Monday, June 30, 2014

Matt 24 watch, 241i: BBC reports the head of ISIS proclaims himself ruler of all Muslims . . . thus, Caliph (and -- most likely -- candidate to be Mahdi)

That was in the BBC news this morning.

Of course, without context required to facilitate understanding.

No great surprise given the black flag army theme and conquest of a strategic swath of land. 

Recall, the black flag army themed ISIS convoy:




And, the Islamist agenda across this century:




Onward, implication is attack on Israel with intent to slaughter the Jews.

U/D, ISIS 5 year "planned" borders -- probably "aspirational" . . . notice, "Khurasan":





Newsmax does give some details:


 The al-Qaida breakaway group that has seized much of northern Syria and huge tracks of neighboring Iraq formally declared the creation of an Islamic state on Sunday in the territory under its control.

The spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, made the announcement in an audio statement posted online. Islamic extremists have long dreamed of recreating the Islamic state, or caliphate, that ruled over the Middle East in various forms for hundreds of years.
Abu Mohammed al-Adnani declared the group's chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the new leader, or
caliph,
of the Islamic state, and called on those living in areas under the organization's control to swear allegiance to al-Baghdadi and support him.


"The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organizations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph's authority and the arrival of its troops to their areas,"
al-Adnani said. He added that
with the creation of the caliphate, the group was changing its name to just the Islamic State, dropping the mention of Iraq and the Levant.

Notice, the universal declaration of war against the world.

The AP article continues:
It was unclear what immediate practical impact the declaration would have on the ground in Syria and Iraq, but analysts expected it to have a dramatic effect on the wider jihadi community.

Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, said it will likely have a global impact as al-Qaida affiliates and "independent jihadist groups must now definitively choose to support and join the Islamic State or to oppose it."

"The Islamic State's announcement made it clear that it would perceive any group that failed to pledge allegiance an enemy of Islam," he said. "Already, this new Islamic State has received statements of support and opposition from jihadist factions in Syria. This period of judgment is extremely important and will likely continue for some time to come."
Of course, the underlying Islamic theology and Islamist ideology built on it are left unexplained, again. The focus on debates among Jihadis is almost besides the point, we have a clear declaration that Islamism is a religiously motivated world conquest ideology here.

As in, tidal wave from the East:

 


Cf discussion on black flag armies and relevant hadiths here. END

PS: It will help to observe again my remarks a few days ago, in the context of Cheney's warnings and the historical context tracing back to the Second World War:


>>hardly had the ashes settled from that horrific war, when we found ourselves facing de facto World War III, the global Cold War triggered by the threat of Communism. (With reservations, cf Wiki's summary here.)
And now, rising up since 1978-9 with the Iranian Islamist revolution, we have been facing de facto World War IV . . . renewal of de facto World War 0, the 1400 year old long war -- yes, and yes again, that is so --  with Islamism.  Largely, due to the economic and military power and significance conveyed by the Middle East's Oil revenues (especially since the surge in oil prices from 1973 on and 1979 on) which provided the resource base for the Islamist agenda, in Sunni [Wahhaba-Salafi] and Shia [Iranian] forms.
Where of course, part of what we are seeing playing out in Iraq is the ongoing clash between Sunni and Shia. But we must never forget the wider implications of the global expansionist ideology that drives this.
Let us remind ourselves of the key texts in the chronologically last but one Surah of the Quran, 9 (from the well respected Yusuf Ali rendering . . . there is of course a disclaimer that the Quran cannot be translated, which I only mention as it is obviously falls of its own weight)

THE VERSE OF THE SWORD:

 Q 9:5 But when the forbidden months are past then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them and seize them beleaguer them and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity [= become Muslim] then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.


THE VERSE OF TRIBUTE:

 Q 9:29 Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His apostle nor acknowledge the religion of truth (even if they are) of the People of the Book [= Jews and Christians, sometimes extended to people of other established religions] until they pay the Jizya [= a protection money impoverishing head tax, as a tribute proving continued status as a surrendered person on pain of renewal of war] with willing submission and feel themselves subdued. [= reduced to hopelessly subjugated, apartheid like Dhimmi status]
This in effect universal declaration of war, recall, is commonly and widely held to be binding on the people of Islam as a sacred and enduring command in core scriptures of the religion.

