A report that Iran is about a year away from having the capability to build a nuclear bomb may be too optimistic, contended John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

“I worry the publicly available information is giving only a very small picture and that Iran is actually even much further along,” Bolton said today in a radio interview.

Bolton was on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio” on New York’s WABC Radio. The former ambassador was asked about a statement from a former head of U.N. nuclear inspections claiming Iran is now just a year or so away from having enough enriched uranium to assemble a nuclear bomb.

Olli Heinonen wrote in an article published earlier this week that Iran made this advancement after switching production of its higher-grade enriched uranium to a new, underground site.

Reacting to the one-year timeline, Bolton stated, “I think it can be even less than that.”

“So this is a clear and present danger,” he continued, “and I think it’s one of the reasons why you see the tension now in the region and why 2012 is going to be such an important year.”

Bolton told Klein that 2012 will be a key year to stop Iran’s nuclear program.

Read More Here

2nd post on Sunday January 15th, 2012

According to Debkafile's Iranian sources, Tehran is preparing an underground test of a one-kiloton nuclear device during 2012, much like the test carried out by North Korea in 2006.

Underground facilities are under construction in great secrecy behind the noise and fury raised by the start of advanced uranium enrichment at Iran's fortified, subterranean Fordo site near Qom.

All the sanctions imposed so far for halting Iran's progress toward a nuclear weapon have had the reverse effect, stimulating rather than cooling its eagerness to acquire a bomb.

Yet, according to a scenario prepared by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University for the day after an Iranian nuclear weapons test, Israel was resigned to a nuclear Iran and the US would offer Israel a defense pact while urging Israel not to retaliate.

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1st post on Sunday January 15th, 2012

It is a long time since many of us looked forward to the new year with such anxiety, even dread.

For the most chilling parallel, though, we should look back exactly 80 years, to the cold wintry days when 1931 gave way to 1932.

Then as now, few people saw much to mourn in the passing of the old year. It was in 1931 that the Great Depression really took hold in Europe, bringing governments to their knees and plunging tens of millions of people out of work.

Then as now, the crisis had taken years to gather momentum. After the Wall Street Crash in 1929 — just as after the banking crisis of 2008 — some observers even thought that the worst was over.

But in the summer of 1931, a wave of banking panics swept across central Europe. As the German and Austrian financial houses tottered, Britain’s Labour government came under fierce market pressure to slash spending and cut benefits.

But the most compelling parallels between 1932 and 2012 lie overseas, where the economic and political situation was, if anything, even darker.

Eighty years ago, the world was struggling to come to terms with an entirely new financial landscape. In August 1931, the system by which currencies were pegged to the value of gold had fallen apart, with market pressure forcing Britain to pull the pound off the gold standard.

Almost overnight, the system that was supposed to ensure global economic stability was gone. And as international efforts to coordinate a response collapsed, so nations across the world fell back on self-interested economic protectionism.

Today’s situation, of course, is even more frightening. Our equivalent of the gold standard — the misguided folly of the euro — is poised on the brink of disaster, yet the European elite refuse to let poorer Mediterranean nations like Greece and Portugal leave the eurozone, devalue their new currencies and start again

The shockwaves across Europe — which could come as early as next spring — would see banks tottering, businesses crashing and millions thrown out of work. For British firms that trade with Europe, as well as holiday companies, airports, travel firms and the City of London itself, the meltdown of the eurozone would be a catastrophe.

And as the experience of 80 years ago suggests, the political and social ramifications would be too terrible to contemplate. For in many ways, the 12 months between the end of 1931 and the beginning of 1933 were the tipping point between democracy and tyranny, the moment when the world plunged from an uneasy peace towards hatred and bloodshed.

In the Soviet Union in 1932, meanwhile, Stalin’s reign of terror was intensifying. With dissent crushed by the all-powerful Communist Party, his state-sponsored collectivization of the Ukrainian farms saw a staggering 6 million die in one of the worst famines in history.

And in the last days of 1932, after the technocrats and generals had failed to restore order, President Paul von Hindenburg began to contemplate the unthinkable — the prospect of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.

We all know what happened next. Indeed, by the end of 1932 the world was about to slide towards a new dark age, an age of barbarism and bloodshed on a scale that history had never known.

Eighty years on, it would be easy to sit back and reassure ourselves that the worst could never happen again. But that, of course, was what people told each other in 1932, too.

The lesson of history is that tough times often reward the desperate and dangerous, from angry demagogues to anarchists and nationalists, from seething mobs to expansionist empires.

Our world is poised on the edge of perhaps the most important 12 months for more than half a century.

The experience of 1932 provides a desperately valuable lesson. As a result of the decisions taken in those 12 short months, millions of people later lost their lives.

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14th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

Iran’s tyrannical leaders, determined to make the Islamic regime a nuclear-armed state, are preparing for war. That’s exactly what the United States and Israel might have to deliver, and soon.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the Revolutionary Guards in May to speed up the regime’s nuclear-bomb program and arm its missiles with nuclear warheads. Now, sources reveal, Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered the guards to prepare for war.

In a recent meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, it was decided that the possibility of an attack by Israel or America in 2012 is real and that the country’s forces need to prepare several contingencies for war. It also was concluded that in case of war, the regime could be victorious, though the cost would be high, but it would emerge as the one and only champion of the Islamic cause in the world.

