

Aside from issues involved EU membership, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana also commented on the issue of the Middle East, and he was firm with his words.

"The European Union doesn't want weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. The European Union doesn't want weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Is it clear?" he told the assembled press.

Vanhanen, Barroso and Solana were speaking during a news conference organised on the first of a two-day year-end EU Summit in Brussels. (AP)


.............................................................benny

EU backs peace plan worded by Spain, France, Italy


The plan has five components: an immediate ceasefire; formation of a Palestinian unity government; an exchange of prisoners —; talks between Olmert and Abbas, and an international mission in Gaza to monitor a ceasefire

Associated Press Published: 12.15.06, 04:27




European Union foreign ministers on Thursday discussed a five-point plan to revive the Middle East peace process first put forward by Spain, France and Italy in mid-November.



The plan breaks no new ground but underscores a European wish to maintain the momentum for peace even as a ceasefire between Israel


and the Palestinians hangs in the balance, and an insurgency rages on in Iraq.



The plan has five components: an immediate ceasefire; formation of a Palestinian unity government acceptable to the international community; an exchange of prisoners — including the Israeli soldiers whose kidnapping sparked a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbullah earlier this year; talks between Israel's prime minister and the Palestinian president, and an international mission in Gaza to monitor a ceasefire.



The 25 foreign ministers reaffirmed the initiative Thursday and leaders from the 25 EU nations will formally endorse it Friday.



Diplomats said the leaders' statement nudges Syria into doing more for peace and urges Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to keep up his efforts to form a government of national unity.



"We continue, of course, to support him and also his efforts to form a government of national unity," said Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja of Finland, which holds the rotating EU presidency.



Tuomioja said once such a government is formed, "then we will immediately engage with it."



The peace plan that Spain, France and Italy proposed does not explicitly demand that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist — a key sticking point blocking the resumption of Western aid to the impoverished Palestinians.



Abbas has been trying to persuade Hamas to join his more moderate Fatah party in a coalition government in hopes of lifting the sanctions. But talks broke down late last month. Tensions further heightened after Abbas threatened to call new elections, drawing charges from Hamas he is plotting a coup.



On Iran, the UN Security Council currently is discussing a resolution that would impose sanctions on Tehran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment.



"What has been consistently the picture, pretty well all year, is that the international community has shown a great unity of purpose and a great unity of concern and anxiety over this issue," British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told reporters.



Warnings to Iran, Syria

"That remains the case, and one of the best ways of demonstrating that would be by having a further unified Security Council resolution."



British Prime Minister Tony Blair is to visit the Middle East in the weeks ahead.



"We as the EU ... are substantial funders of aid and support to the Palestinian people, but in the end aid from outside is not the answer, the answer is to move to a more peaceful settlement in the Middle East so natural and normal economic development can take place," Beckett said.The European Union on Thursday embraced a Middle East peace initiative that urges Syria to play a constructive role in the region and hints to Iran of impending international sanctions over its nuclear program.



Meanwhile, the European Union on Thursday embraced a Middle East peace initiative that urges Syria to play a constructive role in the region and hints to Iran of impending international sanctions over its nuclear program.



It also condemned a move by Hamas to seize a key EU-monitored border crossing Thursday between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.



"We deplore the events that have taken place in Rafah," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters at an EU summit. He said the EU was relieved Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh failed to smuggle in tens of millions of dollars of aid from Egypt and that EU monitors were able to escape unharmed.



Haniyeh made his way back to Gaza after a gunbattle between Hamas and rival Fatah left more than two dozen people wounded. Officials said Haniyeh was unharmed.



....................................................................benny

INTL - Putin inspects Russia's latest missiles

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061214/...ussia_missiles

Putin inspects Russia's latest missiles

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer Thu Dec 14, 4:04 PM ET

MOSCOW - President
Vladimir Putin on Thursday inspected Russia's top-of-the line intercontinental ballistic missiles, hailing their ability to penetrate prospective missile defenses.
ADVERTISEMENT

Putin flew by helicopter to a forested area near Teikovo, a small town about 150 miles northeast of Moscow, to visit a unit of newly deployed Topol-M missiles mounted on mobile launchers.

After watching the new missiles, Putin said their deployment was a "serious step forward in strengthening Russia's defense capability."

"It has a stronger survivability, faster launch and an ability to penetrate any prospective missile defense," Putin said of the new weapon in televised remarks.

Speaking on a trip to the northern Plesetsk cosmodrome later Thursday, Putin described the Topol-M as a "21st century weapon" and said that it would ensure a "long-term efficiency of Russia's nuclear forces," the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

The Topol-M missiles, capable of hitting targets more than 6,000 miles away, have so far been deployed only in silos. The new version, which is mounted on a heavy off-road vehicle, makes it harder for an enemy to track it down.

"For the near future, Topol-M will have no rivals in the world," Strategic Missile Forces chief Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov said on state Rossiya television.

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov had said earlier this year that Russia's Strategic Missile Forces would get 69 Topol-M missiles by 2015; Russia so far has deployed over 40 silo-based Topol-Ms.

The Topol-M's chief designer, Yuri Solomonov, said earlier this year that the missile drops its engines at a significantly lower altitude than earlier designs, making it hard for an enemy early warning system to detect the launch. He added that his design also ensured that warheads and decoys closely resembled each other in flight, making it extremely difficult for a foe to select the real target from a multitude of false ones.

Russian officials said that Topol-M and the Bulava missile, which is being developed for the navy, will form the core of Russian nuclear deterrent forces.

Washington withdrew in 2002 from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in order to deploy a national missile defense shield — a move opposed by Russia, which described the it as destabilizing and harmful for global security.

Moscow has also bristled at
NATO's eastward expansion and warned that the redeployment of U.S. forces closer to Russian borders threatened its security. It particularly criticized U.S. plans to deploy its missile defense components in Eastern Europe, describing it as a hostile move.

Amid increasingly strained ties with the United States, Putin has said Russia needs a strong military to resist foreign pressure. Windfall oil revenues over recent years have allowed Putin's government to increase weapons purchases and fund the development of new weapons.