One that is backed up by further commands that war is the province of strategic deception [taqiyyah]; so, one would be well advised to take the text and the 1400 year long history more seriously than the smooth dismissals by Islamist apologists indulging the Jihad of pen and tongue. And as there is a doctrine of abrogation where the later text supersedes the former, that this comes from the last or last but one surah, means it takes precedence over all more irenic texts that we may hear bandied about.

Yes, all of this probably sounds very strange to your ears.

Ask yourself: why is this so strange to me? How well do I know the underlying history? Do I really understand the IslamIST mindset? Have I learned my history and understanding of the course of our times from sound sources?

Most of all, ask: do I need to re-think?

(For starters  try here, here, here and here . . . don't forget here . . . as well as the reference site here.)  >>
We may not be interested in War, but ever since the 1930's war has been interested in us

And, universal war has definitively been declared, if we will but listen.

Indeed, the echoes of wars and rumours of wars as a birth-pang sign, should not be overlooked.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Heads up: June 29 Half Way Tree Square, Jamaica Protest Rally in the face of radical agendas reflected in the Bain firing, live

The rally is now live on TBC, Jamaica. The report is that there is a "massive" crowd. TBC is here, click on "Listen Live" for the streaming audio. END

PS: First crowd "estimate," 6:20 pm Ja time, 100,000+.  This probably means, very large.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Matt 24 watch, 241h: Lt Col Oliver North warns on ISIS, Iran deals and nukes (meanwhile Bill Clinton plays the blame Cheney card in reply to the latter's warnings)

It is now quite evident that the United States has been failing major geostrategic tests, with potentially horrific consequences. Trying to partner with Iran to counter ISIS in Iraq when simply retaining a reasonable long-term support presence in Iraq -- as advised and warned at the time -- could have averted the lines of consequences that are now playing out, is a signal failure.

That is the backdrop for Lt Col Oliver North's warnings on the predictable results of such a failure and attempts to make "friends" with Mahdist Iran:
"The danger today is that we're going to team up with the Iranians," North said. "That to me is a far greater problem because the Iranians are not our friends. They are our enemies, and they intend great harm to us. They are committed." 
Over the past three weeks, North said, Secretary of State John Kerry has been secretly meeting with the Iranians in Vienna, drafting an international agreement to permanently lift all sanctions against Iran. 
"They're going to allow UN inspectors to come in, and the UN inspectors will not find any nuclear weapons, and the Iranians are going to pledge not to build them, and they are going to get nuclear weapons," North said, pointing out that what's happening mirrors the plot of his new novel, "Counterfeit Lies." 
"They're going to do it with counterfeits and lies," he said. "Unfortunately, we're selling down the river our own ally in that part of the world and that's Jerusalem in Israel. We're selling down the river those who are friendly to the United States and it's not everybody, by any stretch of the imagination, in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Emirates. And we're selling down the river the Jordanians and what all of that means is that the United States, still known as the Great Satan, is going to get the threat of a proliferation of nuclear weapons. Not just the Iranians, but everybody else is going to build their own to protect themselves." 
Obama's legacy will leave the world a "much, much more dangerous place,"
Video:



Follow-up video:




Adding to the surreal quality of the strategic views being taken, is this remark by former US President Bill Clinton, husband of former Secretary of State and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton:
 "You know, if they hadn't gone to war in Iraq, none of this would be happening," Clinton said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," referring to Cheney and former President George W. Bush's administration, according to USA Today.
 In fact, by 2007 - 8, a militarily manageable situation had been achieved, but years of media manipulation, opportunism and politics prevailed over what is geostrategically sound.

And now, it is clear that Israel will have but little alternative other than to strike on its own, regardless of  consequences in terms of further alienating Western and Middle Eastern powers.