The radicals ruling Iran have long believed that obtaining the nuclear bomb will make them untouchable and will facilitate the expansion of the Islamic movement in the region and the world in bringing the West to its knees. They also have concluded that because of the troubles in the world’s economy and financial troubles in America, even a limited confrontation with America would benefit the Islamic regime.

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13th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

Armed hostilities between the US and Iran are dangerously close – more so even than the six-to-eight months widely predicted. By posting a Keep Out sign over the Persian Gulf for the USS Stennis, Tehran is goading the Obama administration into action sooner rather than later.

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12th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

The ground troops of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps started the preliminary stage of the war games, entitled Martyrs to Unity, in east Iran on Saturday.

The main stage of the maneuvers will begin on Monday, IRGC Ground Forces Commander Mohammad Pakpour said.

He said that IRGC forces will display their military capabilities during the drills, adding that the latest achievements of the IRGC Ground Forces will also be unveiled.

He went on to say that the purposes of the war games are to enhance the capabilities of IRGC ground troops and combat units and increase security at Iran’s borders.

IRGC forces will also practice the tactics of asymmetric warfare, Brigadier General Pakpour said.

The IRGC Naval Force also announced on Thursday that it will stage the naval war games, entitled Payambar-e-Azam (the Great Prophet), in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz in late January.

Read More Here

11th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

Iran is planning to hold new “massive” naval exercises near the strategic Strait of Hormuz within the next few weeks, the country’s Fars news agency has said, as Tehran’s tensions with the West continue to escalate following threats of new sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its controversial nuclear program.

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted in the Fars report as saying the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps was planning to conduct “its greatest naval war games” near the Strait of Hormuz in the near future.

The announcement came just days after the Iranian navy completed its 10-day naval exercises near the Strait of Hormuz. The drills were held after the Islamic Republic threatened to block the waterway, where an estimated 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil passes, in response to Western plans to ban oil imports from Iran. The Islamic Republic derives some 60 percent of its budget revenues from oil exports.

Read More Here

10th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

Israel is moving forward with plans to hold the largest-ever missile defense exercise in its history this spring amid Iranian efforts to obtain nuclear weapons.

Last week, Lt.-Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of the US’s Third Air Force based in Germany, visited Israel to finalize plans for the upcoming drill, expected to see the deployment of several thousand American soldiers in Israel.

The drill, which is unprecedented in its size, will include the establishment of US command posts in Israel and IDF command posts at EUCOM headquarters in Germany – with the ultimate goal of establishing joint task forces in the event of a large-scale conflict in the Middle East.

The US will also bring its THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and ship based Aegis ballistic missile defense systems to Israel to simulate the interception of missile salvos against Israel.

The American systems will work in conjunction with Israel’s missile defense systems – the Arrow, Patriot and Iron Dome.

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9th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

The first of 9,000 incoming US troops have arrived in Israel – not just for the joint Austere Challenge 12 exercise but for a longer stay. They are part of the joint US-Israel deployment ready for a military engagement with Iran and its possible escalation into a regional conflict.

A US aircraft carrier will soon arrive for joint missions with the Israeli Air Force. Most of the US arrivals are airmen, missile interceptor teams, marines, seamen, technicians and intelligence officers.

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8th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal has fled Damascus together with his family, according to a report published Sunday by the London-based al-Hayat newspaper.

The report, quoted by state-run Voice of Israel radio, added that a number of other Hamas leaders and their families had also fled the Syrian capital. The entire group has reportedly taken refuge in Jordan, according to the report.

Another source likewise told the al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that Jordan has agreed to accept all of the Hamas families from Damascus -- but only on condition they will not engage in any political activity in the country.

"Jordan's agreements with Israel do not allow it to be entirely open to Hamas, and the Hashemite Kingdom will not let the movement reopen its offices there," the source told the newspaper.

Read More Here

7th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

Two days after Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s leader, died in a train in his country, South Korean authorities still knew nothing about it. Meanwhile, American officials seemed at a loss, with the State Department at first merely acknowledging that press reports had mentioned his death.

The South Korean and US intelligence services’ inability to pick up any sign of what had happened attests to the North Korean regime’s opaque character, but also to their own deficiencies. American planes and satellites watch North Korea day and night, and the most sensitive intelligence-gathering equipment covers the frontier between the two Koreas. Nonetheless, we know very little of that country, because all vital information is restricted to a small group of leaders obsessed with secrecy.

The leadership change is occurring at the worst possible time. It is known that Chinese leaders had hoped that Kim Jong-il would survive long enough to consolidate support among the country’s various factions for the succession of his son, Kim Jong-un.

All of the symbolic attributes of power have been transferred to Kim Jong-un – reflected in his official position in the funeral ceremonies, his presidency of the Military Commission, and his assumption of the ruling party’s highest rank – with remarkable speed. But such trappings will not make the transition process any easier for a young man of less than 30 in a society where veteran military chiefs retain so much power.

The economic situation, which is still very precarious, with many people living close to starvation, constitutes another key challenge. Two examples suffice to illustrate the impact: the price of rice has tripled while consumption of electricity is down by two-thirds from two decades ago.

