2012: What to Expect - Part 4
by Gary Kah
Nightmare
in the Middle East
Although Europe is in the midst of a worsening crisis, it is
nothing compared to the nightmare faced by the Middle Eastern countries,
especially Israel. The Jewish nation finds itself surrounded by governments
intent on its destruction. The so-called Arab Spring uprisings which were
supposed to bring freedom to the people, are instead moving Arab nations toward
an Islamic caliphate that will threaten the stability of the entire region.
After the recent elections in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is now
in firm control of that country. Things are headed in the same direction in
Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and other nations where The Brotherhood has a
growing presence. The Muslim Brotherhood, it should be noted, has birthed most
of the known terror groups in the Middle East. These same groups are also
receiving support from Iran.
Ironically, while the West has applauded and even directly
supported the Arab Spring, Iran sees itself as the principal beneficiary of the
movement. Irans Ahmadinejad envisions building a multi-nation Islamic caliphate
that will lead the charge to annihilate Israel. At present, he is only a few
months from having a nuclear weapon. If nothing changes, by April of this year,
Iran is expected to have five nuclear bombs in its arsenal.
It is widely suspected that recent explosions at two Iranian
military installations were the work of Israeli covert operatives trying to
delay or stop Irans development of surface-to-surface missiles that would be
used to deliver nuclear bombs. If Israel were to launch an open preemptive
strike targeting Irans nuclear sites, it would have the effect of further
solidifying support for Iran among radical Muslims in the region. On November
27, Iranian Defense Minister General Ahmad Vahidi warned that Israel would be
attacked with 150,000 missiles if it launches any military action against the
Islamic Republic.13 If Israel does nothing, however, it will only be a matter
of time before she comes under attack. Our sources in the Middle East are
telling us the situation is precarious and anything could happen at any time.
The Iranian government seems to be doing everything in its power
to provoke Israel. According to DEBKAfile, in early December, Irans rulers
upgraded their strategic objective of wiping Israel off the map and extended it
for the first time to the more ambitious one of annihilating the Jews
worldwide. DEBKAfile reports:
-the ayatollahs in Tehran and Qom unleashed a virulent campaign of
anti-Semitic propaganda in their sermons. A new book and a film were released
for wide distribution on orders from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?-.
Under the title How Israel should be destroyed, this
book was awarded the best book prize at the Khorassan book fair when it was
first displayed there on Thursday, Dec. 1. The books editor Hojjat-ol-Eslam
Mohammad Ebrahim-Nia stresses that this prescription has the force of a fatwa
(religious edict) and is binding on every Muslim. The anti-Semitic film, “The Sabbath Hunter”, has been circulating for some time but was a
flop with Iranian movie audiences. Now the Supreme Leader has ordered it to be
screened at every university in the land. The Basij students who rampaged
through the British embassy in Tehran this week were made responsible with
getting it widely shown.
While Irans leaders are stoking the flames of war, Irans close
ally, Syria, is in complete upheaval. Syrias situation is perhaps the most
complex in the Middle East. If Arab Spring protesters eventually win out, they
would likely be dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood under a new Syrian regime.
Another possibility: If President Bashar Assads power continues to be
threatened, he might do something desperate to solidify his control like invade
Jordan or Israel. Assads government recently armed its medium-range missiles
with chemical warheads and has warned it would launch them at Tel Aviv if Syria
is in any way attacked or threatened.
No outcome in Syria looks favorable for Israel or the pursuit of
freedom. The unfolding situation in Damascus could well tip the scales toward
war in the Middle East, and therefore bears close watching. (Russia has reportedly sent a large number of
gas masks to Damascus. 17 Other reports indicate that a number of US troops
exiting Iraq have been redeployed in Jordan along that countrys border with
Syria.)
Some may wonder, where does Iraq fit in? The tragic fact is that
Iran now holds sway over Iraq. After nine years of war and the deaths of nearly
4,500 US troops and at least 150,000 Iraqis, in many respects the country is
currently more unstable and more likely to go the direction of radical Islam
than when Saddam Hussein was in power.
Saddam Hussein was a Sunni Muslim. Sunnis have long been at odds
with Shiite Muslims, who control Iran. The Iraqi government being left in
charge as US soldiers come home is predominately Shiite, with strong loyalties
to their Iranian Shiite brethren. The fact is, Saddams Sunnis kept the more
radical Shiites in check and served as somewhat of a counter to Iranian
dominance in the region. In other words, as long as Iran and Iraq had to contend
with each other, they didnt have much time or resources to stir up trouble
elsewhere. Now, all bets are off. US intervention threw off the balance of
power in the region.
Some of the fall-out from this sad reality can be seen in the Iraqi
treatment of Jews and Christians. The handful of Jews remaining in the country
are in constant danger, and the persecution of Christians has gone viral. Prior
to the American occupation, Iraq had a sizeable and even vibrant Christian
community of 1.4 million. However, most of Iraqs Christians have since fled the
country due to intensified persecution. Only about 500,000 Christians remain in
Iraq, and many of them are trying to get out. The Christian Post recently
reported, ??Persecution makes the Christian community smaller each year, with
churches as well as households being targeted and causing worshipers to flee.
Islamic terror groups have had a favorite slogan for several
decades: ??First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.?? This means of
course, first the Jews then the Christians will be targeted for persecution,
subjection and elimination.20 This hatred is now playing out in parts of the
Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. (Please
take a moment to read the adjacent report Persecution of the Saints,
which gives a brief overview of the plight of Christians in these regions.)
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