 The likely consequences are all nasty. END

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Matt 24 watch, 242: Homosexualist newspeak in law in the Caribbean -- a moment of sad, hard truth for Montserrat and the Caribbean . . . (CAUTION: Explicit, perhaps disturbing language)

NB: it is key to see the follow-up here on the agenda at work

Yesterday was the seventeenth Anniversary of the deadly volcanic hot ash and gas flows of June 25, 1997 in Montserrat.

Yesterday, was also a day for a subtler, though ultimately no less spiritually deadly and dangerous legal avalanche.

[O/N U/D to clarify: Spiritual deadliness 1 Cor 6:9 - 11 (cf. here on spiritual hope). The legal dangers lie in the resort to ideologically loaded newspeak, foot in the door precedent and in failure to consult the public before enacting. There are also serious medical questions, as prof Brendan Bain pointed out recently, at the cost of his career at UWI. And, no, it is not credible that "my genes made me do it."]

An avalanche, that I find it my sad duty to speak to.

For, yesterday, on the seventeenth anniversary of the deadly pyroclastic flows of June 25, 1997, over protest, the Montserrat Legislative Assembly . . . without prior, proper consultation with the public . . . insistently voted into law the following redefinition of a pivotal word, one that opens doors to extremely radical agendas abroad in our day:




If you think that comparing today's political correctness to lemmings heading over a cliff (and yes, they apparently do do that occasionally), perhaps you would wish to observe Paul's remarks:
 Eph 4: 10 He, the very one who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.
11 It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God—a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature.
14 So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes.
15 But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love.

17 So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.  19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
20 But you did not learn about Christ like this, 21 if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus.
22 You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth. [NET. Also Cf Rom 1:19 - 32.]
And, of course, given agendas known to be afoot in our region and elsewhere, where such confusion is liable to end up is in so-called "marriage equality."

The Rev Dr N T Wright of the UK has some observations that we should pay heed to on that:


Food for sober thought. END

PS: For those requiring further information on what I have come to call the porn-perversion agenda, I suggest, from this blog's RH column:

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Mat 24 watch 241g: Dick Cheney's warning on a super-911 attack within six (to ten?) years . . .

Sobering food for thought:


 

As we see pirate states forming out of niches carved out of Syria and Iraq, let us ponder on the implication that unrestrained, unchecked terrorism has sobering potential consequences.

The time for rhetorical distractions from a major geostrategic defeat for civilisation -- Terrorism is simply not civilisation --  is over. END

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Matt 24 watch 241f: Israeli PM Netanyahu's sobering observations on the Syria-Iraq crisis

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu observes:
"What you're seeing in the Middle East today in Iraq and in Syria is the stark hatred between radical Shiites -- in this case led by Iran -- and radical Sunnis led by Al-Qaeda and ISIS and others," Netanyahu told NBC's "Meet the Press", referring to ISIL.

"Now both of these camps are enemies of the United States, and when your enemies are fighting each other, don't strengthen either one -- weaken both," said Netanyahu, who was in Israel.

"And I think by far the worst outcome that could come out of this is that one of these factions, Iran, would come out with nuclear weapon capability. That would be a tragic mistake -- it would make everything else pale in comparison."

Netanyahu added: "I think that there are two actions you have to take: one is to take the actions that you deem necessary to counter this ISIS takeover of Iraq, and the second is not to allow Iran to dominate Iraq the way it dominated Lebanon and Syria.

"You actually have to work on both sides -- as I say, you try to weaken both."

Sobering. END

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Answers in Genesis critically reviews Neil deGrasse Tyson's remix on the notorious Sagan Cosmos series

Here . . . also, cf. the IOSE draft course unit on cosmology and timelines for origins here on.

(Unfortunately, this evolutionary materialism indoctrination exercise will be widely presented to the unsuspecting public and probably students in school as "fact.")

Time for us to think seriously about what is going on with the media, with Science as a cultural movement, and with education  -- imposition of lab coat clad, inescapably self-refuting, inherently amoral evolutionary materialism. Do we really want to go there? END

Friday, June 20, 2014

Matt 24 watch 241e: William Federer's summary of the history of Islam and Islamism . . . balancing some common misperceptions

Longtime readers of this blog will know that I have long been concerned over the two tidal waves that are pounding on the shores of our region:



We need to understand both spiritually rooted geo-strategic surges.