Cold war is over?
...................................................................benny

Solana's Green Light
If we can't read, and if there's no pictures, there's no sense opening a book. Fortunately, most of us have learned how to read. But, when it comes to understanding the EU beast, it takes more than just knowing how to read. Some can understand the strange, 25-headed, 10-horned creature because they're smart. We students of prophecy understand it because we cheat -- we use the Bible.

Not wanting to go over old ground, I'll focus instead on what may have just happened. As you know, with 2007 only weeks away, I was especially eager to see what the EU heads decided at their December summit. Well, the summit is over. And, what happened is exactly what we should have expected.

Two issues were on the EU's agenda about which I was interested. The first was whether any of the elements in the EU's failed constitution would somehow be squeezed through the back door. I was aware that the EU heads wanted to give their High Representative, Javier Solana, his presence within the Commission with, or without, the constitution. The second issue was the Spain/France/Italy Middle East peace plan. Would it be endorsed? I found out yesterday that the peace plan was endorsed. But, I had to wait for today to find out about the first issue regarding Solana.

My first clue came from the UK's Guardian. The report started by saying:

A threat to Britain's national veto over European decisions on police and judicial co-operation has been lifted at the EU summit in Brussels. But the final wording of a summit declaration made clear that, even if EU decisions affecting criminal law cannot be pushed through by majority, other ways of strengthening EU-wide counter-terrorism efforts will have to be found.

A little further I read:

The summit conclusions drop a reference to the fact that the Constitution offers "solutions" to the necessary intensification of operational co-operation in the EU on justice and security policy. But the wording still says: "The European Council (summit) is convinced that the framework for pursuing the Union's policies aimed at enhancing the area of freedom, security and justice will need to be genuinely strengthened in order to meet present challenges" Read about it here.

The way I read the above words, even though the EU's constitution is still dead in the water, the EU heads decided that ways must still be found to strengthen Solana's Office using existing treaties. And, sure enough, when I read the Summit Conclusions, that's exactly what it said.

19. It was against this background, and in the context of the review of the Hague Programme, that the European Council, in its conclusions of June 2006, called upon the Presidency to explore, in close collaboration with the Commission, the possibilities of improving decision-making and action in the area of Freedom, Security and Justice on the basis of existing treaties.

20. Drawing upon the analysis and reflection carried out, notably in the Justice and Home Affairs ministers' meeting at Tampere in September, the European Council considers first of all that practical progress could be achieved by intensifying operational cooperation between competent authorities of the Member States. The European Council invites the Council to make progress in the light of the options that have been presented. At the same time, the European Council is convinced that the framework for pursuing the Union's policies aimed at enhancing the area of Freedom, Security and Justice will need to be genuinely strengthened in order to meet present challenges Conclusions.

Earlier, if you recall, I said that they wanted to give Solana his presence within the Commission with, or without, the constitution. I knew that from reading a House of Lord's report titled, Europe in the World House of Lords pdf. In fact, the report starts by mentioning the same European Council conclusions of June 2006, that I highlighted in paragraph number 19 above. It says:

3. The Communication was published in June 2006 and welcomed by the June European Council which invited the Presidency, the Council, the High Representative and the Commission to examine the measures contained in the paper “with a view to improving inter alia strategic planning and coherence between the EU institutions and between the latter and the Member States.”2 The European Council also agreed that a first stocktaking in relation to the implementation of the measures would be made at the end of the Finnish European Council.

Later the report gives more detail. It says:

34. We welcome and endorse the Commission's desire to improve the coherence of the EU's external relations by strengthening cooperation between the Presidency, the High Representative and Council secretariat, the Commission and the Member States through action within the existing Treaty provisions. We do not regard these proposals as either cherry-picking from the Constitutional Treaty nor as requiring Treaty change.

35. The present Communication may well not exhaust the EU's scope for such action within the existing Treaties. We hope that both the EU institutions and Member States will continue to search for pragmatic ways to strengthen cooperation and that lessons learnt where cooperation has been successful will continue to be applied in other areas.

And, here the EU heads discuss why Solana's presence is needed so badly within the Commission -- to oversee his European Neighbourhood Policy!

51. However, the Commission only has the competence to strengthen its own internal groupings in relation to the Commission as a whole; the Commission has no power to usurp Council functions relating to CFSP. The institutional concern ought to be that by attending such meetings the High Representative will interfere in areas in which the Commission has competence, such as the European Neighbourhood Policy. This concern should not be overplayed, however, since one of the main purposes of increased coordination is to ensure greater coherence between the external relations policies of the
Council of Ministers and those of the Commission.

Although the report says, under the EU's existing treaties, that Solana can not have decision making powers within the Commission, it's also clear that the EU heads want Solana -- as called for in the EU's failed constitution -- to have his seat there anyway. And, at their December summit, the EU heads gave Solana and the coming German EU Presidency their green light.

Staying tuned?

.......................................................................benny

Ahmadinejad hints that Iran has nuclear weapons, Maariv claims

Date: 15 / 12 / 2006 Time: 12:24
Bethlehem - Ma'an -
www.aljazeerah.info/news

During their meeting in Tehran, the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad informed Palestinian prime minister Ismael Haniyeh that the Palestinians should be patient as Iran will issue a dramatic statement about changes in the strategic balance in the region, according to reports published in the Israeli daily 'Maariv' on Friday .

Analysts believe that this is a hint that Iran will soon announce that it has nuclear weapons.
__________________
........................................................benny .............p.s. ....please note this is from an arab source.....must remember.....The Word of God says that in the last days there would be wars and rumors of wars.

This article is from herb peters..................................................................................................................Time To Remember
Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow. He says we have enough worry for each day. And, the Apostle Paul advises not to look back. He says to keep seeking that which is above. But, Jesus didn't mean not to prepare for tomorrow. And, Paul wasn't advising us not learn from yesterday. There are some things we need to remember. Especially when times are hard.

I have as many doubts as you. I could be wrong about some of my conclusions. But, I remember from where I came. That's what keeps me going.