My personal memories of North Korea, now almost ten years old, are of a poor and depressed country. Pyongyang, the capital, was dark and deserted, illuminated by the cavalcade taking us from the official housing to the opera house, only to return to darkness behind us. Kim Jong-il was greeted with the same fervor when he entered the opera house that today marks public mourning of his death.

My trip took place in April 2002, a somewhat optimistic time. The European Union had joined an agreement initiated by the two Koreas and the US within the Korean Energy Development Organization program, the objective being to persuade North Korea to freeze and later dismantle its nuclear program. In exchange, two light-water nuclear reactors would be built to generate electric energy, and 500,000 metric tons of oil would be supplied annually until the first reactor began operating. In turn, the EU initiated an extensive humanitarian aid project. The talks with Kim Jong-il and his collaborators seemed promising.

Unfortunately, the agreement did not last long. In 2003, North Korea abandoned the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. From that moment, all optimism was lost, until contacts were subsequently reinitiated in a complex six-party format (China, Russia, the US, Japan, and the two Koreas) that continued, with ups and downs, until the end of 2007. Since the maritime incidents of 2009 and 2010, in which North Korean forces attacked South Korean assets, there has been virtually no contact at all between the two sides.

Given North Korea’s behavior over the last decade, the sudden change of leadership increases the threat of unexpected incidents. In order to limit the risk, it is essential to keep relations with China as transparent as possible. It is China that has the most direct contact with North Korea, and that could best catalyze resumption of the six-party talks.

China recognizes that North Korea cannot continue in its present form, and would like to see its leaders transform the economy without undertaking substantial political change. Is that possible? Could it be done quickly enough to boost other regional players’ confidence that the country’s evolution will be predictable?

For China, problems are judged according to the country’s own history and from the standpoint of domestic policy – all the more so the closer the problem is to its borders. For the West, especially the US, every problem should have a solution within a finite period of time. While the US breaks down problems and tries to find solutions for each part, China considers political problems unhurriedly, as an extended process that might have no resolution.

Beyond the six-party talks, it is necessary to create a framework from which a cooperative dialogue between the US and China might emerge. In the case of Korea – as Christopher Hill, one of the most effective US negotiators on these matters, remembers – the US should make it clear that no possible solution for the divided peninsula would mean a strategic loss for China. After the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953, the 38th parallel was established as the limit for US forces’ presence; the importance of that war for China should not be forgotten.

This approach could be one way to stabilize the region during this period of heightened uncertainty. There might be others. The ongoing opening in Myanmar (Burma) shows that potentially significant political change does not need to be accompanied by regional instability. In the case of North Korea, where nuclear arms are in play, it cannot afford to be.

Source Here

6th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

For more than six decades, Europe's integration process has been steadily evolving. Each step, from the European Coal and Steel Community to today's European Union, was taken with the common good in mind, and was based on shared values (democracy, human rights, and social justice) and goals (economic growth, prosperity, and the consolidation of Europe's international prestige). In the coming year, the result — the common rules and institutions that Europeans have painstakingly forged — will be tested like never before.

In 2011, Europe's foundations began to tremble, as the Eurozone's sovereign-debt crisis, set in motion by the global financial and economic crisis that erupted in 2008, moved from the Eurozone's periphery to its core countries. The EU's resilience — indeed, its very survival — is being called into question at a time of profound geopolitical transformation, in which a stronger Europe is essential.

Global power is shifting towards Asia and the Pacific. New — and newly influential — non-state actors have appeared, in some cases (for example, terrorist organizations) jeopardizing states' capacity to guarantee national security.

Daniel 8:9 (KJV)

And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.

Daniel 11:44 (KJV)

But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.

Nuclear proliferation is a growing menace, as shown by the International Atomic Energy Agency's recent report on Iran. Progress on other crucial global issues — particularly energy security and climate change — has been disappointing. And the scourge of poverty and famine — most vividly urgent today in Somalia — continues to offend the very idea of civilization.

All of this stands in stark contrast with the predictions of a peaceful, predictable, and safe ‘post-historical' world that were popular at the Cold War's end. The Arab revolts, unthinkable a year ago, now challenge a regional order that has prevailed for more than a half-century.

The Japanese tsunami has called into question the future of nuclear energy worldwide. And, perhaps most remarkably, the relative global decline of the US, the world's economic and security anchor since 1945, became unmistakable in 2011, reflected in political polarization and paralysis — and punctuated by a credit-rating downgrade.

So the strategic challenges facing the EU are vast. To meet them, it must first restore its international credibility. Since the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, great advances have been made — and should continue to be made — toward reform and regulation of the financial system. But many decisions came too late or have not gone far enough, with far-reaching consequences, because current tools are inadequate to address the seriousness of the crisis.

Daniel 11:37-38 (KJV)

(37) Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

(38) But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not ... 

As the sovereign-debt crisis has proven, the euro requires mechanisms to confront asymmetrical shocks, which implies the creation of a common treasury. An important first step in confronting the speculative attacks that Eurozone economies suffer today is a commitment to greater risk-sharing and greater authority for the European Central Bank. Confirmation of a stricter and more rigorous stability pact is also imperative to achieve greater integration.

Here, the EU summit in December was an important step forward in terms of deepening political union and strengthening governance among the Eurozone's member states. Nevertheless, more will be needed to restore financial stability, such as enlarging the total firepower of the European Financial Stability Facility.