In the case of Islamism, Jihad and Dawah, backed by Taqiyyah, that can be quite difficult. 

And yet the horrible incidents in Iraq that are now splashing across our TV screens, and those connected to Boko Haram call out for deeper understanding than we are likely to get from our Radio, TV and Newspaper news and views coverage. Not to mention, what we do not get in schools.

After a bit of web searching I ran across an article that introduces and presents a 2009 video talk on the 1400 year conflict with expansionist Islam, here. (This should be also examined in light of the observations by Richard Csaplar, here.)

Thankfully, Federer's talk -- which obviously is a bird's eye view fast forward 101 level highlights tour, not "in-depth" and may not get every detail quite right with just the balance and nuance we may want --  is hosted at YouTube and so we can see:

VIDEO 1:




VIDEO 2:




VIDEO 3:




Sobering food for thought, and not at all like what we are likely to ever hear presented in the so-called mainstream media. END 

PS: From the KF Blog RH column, you may wish to consult these references, especially Nehls and Eric: 

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Matt 24 watch, 241d: Dick Cheney warns on geostrategic blunders . . . reflections in light of ill informed conspiracy theorism in the Caribbean

Part of the problem on speaking to the ongoing Middle East chaos and associated crises in the Caribbean, is that this situation is fraught with all sorts of misconceptions and many people in our region have swallowed all sorts of conspiracy theories, with an underlying resentment fuelled by scars from our colonial past.

We have to move beyond that past, to a sound and mature understanding of the present and the likely issues for the future. 

Backed by sound historical and geostrategic insights. 

At least, if we want to discern signs of our times and act soundly in a very, very dangerous time.

Yes, given their often piratical colonial past and shenanigans in the present Western powers are not guiltless. 

Nor are they particularly sound themselves at this time [just think about the self-contradiction in terms, "same sex marriage" . . . ].  

And yes the Western media -- including the once great BBC --  is in a state of confusion and ideologically driven profound misunderstandings also. 

Which then compounds our own situation as this is where we typically get what information we get about the wider world.

Let us begin.

First, no, it is not even a serious contender that Western interests have funded and created Islamist agendas and initiatives out of the imagined notion that they hope to profit globally from chaos

Just think: war is very, very expensive and bloody, in an era where Western powers face huge debt burdens and publics that since World War I ended in 1918, have been deeply war weary. 

Indeed, that is how World War II came about

People did not want to imagine that Germany was again a threat, and did not want to pay the price of another war. So, the politicians resorted to peace in our time appeasement. Hitler was a man they could do business with, and they struck deals with him, most notoriously at Munich.

A visual image will help us. 

Here, for the eternal record of warning, is British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, at the airport in London,  on his return from Munich in 1938 -- waving the infamous piece of paper that trumpeted peace in our time:



Appeasement failed, as Hitler was a determined, ruthless, demonically mad totalitarian dictator who had a world conquest agenda.

Within a year, there was war.

By June 1940, Britain stood alone, her back to the wall, with a few hundred Hurricane and Spitfire fighters her last line of defense against Herman Goering's Luftwaffe.

Then, hardly had the ashes settled from that horrific war, when we found ourselves facing de facto World War III, the global Cold War triggered by the threat of Communism. (With reservations, cf Wiki's summary here.)

And now, rising up since 1978-9 with the Iranian Islamist revolution, we have been facing de facto World War IV . . . renewal of de facto World War 0, the 1400 year old long war -- yes, and yes again, that is so --  with Islamism.  Largely, due to the economic and military power and significance conveyed by the Middle East's Oil revenues (especially since the surge in oil prices from 1973 on and 1979 on) which provided the resource base for the Islamist agenda, in Sunni [Wahhaba-Salafi] and Shia [Iranian] forms.

Where of course, part of what we are seeing playing out in Iraq is the ongoing clash between Sunni and Shia. But we must never forget the wider implications of the global expanasionist ideology that drives this.