Yesterday's commentary was about the EU's December summit. As I said then, what happened is what we should have expected. My reason for saying that is because of all the things that I remember. You see, before FP I was a weekly newspaper columnist. I've been reporting about these events in Europe and the Middle East since 1991.

When I began my weekly columns, I never dreamed that I would be where I am today and reporting what I'm reporting. But, here we all are. And, we need to remember.

If you recall, last September former President Bill Clinton said a new Middle East peace plan was only two months away Read about it here. Two months later, when the news came that Spain, France and Italy had come up with a new peace plan, I had already forgotten.

Today it's being reported that Clinton's close friend, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, following his sudden trip to Turkey after the first day of the EU summit, is already in Egypt having "critical" peace talks President Hosni Mubarak. In Egypt Blair is quoted saying, "The next few days and weeks are critical moments of decision for the whole process" Read about it here.

My experience tells me the Middle East is on the brink of war or peace. In early January the EU's Javier Solana will be in Washington -- not unusual after an EU summit. But, in light of the situation in the Middle East, this time it's different Read about it here. After Washington, Solana will be going to New York -- most likely to visit the UN's new Secretary General.

With the EU's endorsement of the Spain/France/Italy peace plan (believed to really be Miguel Angel Moratinos' plan), Solana will be carrying the plan to the other members of the Quartet -- the US, the UN and Russian -- for approval. And if you recall, the Iraq Study Group called for President Bush to announce his new Middle East plan by December 31 -- just before Solana's scheduled trip to Washington.

If you recall, the prophecy says:

And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate (Daniel 9:27 New American Standard Bible).

Many, if not most, scholars believe the prophecy is saying a coming prince, or leader, will confirm, or make strong, or strengthen, an existing covenant, agreement, or treaty, between many, or the majority. For good reasons it's also believed the covenant will bring Israel a short time of peace. Friends, what we're seeing actually fits the prophecy perfectly. The EU's 1995 Euro-Mediterranean Partnership for Peace is a covenant with many nations that's intended to bring peace to the Mediterranean region. The EU's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was created to make strong, or strengthen, the EU's 1995 covenant. Starting January 1, the New ENP will kick in and last for seven years -- to coincide with the EU's next seven-year budget. Now Solana, due to decisions taken at the EU's December summit, will on January 1 take his new seat in the Commission -- where EU funds are -- in order to oversee the New ENP. In other words, in order to confirm, or make strong, or strengthen, the EU's 1995 covenant with many. And, in so doing, bring a lasting and comprehensive peace to the Middle East.

The significance of these events may be hard to overstate. I wonder if older students of Bible prophecy will continue to remain quiet.

It's time to remember.

..............................................................benny

Abbas' Silver Lining
I like the History Channel. C-SPAN, however, can be even better. Today on C-SPAN I saw Dennis Ross speaking about the Iraq Study Group (ISG) report. Next, I saw Mahmoud Abbas calling the ISG report -- along with the EU's new Middle East peace plan, "the silver lining" in all that's happening.

Ross was former envoy to the Middle East for both the Bush Sr. Administration and the Clinton Administration. If I recall, Ross was also quite a good basketball player. So, I like listening to his opinions. Of course, because of Ross' experience as an Middle East envoy too.



Although it was today that I saw Ross speak, the C-SPAN program was recorded last Tuesday. Today the big news is about Palestinian President Abbas calling for early national elections. That's why I found something that Ross said Tuesday extremely interesting. Ross said the ideas in the ISG report wouldn't work because Abbas wasn't willing to confront Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. "If he was", Ross said, "he would have already done it."

Here's where Ross said what is interesting. He said what needs to be done is for someone to ask Abbas, "What does it take to make you do it [confront Haniyeh]?" This brings us to today's news. It looks like someone may have done just what Ross suggested. Today Abbas confronted Haniyeh in a bold way Read about it here. Abbas surprised everyone by calling for early elections.



Now I was eager to hear what Abbas had to say -- to find out what made him do it. In the first part of his speech, Abbas talked about the difficult realities that they and the Palestinian people were facing. He explained, "We were militants. We have become beggars." If you recall, the international community cut off aid to the Palestinians after Hamas won the elections and, since then, has stubbornly refused to recognize Israel or prior agreements.

Abbas went on to detail how all his attempt to negotiate a unity government with Hamas failed. After that, Abbas reminded his listeners of the change that happened at Oslo. He said, for the first time, Israel and the international community recognized Yasser Arafat's PLO as the only representative of the Palestinian people. After that, Abbas explained, "We have to remember, there are three sides -- the Arabs, the Europeans and the Americans." From there he discussed what he called the Arab Initiative. He said what was good about the Arab plan is that it included the right of return issue. Then he said what I think may have given him what he wanted to confront Hamas. He said the "silver lining" in all these things is the EU's new peace plan, and the Baker/Hamilton plan. He said, for the first time, a European and an American plan include the issue of right of return.

No, I suspect there may be something more in those two plans that Abbas called "the silver lining." And, whatever it is, it was enough to make Abbas want to do it -- make him want to finally confront Hamas.

See why I like C-SPAN?

...................................................................benny

High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, to El Khabar
Algeria is an EU’s essential partner in fight against terrorism and illegal immigration