Moreover, if the EU is to emerge strengthened from the crisis, it must also strike a better balance between austerity and pro-growth policies, because, without growth and higher employment, the Eurozone's problems cannot be resolved. More importantly, the EU must tie its economic strategies to long-term competitiveness, which is ultimately determined by the value added to goods and services.

China and India have learned that lesson well. In less than 15 years, they will account for 20 per cent of global spending on investment in research and development, more than twice their current share. Meanwhile, the EU will run up against serious demographic constraints: in 2025, Europe will represent just 6.5 per cent of the world's population, compared to Asia's 61 per cent, and its average age will be 45, compared to 28 in India, 37 in China, and 38 in the US. In the absence of adequate strategies for immigration, integration, health care, education, and much else, Europe's growth and competitiveness will decline, and social tensions will worsen and multiply.

Europe must also contribute to reforming the traditional system of international relations. The existing multilateral institutions were designed for a vanishing western-centric world. At the same time, the dispersion of power, the degree of interdependence, and the sheer dimension of the challenges confronting the world require effective, accountable, and legitimate global governance. The inability to achieve a consensus on acute issues, such as Syria's internal repression, or on chronic problems, like climate change, highlights the (increasing) complexity of global governance and responsibility.

Accommodating today's institutions to the new global powers is a key challenge that cannot be postponed further in 2012. An example is the IMF's general revision of quotas, due in 2014. Here, no one is better positioned than Europe to advocate for effective multilateralism and facilitate agreement and adjustment by adopting a common position to correct today's over-representation.

Speaking clearly will enable the Eurozone to promote its interests more successfully by developing partnerships not only with traditional allies, like the US, but also with new leaders, like China and Brazil, and strategic players, like Turkey and Russia — and with the increasingly important regional blocs that are forming around them. In the Middle East, the Eurozone's support is essential to the construction of a new regional framework.

No one claims that meeting all of these challenges will be easy. All roads have ups and downs, just as every crisis imparts a lesson.

In 2012, the lesson should be the need for greater political integration and financial regulation, a legitimate and transparent institutional framework, and consensus. All problems can be worked out if the situation is analyzed with a clear strategic vision.

Source Here

5th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

Twelve member states have said bureaucracy and bad management are hampering the effectiveness of the EU's new diplomatic service one year after its launch.

The foreign ministers of Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden put forward their ideas in an informal three-page paper dated 8 December.

The text strikes raw nerves in Brussels on issues including turf battles between the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS), EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton's handling of ministerial meetings and her purported neglect of security affairs.

On a more personal note, they indicated Ashton has done a poor job of chairing their regular monthly meetings.

With Ashton's staff in the crisis and military planning departments frequently complaining she does not give them enough weight, the ministers noted "the setting-up of a secure communications network should be a major priority" and that "the creation of defense and security attaches in EU delegations ... should be considered."

Following their intervention, Ashton herself drafted a 14-page study on how she sees the issues they raised.

Ashton pledged to do more on security issues. But she indicated that EU member states are not doing their bit to help her put new systems in place.

Her paper identified as a future priority "to ensure best standards in diplomatic security, in particular in EU delegations in high risk countries, and workable procedures for handling classified information." But it added that: "Given the limited resources, support from the services of member states is key. The aim is to have a security framework in place by early 2012."

In her own defense, she said the Arab Spring and the financial crisis are "hardly the ideal backdrop for the launch of a new service for the external relations of the Union."

Read More Here

4th post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

EU member states are on Friday (6 January) to discuss the latest draft of a new pact on the financial crisis, focusing on how the European Commission can sanction debt-sinners and how to merge the new treaty with EU law despite a UK veto.

According to the latest draft version of the new pact sent to national governments on Thursday, the commission "may, on behalf of contracting parties" bring a legal case before the European Court of Justice if the countries subscribing to the pact break the so-called golden rule of keeping balanced budgets which are to be enshrined in national constitutions.

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3rd post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

The euro will not "vanish" this year, but problems within the eurozone will slow down the global economy, with the International Monetary Fund set to lower its growth predictions in an upcoming report, its chief Christine Lagarde said Friday (6 January).

"Will 2012 be the end of the euro currency? My answer is I don't think so," she told reporters after meeting the South African finance minister.

"It's a young currency, it's a solid one as well. You have, within the zone, not in relation with the currency, serious pressures and issues concerning the sovereign debt, concerning the strength of the banking system, but the currency itself is not one that would vanish or disappear in 2012," she added.

Lagarde, who last month warned of another "Great Depression" looming due to the eurozone crisis, told her South African hosts to brace themselves for a "2012 that will not be a walk in the park" and that they may "suffer setbacks if the Europe crisis is not addressed successfully."

Read More Here

2nd post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

“There is a reasonable possibility that in the twilight window of his regime, Assad will try to turn attention from the massacre of his citizens toward a confrontation with Israel," said Israeli Knesset Member Shaul Mofaz (Kadima), a former IDF Chief of Staff.

Syria has surface-to-surface Scud missiles that can easily reach Israel, and an attack on Israel would most certainly be joined by Hizbullah, which along with pro-Syrian factions effectively dominates Lebanon.

Assad’s military fired missiles in a ground-air military exercise that official Syria media was “similar to a real battle.” The government added that the war games show “the capabilities and the readiness of missile systems to respond to any possible aggression” and that the army is "ready to defend the nation and deter anyone who dares to endanger its security.”

