Dec. 30….(Barna Research) A Christian researcher says the Church in America is no different from the days immediately before the terrorist attacks of two years ago. George Barna says Christians in the U.S. missed a unique opportunity to turn to God in repentance and humility after the attacks. According to a recent survey by the Barna Research Group, although there was an increase in church attendance in the weeks following the attacks, that surge has disappeared and any revival that may have occurred immediately thereafter was shallow. Barna says he believes many Christians in America, instead of turning to God tried to deal with the attacks in their own strength. He says he cannot help but think that God may have been using the attacks as a wake-up call to the Church. "In many ways, the Church in America has become like the Church of Laodicea that's described in Revelation 3," the researcher says. "We're a Church that's very complacent, very satisfied with ourselves." He believes that, to a large extent, the Church in America has lost its focus, apparently preferring to be prideful in all the "stuff" surrounding it. "Even when we try to gauge how successful we are, we don't look at personal transformation as much as we look at numbers," Barna says. "We look at how many people show up, how much money we raise, how much square footage do we have, how many cars are in the parking lot, how many programs do we have, how many staff are on board. "Really, such concerns are found nowhere in scripture, and that's not what Jesus died for," he says. According to Barna, American Christians are simply too comfortable. "When you look at our hearts, there are very few broken hearts and there are very few surrendered Christians in America today." The Barna survey also found that since the attacks, there has been no change in personal religious activity, such as church attendance, Bible reading, prayer, and Sunday school involvement, and no increase in the percentage of adults who say they are "born-again" Christians.
FOJ Note: And I for one am angry because at the very time that we here in America need God, the secularist campaign to strip faith from the public square has risen to the forefront. At the very time we need citizens of character who can discern good from evil, our culture continues to promote hedonism, tolerance and materialism."

Dec. 30….(excerpt by Joseph Farah) The Christian population of the Palestinian Authority, once representing 20 percent of the region, is today down to 2.4 percent. There are fewer than 50,000 Christian Arabs living within the Palestinian Authority. In 1948, Bethlehem was 80 percent Christian. Today it is 80 percent Muslim. Where do they go? Are you ready for a shock? Many of them prefer life in Israel to life under the rule of Yasser Arafat and his friends in Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In fact, life would be better just about anywhere else, and those who have the ability to leave have left. This massive display of ethnic cleansing and population movement has been totally obscured by the Palestinian Authority and covered up by the international media. Worse yet, it has even been blamed on Israel. But Christians fleeing the Holy Land know why they are leaving. It began a long time ago. I know, because my grandparents fled for the safety, security and freedom of America. Christians in the Middle East know very well who their enemy is. They know why are they are oppressed. They know who is attacking them. They know who is occupying them. And it's not Israel. Here are the facts. Over 2 million Christians have fled the Middle East in the past 20 years. Since Arafat took over administration of the Palestinian territories from Israel, the Christian population has dropped from 15 percent to 2 percent. They are being driven out. They are being murdered. They are being raped. They are being systematically persecuted. They are being harassed. They are being intimidated. Such is life for Christians now in Bethlehem and other formerly Christian towns in the West Bank. Just imagine what it will be like when Palestine becomes a real state. When Israel administered these areas, Christian Arabs lived in safety and security. The truth is that the Christian population in Israel has more than quadrupled since 1948. Why? Israel guarantees religious freedom, whereas the Palestinian Authority offers an official religion of Islam. What has happened in the Palestinian Authority is that the protective hand of Israel has been lifted as it has been forced under international pressure, to give Arafat and the Palestinian Authority more and more autonomy to run its own territory. It's time for the whole world to recognize the mini-holocaust taking place against Christians in the Middle East. It's time to punish those guilty of these atrocities, specifically those in charge of the Palestinian Authority. And for God's sake, they must not be rewarded with a state of their own.

Dec. 30….(FOJ) The Bible and its fundamental doctrines are under a very subtle Satanic attack today. The most damaging attacks today are not necessarily the ones emanating from the atheist or secular world, but from the popular Christian cultural community that dominates the modern church generation. What makes today’s generation of cultural Christians unique and so dangerous is that the principle attackers are purported believers. And what’s more, they don’t even know that they are tools of the attack.
Furthermore, they are naively preparing the Last Days world stage for the gospel of the Antichrist. Now let me be emphatic about one point, it is possible to be a believer in the Bible and yet not be a Christian. Satan himself knows the Bible exceptionally well. He believes in God! Yet Satan has fought God’s word from the very beginning, and continues to oppose God and to entice people with sweet spiritual seductions. Having failed in his efforts to destroy God’s word, Satan has changed his strategy in recent decades and begun to change the Bible through a multitude of re-translations, and modernization programs and worship schemes. The tragic result is that today we have produced a generation of 'cultural Christians' that lusts for religious entertainment and emotionalism. The modern praise and worship trend is a byproduct of our new cultural Christianity. Most Americans have been raised in a Christian culture, and identify with Christianity whether they are born-again or not. Unfortunately the plain simple truth of God’s word is being replaced with a fairy tale gospel. Today in the modern cultural church we have a long buffet line of spiritual messages and worship styles including a positive thinking gospel, a prosperity gospel, a success oriented gospel, an emotion-riddled feel-good gospel, a youth oriented action gospel complete with punk rock or modern contemporary tunes, a hip song and dance wave gospel, and a celebrity oriented celebration gospel, and the list goes on and on. The cultural Christianity is entirely focused on attracting young people into church. Out with the old and in with the young! Lets change with the times! Gone are grand old hymns like “The Old rugged Cross, and, “Are you washed in the Blood.” I am constantly being told that I must change or else the Church is going to lose the younger generation! Well, I was young once too, and the old fashioned preaching of the Gospel, without compromise and preached with a fervent passion for Biblical truth was what drew me to become a Christian at the age of five, and to love my Church at every age-stage of my life. I am afraid that the modern cultural of Churchianity is nothing more than another trick of Satan, and is leading us into right into the apostate Church age of the Tribulation era! We don’t need more entertainment in Church today, and we don’t need more youth programs or worship and praise programs. We simply need more in-the-word Holy Spirit empowered Bible preaching! (II Peter 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.) Jesus forewarned us that in the days just prior to his return to this world that the Church of the Last Days would be engulfed in a whirlwind of spiritual delusion and fables! (II Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.)

Dec. 30….(USA TODAY) The Bush Administration appears to be making surprising headway in its effort to reduce Iraq's huge international debt load. Japan, owed more than any other government outside the Arab world, said today that it is ready "to eliminate the vast majority of its Iraqi debt" if other creditors also do so, and China said it will consider "a relatively large cut" in its claim. The positive comments were the latest in a series from officials across Europe and Asia in response to requests from James Baker, the U.S. envoy seeking relief of Iraq's debt. Virtually all of Iraq's obligations, which are estimated at $120 billion to $400 billion, were incurred during the rule of Saddam Hussein. U.S. officials have warned that forcing Iraq to repay it all could cripple the country's return to economic viability. Japan is owed at least $4 billion in principal alone. Baker's successes so far are preliminary, are mostly rhetorical and represent only a dent in the total that Iraq owes Arab governments, other nations and companies around the world. Including war reparations and contracts signed while Saddam was in power, Iraq's obligations are estimated to be more than 10 times the nation's entire yearly economic output. The rhetorical shift among Iraq's creditors marks a dramatic reversal and a better start to Baker's mission than many analysts expected. Just two months ago, officials from Japan, Russia, France and Germany were insisting that Iraq was rich enough in oil reserves and human potential to eventually repay most of its debts. At the time, diplomats said Iraq should honor all of its obligations to win more aid, investment and credit. But particularly in light of the capture of Saddam earlier this month, many countries have come to see debt relief as a way of signaling support for the U.S.-led effort in Iraq without giving up much. (FOJ Note: Perhaps they are afraid of what Saddam could reveal) Many of the biggest pledges of debt relief came after the Bush administration said it wouldn't award Iraq reconstruction contracts to countries that had refused to support the U.S.-led war and rebuilding efforts. President Bush suggested contracts would be more accessible to nations that offered debt relief and other aid. Russia has made it clear it wants its interests in developing Iraqi oil fields taken more seriously in return for debt relief. Baker was secretary of State under the first President Bush and Treasury secretary under President Reagan. Some foreign leaders see Baker, a longtime friend of the Bush family, as a direct line into the Oval Office who can provide a high likelihood that their efforts to curry favor will succeed.

Iranian Earthquake Reflects Truth About the Middle East

Dec. 30….(Dennis Prager) How deep is the hatred of Israel and Jews is in most of the Muslim world? If you want to understand the Middle East conflict, Iran has just provided all you need to know. A massive earthquake kills between 20,000 and 40,000 Iranians, and the government of Iran announces that help is welcome from every country in the world, except Israel. This little-reported news item is of great significance. It begs commentary. Israel not only has the world's most experienced crews in quickly finding survivors in bombed out buildings, it is also a mere two-hour flight from Iran. In other words, no country in the world would come close to Israel in its ability to save Iranian lives quickly. But none of this means anything to the rulers of Iran. The Islamic government of Iran has announced to the world that it is better for fellow countrymen and fellow Muslims, men, women and children to die buried under rubble than to be saved by a Jew from Israel. That is how deep the hatred of Israel and Jews is in much of the Muslim world. Hundreds of millions of Muslims, Arab and non-Arab, Sunni and Shia hate Israel more than they love life. Naive Westerners, which includes most academics, intellectuals, members of the international news media, and nearly all others on the left, refuse to acknowledge the uniqueness of the Arab-Muslim hatred of Israel and Jews. Yet, there is no hatred in the world analogous to it. Not since the Nazi hatred of Jews has humanity witnessed such hate. That is why Palestinian parents celebrate the suicide terror of their sons, the joy of killing Israeli families far outweighs the pain of the death of their child. Surely the Iranian refusal of rescuers from the Jewish state ought to help all these people acknowledge the unique hatred that is at the root of the Arab-Israeli dispute and recognize it is, therefore, a conflict unlike any other on earth. So, too, the immediate and sincere Israeli offer of rescuers to Iran should make the moral gulf between Israel and its enemies as clear as day. Despite the fact that Iran is the greatest backer of anti-Israel (and anti-American) terror and despite the fact that Iran repeatedly declares that Israel must be annihilated, Israel offered to send its people to save Iranian lives. The two reactions, Iran's preference for Iranian deaths to Israeli help and the Jewish state's instinctive offer to help save Iranian lives, ought to be enough anyone needs to understand the source of the Middle East conflict.