Javier Solana, High Representative for CFSP (Common Foreign and Security Policy) told El Khabar in an interview, Europe was aware of the dangers threatening the Mediterranean Sea and African Sahel countries, he insisted on the fact that European side is supporting a political solution for Western Sahara conflict in accordance to UN’s principles and resolutions as the right of self-determination for Sahrawi people. He adds Algeria is an EU’s basic partner in the fight against terrorism and illegal immigration.
To a question about the reserves issued by Algeria as to European neighbourhood policy and its plan of action, Javier Solana said “neighbourhood policy is not a substitute for Barcelona process; it rather underpins and deepens it. It provides, for instance, new integration perception in the one-market, a toughened political dialogue; it gives a gap as regard immigration…”. He was asked then on the part Algeria could play in terms of European security regarding the fight on terror or the struggle against illegal immigration, and his view as to GSPC’s potential threat in the Mediterranean Sea and the African Sahel. Solana replied they (as EU) were perfectly aware about the threats existing in the Mediterranean and the Sahel region, underlining the fact that they are located not far from Europe. “Our fight on terrorism is placed within the framework of the United Nations, and the European Union calls for the adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention against terrorism, which has been under negotiations for some years”, Solana adds.
”We hope Algeria would make efforts in that direction. I also would like to praise Algeria’s front-rank role in Africa through the African Union’s Anti-Terrorism Centre Algiers had accepted to shelter and finance. Algeria is an essential partner of the European Union in the fight on terrorism and the struggle against illegal immigration”, High Representative for CFSP says. “We closely cooperate with Algeria, on the level of bilateral relations and that of European Union as well. EU technical support’ course of action for Algeria or the plan set as part of Euromed for struggle against terrorism are good examples of such cooperation”, he carries on.
El Khabar asked him what EU can do to improve inter-Maghreb relations, chiefly as regard Western Sahara conflict, he replied: ” it is essential to strength regional cooperation. I met the Secretary-General of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), Mr Ben Yahia, last November, on the occasion of the Foreign Ministers Euro-Mediterranean meeting, in Tampere, Finland. Both of us agree that the UMA has an outstanding role to play. I told him the European Union was ready to support Maghreb Union. However, Magreb countries have to establish strong relationship between them and resolve the problems that hamper their union. Those countries will be stronger as there would be several potential synergies in Energy, construction transport, agriculture and tourism among other fields. They also have common challenges as immigration and terrorism”.
As far as Western Sahara is concerned, Solana says it is an obstacle, adding that nobody is satisfied by such a situation; neither refugees in the camps, nor the region’s peoples, nor the governments who pledged in 1995 Barcelona declaration (renewed last year) to strive for the establishment of common peace, stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region. All of us need to have the issue settled as soon as possible, and Algeria has a significant role in this context, Solana points out adding “EU has always supported a fair and lasting political solution and acceptable for all, which would allow -according to UN charter’s principles and goals- Sahrawi people to enjoy his right for self-determination. EU is ready to accompany any step taken in that direction”.

..............................................................benny

Assad calls for dialogue with Israel



ROME: Syria is ready to hold peace talks with Israel, but is also preparing for the possibility of a war with the Jewish state, Syrian President Bashar Assad said, according to an interview published on Friday in an Italian newspaper. Assad called on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to consider Syria’s offer to discuss peace in exchange for territorial concessions, Rome-based daily La Repubblica reported.

“I say to Olmert: make an attempt. Call our bluff,” he was quoted as saying. “The Syrian people are united on this: Reach peace to get back our lands,” he said in a reference to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

A UN General Assembly resolution in September demanded that Israel withdraw from this territory, which it annexed from Syria in 1967. The United States opposes the resolution, contending that it prejudges the outcome of negotiations between Israel and Syria.

Despite his call for dialogue, Assad also said Syria expects that Israel could launch a war against it “at any moment,” according to the interview. “War is always possible in our region. It is natural to prepare (for it),” he was quoted as telling the newspaper.




................................................................benny

Dec. 18, 2006 16:04 | Updated Dec. 18, 2006 16:19
Dagan: Syria more willing now than ever to attack Israel
By JPOST.COM STAFF



Despite Syria's peace overtures it is "more willing now than ever before" to take military action against Israel, Mossad Chief Meir Dagan told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday.

Mossad head: Syria not seeking peace

Dagan said that following Israel's war with Lebanon, Syria felt more secure and confident in having its own personal confrontation with Israel.

He went on to say that the Syrian army was building up its anti-tank missile units, after having seen that this was Israel's Achilles' heel in the Second Lebanon War. He also told the committee that Syria was secretly buying stocks of anti-tank missiles from Russia.

Dagan stressed that the condition was so volatile that if Israel were to send a warning signal to his Assad's summer home, this would be reason enough for Syria to go into war.

Dagan reminded the FADC that Assad's modus operandi was to "whip out a white rabbit of a peace overture" to dispel international pressure coming from the US.

In fact, said Dagan, on Sunday, when Foreign Minister Walid Moallem was interviewed by , saying that Syria was willing to start negotiations without preconditions, the Arab press printed the exact opposite; that Syria would not return to the negotiation table.

Dagan summarized the Syria enigma by saying that the Israeli government had no reason to believe that Syria was making any real moves towards peace.

The next most pressing issue on Israel's agenda, Dagan said, was the Iranian nuclear threat.

"Iran is approaching nuclear ability. The Iranian president wants 3000 centrifugal processors in bunkers by March 2007."

However, Dagan asserted that the Mossad did not believe Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was capable of meeting the deadline, saying that the Mossad believed it would take until the end of 2007.

He explained that if there were "no sanctions on Iran and no technological holdups," by 2008 Iran would have 25 kilograms of enriched uranium and by 2009-2010 they would already have nuclear warheads.

Dagan finished his address by saying that the Iraq civil war was "dangerous" and that the day the US left, Iraq would go back to being an Islamic extremist state, which would be "a geopolitical change that will harm Israel." Post comment | Terms


......................................................................benny

Their Global Plan
Jesus warns to beware of the leaven of Herod and the Pharisees. He said for such -- those driven by power, position and money -- there can be no sign given (Mark 8: 11-15). Friends, nothing has changed. The fulfillment of the prophecies are before us -- as they were Herod and the Pharisees -- but the majority our modern spiritual leaders refuse to see it.

So, don't be surprised when even some of our own evangelical leaders give their support to the UN's new Alliance of Civilizations (AoC). Jesus tells us that, in the time of the end, the true colors of all professing believers will be exposed (Matthew 13: 24-30).

The news I've been following is about the power struggle between the rival Fatah and Hamas factions in Gaza, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to the Middle East, and Blair's visit today with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Read about it here. You see, I suspect that these stories are directly linked. In fact, I believe almost all that's going on in the Middle East is. And, the connection goes through the halls of Brussels, across to Washington, and on to New York.

As you may recall, I believe that Fatah leader Abbas may have been offered something that persuaded him to finally confront Hamas. After Blair's joint press conference with President Bush in Washington, Blair attended the EU's summit. From there he flew to Turkey, Egypt, Israel and now Gaza.