Iran and Russia are virtually the only major countries who have not turned their backs on Assad, whose regime has murdered more than 3,000 protesters in the nine-month Arab Spring uprising.

His defiance has left him in a do-or-die situation among warnings from former friends, such as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that he might meet the same fate as ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak or Muammar Qaddafi, who met his end with a bullet in the head.

His brutal suppression of demonstrators was too much even for the Arab League, which is desperately trying to convince him to silence the guns and tanks wielded by his soldiers and secret police.

Source Here

1st post on Sunday January 8th, 2012

Middle East expert Professor Eyal Zisser warned on Monday against a possible Syrian attack on Israel, if President Bashar Assad feels threatened by the anti-regime protesters.

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Zisser said that in the short term there is no reason for particular concern, because a situation which is bad for Assad is good for Israel as this means that the Syrian president is preoccupied with his internal affairs and not with attacking Israel.

Zisser added that the concern is in the long run, because it is quite possible that a desperate Assad may decide to rally his people around a common enemy, namely Israel.

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Scott's Comment:

Once again, I apologize for the lack of new posts over the last few weeks. The prophetic news continues to stream in, but I simply no longer have the time to post them every day. The only open door I encountered for employment, involves an average of 60 to 75 hours of my time a week. That hourly number will undoubtedly increase in the spring time, unless things greatly deteriorate in the world before that season arrives.

I was not in the process of seeking a greater quantity of worthless earthly riches, just a job that our Lord would use to supply my family’s daily needs. As you can see, by the new posts I have been able to get up, that I am off “work” today! … I say praise our Heavenly Abba Father and Savior Jesus for that gift.

23rd post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

The Syrian regime, which has endured nine months of civil unrest spurred by the Arab Spring as it swept across the Middle East, has armed its medium-range missile arsenal with chemical warheads.

According to a report published by the Sabah daily Sunday, Damascus armed 600 one-ton chemical warheads to use in the event of a foreign military intervention. Furthermore, President Bashar al-Assad ordered the deployment of 21 missile launchers along its border with Turkey. Syria’s medium-range missiles that can be equipped with chemical warheads have a range of up to 1,300 kilometers and would include the southern and central provinces of Turkey.

According to the daily, the Syrian military keeps its stockpile of chemical warheads in secret facilities in and around the capital city of Damascus. In mid-November, President Assad held a special meeting with top commanders of the Syrian army and argued over how to respond to a possible military intervention by the international community.

Additionally, Russia, which stood by the Assad regime’s defiance of international pressure on Damascus, sent 3 million gas masks to the troubled country. Most of those masks will be distributed to the regime’s loyalists, the families of soldiers and Baath supporters. The distribution of the masks is set to be completed by the end of December, according to the daily.

Syria is believed to have had a chemical weapons arsenal for more than three decades. Following heavy defeats against Israel in conventional warfare, international defense sources believe that following the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Hafez al-Assad, the former general of the Syrian Air Force, decided to bolster Syria’s strategic position through the development of ballistic missiles to counter Israel’s superiority in conventional warfare. The unchallenged superiority Israeli air forces led Syrian generals to push for other means to protect the regime.

Read More Here

22nd post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

In a shift, Israeli officials are welcoming the prospect that Syria’s embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, will be overthrown, an event Defense Minister Ehud Barak says could be weeks away.

The officials’ new tone contrasts with conventional thinking here in years past, when Assad was credited with maintaining calm along the frontier with the Israeli-held Golan Heights and considered a stable alternative to a possible takeover by Islamic fundamentalists.

"Basically, it’s inevitable,” Barak said in a telephone interview before flying Wednesday to Washington for meetings with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other administration officials. “The Assad family, through their own behavior, have lost their last drop of legitimacy and put themselves beyond the point of no return with their brutal slaughter of their own people. He has ceased to be something relevant.”

“It might take many weeks,” Barak added, “but it’s not a matter of months or years.”

Read More Here

21st post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

Debkafile's military and intelligence sources report that the rush of Syrian war moves backed by Russia indicates that both believe a Western-Arab force is on the point of invading Syria.

They are keeping an eye especially on Turkey which is suspected of having obtained a NATO marine and air umbrella, including the US Sixth Fleet, for military preparations aimed at ousting Bashar Assad, so repeating the operation against Libya's Muammar Qaddafi.

War tensions around Syria rose alarmingly Thursday night, Dec. 15, when Turkey's top military council convened "to review the armed forces' preparedness for war" in response to the deployment of Syrian missiles, some tipped with chemical warheads, on their common border.

Our sources report that 21 Syrian missile launchers, five of them Scud D with chemical warheads, are deployed in northern Syria opposite the Turkish Hatai (Alexandretta) district. They were moved up in broad daylight to make sure Western spy satellites and Turkish intelligence surveillance saw them. More are on the way.

The Assad government also rushed armored units in two directions - to the Turkish frontier and also to the Jordanian border opposite the US special operations units from Iraq newly deployed to defend Jordan against a Syrian attack.

Expanded Russian military and diplomatic support for the Assad regime was underscored by the deployment Friday, Dec. 16, of advanced Moscow-supplied Yakhont (SSN-26) shore-to-sea missiles along Syria's Mediterranean shore to fend off a potential Western-Turkish invasion by sea.