Dec. 30….(BP) Satan is a created being. He shares none of the attributes of Almighty God, not omniscience, omnipresence, nor omnipotence, meaning that he is limited in knowledge and space and power. When it comes to predicting what God is going to do next, Satan has to rely on what he can figure out, what he remembers from the timeless past when he resided in heaven as a favorite angel, and what he reads in Holy Scripture. Since the Holy Spirit does not enlighten his understanding, Satan sees as the world sees, not with the mind of Christ. Once we understand this, a hundred puzzles fall into place. The Apostle Paul pointed out that had Satan known what God was up to, he would never have crucified Jesus. One might say that God pulled the wool over the devil's eyes and fooled him. On that first Easter Sunday morning, an imp rushed into the presence of his satanic majesty, interrupting the two-day celebration over the death of Jesus. The demon breathlessly announced that the tomb was empty, the body gone, and the soldiers looked like they had seen a ghost. Satan spewed out his champagne and cursed. He had been had and he knew it. He had played right into God's hands and was defeated. Sometimes in biblical history, we see that the Lord manipulated Satan and at other times, the Lord used subterfuge to fool His enemy. Christmas is one of those times. Satan can read. He knew from Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. What he did not know was the timing of the Savior's birth. So, in another of his endless efforts to thwart the purposes of God, Satan pulled in demons from around the world to concentrate on the Holy Land, specifically the region around Bethlehem. They served as Satan's spies and were charged with keeping an eye out for godly young couples about to have babies. Satan was lying in wait for the Messiah.
The first thing God did was to choose a man and woman not from Bethlehem, but from Nazareth, far to the north. Secondly, He saw to it that the woman's purity and morality would be doubted. The devil can count; he knows it takes nine months to make a baby. He had no way of knowing of Gabriel's visits to Mary and Joseph or of the miraculous conception of this Baby. If he heard at all of this young Nazarene couple, he quickly discounted them, certain that the God he remembered from heaven would never deign to use obvious sinners for so holy a role. The third thing God did was to arrange to move Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem in time for the birth, but not so as to draw attention to themselves. When Caesar Augustus put out a call for a census of the empire, God had put it in his heart. "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes," as the Bible says in Proverbs 21:1. Mary and Joseph were among thousands returning to their ancestral homes for the census. Perhaps the roads experienced a primitive form of gridlock. With Bethlehem's inns and available homes filled, the young couple took the only thing offered to them, a stable. "She brought forth her firstborn son and laid him in a manger, for there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). If the devil's imps were vigilant, they would have dismissed the young family camping out in a barn for good reason. The God whom Satan remembered from heaven resided in a level of glory unimagined on earth. Satan was unsure of a lot of things, but one thing he knew, God in heaven would not allow His Son to be born in a barn. Doubtless he had told his demons to check the finest homes for the most illustrious surroundings and outstanding parents. But the Lord fooled him. "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:27). This is a basic lesson of spiritual warfare which historically Satan seems incapable of grasping. To this day, no carnal mind believes it. When Jesus was born, God prepared a welcoming committee of the lowliest people on the planet, shepherds primarily to reassure the young parents that all was well. Satan had no way of seeing the angels that appeared to these sheepherders that night or hearing their clues on how to identify the Baby. "And this will be a sign unto you: you will find a Baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12). No one noticed or cared when a small company of ragtag shepherds ran breathlessly through the village looking for, what else? a stable. Later, after Joseph had moved his little family into a house in Bethlehem, a delegation of foreign visitors arrived. These "magi from the east" had created no small stir in Jerusalem as they naively announced their search for the one "born king of the Jews" (Matthew 2). From the gifts they presented, Joseph was able to finance a sudden trip to Egypt made necessary when murderous King Herod sent soldiers on a search-and-destroy mission for the babies of Bethlehem. Satan would have fumed to learn that the objects of his wrath were already out of town, slowly making their way toward Egypt where they would remain until Herod's death. Eventually, when the holy family re-entered the country, they moved to Nazareth where Joseph opened his carpentry shop. Satan had lost Jesus. Jesus grew up with a normal Jewish childhood in Nazareth. The first the devil learned of Jesus' identity was the day the Lord stepped into the waters of the Jordan and waded to John the Baptist. Nudged by the Holy Spirit, John called out, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" And that's how everyone learned that the Messiah was Jesus from Nazareth. Jesus' baptism was His coming out. The gloves were off. God in heaven was saying, "There He is, devil! Do your worst. We're ready." The game was afoot; the battle was joined. It came to a head one day three years later on a hill outside Jerusalem. For a couple of days, Satan reveled in his victory. Then, on that first Easter Sunday morning, an imp came running in, all out of breath yelling to Satan….He is risen!

Dec. 29….(World Net Daily) Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi provided al-Qaida with chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction before changing heart and agreeing to destroy his arms program, Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin has learned. Libyan intelligence chief Musa Kussa told U.S. and UK spy agencies that tens of thousands of weapons had been produced at 10 secret sites in the country. Kussa has named hundreds of what he termed "sleeper" al-Qaida agents in Britain and the U.S. Gadhafi's dramatic turnaround has earned him a future meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush. He was welcomed back onto the world stage with the understanding that his help to Osama bin Laden would never officially be mentioned. Kussa escorted British officials to Libya's secret sites on what was described as "the best bus tour in intelligence history." Not only has that new intelligence led to heightened terror alerts in the U.S. and Britain, but the agreement has prompted new threats on Gadhafi's life by al-Qaida terrorists.
In what one intelligence officer later called an "extraordinarily detailed debrief," Kussa revealed to U.S. and Bristish intelligence:

Dec. 29….(World Net Daily) With the death toll from Iran's devastating earthquake soaring toward 40,000, and the Islamic republic's leaders openly acknowledging that as much outside help as possible is vital to limit the number of dead and suffering, Iranian officials are refusing to accept aid from only one nation, Israel. Tehran officials stressed the need for sniffer dogs and aid equipment, medicines, blankets and tents, over volunteers. But in the midst of the world's most serious earthquake since 25,000 were killed in the western Indian state of Gujarat in 2001, Tehran continued its longstanding hostility toward Israel, declaring it would not accept its assistance. "The Islamic Republic of Iran accepts all kinds of humanitarian aid from all countries and international organizations with the exception of the Zionist regime," Jahanbakhsh Khanjani, a spokesman for Iran's Interior Ministry, said following word that unofficial Israeli sources were considering sending aid to Iran. Earlier, Israel's foreign minister Sylvan Shalom offered condolences and suggested the Middle East foes should set aside their differences for the sake of the victims. "The Government and people of Israel are moved by the human tragedy experienced by the Iranian people and believe that despite all differences a mobilization of the whole international community is needed to come to the help of families of the victims and wounded," Shalom said in a statement, according to Israel News Agency. Israel considers the Islamic regime the world's "No. 1 terror nation" due to its support for terror groups like Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.
President George W. Bush, who labeled Iran part of the "axis of evil" along with North Korea and the former regime in Iraq for alleged production of weapons of mass destruction, similarly offered his condolences and pledged humanitarian aid even though Washington has no diplomatic ties with Tehran.
"We stand ready to help the people of Iran," said Bush in a statement.

WEEK OF DECEMBER 22 THROUGH DECEMBER 28

 

Israel Seeks to Avoid Middle East Disarmament Fest

Dec. 26….(Ha Aretz) The American effort to neutralize security threats gradually in the Mideast has recently produced some marked improvements in Israel's strategic environment. Iraq has been conquered, Iran was forced to expand international supervision of its nuclear facilities, Libya promised to dismantle its nonconventional weapons, and Jerusalem believes that Syria will be next in line. The Arab world, led by Egypt, has responded with the expected demand that Israel also join the regional disarmament fest. The equally predictable response from Israel stressed its lack of faith in its enemies' promises, and insisted that the danger has not yet passed. But if the Iranians and Libyans keep their word, Israel is likely to encounter growing skepticism about its need for wide security margins, and be asked to do its bit toward changes in the region. The United States has made it clear that it does not intend to deal with Israel's nuclear capabilities now. "I don't think there will be a change in policy toward Israel in the nuclear field," a senior American official said this week. "The Arabs will raise the issue, and Israel will need to find a way to explain its policy. But we understand that as long as Israel is facing Arab rejectionism from so many directions, the way to deal with this is via quiet discussions."

 

Wars And Rumors of War From Iran

Dec. 26….(World Net Daily) Iran's minister of defense yesterday threatened Israel with a long-range missile attack should the Jewish state hit any nuclear facilities in the country. "We will strike Israel with all weapons at our disposal, if the Zionist regime ventures to do so," Ali Shamkhani told the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's government-controlled news outlet. Iran possesses Shahab-3 missiles with a range of 800 miles. Israel is about 600 miles west of Iran. Shamkhani was responding to a statement by Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Israel Radio's Persian-language broadcast last week, Haaretz reports, in which he implied that Israel would destroy Iran's nuclear reactors if it was thought necessary for Israel's safety. "The Islamic Republic of Iran will strongly deal with the action against its national territory. The Israeli threat emanates from its evil literature. It is too cowardly to threaten Iran," Shamkhani is quoted as saying. "The Zionist regime knows that the armed forces of the Islamic republic, and especially its air force, have such high capabilities that if Israel carries out a military attack against Iran, it will be digging its own grave," the commander of the Iranian air force, Gen. Seyed Reza Pardis told the Iranian news agency Mehr. Iranian President Mohammed Khatami said Israel would be "swept away" if it dared to attack Iran.