Let us remind ourselves of the key texts in the chronologically last but one Surah of the Quran, 9 (from the well respected Yusuf Ali rendering . . . there is of course a disclaimer that the Quran cannot be translated, which I only mention as it is obviously falls of its own weight)

THE VERSE OF THE SWORD:

 Q 9:5 But when the forbidden months are past then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them and seize them beleaguer them and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity [= become Muslim] then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.

THE VERSE OF TRIBUTE:

 Q 9:29 Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His apostle nor acknowledge the religion of truth (even if they are) of the People of the Book [= Jews and Christians, sometimes extended to people of other established religions] until they pay the Jizya [= a protection money impoverishing head tax, as a tribute proving continued status as a surrendered person on pain of renewal of war] with willing submission and feel themselves subdued. [= reduced to hopelessly subjugated, apartheid like Dhimmi status]
This in effect universal declaration of war, recall, is commonly and widely held to be binding on the people of Islam as a sacred and enduring command in core scriptures of the religion.

One that is backed up by further commands that war is the province of strategic deception [taqiyyah]; so, one would be well advised to take the text and the 1400 year long history more seriously than the smooth dismissals by Islamist apologists indulging the Jihad of pen and tongue. And as there is a doctrine of abrogation where the later text supersedes the former, that this comes from the last or last but one surah, means it takes precedence over all more irenic texts that we may hear bandied about.

Yes, all of this probably sounds very strange to your ears.

Ask yourself: why is this so strange to me? How well do I know the underlying history? Do I really understand the IslamIST mindset? Have I learned my history and understanding of the course of our times from sound sources?

Most of all, ask: do I need to re-think? 

(For starters  try here, here, here and here . . . don't forget here . . . as well as the reference site here.)

And, no, the 9-11 attacks are manifestly not a case of " the Americans dunit" or " The Jews/Israelis dunit," the evidence is decisive that Mr Osama Bin Laden has acknowledged responsibility [right there on video, as was documented 13 years ago!], and the driving force is the Islamist push for global domination. This was intended as a decapitation strike against the USA, and it came close to success. 

U/D Jun 19 -- the Dec 2001 captured tape:




A second tape (which should be viewed in this light):



(It is sad that conspiracy stories have gained a deep and widespread foothold in our region. The vulnerability that this demonstrates reveals a want of intellectual responsibility backed by adequate critical thinking ability that is frightening. We have a major education challenge staring us in the face, if we are to become mature, sound thinking, sober minded publics that cannot be easily manipulated by various agendas and interests.)

 The easily documented fact is, for fourteen hundred years, whenever those in military reach of Islamist powers have been sufficiently weak, they have suffered attacks. This traces to the religiously motivated ideology of Islam, which sees the world as divided into dar ul Islam and dar ul Harb, the houses of "peace" [= submission to Allah, his prophet, law and warriors] and "war" respectively. With the further complication that the example given by their prophet only sees temporary truces -- hudnah -- with powers from the latter house, as opportunities to regroup and re-surge again in renewed attack once one has been checked for the moment.

So, with all due respect to the majority of muslims around us who are peaceful and generally reasonable neighbours, there is an unfortunate inherent vulnerability in Islamic states or communities, to revert to this underlying militancy. All it requires is a firebrand in the face of an opportunity. As, is so obviously happening with Boko Haram in Nigeria as we speak, and as is happening in ever so many other places. Nor, should we imagine, it cannot happen here in the Caribbean, should a radical firebrand find a critical mass to ignite.

These things, we should have long since learned by the time we meet the history of the 1400 year clash between Islam and the rest of the world, in 2nd and 3rd form world history studies.

 Oops, I forget.

I did world history in 2nd and 3rd form -- today, we typically only study Caribbean history in schools, without proper wider context. And our history teachers probably do not have that wider context, too. (Just try out: why is it that in 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue? What happened in 1491 in the Iberian peninsula, why? How is that connected to the jihad clashes from 711 - 1453 on? And to 1683? Why are those dates significant?)

Educational blunder.

Deeply entrenched.

No wonder we have such defective world views and so often misunderstand our civilisation.