In his travels, I want you to notice what Blair is saying. In Egypt Blair says:

On the issue of Iran, the Prime Minister added: "Given that Iran seems to see its purpose as to derail the prospects for peace and stability and democracy, for many of us who genuinely want to see an alliance of civilisations - an alliance of moderation against extremists .. Read it here

This report from Afghanistan says:

Mr Blair visited the second largest mosque in the world, the Saudi-funded Faisel mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad. He said he was sure there would not be a clash of civilisations, but instead an alliance of civilisations to fight terrorism Read it here.

This is what I think: Since Blair endorsed it Read about it here, the AoC has become a central element to the international community's new approach to bringing a lasting and comprehensive peace to the Middle East.

If you recall, the AoC was co-sponsored by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. And, Erdogan actually calls the AoC a global peace plan. He says: We consider the Alliance Of Civilizations the global peace project of the 21st century Read about it here.

Here's what I think: It's no coincidence that today Zapatero and Erdogan happen to be in New York to participate in Kofi Anna's official presentation of the AoC project to the UN's General Assembly Read about it here.

Friends, I think it's all connected. The AoC isn't just another UN initiative.

It's their global plan.

.................................................................benny ...............................................................................................And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.


Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.


Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,


Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.


Rev 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.


Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:


Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.


Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six.
.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................WE are already wittnessing multiple signs that the anti-christ will soon step forward onto the world stage.....Now also We are wittnessing signs that the false prophet will soon arise onto the world stage......The pope is trying to unite the Jews ,christians and muslems to bring about a lasting peace in the middle east......The A.O.C. ..thru the United nations.....that religious element, on a global scale.....is to be tied together with Javier Solona's "European Neighborhood Policy".....which in the end will result in Daniel 9;27.................The present "European Neighborhood Policy" is set to be "Confirmed on January 1st, 2007........But I personally believe that the coming 7 year confirmation on January 1st, 2007.....will be put off until a later unknown time.....Because I believe something big is coming soon..............................................benny

A Little Polonium 210 Goes a Long Way

The murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy, with a lethal dosage of polonium 210, has brought to mind the terrorist terror possessed by radioactive, biological, or chemical substances. Even though Litvinenko appears to be the single target of most likely Russian agents, British authorities have found traces of radioactive contamination in a dozen sites around London and in commercial jets carrying more than 33,000 people.

It only takes a very small amount of radioactive material to kill a person. The amount of Polonium that killed Litvinenko weighed less than a gram.

In order for Polonium 210 to be deadly, you need to inhale or ingest it. When Polonium is outside of the body, the skin and clothes serve as barriers to block the particles. Once Polonium gets into the body, the alpha particle emitted during nuclear decay causes destruction by tearing apart the cells' molecular structure. It's like having microscopic cowboys constantly firing their revolvers in all directions in your body.

Terrorists don't need to have access to a reactor facility to obtain radioactive substances. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission tracks over 21,000 organizations that are licensed to use such materials.

In November 1995, rebels from Chechnya planted, but did not detonate, the first so-called dirty bomb in Moscow's Izmailovo Park. The bomb consisted of dynamite and caesium-137 removed from cancer treatment equipment. Authorities were tipped off about its location and it was defused.

A radiological bomb is unlikely to cause many deaths. Its use would be more likely for psychological reasons. A bomb made from radioactive material would generate fear and mass panic. The threat of cancer and other radiation-related illnesses would have the most lasting effect. Additionally, the affected area would be very expensive to clean up. An attack in a city like New York would contaminate several city blocks, create fear, and require a cleanup with a price tag that would reach into the tens of billions of dollars.

Many terrorist experts believe a biological attack on the nation's food supply is the most likely option for terrorists. It is said that about an 8-ounce vial of botulism toxin has enough poison to kill everyone on earth.

The E. coli outbreak linked to lettuce sold at Taco Bell restaurants demonstrates how easy it would be to introduce a pathogen into the food supply. While we now have armed guards at every airport, no security detail is watching every farm in America.

I truly believe we are reaching the point where we will see a terrorist attack of a spectacular nature. If man continues to ignore God's warning, the Lord will eventually remove His hand of protection, and the dispensation of judgment will advance to the next level.

"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" (2 Tim. 3:13).

"And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy wit the brightness of his coming" (2 Thes. 2:6-8).

--Todd


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Worldview Is All-Important
Looking at the world around us from so many different viewpoints separates and divides the human community, engendering hatreds, wars, and death. Jesus, speaking while on the Mount of Olives one day, prophesied the degree to which the differences would explode in the time just before His return. “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” (Matt. 24:7).

We have pointed out often that the word “nation” here is from the Greek word ethnos, translated “ethnic” in English. Jesus was forewarning that the tribulation era will produce great hatreds that will be centered on racial and cultural differences of world view. These unprecedented uprisings of this sort will, Jesus foretold, eventuate in famines and pestilence –the inevitable result of all-out war.

Although we of this generation are not in the Tribulation era, about which Jesus here prophesied, we have diametrically differing worldviews on the national and international scenes that certainly must be setting the stage for the times Jesus foresaw.

The U.S. is mired in many ethnic problems and cultural differences within the various races themselves. Insistence on embracing multiculturalism by the PC crowd, motivated to their hyper level of championing the melting pot worldview by mainstream media, throws fuel on the fires of racial divides. The multicultural Nazis want Americans to stay separate, because most of these PC types are socialist-leaning globalists who want us to be citizens of the world, rather than citizens of a sovereign nation. Hyphenating, or mixing ethnic with national identities, into unique nomenclature seems designed to make America eventually forfeit national autonomy.

Worldview is being shaped in this nation to reflect the one-world builders’ blueprint for the global village, as one well-known probable presidential candidate put it. The worldview in question has never gone away. It is the perennial worldview that has been with mankind since Nimrod attempted to build the tower to Heaven not long after the flood of Noah’s day (read Genesis chapter 11). We see that blueprint manifested in the Baker/Hamilton attempts to bring everyone together in the Middle East –at Israel’s expense, of course.