Last week, Russia airlifted to Syria 3 million face masks against chemical and biological weapons and the Admiral Kutznetsov carrier and strike group was sent on its way to Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartus. 

Russian naval sources in Moscow stressed that the flotilla is armed with the most advanced weapons against submarines and aerial attack. Upon arrival, the Russian craft will launch a major marine-air maneuver in which Syrian units will take part.

Read More Here

Scott's Comment:

If an invasion into Syria occurs, you can bet all Hell is going to break loose in the region.

20th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

Europe has proved itself incapable of carrying out military operations without significant American support and countries should integrate their defense policies closely to become more effective – according to a report backed by members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg today.

It follows comments yesterday by foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, who said spending cuts were having an impact on the European Union's ability to carry out its common security and defense policy.

The report outlines the "wasteful overcapacities and duplications" as well as "fragmented industry and markets" that result from 27 member states failing to coordinate their spending – which amounts to €200bn each year but still leads to "persistent capability gaps". It claims the economic crisis should be used as an opportunity to implement "ambitious" reforms and give fresh impetus to integration.

European People's Party MEP Krzysztof Lisek said EU defense policy should optimize the budgets of member states because Europe could "not afford to neglect basic needs such as security and defense in turbulent times". He added: "We must identify as quickly as possible the most promising and strategic projects, that is, logistic support, medical assistance, strategic transport, maritime supervision, intelligence, protections against the use of biological and chemical arms. The idea of pooling and sharing of functions and resources is a must."

European spending is about a third of the United States' defense budget, and the US accounts for 75 per cent of the total spend within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Read More Here

19th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

As the US completes its final withdrawal from Iraq, American special forces troops have been diverted to positions in Jordan opposite a Syrian tank concentration building up across the kingdom's northern border, Debkafile's military and intelligence sources report.

Military convoys, air transports and helicopters have been lifting US troops across the border from Iraq. They have been deployed in position to ward off a possible Syrian invasion in the light of President Bashar Assad's warning that he would set the entire Middle East on fire if the pressure on his regime to step down persisted. 

Syria's other neighbors have taken precautions against this contingency but this is the first time US boots have hit the ground directly opposite Assad's army.

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18th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

Increasingly irritated by the world's critique of its blossoming nuclear program, Iran announced it is gearing up its military to practice closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Reuters Africa reports that a member of Iran's parliament National Security Committee said the Army is ready to begin the exercise, but when contacted by the news agency, the Iranian military declined to comment.

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17th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

Iran's navy has started a 10-day drill in international waters near the strategic oil route that passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

The exercises, dubbed "Velayat 90", could bring Iranian ships into proximity with United States Navy vessels in the area. "Velayat" is a Persian word for "supremacy" and it is currently used as a title of deference for the Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The war games cover a 2,000km stretch of sea off the Strait of Hormuz, northern parts of the Indian Ocean and into the Gulf of Aden, near the entrance to the Red Sea, state television reported.

The drill will be Iran's latest show of strength in the face of mounting international criticism over its controversial nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at developing atomic weapons.

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16th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

Tehran's threat to block traffic through the crucial passage for Middle Eastern crude suppliers followed the European Union's decision to tighten sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, as well as accompanying moves by the United States to tighten unilateral sanctions.

Iran's English-language Press TV quoted Hossein Salami as saying: "Any threat will be responded by threat ... We will not relinquish our strategic moves if Iran's vital interests are undermined by any means."

Separately, Salami was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency: "Americans are not in a position whether to allow Iran to close off the Strait of Hormuz."

The U.S. Fifth Fleet said on Wednesday it would not allow any disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a strip of water separating Oman and Iran.

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15th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

A spokesman for the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet said Wednesday it will not allow any disruption of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

"The free flow of goods and services through the Strait of Hormuz is vital to regional and global prosperity," the fleet said in a statement released to Reuters.

"Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated," the statement added.

The statement came after Iran threatened to stop ships moving through the strategic oil route as a part of a "military drill."

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14th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

Iran test-fired a long-range, shore-to-sea missile on Monday, the final day of its naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, state-run media reported.

The Ghader missile was fired during the "power" stage of the maneuvers, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. The test was successful, and the missile hit its intended targets, according to the report.

"A large number of the long-range surface-to-sea Ghader missiles have already been delivered to the Iranian Armed Forces," IRNA said.

A short-range Nasr missile would also be test-fired, along with a surface-to-surface Noor missile, the news agency said.

The Noor is an "advanced radar-evading, target-seeking, guided and controlled missile and can easily find its target and destroy it," IRNA reported, quoting 2nd Adm. Seyed Mahmoud Musavi.

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13th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

A senior Israeli cabinet minister on Monday said Iran must be forced to face an existential question over its nuclear drive: choose between getting an atomic bomb, or survival.

"We believe that in order to stop the Iranian military nuclear project, the regime in Tehran should face a dilemma -- whether to have a bomb or to survive," Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon told reporters in Jerusalem.

Yaalon said however it was for the international community, rather than Israel, to apply what he called an "achievable" policy.

"Our policy is very clear -- by one way or another, the military nuclear project in Iran should be stopped," Yaalon said, indicating it "might be 12 months, might be 24 months" until Iran was able to reach a military nuclear capability.