 

Syria, Egypt: Israel Must Give Up Nukes

Dec. 26….(AP) Syria and Egypt dismissed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's call for Arab nations to follow his lead and get rid of weapons of mass destruction, insisting Wednesday that Israel must first eliminate its suspected nuclear arsenal. Gadhafi's remark was seen as being aimed at Syria. U.S. officials have repeatedly said that Syria has chemical weapons and is sponsoring terrorism. Syria denies the charge. Egypt has failed to ratify the chemical weapons convention and reportedly used such weapons when it intervened in Yemen's civil war in the 1960s. It is unclear whether Egypt has still has chemical weapons. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell ( ratcheted up the pressure Wednesday, urging Syria to "get out of the hole" of being an international pariah. "You need to start getting rid of weapons of mass destruction programs, stop supporting terrorist activities which destabilize the region and come out and start participating in the 21st century world that has benefits for you. Gadhafi also said that if other nations abandon weapons of mass destruction, it would increase pressure on Israel to do likewise. "Israel should not expect to be the last country in the Middle East to be free of weapons of mass destruction," Egyptian spokesman el-Baz told reporters. Israel has never denied nor confirmed having nuclear bombs, but it is widely believed to have them. Those suspicions were echoed again this month by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Assad and Mubarak stressed "current developments in the Middle East demonstrate the need to declare the Middle East a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction, starting with Israel."

Merry Christmas 2003

Dec. 24…..Focus on Jerusalem Prophecy Ministry would like to take this opportunity to wish all of its readers a Merry Christmas. This prophecy ministry is a labor of love for me, a love for my personal Savior whose birthday we celebrate at this time. Although December 25 is not his actual birthday, it is very important that we celebrate his birth. For if God had never sent his son into the world, born of a virgin, we would all be without hope for all eternity! I have noticed how the very name of “Jesus” has become such an offensive and politically incorrect name to use in public anymore. Many places are simply referring to this time of year as the “holiday season”, choosing to eliminate the word “Christmas” from this blessed occasion. But God foreordained (I Peter 1:20) before the creation of the world that he would send his own son (God in the flesh) (John 1:14) to become the propitiation for the sins of mankind. The wonderful and miraculous birth of Jesus Christ is the event that stands as the Light to this world. He was born in the little town of Bethlehem about 2005 years ago. He was rejected of his own nation, and was “cut off” (crucified-caught up) for a time. (Isaiah 53 and Daniel 9:26, Revelation 12:5) But this very same Jesus is coming back to this world again! The countdown signal for his second coming is the gathered remnant of the seed of Israel, and the burdensome problems that their mere existence in the Promised Land is causing this wicked old world. That day is near. And so, as I say Merry Christmas to all, I would reiterate to you now the last lines of majestic book of The Revelation; He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
    Micah 5:2-3 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

 

Russia May Waive Iraqi Oil Debt

Dec. 24….(New York Times) Russia has offered to forgive more than half of Iraq's $8 billion debt to Russia, officials of Iraq's interim government said here on Monday, after the Iraqis signaled that Russia would have the chance to revive oil contracts signed during the Saddam Hussein era. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the current president of the American-backed Iraqi Governing Council, said President Vladimir V. Putin proposed in talks with the Iraqis to wipe out 65 percent of Iraq's Soviet-era debts to Russia in return for favorable treatment of Russian oil and other companies. "We received a generous promise to write off the debt, or at least a part of it," Mr. Hakim said after meeting with Mr. Putin in the Kremlin. In return, "we will be open to all Russian companies," he added. "Russia said it is willing to consider the write-off of the rest of the debt if it received beneficial treatment in terms of oil contracts," added Jalal Talabani, a member of the Iraqi delegation. Russia, one of Iraq's biggest creditors, wants the write-off negotiated through the Paris Club, a group of 19 creditor nations that negotiates debt. "Iraq is a free market," said Mr. Talabani. "All companies and countries will be considered." However, the Iraqis singled out the oil giant Lukoil, Russia's No. 2 oil producer, for a meeting on Monday, as it tries to win back rights to the rich West Qurna oil field in Iraq. Lukoil's chairman, Vagit Alekperov, said that the high-profile Iraq visit "makes us certain that talks will begin soon with the Iraqi oil minister and will be successful." The original agreement on exploring the field, ended by Saddam Hussein just prior to the invasion of Iraq in March, was signed in March 1997. The United States has been seeking international support to reduce Iraq's roughly $125 billion in debt, despite the Defense Department's recent exclusion of countries like France, Germany and Russia, which opposed the war in Iraq, as prime bidders on reconstruction contracts. President Bush has said he is open to discussing access to other contracts. Iraq has the world's second-largest oil reserves, after Saudi Arabia. The country currently produces about 2.5 million barrels of crude a day, said Mr. Talabani, and he estimated that Iraq could return to 4 million by the beginning of 2005.
FOJ Note: The waiver of Iraqi debt by Russia is an important event. Russia views the Qurna oil fields as being a vital profit venture for the Russian economy. Russia will be greatly annoyed if the Iraqi oil contracts aren’t given to Lukoil, and go elsewhere, especially to Exxon or Mobil. (US) The international oil industry is a key component in the Middle East end-times scenario, and Iraq is a key regional block for the controls of this commodity. Former Secretary of State James Baker has been dispatched by the Bush Administration to coordinate the international Iraqi debt relief initiatives. 

 

Palestinian Statehood is Coming in 2004

Dec. 24….(JNEWSIRE) The Middle East News Line reports that Israeli Prime Minister Saron has acceded to a Bush administration demand that an interim Palestinian state be established in the entire Gaza Strip and most of Judea and Samaria during 2004. This state will come into being whether or not Palestinian terrorism continues and whether or not the Palestinian Authority cracks down on the terror groups, according to the MENL. It is believed that the establishment of Palestine will have a powerfully positive effect on President George W. Bush's aspirations for re-election later in the year. The US proposal for Israel to recognize an interim Palestinian state in the coming year was reportedly predicated on the Washington-sponsored Road Map plan, which calls for a de facto Palestinian state to be established in 2003, and its final borders to be determined by 2005. But whereas the Road Map stipulated that there first be an end to terrorism and the disarming and dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure in the PA areas, something the PA simply refused to do, this new proposal apparently will award the Palestinians a state without demanding any Palestinian action. The MENL report states that, Sharon has accepted a US proposal for an interim Palestinian state in 2004 regardless of Palestinian Authority agreement to end the more than three-year-old war and dismantle Palestinian insurgency groups. Sharon no longer believes that any chance exists for negotiating a meaningful peace treaty with any Palestinian Arab leaders, yet he is set to begin his "disengagement plan" during April 2004. In his globally publicized speech announcing this plan last week, Sharon said he would give the Palestinians a little more time to carry out their Road Map obligation to fight terrorism. If the PA remained adamant in its refusal to do so, the Sharon government would then move unilaterally to separate Israel from the Palestinians. The security fence Israel is currently constructing could serve as a dividing wall between the two peoples. The reports, if true, indicate that Israel, long the world's chief champion of the terror-combating maxim never to negotiate with terrorists, will be rewarding the Palestinian Arabs' years of Jew-massacring with the state they committed innumerable murders to obtain. Sharon has bowed to US demands for this state, it will also mean Israel will be permanently relinquishing great chunks of its ancient homeland in order to boost President George W. Bush's re-election chances in November. In other words, the American leader will have asked Israel to risk self-destruction in order to ensure his victory at the polls, and to further the overall Bush Middle East Doctrine. Many Bible believers, persuaded by Scripture that the Lord God of Israel will not sit idly by while His land is so divided, are bracing for a divine response.

 

Arab Muslims Painting Christians as Warmongers

Dec. 24….(FOJ) CBN recently aired a story about rumors and conspiracy theories that seem to run rampant through the Arab world. The Arab news stories that generate the most interest these days is that the U.S. has launched a Christian holy war against Islam. And the latest theory being pushed by Arab State owned media in nations that receive billions of dollars in US foreign aid is that American Christian fundamentalism is behind an American war on Islam. Residents living under Arab regimes have almost no experience with a free press, and in the wake of the U.S. military campaign in Iraq, there is widespread freedom to vent hatred of the United States and Israel. Some of the most violent talk is coming from nations the U.S. would like to call its friends such as Egypt. On a recent political talk show via the al Jezeera network a poll question asked: "Are the Muslims facing a new crusade?" Out of 677 people responding 645 voted "yes," and only 32 voted "no." Bible teaching is a death sentence in most Muslim countries, and government-approved broadcasters paint a sinister picture of the Christian faith practiced by President Bush and American evangelical Christians. One Muslim broadcaster said, "Bush declared that he was launching a war in the name of heaven, and that God has chosen the American people to wage this war. We Arabs are facing an extremist organization t(Christianity) that has ruled the U.S. for many years. They have are 80 million followers. The American Church believes that occupying Iraq is a part of the battle of Armageddon before the return of Jesus, and that the destruction of the Al Aqsa mosque (in Jerusalem) is necessary before the return of Jesus. It's a Christian and Jewish alliance to fulfill their Messianic prophecy between the Nile and the Euphrates."

Bush Declares: "We Must Get Rid of Arafat"

Dec. 23….(Arab Press) US President George W. Bush told an Israeli journalist that "we must get rid of" Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot daily has reported. Bush's comments came in a brief exchange with the paper's correspondent during a Christmas party in Washington, several hours after a keynote speech by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Thursday in which he outlined plans for unilateral disengagement from peace negotiations with the Palestinians. The US government has boycotted Arafat with Bush accusing the veteran leader of failing the Palestinian people. Israel has also shunned the 74-year-old, branding him an absolute obstacle to peace and confining him to his West Bank headquarters for more than two years. Israel's security cabinet approved Arafat's "removal" in September, with one minister even suggesting that he could be assassinated, but Washington warned Israel not to even make an attempt to expel him, let alone assassinate him.