Jesus also prophesied that man would get himself deeper and deeper into trouble, so far as the nation state is concerned, the closer the Second Advent comes. “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves Roaring” (Lk. 21:25).

There can be little argument against the obvious. Nations are indeed in great distress today –with much perplexity. We don’t have to look at the many nations of earth to prove this fact. Our own nation is divided right down the middle on most all issues of politics and morality. People are so distressed –even perplexed—that many have promised to leave the country, if they didn’t get their way in presidential election results. Others have written fictional books, venting their anger in wishful accounts of the assassination of a president they hate.

The problems involved all boil down to one issue –worldview.

Any other view of life on this planet than God’s view is –to put it bluntly, but truthfully—wrong, and destined to produce disaster. This is true no matter the area of life. Worldview is all-important in avoidance of trouble, and in achievement of success. There isn’t space here to go into the many areas in life today to which this truth applies. So, let’s briefly look at one key issue in considering worldview that gets to the crux of the most important prophetic indicator of this late hour. The issue is modern Israel.

The geopoliticians are in perplexity about Israel and its hate-filled enemies. The diplomats have no idea where the anger truly comes from, therefore cannot begin to understand how to solve the violence and hatreds. The world’s diplomats have a worldview –or combination of worldviews—that completely leave the God of Heaven out of the equation for peace-making. The result has been more than 5,000 years of war throughout recorded history. God says “be governed by my rules, because I created all that is, and know what is best…” The earthly rulers say, “we can handle it. If there is a God, that God is existential at best. We don’t need or want him to rule over us.” This doesn’t apply, of course, to Islamic fanatics, who slavishly accept the bloody demands of their god to make war.

God says that everything is His, including the land of the Middle East He chose to give to the Jews –Israel. The geopoliticians say they will decide who owns the land and who doesn’t. The result: a world that is quickly moving toward all out war –Armageddon.

The same error in worldview is within the church today, i.e., those who name the name of Christ for salvation. The worldview of most mainline denominations today say God is through with Israel. The church –that worldview proposes—is now inheritor of all promises that the Lord covenanted with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God is through with Israel, and all about Israel that is in the Bible must be spiritualized, allegorized, or treated as history already accomplished.

Really?

They proclaim –through their worldview—that the Church is going to make the world better and better, until they have made it good enough through the political and diplomatic process, in conjunction with religious, do-good projects, for Jesus to come back and take over.

Really?

They aren’t reading the same headlines I am. If the Lord has given up on Israel, then it sure is some coincidence going on. We are expected to believe that Israel just coincidentally happens to be on the front page headlines every day, in the center of a desperate cry for peace, just like God’s prophetic Word forecast. Worldview is all-important in God’s economy. God’s worldview is –as legendary football coach Vince Lombardi once put it in talking about winning-- not everything. It is the ONLY thing! --Terry

.....................................................................benny

The Yellowstone Supervolcano Is Bubbling!

by Michael G. Mickey

(12-18-06)

Middle East peace...blah blah blah! Land for peace.....blah blah blah! Same-sex marriage....blah blah blah! No Christmas trees allowed....blah blah blah! ACLU sues because of nativity scene...blah blah blah!

Meanwhile, as those who no longer fear the God of heaven and earth commit one sin against Him and His Word after another as though He is irrelevant in the affairs of mankind, especially inside the borders of the most blessed nation on the planet, the Yellowstone supervolcano, which could erupt and destroy the United States as a world power in one day LITERALLY, is bubbling up what could be trouble ---- and possibly God's hand of judgment against the mighty U.S.A.

The Billings Gazette is reporting the following in part (emphasis added mine):

Parts of the collapsed, restless volcano in Yellowstone National Park are swelling faster than has ever been recorded.

Geologists from the University of Utah say two domes inside the Yellowstone caldera have steadily inflated at two to three times the rate as some of the most rapid movements recorded between 1923 and 1984.

"We've gone to this really pronounced, and I would say unprecedented, uplift of the caldera," said Bob Smith, a Utah geologist and one of the leading researchers into Yellowstone's busy volcanic life.

Hello, America? Hellooooooo?

Anyone other than me thinking it's time for this nation to hit its knees in repentance for joining in with the international community in calling for Israel to hand over its God-given covenant lands in the interest of a "peace" that those who would benefit from such a swap have no interest in in the first place as we just saw in Gaza and apparently learned nothing from?

Anyone other than me thinking it's time for the Christian army in the United States of America to engage the ACLU in every fight it even mentions starting in relation to silencing the mention and respect of our God's name in public?

Anyone thinking about the Holocaust of the unborn going on unimpeded in America every day with few people even caring that the most innocent of all human blood is being shed as a result of it?

Anyone other than me finding themselves wondering why God shouldn't judge the most blessed nation on earth for embracing (more and more all the time) a sexual practice that the Father has forbidden and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and their residents for allowing to be practiced openly?

While I don't believe the Yellowstone supervolcano is going to erupt on this side of the Rapture of the Church, it has been my thinking for some time, based on all I've read and seen on television, that the events resulting from a cataclysmic eruption of Yellowstone would be very similar to what we see recorded in Revelation 6:12-17 - a future event which will literally shake the world in the early Tribulation Period, getting the attention, albeit briefly, of all mankind, even the global elite:

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Did you think Mt. St. Helens was a big boom?

Am I being overly dramatic about Yellowstone and its potential involvement in end times prophecy? Here's a portion of what the Discovery Channel has to say about Yellowstone's destructive potential compared to the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens:

The crater atop Mount St. Helens is about 2 square miles. The Yellowstone "caldera" — a depression in the Earth equivalent to a crater top — is some 1,500 square miles.

The 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption blew 1,300 vertical feet off the mountain, sent an eruption column 80,000 feet high in 15 minutes, ejected 1.4 billion cubic yards of ash detectable over 22,000 square miles, and killed 57 people.

But the last major eruption at Yellowstone, some 640,000 years ago, ejected 8,000 times the ash and lava of Mount St. Helens.

Mankind has elected to go his own way instead of God's. That is a problem and a big one at that, especially if the Yellowstone supervolcano's caldera is swelling at an alarming pace all of a sudden in preparation for the Tribulation Period to come, an event I am convinced is closer than most suspect, many of whom are Christians no less.