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12th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

The heat of the coming war not only went up a few degrees over the past few days, but Obama has once again made a terrible move that endangers not only the Middle East but the entire world. When it looked like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria were getting ready to attack Israel with over 50,000 missiles - many with chemical warheads - it seems that Russia has positioned herself right in the middle of the action by supplying Syria with ground to sea missiles along their Mediterranean Coastline. This was to counter the US 6th Fleet that is packed into that area facing off toward Syria.

To add kindling to the fire US troops are amassing on the Jordan/Syria border and Bashar Assad has now brought tanks and soldiers to his borders. One with Turkey and the other with Jordan. It's worth noting that Turkey has upset Russia by allowing the US to build an anti-missile base in Turkey.  The Russians have openly told the US that they would attack that facility if it wasn't dismantled soon.

Turkey, who in the past year or so has gone out of its way to befriend Syria and Iran, has since discovered that was a mistake. They now find themselves in a situation of having to back up and re-evaluate their position which is not good. Syria and Russia are both Turkey's neighbors! 

Syria's Assad is finding it hard to handle the uprising that has turned into a full civil war and wants to find a way out; the only way for a Muslim dictator in this part of the world to unite other Arab Countries is to attack Israel.

In the meantime Iran is holding Hezbollah and Hamas back from attacking Israel until they are ready for Syria to join in with all their forces at the same time. Iran knows also that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, given a little more time, may control the military there as well. This will place Israel in an even more difficult defensive position.

Many of us have lost count of the US Naval Ships presently cruising the Persian Gulf. They include aircraft carriers and battleships along with submarines. Not to mention Israel's presence there with her submarines.   So, with the Eastern Med and the Persian Gulf packed with trigger-happy sailors it only takes one crazy to kick off the third world war. 

It is not possible to say with certainty what will happen in the next few days or weeks.  It is easy to see what very well could happen. The question is just how it will kick off - and what kind of weapons will be used.

As for Israel's part in all of this, be sure that she is ready and those who come against her will pay a very heavy price. We also know that Israel is in the center of it all, and the demonic Islamic world believes that even suicide is worth it for the possibility of destroying Israel and the US. And suicide is what they will be committing. That is not to say that a great time of sorrow will not fall on Israel, and even our Generals are telling us that many will die in this coming war. God gave us this land. We have no other place to go. Yet we will fight knowing that God's Word is with us.

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Some Standing Behind Pulpits Continue To Preach That All Is Still Well – by Jerry Golden

There is within my spirit such a heaviness and sorrow for the many who will not listen to the warnings of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). That in so many ways He is telling those who know Yeshua as Messiah to prepare for God's judgment that has already started and is being felt around the world. For the beginning of great sorrows has begun and will continue to get much worse.

Here in Israel we are seeing the forces of darkness building to giant proportions around us, threatening to kill every Jew. For this is, and has always been, the desire of the Devil. In fact, the one sure way to see the hand of the Devil in anything is when anti-Semitism shows its ugly head like it is now doing in the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Islamic Revolution.

It's the same spirit that drove Hitler and the Nazis. It's not a new movement. It is one that all believers in God should be aware of. For it is written in Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, in Revelation and throughout God's Word that these things would occur in the end of days.

Yet the Hirelings still stand behind pulpits preaching "pie in the sky" and "all is well". Not preaching truth but what they know will keep them popular in their church. Afraid to even tell their people to put aside some provisions or plant a garden if they can.

Russia has always, and will always, be an enemy to Israel and the USA. Their desire to destroy both hasn't diminished. In fact it has grown - and they have a plan that is being put into effect today. The same applies to China. What has changed is that today they together have decided that they can destroy both Israel and the USA without a lot of trouble now with Obama in the WH.

Now, what I am about to say will not be received by many. I believe they are right about their ability to take down the USA without a lot of trouble. In fact, their plan is in the final stages as you read this. But they are very wrong about Israel - but let me make myself clearer.

No, Russia, China, Islam or anyone else will never destroy Israel or kill all the Jews. That is a lie straight out of the pit of Hell and believed by many who call themselves "Christians". Yet they are wrong, and they are about to find out just how wrong they are! They should read Zechariah 12:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

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11th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

We are facing a time when the word deliverance will take on a whole new meaning! In the past, Christians have thought of deliverance mainly as physical healing but soon the greatest deliverance will be from fear and terror!

Deliverance at that time will mean having a “sure word from heaven.” Jesus said that men’s hearts will fail them for fear as they see the awful things coming on the earth (see Luke 21:26) Indeed, people will clamor to know what God is going to do next. They will turn in all directions, wanting to hear the voice of someone who is calm, peaceful, not going crazy. They will cry, “Please tell me! Is this God’s judgment? When is it all going to end?”

And who do you think is going to have the answers? You! The ordinary Christian who has been shut in with God! You will be full of calm and peace while everything is falling apart, because God is with you and you’re hearing from heaven. He warned you this was coming and He promised to protect you!

I believe God is going to use His holy remnant in these last days to stir multitudes, revive pastors, and awaken churches. This army will turn people’s hearts back to God by bringing them to repentance—through prayer and godly reproof of sin.

When I speak of a holy remnant in training, I do not mean an army of preachers, evangelists and missionaries. I am talking about ordinary saints, lovers of Jesus who themselves will be signs and wonders to the world, peaceful and calm.