A point for reformation, which will be fought down tooth and nail by entrenched ideologues.

Can't solve that problem now, just, we note on it.

For later. 

(You may want to look here and here at Wikipedia -- I have many reservations -- for some initial information. Khan academy here may help. The AP framework here may be a useful point of departure for our own thought. Let the reader/viewer beware.)

Now, in our time, we are facing an oil revenues funded, post Cold War Islamist thrust to move to global domination across this century, which began with the Iran Revolution of 1978 - 9

Let us remind ourselves, yet again by looking at the smoking gun World Islamic Mission map (which I first found online in an Islamist site on Sept 11, 2001)  -- as, we are ever so prone to forget or dismiss unpleasant and dangerous realities:



 In the meanwhile, precisely because of the extreme militancy and state dominating totalitarian nature of Islamic thought, internal affairs in Islamic regions have tended to be quite violent and chaotic. Sectarian splits have therefore consistently led to violence, not coexistence . . . and yes, that is indeed a part of the Iraq -- Syria situation, with the Assads being Alawites compounding the underlying Sunni-Shia split that began in that very same region with succession quarrels. The Kurds are a complicating factor, but as there is an ethnic identity there that is distinct from the Arab culture, at least in recent years, they tend to be more stable.

(On a relieving note, we should of course, realise that ordinary people caught up in the clanking gears and belts of such a system are little better than victims and cannon fodder. Indeed, the average victim of Islamist radical terrorism is a fellow Muslim. The ordinary people under Islam need hope, and the gospel -- soundly taught, properly understood and well-warranted -- gives that hope. Just a relieving note. It is dreary to be all gloomy.)

Against such a saddening backdrop, former US President Dick Cheney speaks. 

(And no, it would be unwise to just dismiss him with the surfeit of toxic talking points from the last decade; do, let us listen to him and it may help us understand what matches we have been playing with and the challenges we now face.)

Let us clip from his recent WSJ article:

The Collapsing Obama Doctrine

Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many.

Updated June 17, 2014 7:34 p.m. ET
As the terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) threaten Baghdad, thousands of slaughtered Iraqis in their wake, it is worth recalling a few of President Obama's past statements about ISIS and al Qaeda. "If a J.V. team puts on Lakers' uniforms that doesn't make them Kobe Bryant" (January 2014). "[C]ore al Qaeda is on its heels, has been decimated" (August 2013). "So, let there be no doubt: The tide of war is receding" (September 2011).

Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many. Too many times to count, Mr. Obama has told us he is "ending" the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—as though wishing made it so. His rhetoric has now come crashing into reality. Watching the black-clad ISIS jihadists take territory once secured by American blood is final proof, if any were needed, that America's enemies are not "decimated." They are emboldened and on the march. 

The fall of the Iraqi cities of Fallujah, Tikrit, Mosul and Tel Afar, and the establishment of terrorist safe havens across a large swath of the Arab world, present a strategic threat to the security of the United States. Mr. Obama's actions—before and after ISIS's recent advances in Iraq—have the effect of increasing that threat . . . . 

Iraq is at risk of falling to a radical Islamic terror group and Mr. Obama is talking climate change. Terrorists take control of more territory and resources than ever before in history, and he goes golfing. He seems blithely unaware, or indifferent to the fact, that a resurgent al Qaeda presents a clear and present danger to the United States of America.

When Mr. Obama and his team came into office in 2009, al Qaeda in Iraq had been largely defeated, thanks primarily to the heroic efforts of U.S. armed forces during the surge. Mr. Obama had only to negotiate an agreement to leave behind some residual American forces, training and intelligence capabilities to help secure the peace. Instead, he abandoned Iraq and we are watching American defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

The tragedy unfolding in Iraq today is only part of the story. Al Qaeda and its affiliates are resurgent across the globe. According to a recent Rand study, between 2010 and 2013, there was a 58% increase in the number of Salafi-jihadist terror groups around the world. During that same period, the number of terrorists doubled.