Yellowstone is bubbling and the King is coming! Keep looking up, Church!

E-mail this commentary to a friend or family member
...............................................................................benny

Approaching The Main Event
by Michael G. Mickey

(12-13-06)

Amid rumors that Syria may be planning for a war against Israel in the foreseeable future, Haaretz is reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office is saying it has seen no indication that Syria is preparing for war with the Jewish state. Assuming for a moment he actually believes that to be true, what must he believe concerning the latest rhetoric coming out of Iran? Yet another proclamation has been made by Iranian President "Badmood Iminajihad" indicating that Israel will soon be wiped out, as seen in the following excerpt from a Xinhua article on the topic (emphasis added mine):

The Zionist regime will be wiped out soon the same way the Soviet Union was, and humanity will achieve freedom," Ahmadinejad said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Humanity will achieve freedom from what ---- or could it be Whom in the eyes of Ahmadinejad? Regardless, is it any wonder the latest developments have outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in a tizzy, especially in light of Israel recently coming clean with what has been known all along, that being that Israel has nuclear weapons?

As we see in a Campaign for Good Governance in Lebanon article, Annan is "warning that tensions in the Middle East are near their breaking point." Not only that, Annan is calling "for a “new and urgent push for peace” from all sides, including the international community, lest the people of the region be consigned to new depths of suffering and grief." "The opportunity for negotiating a two-State solution will last for only so long,” he warns later in the article.

As tensions simmer in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is presently meeting with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi who recently outlined how Middle East peace was going to have to be reached. He recently indicated, before Israeli PM Olmert's visit, that he didn't believe this was the right time for large international peace conferences to be set up but for "small steps carried out on the territory itself in order to re-establish trust between the various parties."

Today, the Italian Prime Minister made a couple of statements concerning Olmert's visit, both of which were intriguing to me. In the first, he stated that, when he was European Union Commission president, he always defended the use and the necessity of a European involvement in the solution of Middle East problems and sometimes had clashes with the Israeli government. Prodi additionally indicated he believes that history is proving he was right in thinking European involvement was needed all along, which he apparently plans to use to gain an even more active European role in the Middle East peace process - a process he says will not achieve its goals without European and American involvement.

As we look at Bible prophecy, Prodi's first statement made this date is in keeping with precisely what I've been saying for years we need to be watching for - increased revived Roman empire involvement in the Middle East peace process, setting the stage for the advent of Antichrist to occur! Could it possibly be any more evident that we're seeing that developing through Prodi's first statement?

In his second statement, Prodi said the following, which is also in keeping with what I've been saying we should watch for in the days leading up to the Rapture of the Church (emphasis added mine):

"I will tell to the EU Council what I have said before to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert: the status quo is not admissible. We must start a peace process. It is the moment to make small steps. An international peace conference that can deal with all the complexity of the problem is still premature".

I haven't, as of yet, read anything concerning Ehud Olmert's stated plans to speak with Prodi concerning Italy placing peacekeepers in Gaza but I'll be keeping an eye out concerning that topic in the days ahead as yet another deployment of revived Roman empire forces to the Middle East would dramatically heighten the likelihood that we're nearing the advent of the prince (or leader) of Roman descent foretold in Daniel 9:26 - the Antichrist who will confirm (or make strong) a seven-year covenant of peace between Israel and her enemies, as foretold in Daniel 9:27.

Already, I've touched on Kofi Annan being so worried about the Middle East conflict he's about to blow a gasket but I'd be remiss not to point out that Annan has recently discussed at length topics which I've brought up here on numerous occasions in the past, pointing out how they could lead to fulfillment of Daniel's prophecies concerning the advent of Antichrist. These are the necessity of a third party being involved in Middle East peacemaking and the use of peacekeepers to confirm peace once an agreement of some sort is reached between the parties.

As seen in a Kuwait News Agency article (emphasis added mine), Kofi Annan has recently expressed regret "that the divisions that paralyzed the UN on the issue of the Middle East is now increasingly inhibiting the Quartet's work, stressing that a third party role, such as an international presence, is "indispensable."

The following is an excerpt from the Kuwait News Agency Article, some thoughts from which I want to close this commentary with:

Therefore, "as there is a common interest in achieving a two state solution, so there should be a common awareness that this will not happen without a stronger third-party role on the ground," he said.

He called on the Quartet -- US, UN, EU and Russia -- to consider greater clarity regarding the parameters of an end-game deal and tackle the Road Map openly.

We're rapidly approaching the main event!

Kofi Annan, in spite of my total lack of respect for him, is correct when he states that there isn't going to be any sort of peace in the Middle East, real or imagined, until such time as a stronger third-party role is in place on the ground in the Middle East. As we look at Bible prophecy, we find that the Antichrist to come is going to bring to pass a stronger third-party role in the region as he is going to confirm a peace covenant there "with many" in support of it. (Daniel 9:27)

Further, Kofi is encouraging the international Quartet to set the stage for an end-game deal to be made with clear parameters set, which both the Israelis and Palestinians will be urged to respond positively to. If the prophesied Antichrist's time to rise to global power through Middle East peace is nearing, and I can't help but feel that it is whenever I compare the condition of this world with the signs of Christ's coming, an end-game deal may well be made in the not-too-distant future.

Are you ready for the main event in the battle between good and evil, the final outcome of which is already known, as revealed in the prophetic Word of God? If you're not, my recommendation is that you get ready --- and quickly.

.......................................................................benny

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The Pope’s Peacemaking Mission
by Todd Strandberg of RaptureReady.com

Pope Benedict XVI made a fence-mending visit to Turkey. His trip was given much media attention because it was the first Muslim nation he’s journeyed to since making negative remarks about Islam in September.

He quoted Manuel II Palaeologus, a 14th-century Byzantine Christian emperor, who said: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

As soon as Benedict made his remarks I knew there would be an embarrassing kiss up coming down the road. The world is rapidly headed towards the point where all religions will be part of what the Bible describes as the Harlot church.

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rev. 17:5).