 

The Libyan-Israel Nuke Shell Game

Dec. 23….(FOJ) It has been a week of sweet vindication for those who promoted what has become known as the Bush Middle East Doctrine. Beginning with the capture of Saddam Hussein a week ago and ending last riday with an agreement by Libya's Moammar Gaddafi to surrender his unconventional weapons, one after another international problem seems to have eased. The Bush Doctrine, a policy of taking preemptive, unprovoked action against emerging threats predicted that an impressive U.S. victory in Iraq would intimidate allies and foes alike, making them yield to U.S. interests in other areas. The capture of Saddam Hussein may have served as a domino catalyst on other rogue states and dictators. Since then, Libya has agreed to end its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and allow international inspectors to enter the country and search for such weapons. President Bush said Libya's decision would be "of great importance" in stopping weapons of mass destruction in the global fight against terrorism. Libya has long been on the US sponsors of terrorism list and played a role as a haven for terrorists. Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi has also admitted trying to develop weapons of mass destruction and now plans to halt all such programs, Bush said. Libya also admitted to cooperating with North Korea to develop scud missiles. Muammer Qaddafi took less than a week to assimilate the ignominy of fellow dictator Saddam Hussein’s surrender, and decided to follow a new game plan.
Libya’s Nuclear Weapons Program vs. Israel’s Nuke Program
   Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned last summer that Libya may well attain a nuke before Iran. Accepting the estimate that Iran will reach its target in the course of 2004 or early 2005, Libya would have had a nuclear bomb by mid-2004. Quadaffi’s admission that Libya was aided by North Korea in its nuclear weapons program at its top-secret underground site in the southeastern Sahara desert was striking. The nuke team in Libya was made up of North Korean scientists, engineers and technicians, as well as 200-300 Iraqi nuclear scientists. The Iraq-Libya dictators were therefore partners in the development of a nuclear bomb. If Ariel Sharon’s intelligence was correct, then the deposed Iraqi ruler would have been in a position to arm himself with a jointly-funded nuclear weapon at the same time as Qaddafi, by mid-2004. With Iraq now knocked out of the equation, North Korea, Iran and Libya still maintained a working tripartite axis for developing nuclear weapons. But the Axis of Evil may have just lost a partner in Libya. Ironically Qaddafi by quitting the nuclear race, may have rung a warning bell in Israel. If the Bush Middle East Doctrine manages to dispose of Iran’s nuclear program and encircle Syria’s terrorist haven, attention may become focused on Israel as the only remaining nuclear power in the Middle East. UN nuclear weapons inspector chief Al Baradei has already called upon Israel to disarm itself from its nuclear weapons.

 

Russia Deploys Strategic Nuclear Missiles

Dec. 23….(Washington Times) Russia has deployed another batch of state-of-the-art intercontinental nuclear missiles after a two-year break in the program caused by a funding shortage. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov inaugurated the new set of Topol-M missiles at the Tatishchevo missile base in the central Saratov region Sunday, describing them as a "21st-Century weapon" unrivaled in the world. "This is the most advanced state-of-the-art missile in the world," Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in remarks broadcast by Russian television stations Monday. "Only such weapons can ensure and guarantee our sovereignty and security and make any attempts to put military pressure on Russia absolutely pointless." The Topol-M missiles, capable of hitting targets more than more than 6,000 miles away, so far have been deployed in silos. Its mobile version, mounted on a heavy off-road vehicle, is set to become operational next year.

 

The Libyian Ruse

Dec. 23….(Joseph Farah) Libya and its allies in the Middle East would like you to believe Muammar Ghadafy has had a change of heart and has simply decided unilaterally to abandon the development of nuclear warheads and other weapons of mass destruction.
Here are the real possibilities behind Libya's announcement:

• International sanctions against the country have truly hurt the economy;
• Libya has found a good place to hide its weapons of mass destruction and feels comfortable they can never be found by international arms inspectors;
• Libya is fearful it may be next on the hit list of terror-supporting countries in the Middle East.

Whatever the motivations for the announcement, and no matter how much validity there is to what Ghadafy says, one thing is certain: The move will be used as leverage to launch a new propaganda assault against Israel's nuclear arsenal. What do I mean? How will this work? There is little doubt in anyone's mind that Israel possesses sufficient nuclear warheads and delivery systems to destroy every capital in the Arab world. Of course, Israel has never been considered a threat by anyone to launch a nuclear attack against any of its neighbors unless its very existence was threatened. Israel has an excellent track record in this respect. It has fought several major conventional wars where it was outnumbered and outgunned by its enemies, but it never resorted to using non-conventional weapons. But mark my words. You are about to see the international pressure raised on Israel to abandon nuclear weapons. You are about to see the Arab powers try to shift focus from their weapons programs to Israel's existing nuclear arsenal. You are about to see this become another issue used by the "international community" to batter the beleaguered Jewish state. There is a difference, of course, between a nuclear weapons program by Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia or Syria and one by Israel. No one in his right mind would trust Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia or Syria with nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction. And Israel has proven it can be trusted. There's also a good reason for wanting Israel to remain armed with nuclear weapons. They ensure that no foreign enemy will ever be able to destroy Israel in war, and that is a good thing. It is one of the reasons we have seen no major Arab-Israeli war in 30 years. We need to be able to make moral distinctions between Israel and its Arab neighbors. We cannot begin to treat them as if they are moral equivalents. They are not. Israel is a pro-Western, self-governing, free nation, the only one in the region. Israel's Arab neighbors are largely anti-American, anti-Jewish, anti-Christian dictatorships. To make it even simpler, one side in this conflict is basically good and the other is basically evil. I say this with no racial or ethnic animosity whatsoever, but as an Arab-American. Israel's enemies, and they include many other nations throughout the world besides the Arabs, will do anything, say anything, try anything to defeat the Jewish state. They tried conventional arms in four major wars. They tried to build non-conventional weapons. They tried propaganda. They tried the unconventional approach of guerrilla war and terrorism. Campaigning like a group of Greenpeace activists will almost certainly be the next ploy.
Muammar Ghadafy has been nominated to star in this latest production on the international stage.
Don't be confused. Just as it is perfectly logical, perfectly moral and perfectly necessary for American to employ the world's largest nuclear arsenal, it is also logical, moral and necessary for Israel to maintain the largest nuclear arsenal in the Middle East.

WEEK OF DECEMBER 15 THROUGH DECEMBER 20

Syria and Iran Next in War on Terror?

Dec. 18….(World Tribune) The United States is expected to target the regimes in Iran and Syria in the next stage of the war against Islamic insurgents. A report by the U.S. Institute for Peace has warned that the war that began with Afghanistan and then Iraq could include multiple targets. The most likely targets are Iran and Syria. The institute, which is under the auspices of Congress and contains leading U.S. analysts, said in the report that Stage 3 of the U.S. war against terrorism would be significantly different from previous phases. The next stage of the war could be very explosive. The report, entitled "Phase three in the War on Terror," said the United States would not find many terrorist targets for an air or missile attack in either Iran or Syria. Both countries are on the State Department list of terrorist sponsors. Taking the war on terrorism into Iran or Syria would not be a bombing campaign, but a protracted ground war. As a result, the United States would require a much larger military force than that used in Iraq. Damascus would be certain to resist and any U.S. invasion of Syria and such a war could damage Washington's interests in the Arab world. Although the clerical regime in Teheran is unpopular, and the Baath regime in Damascus is widely scorned, they are not universally loathed as was Hussein's regime. The report raised the prospect that Iran and Syria would use Hizbullah to strike U.S. interests in the Middle East and other regions. Hizbullah is probably more lethal than Al Qaida, the report said, with a presence in Asia, Europe and South America. The report did not rule out a Hizbullah attack on the continental United States. As a result, the United States would be forced to invade Lebanon as well as Syria, the report said. Israel has tried a military solution to the Hizbullah problem for 20 years, but its efforts have been futile thus far. Hizbullah could activate its cells in America. The Peace Institute recommended heavy U.S. pressure on Syria to halt Hizbullah actions. Hizbullah is a tactical tool for Damascus. Pressure on Iran could also help cut Hizbullah's global network.
FOJ Note: Many people laugh and scorn at me because I have regularly reported that Syria and the Burden of Damascus loom ominously on the prophetic horizon. But as this report indicates, the President and the US Congress, and the Defense Department are serious about confronting the threat of international terrorism, with stage three in that war spotlighting the Syrian theatre.

 

Israel’s Security Fence is Not A Problem

Dec. 18….(FOJ) While the Palestinian Authority presents its case before the UN and before the Hague demanding that the security fence that Israel is building along the old green line in Israel represents a land annexation program, the truth is that the fence is merely a symbol of Arafat’s dishonesty, and failure to erect a security force in the areas that Israel tried to relinquish into his control. The security fence is not a problem. Even after its completion, “the fence can be removed” after somebody on the Arafat-PLO side demonstrates a willingness and power to enforce some kind of security guarantees! The Berlin Wall came down, didn’t it? But of course, this is an item that will someday be falsely accomplished by the Antichrist!

ADL Poll: Americans Strongly Support Israel

Dec. 17….(ADL) A recent survey of American attitudes toward the Middle East performed by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) revealed that Americans continue to stand behind Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and are positive about the US-Israel relationship. A nationwide poll conducted by the Marttila Communications Group found encouraging supportive attitudes by Americans toward Israel. Forty percent of Americans sympathize with Israel in the dispute between Israeli and the Palestinians whereas only 15% sympathize with the Palestinians. About 39% of Americans surveyed consider the Palestinians to be responsible for the current violence in the Middle East while only 16% blame the Israelis. The poll showed that 42% of Americans think that the Israelis and their leader Ariel Sharon are genuinely interested in reaching a long term peace agreement and only 36% thought the real goal of Sharon and Israel is to squeeze the Palestinians into the smallest territory possible. When similar questions were asked about the Palestinians and Yasir Arafat, the poll showed that 57% believe the real goal of Arafat and the Palestinians is to destroy Israel. The survey also showed that an overwhelming 75% majority of Americans believe that the US has a special relationship with Israel because of the shared values, including commitment to freedom and democracy. The most significant finding shows that 73% of Americans agree that the US is more likely to be targeted for terrorist attack because of support for Israel. Interestingly, 62% believe that the US should still continue supporting Israel, even if it means a greater risk of terrorist attacks against America in the future. On the contrary, the Euro-barometer, a survey conducted for the European Union, showed that 59% of Europeans rated Israel as the greatest threat to world peace and 53% named the US as the second greatest threat. These results confirm a dynamic that has been underway in Europe for some time, helping to create a climate in which anti-Semitism flourishes.