In the face of this threat, Mr. Obama is busy ushering America's adversaries into positions of power in the Middle East. First it was the Russians in Syria. Now, in a move that defies credulity, he toys with the idea of ushering Iran into Iraq. Only a fool would believe American policy in Iraq should be ceded to Iran, the world's largest state sponsor of terror.
This president is willfully blind to the impact of his policies . . .
(Read the whole thing, it is an education.)

Sobering.

U/D Jun 19: Columnist Cal Thomas reports a 2007 warning by President Bush (at about the time of the surge, which clearly did deliver tactical victory in Iraq): 
"To begin withdrawing before our commanders tell us we're ready [i.e. "before Iraqi forces were sufficiently trained, equipped and motivated to defend the country" . . .  ] would be dangerous for Iraq, for the region and for the United States. It would mean surrendering the future of Iraq to al-Qaida. It'd mean that we'd be risking mass killings on a horrific scale. It'd mean we'd allow the terrorists to establish a safe haven in Iraq to replace the one they lost in Afghanistan. It'd mean we'd be increasing the probability that American troops would have to return at some later date to confront an enemy that is even more dangerous."
Michael Reagan, son of the former US President, adds a further key point:
The international dumpster fire that constitutes Iraq makes my point. All the treasure and blood this nation expended trying to bring that unfortunate land into the 21st century was wasted because Obama wanted to be able to say he brought our troops home during his re–election campaign. 
I predict that will prove to be one of the most expensive campaign talking points in the history of the world. 
Now Obama wants to double down on failure by working with Iran to save what’s left of Iraq. Iran is not a potential ally. Iran is an actual enemy that is working to build a nuclear weapon . . .
It is not wise to put the fox to guard the hen-house. [Cf. here for a window on the Iranian leaders' mindset.]

The obvious projection of all this is, blood and ashes

Rivers of blood and mounds of ashes that were once cities.

Let us pray that God, in his mercy averts such, but that does not relieve us of our responsibilities to act soundly and prudently in good time, and to think straight as a basis for acting soundly.

Which brings us full circle to the Acts 27 test. END

PS: Forgive, many typos have had to be corrected, y/day was not a good one for me.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Matt 24 watch, 241c: Obama Administration Secretary of State Kerry setting the Iranian fox to guard the Iraqi hen house . . .

Iran under its Mahdist mullahs is probably the No. 1 terrorism exporting state in the world, and is getting close to the point where it will openly have nuclear weapons thanks to Western fecklessness and wishful thinking in dealing with it for many years now.

It is against that backdrop that we must consider the implications of the following clip from a June 15th 2014 Wall Street Journal report:
The radical Sunni militia that has plunged Iraq into chaos bragged on Sunday that it had executed hundreds of Shiite Iraqi soldiers, even as the Obama administration said it is preparing to open direct talks with Iran on how the two longtime foes can counter the insurgents. 

The U.S.-Iran dialogue, which is expected to begin this week, will mark the latest in a rapid move toward rapprochement between Washington and Tehran over the past year. It also comes as the U.S. and other world powers try to reach an agreement with Iran by late July to curb its nuclear program.
 Already, there have been grave concerns on the terms of the nuclear development talks with Iran late last year.

In short, the US is now effectively collaborating in the creation of a new Persian empire, stretching from Iran to Syria and Lebanon, even as it undertakes a geostrategic retreat in the face of a rising Islamist tide.

Let us remind ourselves of the global subjugation vision of the Islamists for this Century -- a map I first found on Sept 11, 2001:




Those are the matches that the US Administration is playing with.

WSJ has a sobering video interview with an expert, here, that is well worth watching.

This retreat bodes ill for the Middle East, for oil in the world, for Israel of course, but also for the wider world. 

The only thing that seems to be able to explain such behaviour is an underlying assumption on the part of the leaders of the most radical left US Administration ever, that the US and other Western Powers are the main source of tumults and aggression in the world, and they need to be checked by emerging powers like Iran. 

Iran, seen here as a stabilising force in the Middle East!

As if the history since 1979 has not happened.

This is a case of buying grief through ideological blindness and inversion of evident facts on a scale that is mind-boggling. 

Predictably, leading to rivers of blood to come. END