God does not want a professional army trained in man’s methods. He wants men and women who are trained in prayer by the Holy Spirit! He is seeking believers who are shut in with Him, preparing their hearts before Him, learning to hear His voice.

Does this describe you? Is your life right now a witness to a scared and shaken world? I urge you to get alone with God and let Him speak to you. Ask Him to reveal the sin in your life. Forsake all that the Holy Spirit convicts you of. Make yourself available to Him by giving yourself to prayer and then you will be a ready soldier in His great, last-day remnant army.

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10th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

The apostle Paul said, “[The Lord] comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:4).

One of the neediest ministries in the church of Jesus Christ today is that of consolation—comforting others in their trouble and affliction. Many believers simply do not know where to turn in their hurt.

When I am really hurting, suffering deeply, I do not want to read a book outlining ten steps on how to find victory or go to a big-name evangelist who will zap me. None of these is the answer—because none will reach the root of my suffering! No—I want to talk to some ordinary saint who has suffered heavily, and yet has come through it all praising God, comforted and full of faith!

It is suffering people who receive the consolations and comforts of the Lord. They know the sympathy of Jesus, because His voice speaks true comfort to them in their hour of darkness. These sufferers become rich in spiritual resources. They develop a confidence born out of having endured tribulations and testing. Best of all, God gives them influence they could not have attained in any other way!

I think of Corrie Ten Boom and the wonderful experience it was for the thousands of people who sat and listened to her talk about Jesus. Many pastors and leaders all over the United States were comforted and encouraged by this once-unknown woman—because all her suffering had produced a wealth of knowledge of the Lord. She had an abundance of consolation and comfort from the Holy Spirit—and she used it as an influence for Jesus!

Paul was able to rejoice in all his tribulations because he knew his sufferings were for others’ benefit. He saw his trials as a kind of schooling he was going through. He could say, “God has a purpose in this because He is training me! There will be people who are going to need the comfort and consolation that I have received in my suffering!”

It is no wonder Paul referred to his heavenly Father as, “The Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

Source

9th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

Coalition and Likud Knesset-faction Chairman Ze'ev Elkin expressed surprise that Jerusalem mayor Nir Bakat is trying to persuade officials to accept his plan to divide Israel's capital.

"I regret that the mayor of Jerusalem, elected with the votes of the nationalist public, openly endorses the erosion of Jerusalem's unity," Elkin, who also chairs the Knesset Jerusalem Lobby, said.

"Neighborhoods Barkat wants to remove from his municipal jurisdiction are a part of the sovereign territory of Israel protected under the Basic Law... the Jerusalem law, and a  referendum we enacted in this Knesset,” he added.

According to Elkin, "excluding the areas and leaving them outside the security fence was a terrible mistake that only increases the numbers of Palestinians within the city, and harms the security situation. Who wants to add insult to injury and make some parts of Jerusalem like Gaza."

"It will turn Jerusalem into Sderot," Elkin said. "We cannot let this happen."

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8th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

PLO executive committee member Bassam Al Salhi told Gulf News, "Even if the vote fails at the UN Security Council, we will submit a fresh request demanding a UN full member state."

To obtain full statehood recognition for the Palestinian Authority the application must gain nine affirmative votes in the 15-member decision-making Security Council before a General Assembly vote can be held. In addition, the application must avoid a negative recommendation from any of the five permanent Security Council members.

At present PA officials have garnered insufficient votes in the council for their application to be approved in addition to facing a promised negative recommendation from the veto-wielding United States - rendering it a dead letter.

"We strictly reject the US pressure as the Palestinian UN application is an irreversible move," he added. "We will never cave in to threats and pressure, but will continue with our diplomatic efforts."

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7th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

The President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas has led a Palestinian delegation in talks in Brussels with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

“We have been engaged in a mutual and determined diplomatic effort throughout the past months concerning the Middle East Peace Process and the Palestinian United Nations bid,” Ashton said after the meeting, insisting that, “The overarching objective of the EU remains the creation of an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable Palestinian state, living side by side with Israel in peace and security.”

The EU High Representative added that developments on the ground, such as ongoing settlement activity in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, were an obstacle to peace efforts and threatened to make the two-state solution impossible. “However,” she insisted, “I believe we all share the understanding that ultimately direct negotiations are essential in order to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for statehood.”

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6th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012

The Vatican’s former foreign minister asked to place some Israeli holy places under Vatican authority, alluding to the Cenacle on Mount Zion and the garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The first site also houses what is referred to as King David’s tomb.

“Peace negotiations in the Middle East must tackle the issue of the status of the holy sites of Jerusalem”, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican’s Council for Interreligious Dialogue, declared several days ago in Rome.

“There will not be peace if the question of the holy sites is not adequately resolved”, Tauran said. “The part of Jerusalem within the walls – with the holy sites of the three religions – is humanity’s heritage. The sacred and unique character of the area must be safeguarded and it can only be done with a special, internationally-guaranteed statute”.

The Israeli government and the Vatican are deadlocked in discussions over the status of the religious sites. Vatican officials are now reiterating their demand for control over the religious sites in the ancient and holy city founded by King David as the capital of ancient Israel and now the capital of the reestablished Jewish state.

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5th post on Monday January 2nd, 2012