 

North Korea Increasing Missiles to Mid-east

Dec. 17….(Middle East News Line) North Korea has reportedly delivered over 400 ballistic missiles to clients in the Middle East and sharply increased sales over the last year. A South Korean watchdog agency reports that the best clients of North Korea are Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

 

Zionists Plan Emergency Congress in Jerusalem

Dec. 17….(JNewswire) Zionists are working to convene an emergency congress in Jerusalem in the face of increasingly determined local and international efforts to push through the creation of a Palestinian state in the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. Zionist leaders from both the Jewish and Evangelical Christian communities are being invited to the capital in February, amid reports that an increasing number of key right-wing Israeli government officials are surrendering to the "inevitability" of Palestine. It is expected that in his re-election bid for the presidency in the coming months, US President George W. Bush will give added emphasis to his vision for a two-state solution, "Israel and Palestine living side by side."

 

New Iraqi Foreign Minister Slams U.N.

Dec. 17….(Washington Times) Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari yesterday chastised war opponents at the U.N. Security Council, and the United Nations itself, for failing to help the Iraqi people during three decades of Saddam Hussein's brutal reign. Although he did not list names, France, Russia and Germany were prominent among the countries that resisted a Security Council resolution authorizing the war in Iraq. "One year ago, this Security Council was divided between those who wanted to appease Saddam Hussein and those who wanted to hold him accountable," Mr. Zebari said dispassionately in an address to the 15-member council. "The U.N. as an organization failed to help rescue the Iraqi people from a murderous tyranny that lasted over 35 years, and today we are unearthing thousands of victims in horrifying testament to that failure. "The U.N. must not fail the Iraqi people again," Mr. Zebari asked in a plea that Secretary-General Kofi Annan return international staffers to Baghdad for relief work and nation-building assistance. "We call upon the members of the United Nations to look beyond their differences over the decision to go to war on Iraq and come together to forge an international consensus," the foreign minister said. Settling scores with the United States should not be at the cost of helping to bring stability to the Iraqi people.

 

The Unspeakable Price of a Palestinian State

Dec. 17….(FOJ) As President Bush pushes forward with his Middle East Doctrine, and the world pushes forth its Roadmap, (and other false peace processes) it seems to be lost on the Christian mindset what the price would ultimately be as we sit by and watch the creation of a Palestinian state in the biblical heartland of Israel. It would not only be a reward to terrorism, but it would also result in the following eventualities:

·        It would lend empowerment to the strategy of the Great Red Dragon to compel the world to plot the end of the Jewish people as a race and the end of Israel as a nation.

·        It would also lend support to the evolution of the religion of the False Prophet and the eventual extinction of true Bible-believing Christianity in the world, giving case to the rise of the Antichrist!

    Creating Palestine in the biblical heartland of Israel, and dissecting the city of Jerusalem and its Temple Mount from Israel would render the Jews as an impotent nation, surrounded by a host of enemies sworn to their destruction. It would also sever the traditional Judeo-Christian lifeline that has nourished and helped to keep the State of Israel alive since 1948. It would also shatter the biblical foundations on which much of true Christianity truly stands. The Bible reveals that Jehovah was the one who designated the slither of land we today know as Israel and Palestine as the national home of the descendants Jacob, or the man He renamed Israel. In the pages of the Bible, Throw away the Bible, and Israel loses that birth-right. The Bible then becomes irrelevant in more than just a land controversy!
     Many people believe that we need not concern ourselves so much about Israel's future because God has it all in control. And, oh yes he surely does, but I believe at the same time that we are his tools in this world to give comfort and aid to his chosen people, Israel. We in America must "stand in the gap" for Israel at this time, and not give an ear to the impulses being cast in our direction to change our policies and relationship with Israel. But by acceding to a new Palestinian State, we are helping to set Israel up for the prophesied encirclement of Jerusalem by the Antichrist, and at the same time also surrendering our Christian duty, and compromising with world religion.

Questions About Saddam’s Weapons of Mass Destruction

Dec. 16….(FOJ) The capture of Saddam Hussein will immediately bring the international intell-debate over the whereabouts of his former weapons of mass destruction to the forefront. With Saddam now in captivity and undergoing US intelligence interrogations, it will be interesting to see what develops on this front. Some US and Israeli Intelligence officials think that the Iraqi WMD have been relocated either to a section of the Syrian Desert known as Dayr Az-Zawr in Syria’s 600 sq. mile Al Jazirah province, which is wedged between the Turkish and Iraqi borders, or into the Bekaa Valley region of Lebanon-Syria. The missing weapons systems are thought to be buried somewhere in one of these two locations. These areas are now probably the most keenly watched areas on earth. FOJ has consistently reported that Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction were removed from Iraq and secretly buried in Lebanon and northern Syria with the connivance of Syrian president Bashar Assad. The Big question, now that Saddam has been captured, is, what can and will Hussein contribute to the finding of the WMD’s, and exactly who helped him acquire them in the first place? The US needs to make Saddam spill his guts to his American interrogators all the details of the arrangements he worked out with the Syrian president for the transfer of the weapons of mass destruction to their present hiding places. The US needs to find out exactly how Russia, Germany and France figure into the mass destruction weapons puzzle! Afterall, these three countries vehemently opposed the demise of Saddam and also refuse to waive the Iraqi debt burden. The Iraq debts to these countries consist of weapons procurements! It must be remembered that Saddam was once a weapons and strategic client of the Soviet Union. President Bush could turn the heat on Assad with info from Saddam and demand his cooperation in locating the buried items. If Assad continues to support terrorists and to shrug aside evidence that he has Saddam’s WMD, then the US may be forced to require UN Security Council to revisit the same scenario that was played out in Iraq. And that could lead to yet another war, a war that would have far more dangerous implications than Iraq! From a prophetic standpoint, it would appear that the scenario regarding the Burden of Damascus is building toward an  impending climax!

 

Arab League Condemns US

Dec. 16….(AFP) The Arab League expressed its "extreme concern" over impending US sanctions on Syria and urged Washington to abandon its alignment with Israel. The bill demands that Syria end its alleged support for terrorism, halt development of chemical and biological arms as well as medium- and long-range missiles, and withdraw the roughly 20,000 troops it has deployed in Lebanon. "It is regrettable that the US has taken such as action, said Arab League spokesman Hossam Zaki. The ratification of this law "raises major question marks among Arab public opinion about the intentions and aims of this law," he added. "It is necessary for the United States to return to the role of honest broker in the affairs of the Middle East, and to move away from its alignment with the Israeli side and serving its interests," he said. US policy is biased toward Israel and "provokes the Arab and Muslim peoples and creates a climate of tension, rage and frustration among these people," he said. Zaki questioned the policy of the United States for failing to act against Israel whose current government violates international law daily.

Israel: PA and Syria Should Heed Lesson of Saddam

Dec. 15….(Arab Press) Israel says that Saddam Hussein's capture should be a lesson to Palestinians and to Syria to abandon "terrorism." The fall of Saddam Hussein should serve as a lesson to the Palestinians as well as to Syria," senior government spokesman Avi Pazner told AFP. "The Palestinians must proceed to examine their conscience and give up their support for Saddam by recognizing that resorting to violence and terrorism will not bring them anything," said Pazner. "The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, who forged a close alliance with Saddam Hussein, must also learn the lessons" of falling foul of Washington, said Pazner. Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush signed into law Friday a bill providing for economic and diplomatic sanctions against the regime in Damascus. The bill demands Syria end its alleged support for terrorism and halt development of chemical and biological arms. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon also stated, "We believe that the entire non-democratic world, especially those who engage terror, will learn from this lesson. "The civilized nations of the world are able to take action to protect freedom and defeat terrorism."

 

Democrat Candidates Are a Joke!

Dec. 15….(FOJ) Last month I watched the nine Democratic candidates for US President debate in a televised showcase for their candidacies. One of the questions posed to all nine candidates was the following: Have you ever smoked pot? John Edwards, Howard Dean and John Kerry proudly proclaimed that they had. Carol Braun declined to answer. Dean and Kerry were especially proud and boastful that they had smoked pot, and played up to the young-crowd about their pot experiences. Clark, Sharpton, (Sharpton joked about sleeping with Kerry’s wife) Kucinich, and Joe Lieberman all had to answer no, and their “no” answer seemed to sum up the evening. They were highly reluctant (and seemed ashamed) to reveal that they had not smoked pot, as the MTV and pro-liberal crowd reveled in favoritism for Dean, Kerry, and Edwards as they gleefully admitted that they had smoked pot. I was struck at how eight of the nine candidates seemed to think that pot smoking was a cool and popular thing to do. They all laughed and joked about pot-smoking! Only Senator Lieberman seemed to have any respect for the law, and his negative answer about pot made him the unpopular outcast for the evening. Then, last week, Senator Lieberman suffered the indignity of having his 2000 Presidential running mate (Al Gore) come out in support of Mr. Dean. The entire Democratic Party joke-list of candidates seems to suggest that Al Gore and Hillary Clinton will wage war for the presidency in 2008. And they are each precisely what America will not need in 2008.