In order for the harlot church to come into existence, the Catholic church needs to be onboard. The Pope has more political influence than any other religious leader on earth.

The Turkey visit gave several indications that Benedict is playing along with ecumenical program. The 79-year-old pontiff became the second pope in history -- after John Paul II in Damascus in 2001 -- to set foot in a Muslim house of worship. While visiting Istanbul's Blue Mosque, he turned toward Mecca and assumed the position of Muslim prayer.

Another conciliatory move was his support for Turkey being allowed membership in the European Union. While still Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, he noted the religious divide between Europe and Turkey, saying it would be "a grave error... against the tide of history" to let Turkey join the E.U.

I think it is impossible to understand the true course of world events without factoring in the liberal media role in setting the agenda. The god of this world has caused the press to ignore unspeakable horrors committed by Muslims, while at the same time calling for Christians to be more tolerant.

The devil’s influence over the media is the way I can example how events like 911 and the London terror bombings could quicky become non-issues. In a different world, any journalist with an ounce of integrity would have to say the pope quoting Manuel II Palaeologus was a fair call.

I think the key to understanding the evil nature of this interfaith lovefest is the fact that christians are always the ones making the comprise. While the western world has made room for Muslims, the Islamic empires promise death to anyone who strays from the Islamic faith.

Since the theme of Pope Benedict’s Turkey trip was about reconciliation, maybe he should have asked his Islamic host about mass genocide against Armenian Christians during the World War I era.

The Bible is totally opposed to the idea that we should go around making peace with other faiths. Jesus said He was the only way to God, and you can’t to expect to make friends after broadcasting this unsettling truth.

I was reading a news blog the other day, and liked what one viewer wrote: “As a Christian I will treat a Jew or a Muslim exactly the way I treat anyone who denies the teachings of the New Testament. I will treat them as one who has an eternal soul that is in need of being redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Is that belief and behavior going to create an atmosphere that will 'settle conflict'? Not a chance; it will create conflict just as it did in Jesus' time. But if memory serves me, Jesus didn't fare so well in His lifetime by challenging the masses who were teaching contrary to the Word of God in His time.”

The day will eventually come when true Christians are as despised as the Lord Jesus. I think the pace of world events indicates that day may not be too far off.

........................................................benny

'Behold, I am against thee, O Gog'

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Posted: December 15, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern




Twenty-five hundred years ago, the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel made several amazing predictions. First, he predicted that, in the last days, Israel would be reborn as "one nation upon the mountains of Israel." (Ezekiel 37:22)
This prophecy is even more amazing when viewed from Ezekiel's historical perspective. In Ezekiel's day, Israel had already been conquered by Sargon the Assyrian in the 8th century B.C. The Israelites were taken captive and transferred to other parts of the Assyrian Empire to separate the people from the land in an effort to prevent any rebellion.

Judah had been conquered by Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon and Ezekiel was among the captives uprooted from Judah and taken to Babylon. When Ezekiel confidently predicted the re-establishment of Israel, not only was Israel already a historical footnote, but Ezekiel had no reason to believe Judah's fate would be any better.

(Column continues below)


Secondly, Ezekiel predicted that, following a period of false peace, Israel would suffer invasion by a confederation of Islamic states, headed by Persia (Iran) , and listing among Iran's allies parts of modern-day Turkey, Islamic North Africa and "many bands with thee." (Ezekiel 38:5-6)

Finally, and most amazing of all, is Ezekiel's prediction that this alliance will be headed by Gog (Russia), whom Ezekiel predicts will be reluctantly drawn into the conflict, as if "it had hooks in its jaws." (Ezekiel 38:4)

According to Ezekiel's scenario, when this invasion takes place, the rest of the world will do little more than launch a diplomatic protest. (Ezekiel 38:14)

Ultimately, the invading armies make it as far as the "mountains of Israel," where they are destroyed by "a great shaking in the land of Israel" resulting in "pestilence and … blood," and an "overflowing rain" of "great hailstones, fire and brimstone" – the exact description of a nuclear explosion from the perspective of Ground Zero. (Ezekiel 38:22)

That's the Bible's scenario, as recorded from just outside Baghdad, sometime around 536 B.C. Here is the media scenario, as published Thursday, Dec. 14, 2006:

According to reports in the Israeli press, the Israeli Defense Forces are training, moving resources and generally preparing for war along its northern borders with Lebanon and Syria that it anticipates will break out some time this summer.

At the same time, Haaretz is reporting of Syrian preparations for war with Israel. It says that Syria has been ramping up production of long-range missiles capable of striking deep within Israel and has ordered the emplacement of anti-tank defenses along its border with Israel near the Golan Heights.

And, the paper reports, Iran is continuously operating in Lebanon reinforcing Hezbollah and helping to strengthen Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank and Gaza.

Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz heads the Israeli research division of Israeli military intelligence. In his report to the Knesset, Baidatz warned of "certain signs [that] indicate the rise of international jihad forces in south Lebanon, especially in refugee camps. These forces aim to counter the multinational force in the area." He also said al-Qaida was actively recruiting jihad warriors from Lebanon's Palestinian "refugee" camps.

Finally, Baidatz said his assessment of the situation indicates that Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority has hit a brick wall in his efforts to establish a national unity government.

And, in his recent confirmation hearings, Defense Secretary-designate Robert Gates appeared to suggest that, in the event of nuclear attack against Israel, the U.S. will consider its options, rather than automatically coming to Israel's defense.

In the midst of all this, Moscow announced earlier this week its intention to seek even closer ties to Tehran, declaring the existence of a "nuclear partnership" between Russia and Iran.

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Golam Reza Agazade, met with his Russian counterpart, Sergi Kiriyenko, to discuss the deepening ties between the two countries over Iran's nuclear program.

Agazade said afterward: "Our cooperation has broad possibilities, and we are therefore determined to expand peaceful uses of nuclear energy." Kiriyenko agreed, calling the discussions "successful," and stressed that "the core element of our work is cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. So our meeting today is of special importance."

Kiriyenko is correct. The growing nuclear cooperation between Persia and Gog is of special importance. It provides one more bit of evidence that supports the conclusion that this is the last