Palestinians Saddened With Saddam’s Capture

Dec. 15….(Arutz) Palestinians in the West Bank reacted with shock and disbelief to the capture of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, with many expressing deep disappointment that the man who symbolized defiance against the US and Israel surrendered without resistance. For many ordinary Palestinians, the TV footage of a disheveled Saddam obediently submitting to a medical exam by his U.S. captors was painful to watch: it sealed the defeat of the one Arab leader they felt always stood by them. A senior PA official in Ramallah said Yasser Arafat was "saddened" by the news from Baghdad. "President Arafat was sad to see an Arab leader in an humiliating position," said the official. For nearly two decades, Saddam was hailed by many Palestinians as the hero of the Arab masses and the only Arab leader to stand up to the US and Israel. During the first Gulf War, Palestinians danced on the rooftops as Saddam's army fired Scud missiles at Israel. Arafat was one of the few Arab leaders to visit Baghdad to express support for the invasion of Kuwait. This is a big victory for Bush and Sharon and all of the enemies of the Palestinian people. We hope the Iraqi resistance will now teach the American dogs a good lesson." The Palestinians disbelief and gloom stands in stark contrast to Israel, which came under Iraqi Scud missile attacks in the 1991 Gulf War. Israel hailed the United States for capturing Saddam. Saddam paid over $35 million to the kin of Palestinian suicide bombers, militants and bystanders who died in an uprising that began in 2000. Although far from all Palestinians supported him, PLO militants marched to back Saddam ahead of the U.S.-led invasion in March and Palestinian protesters were often heard chanting: "Oh, Saddam. Oh, Saddam. Bomb, bomb Tel Aviv". During the 1991 Gulf War, Palestinians cheered as Iraqi Scud missiles crashed into Israeli cities. Arabs within the Palestinian Authority reacted to the capture of Saddam with "gloom, disbelief, and shock," according to local reports. The Jerusalem Post quoted one PA resident as saying, "I love him so much, I can't stand watching it while he's in custody," and yet another as lamenting, "We are so sad." One taxi driver in Ramallah said, "It's a black day in history, not because Saddam is an Arab, but because he is the only man who said 'no' to the American injustice in the Middle East." Haifa University Prof. Steven Plaut noted that the "Arab students in the cafeteria were thrown into deep remorse and anger and shock. Their faces showed their sorrow." That feeling goes all the way up to the top, it appears. An official statement released by Yasser Arafat's Mukata headquarters stated that Arafat was "saddened" to hear of the capture of the former Iraqi dictator. Hamas spokesman Abdel Aziz Rantisi told Reuters the United States would pay a very high price for capturing Saddam Hussein. "What the United States did is ugly and despicable. It is an insult to all Arabs and an insult to Muslims," he said. Prime Minister Sharon, on the other hand, who was informed about the capture several hours before the rest of the world, said yesterday that he had spoken with U.S. President Bush and "congratulated him on the successful operation that led to the capture of Saddam Hussein. Today is a great day for the democratic world.

 

Israel Has Claims Against Saddam Too

Dec. 15….(Arutz) Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today that Israel should join the prosecution against Saddam Hussein. He mentioned in this connection Iraq's Scud missile attacks on Israel in 1991, as well as the Saddam regime's support for Palestinian suicide bombings. During the three years of the PA-initiated Oslo War, Hussein sent millions of dollars to the PA-controlled territories, including $25,000 to the family of each suicide bomber and a more modest $10,000 for each Arab killed otherwise in fighting with Israelis. Justice Minister Yosef Lapid also said that Israel must participate in the preparations for the prosecution of Saddam Hussein. "Next to his invasion of Kuwait," Lapid said today, "the 39 Scud missiles that he launched against Israel in 1991 are the worst thing that he did." Lapid said that it doesn't matter where the trial is held: "Even if it's in Baghdad, we must send our witnesses." "Firing missiles without provocation at a country that was not involved in the war," the Justice Minister said, "is a war crime according to any definition of international law. Saddam must not be vindicated from this crime." It has been reported in the past that Israel sought over $1 billion from Iraq in compensation for damages caused by the Gulf War Scud missiles. This sum would include $103 million for material damages, and $903 million for increased defense costs.

 

Iran Has Case Against Saddam Too

Dec. 15….(FOJ) Iran said Monday it was preparing a criminal complaint to present at any international court that may try Saddam Hussein over the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. "The Foreign Ministry has taken some measures on this issue and has collected the necessary documents. I hope we can defend Iranians' rightful demands at a proper place," Iran government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh told a news conference. Around 300,000 Iranians were killed in the eight-year war, including thousands in chemical weapons attacks by the Iraqi army. Iran has longstanding war reparations claims of tens of billions of dollars against Iraq for the bloody war which Saddam launched in 1980 with an invasion of his eastern neighbor. Tehran has long held that the United States and western European countries armed Saddam against Iran which, following the 1979 Islamic revolution, was perceived as a bigger regional threat by the West. (FOJ/a claim which is true) Iran eventually repelled the Iraqi forces in the eight-year war and pressed into Iraqi territory, but with its economy in tatters and concerns growing of possible U.S. involvement in the conflict Tehran accepted a cease-fire in 1988 with neither side any better off territorially.
FOJ Note: The Saddam Hussein saga reminds me of the prophecy for Ishmael and his descendants that is established in Genesis. (Genesis 16:12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.) Saddam was certainly a wild man, and his hand was certainly used against all his neighbors, and vice-versa. (Iran, Kuwait, Kurds, Saudi’s, etc.)

 

More on the Building US-Russian Storm

Dec. 15….(FOJ) President Bush, who just 3 years ago declared that he had looked into Putin’s soul and found a good man, is beginning to have a change of heart. President Bush protested to the Russian leader recently for moving Russia away from its push towards democracy. The Bush foreign policy team has begun to question Putin's intentions, and their own approach to Russia, after the abrupt imprisonment of Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and parliamentary elections derided by European monitors as an unfair government-orchestrated triumph. Earlier assumptions about Putin are now being reassessed." At this point the shift on Putin carries minimal practical weight. Confronted with Putin's campaign against the independent news media, his targeting of influential businessmen and his brutal war for control of Chechnya, Bush has confined his response to expressions of displeasure, officials said. Bush's caution combines uncertainty about Putin's ultimate direction with a lingering hope that his rhetoric about democracy and the rule of law may still prove true, officials and analysts say. With Putin at his side at his Camp David retreat in September, President Bush said, "I respect President Putin's vision for Russia." It also signals a desire to avoid alienating Russia when the United States wants help on such matters as counter-terrorism, Iraqi debt and worrisome nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea. Administration officials say Bush, in recent telephone conversations with Putin, has raised complaints about evidence that Putin has fallen far short of his promises to deliver pluralism and a fair legal system. The debate over the United States' relationship with Russia had been largely dormant in administration circles since Bush’s famous meeting with Putin in June 2001 when he believed had gotten "a sense of his soul." When Russia unreservedly joined the U.S.-led war against terrorism a few months later, the relationship seemed sealed. But a series of strong moves by Putin this year raised fresh doubts. The Bush administration was startled when Putin sided with France and Germany in actively opposing the invasion of Iraq. The new authoritarianism Putin is demonstrating in Russia is more than a test of America's ability to defend universal values that have taken shallow root since the Soviet Empire collapsed. It presents a fundamental challenge to American interests across Eurasia. (OIL?) The Bush decision to ban Russia from Iraq reconstruction contracts highlights the US-Russia problem. Russia wants compensation on Iraq's $120 billion debt, and fears that the US is positioning itself as the benefactor in the Iraqi Oil sector. Therefore, Russia has sold Iran advanced 300-A air defense missile system, against Washington’s objections, to help defend Iran’s controversial Bushehr nuclear reactor. Iran and Russia are each concerned about the prospect of an Israeli preemptive action on the site. Russia views Israel as an American client state, and as a strategic toehold for American interests in the Middle East.

 

Hamas: U.S. Will Pay for Capturing Saddam

Dec. 15….(Ha Aretz) Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and his government made no official comment about the capture of Saddam Hussein. However, Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, a senior leader of the militant Hamas group, said the United States would "pay a very high price for the mistake" of capturing Saddam. "What the United States did is ugly and despicable. It is an insult to all Arabs and an insult to Muslims," he told Reuters. Islamic factions sworn to Israel's destruction have taken strength from Iraqi resistance and cautioned on Sunday that Saddam's capture would not end attacks on U.S. forces.

Special Bulletin:  12-14-2003

Saddam Hussein is Captured

Dec. 14….(FOJ) Saddam Hussuein was captured today in Adwar, about ten miles southeast of Tikrit, Iraq. Saddam was captured while he was hiding in a 6’ x 8’ hole in the ground that was infested with rats. Photos of a disheveled Saddam have been shown around the world today. The man that once stirred terror in the hearts of millions looked like a homeless vagabond that couldn’t even sustain himself. The former Iraqi dictator will likely stand trial in Iraq. One headline alluding to Saddam’s capture read; “one of the worlds most noted terrorists has been captured.” My immediate reaction was that Saddam is really a man who had no friends in the whole world. While the West celebrates his capture, it also continues to pacify and uphold the world’s number one terrorist, Yasser Arafat! Saddam’s capture also reminds me of the soon coming day when the world’s mightiest and most powerful men, operating under the auspices of the anti-Christ will cry to the rocks and to the mountains to fall upon them to hide them from the coming! King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. They will hide in dens (holes in the ground) for fear of the wrath of the Lamb. Saddam Hussein proved himself to be a coward. While urging others to die in the name of Jihad, he cowered in fear. Yasser Arafat would be no different. He encourages young Palestinians to commit suicide, while he knows that he has universal geo-political protection from retribution. But the Day of the Lord is coming!

Revelation 6:15-16 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

 

WEEK OF DECEMBER 7 THROUGH DECEMBER 13

PLO Will Challenge Israel's UN Seat

Dec. 12….(Ha Aretz) The PLO delegation to the United Nations is planning to present an appeal against Israel's credentials as a member of the world body, sources at the UN reported yesterday. The sources said that some of the Arab states and the nonaligned nations could be expected to support the initiative. The committee dealing with credentials will convene today in New York and will, according to protocol, send a general recommendation to the plenary session to ratify the credentials of all member nations. However, when the assembly meets next week, PLO observer Nasser al-Kidwa is apparently planning to demand that Israel's credentials be revoked, arguing that Israel is not authorized to represent the territories, but only the area within the Green Line. 
FOJ Note Israel has held a UN seat since it became a State in 1948, thanks to the United States. Yet, Israel is the only UN member to be denied acceptance into one of the UN’s five regional groups. This singles out Israel as the only nation in the world that is denied membership on any UN commissions or councils. Israel is the only UN member forced to sit out consultations on draft resolutions, most of which are aimed at Israel. The UN even passed a resolution stating that Zionism was racism in 1975! Thus the UN in reality prevents Israel from actually being a legitimate and normal member of the United Nations, or to have the right to be elected to positions, and to fully participate in the organization. The UN has been one of the worst anti-Semitic organizations in the world. The UN even allows the PLO Terrorist Organization to have more staff at the UN than Israel. The non-state of Palestine has observer status in the UN, which is well above the “blackballed status” that Israel must contend with! Meanwhile, and right up to the present day, the UN Security Council has devoted fully a third of its energy and criticism to the policies of a single country: Israel. No fewer than four separate administrative units within the U.N.--two of them directly supervised by Kofi Annan's governing secretariat, do nothing but spend millions of dollars annually on the production and worldwide distribution of propaganda questioning Israel's right to exist. The "Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories," for example, "investigates" Israel's continued "practice" of "occupying" not just the territory taken in the 1967 war, but also the land within its internationally recognized, pre-1967 borders. And then there is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which uses its international funding in the guise of refugee assistance, but in reality provides active, organized, and enthusiastic auxiliary services for fostering Jew-hating Palestine-based terrorist machines.

 

UN Says Israel Should Give up Nukes

Dec. 12….(Ha Aretz)The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, has called on Israel to relinquish its nuclear weapons as part of a general peace agreement in the Middle East. ElBaradei said he recommends that Israel join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He said that in spite of Israel's policy of not acknowledging possession of nuclear weapons, "we operate under the assumption that Israel has nuclear arms. Israel has never denied this," he said from his office at Vienna headquarters of the UN organization. The senior UN diplomat said the notion that Israel is safer today with nuclear weapons than it was 50 years ago is incorrect. "Frankly, I am not happy with the status quo, because I see a lot of frustration in the Middle East due to Israel's sitting on nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons capability, while other parties in the Middle East are committed to the NPT," he said. The Egyptian diplomat, (who fought against Israel in Egypt’s wars) who has headed the IAEA for seven years, suggested that Israel and its neighbors begin a dialogue for the eradication of weapons of mass destruction. "My fear is that without such a dialogue, there will be continued incentive for the region's countries to develop weapons of mass destruction to match the Israeli arsenal.
FOJ Note: Based on the UN’s record of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, how can it be that Israel is supposed to take this recommendation serious? Is it just my imagination, or is the anti-Israel world simply trying to decapitate Israel’s ability to defend itself? The UN doesn’t seem to mind Iraq, Iran and North Korea flaunting nuclear weapons around!

 

PLO Gunmen Shoot Worshippers

Dec. 12….(Jerusalem Post) Seven Israelis were wounded, two of them critically, when a Palestinian gunman shot at their vehicle as they left Joseph's Tomb near Nablus before dawn today. A group 16 Breslav Hassidim arrived at the holy site early Friday, violating military orders barring Israelis from traveling to the tomb site, to conduct a prayer service. As they drove away, a Palestinian gunman ambushed their van, pumping it with bullets. Yasser Arafat’s Fatah Al Aksa Martyrs Briagde claimed responsibility for the shooting saying it was also in response to the IDF activities in Rafah. The group claimed that its gunmen lay in wait for the worshippers who entered the tomb close to 3.30 in the morning and shot them as they left the site. The group promised to deliver a series of "painful blows" to Israel in the near future.

 

Allah—You Must Destroy Israel!

Dec. 12….(FOJ) Masked militants of the Islamic group Hamas pray during a rally to mark the 16th anniversary of Hamas' foundation in the Nuseirat refugee camp in southern Gaza Strip. The Arabic on headbands read 'No God but God and Mohammed is the Prophet of Allah.' Ironic is it not that the god of Islam would urge the extermination of Jews and the destruction of Israel. The god of the Holy Bible teaches that he will restore Israel, and bless all nations through the blessing of Israel. Revelation chapter 12 depicts that it is the great red dragon that wishes to destroy Israel, therefore it is my contention that Allah, rather than being God, must be an imposter that is in close cahoots with Satan and his schemes!
Furthermore, Jesus wept over Israel’s sins, and looked forward to the day when they would mourn for him, at a time long after they had pierced him. Jesus was the Last Prophet, not Mohammed! Mohammed was a demon infested hatemonger who was energized by the forces of Satan.

Arafat’s Fatah Plotting More Terror

Dec. 11….(FOJ) The ruling Fatah movement is planning more suicide attacks against Israel. Israeli security sources have discovered that Fatah insurgents have been ordered by the PLO to carry out a range of suicide operations against civilian targets inside Israel. The sources said the insurgents, financed mostly by Iran and Hizbullah, have come from the northern West Bank cities Jenin and Nablus and are in daily contact with key aides of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Anyone who really thinks that Israel can forge a peace with the PA is living in a fairyland. Arafat, and each of his Prime Ministers are the actual founders of the Fatah Organization that is engaged along with Iran and Syria in the financing and orchestrating of Palestinian Terrorism. They are not and never will be proponents of any peace deal with Israel. Yasser Arafat intends to once again make himself the primary world-stage political kingpin of Mid-east diplomacy, particularly as Israel begins to feel more and more pressured to pursue the Quartet and UN backed Roadmap. Arafat would like nothing better than to see George Bush defeated as US President next year, but failing that, Arafat and the Fatah aren’t going to sit around and wait until 2008. He will return to terrorism as a means to offset the Bush Middle East Doctrine, by complicating America’s experience in Iraq and albeit even thwart Palestinian Statehood as proposed by the 2 state solution in 2005.

 

Russia Helping Syria Develop Combat Helicopters

Dec. 11….(Middle East News Line) Russia has developed new systems for a range of combat helicopters that are being deployed in Middle East militaries. Russian companies have developed subsystems to improve the targeting, situational awareness and operations of the helicopters as part of an effort to upgrade rotary-wing platforms to NATO-comparable standards. The systems were presented as suitable for both fixed- and rotary-wing Soviet-origin aircraft. Several Middle East states have been searching for upgrades of their Soviet-made aircraft. They include Algeria, Iran and Syria. Syria especially is being supplied with the Russian technology, as Assad is very concerned about the possibility of an Israeli preemptive strike into Syria.

 

Israel is Living on Borowed Time

Dec. 11….(JNEWSWIRE) Hamas political chief Khaled Mashal and Arafat spokesman Hani al Hasan publicly stated to Palestinians that the state of Israel will soon cease to exist, and that the State of Palestine would allow Jews to stay on only as a subjugated minority in the land. Hassan assured his people that the PA had "formulated a firm policy" (terrorism coupled with peace processes) poised to fully reap the political benefit of "what the armed effort (al Aqsa Intifada that Arafat began 3 years ago) has sown." "For the past three years we have all sown, and now is the time to reap," the Arafat aide said. The time has come to transfer the conflict "inside Israel, with the goal of overthrowing Mr. Sharon." He encouraged the Palestinian refugees, saying the year 2007 would "not pass without our state being established," and the PA would hold fast to the "right of return" in the run-up to that day, Hassan pledged. "The hills of Palestine are waiting for you. In 2007 this current phase will end and you will fill Palestine. Allah will give us victory." Meanwhile, Khaled Mashal said that Israel was a state living on borrowed time and in the end it would disappear. "We know that this will not happen overnight, but rather in steps and stages," he said. The way to achieve this, according to Mashal, is toforce Israel into what the Palestinians see as a "just and lasting" peace, which would include the flooding of the Jewish State with millions of "Palestinians refugees."
FOJ Note: Clearly, the plan of Yasser Aafat all along (since 1991) has been the Trojan horse scenario, as FOJ has documented for years. Ironically, the date for a final assault on Israel chosen by the PLO-Hamas of 2007, prior to the American election in 2008 has dramatic repercussions. FOJ has all along speculated that the years 2008-2012 could climax with an Antichrist scenario in the Mid-east. Obviously Israel will not permit the PLO to destroy the state of Israel, politically or otherwise.

 

US Bans Russia, France, Germany from Iraq Contracts

Dec. 11….(Reuters/FOJ) The Bush White House, defending its new policy barring companies from nations that opposed America taking its war-on-terror into the Iraqi theatre from bidding on $18.6 billion in reconstruction contracts, said Wednesday that countries wanting a slice of that lucrative pie must participate militarily in the postwar effort. Prime contracts for reconstruction funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars should go to the Iraqi people and those countries who are working with the United States on the difficult task of helping to build a free, democratic and prosperous Iraq," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. The Pentagon policy prevents companies from countries that opposed war from bidding on reconstruction contracts because their governments opposed the American-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein's regime. The directive from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, limits bidders to firms from the United States, Iraq, their coalition partners and other countries which have sent troops to Iraq.
FOJ Note: We are getting down to the nitty-gritty in Iraq now. Big Money and Big Oil are big dynamite, and they are among the factors that could cause the war-on-terror being waged by America to go sour.
Iraq's debt to the Russia Federation comes to $8 billion, and as far as the Russian government's position on this, it isn’t planning on writing-off of that debt," Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told reporters Wednesday. "Iraq is not a poor country, it has oil, and what becomes of that oil and its profits is of vital concern to Russia." President Bush is pinning a high-stakes gamble on former Secretary of State and Big-Oil policy advisor James Baker. The hope is that Mr. Baker can work some geo-political miracles to soothe all the powers that have a stake in Mideast Oil, whether it be in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, or the Caspian Sea! The US is apt to find that it has “no friends” in the world, unless we abandon our friend Israel!!!!

Netanyahu: Place Terrorists, Not Fence, On Trial

 Dec. 10….(Jnewswire) Former Israeli Prime Minister and current Finance Minister Binyamin  Netanyahu yesterday responded to the UN decision to refer Israel's security fence to the International Court of Justice, saying the terrorists whose murderous deeds make the fence a necessity should be sent to The Hague for trial. Earlier Israel told the United Nations the barrier was "Arafat's fence"  made necessary by the terrorism that was carried out with the sanction of the PLO chief. As long as there was no serious partner for peace, Netanyahu said, Israel must continue building the fence. 

 

John Paul II Commends Peace of World to Mary

Dec. 10….(Zenit) John Paul II once again commended the peace of the world to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the solemnity of her Immaculate Conception. (instead of Jesus) The Pope, wearing his long red cape, faced a cold wind this evening in Rome's Piazza di Spagna, to render homage to the image of the Mother of Christ, erected after the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, in 1854. "Obtain for the men and women of the third millennium the precious gift of peace: peace in hearts and in families, in communities and among peoples; peace especially for those nations where combating and dying continue every day," the Pope implored.. "I have come here, this evening, to render you the homage of my sincere devotion," he said in his prayer. (devotion to Mary)  It is a gesture in which I am joined in this piazza by innumerable Romans, whose affection has always accompanied me in all the years of my service to the See of Peter." The prayer, composed with "intense trepidation" and "trust," was addressed to the "Queen of Peace," (Queen of Heaven) one of the titles of the Virgin Mary, "in these times marked by not a few uncertainties and fears over the present and future fate of our planet," the Pope added. "Listen to the cry of pain of the victims of war and of so many forms of violence that bloody the earth," he said. "Dispel the darkness of sadness and solitude, of hatred and vengeance. Open the minds and hearts of all to trust and forgiveness." "Help every human being, and all races and cultures, to encounter and accept Jesus, who came on earth in the mystery of Christmas to give us his peace. Mary, Queen of Peace, give us Christ, true peace of the world," he concluded. Appearing at the window of his study at midday, to pray the Angelus, John Paul II presented the Immaculate Conception as "the pledge of salvation for every human being." "Mary is our unbreakable support in the hard struggle against sin and its consequences," he added, when offering a meditation on today's feast to thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square. 
FOJ Note: Absolute Blasphemy! What could be more blasphemous than to discredit the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross by attributing that work of grace to Mary or the Queen of Heaven, a Babylonian deity!

 

Jordanian Sermon Calls for Israel's Defeat

Dec. 10….(World Net Daily) Shortly before King Abdullah of Jordan was commended in Washington for his contribution to peace, an officially sanctioned sermon on national TV called for Israel's defeat. Amman's Television Channel 1 in Arabic, the official station of Jordan, carried Sheik Muhammad Kheir al-Isa's sermon live Nov. 28 from Martyrs Mosque in the capital, according to Israel-based Independent Media Review Analysis , or IMRA. Al-Isa devoted his sermon to "the greatness" of Islam's holy book, the Quran, declaring it has been revealed by Allah to guide humanity to the right path. In conclusion, he prays for the defeat of the Palestinians' "enemy," Israel. "O Allah, give success to Muslims all over the world," al-Isa prayed. "O Allah, support [holy warriors] everywhere. O Allah, have mercy on our kinfolk in Palestine. O Allah, strengthen them in their homeland. O Allah, help them defeat their enemy. O Allah, return." The sermon appears to violate Jordan's 1994 peace treaty with Israel, which says the parties must "take necessary and effective measures to prevent the entry, presence and cooperation in their territory of any group or organization, and their infrastructure, which threatens the security of the other Party by the use of or incitement to the use of, violent means." At the White House last week, King Abdullah praised President Bush, saying he "has always been out front in trying to move the [peace] process forward." 

EU Ponders Security Ties With Middle East

Dec. 8….(EU Observer) EU Foreign ministries are examining plans which could result in the EU launching a major security initiative with Middle Eastern countries. The EU is putting forth proposals to set up a security dialogue between the EU and countries to the "South and East of Jordan", perhaps even including Iran. The inclusion of Iran would hopefully help to bring that country away from its Russian and Eastern alliances and include it in the European sphere.
FOJ Note: The Antichrist will offer “peace with security” to many nations!

 

Al Qaeda Will Make Iraq a Killing Field

Dec. 8….(MSNBC) During the muslim holy month of Ramadan, three senior Qaeda representatives allegedly held a secret meeting in Afghanistan with two top Taliban commanders. The confab took place in mid-November in the remote, Taliban-controlled mountains of the Khowst province near the Pakistan border, a region where Al Qaeda has found it easy to operate. The plans from that meeting reveal that Al Qaeda will start diverting a large number of fighters from the anti-U.S. insurgency in Afghanistan to Iraq. Al Qaeda also planned to reduce by half its $3 million monthly contribution to Afghan jihadi outfits. This new strategy comes on the orders of bin Laden himself, the sources said. Why? Because the terror chieftain and his top lieutenants see a great opportunity for killing Americans and their allies in Iraq and neighboring countries such as Turkey. Bin Laden believes that Iraq is becoming the perfect battlefield to fight America.” If true, Bin Laden’s shift of focus could be unsettling news for President Bush. The president is eager to quell the Iraqi insurgency and establish a democratic, stable Iraq as he heads into the 2004 re-election campaign. Until now, the attacks on Americans and other Coalition members have come mainly from local Saddam loyalists rather than an influx of foreign Jihadists. But if the Taliban sources are correct, bin Laden may be aiming to help turn Iraq into “the central front” in the war on terror. That is how Bush himself described Iraq in a September speech, when he said, “We are fighting that enemy there (Iraq) today so that we do not meet him on our own streets.” Many Al Qaeda operatives appear to be traveling to the Mid-east via the long, overland route through Iran. But the Bush administration, preoccupied with Iraq, has been reluctant to take a harder line toward Iran over its role as a terrorist haven, and as a sponsor of terrorism. Iran and some Arab countries like Syria are breathing easier because the United States is bogged down in Iraq, Iran is an ideal transit station for Al Qaeda because it borders Afghanistan and Pakistan to its west and Iraq and Turkey to its east.

 

Forces Are Deployed Against Our Knowledge of God

Dec. 8….(FOJ) America’s success and survival in the war on terror may depend not on our military, but upon our understanding of the forces of evil. For example, America is finding it very difficult to even define or identify the enemy. In reality, the enemy of America today is also the enemy of Israel. Satan is using his cadre of the “rulers of darkness” (kosmokratoei) to incite a universal hatred of anything that has to do with God, Christianity, and Zionism. Satan is seeking to destroy Israel, and America is in his way!
But the Satanic enemies of America are staunchly entrenched right here in the US. They are working overtime to destroy any knowledge of God and Jesus Christ in our nation. (secularists-anti-Christian) Therefore it is imperative for our nation to possess a Biblical World View and to be able to discern truth from deception. Remember, the Antichrist will be a master at deception! Satan is busy working in “high places” to eradicate the knowledge and the laws of God from our nation. (Ephesians 6:11-12 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against “spiritual wickedness in high places.”) ( II Corinthians 10:4-5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every “high thing” that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;) (Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.)

 

UN and The Hague Condemn Israeli Security Wall

Dec. 8….(FOJ) The U.N. General Assembly is set to approve Palestinian-initiated resolution asking the International Court of Justice to declare Israel’s security barrier illegal and force Israel to tear down its barrier. Arab nations asked for the emergency session after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported on Nov. 28 that building the barrier into the West Bank was causing serious harm to Palestinians. He said Israel was obligated to not contradict international law. The Hague-based U.N. court is not obligated to give an opinion, but Palestinian observer to the UN Nasser al-Kidwa said at the debate Monday evening that the separation fence destroys all possibility of any negotiation, and that Israel must choose between the fence and the U.S.-backed road map. The Hague tribunal was set up to settle legal disputes between states and give advisory opinions, if it decides they fall under its jurisdiction. Israel's ambassador to the UN Daniel Gillerman said the fence will contribute to negotiations by causing a decrease in the amount of soldiers assigned to the West Bank, the radio reported. Gillerman also blamed Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat for creating the situation that led Israel to consider it necessary to build the security fence. The UN General Assembly voted 144-4 with 12 abstentions last month on a resolution demanding that Israel halt construction of the barrier. Only the United States, Israel, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia voted "no,"

The PLO and the UN have compared Israel to an apartheid State. It is a very clever political scheme of the forces of Satan to destroy any mechanism for Israel to ever have security.  This is anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism at its height! Yasser Arafat and his PLO partnering terror machine are being hampered by the wall. If the PA had erected a security force in the West Bank as the peace process had stipulated, Israel would not need to build this wall.(FOJ)

WEEK OF DECEMBER 1 THROUGH DECEMBER 7

 

Muhammed and Malvo Were Acting for Islamic Jihad

Dec. 6….(Fox News) The chilling jailhouse drawings of Lee Boyd Malvo show the teen's obsessions with jihad, Arabic for "holy war," and the man accused of molding him into a sniper. The most ominous of the hate-filled sketches shows the White House in the target cross hairs of a sniper's rifle. "You will weep and moan & mourn. You will bleed to death, little by little," the frightening inscription reads. Others show and carry the faces of Usama bin Laden with "servant of Allah", and Saddam Hussein. Returning again and again to the theme of a holy war against America, and spewing the same rhetoric of Islamic fundamentalists.
FOJ Note: The murder spree of Muhammed and Malvo last year in the Washington D.C area was inspire by fundamentalist Islam and a hatred for America. If Islam and the god of Islam can even inspire some Americans to wage Jihad on their own country, what can we expect from Islamic nations

James Baker III Working on Bush Team

Dec. 5….(Fox News) President Bush has appointed longtime family troubleshooter, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, to oversee the job of getting Iraq out from under its crushing $125 billion debt. "Secretary Baker will report directly to me and will lead an effort to work with the world's governments at the highest levels, with international organizations and with the Iraqis in seeking the restructuring and reduction of Iraq's official debt," Bush said. Iraq's debt carries annual servicing charges of $7 billion to $8 billion. "The regime of Saddam saddled the Iraqi people with the debt because they were more interested in building palaces and torture chambers and mass graves than helping the Iraqi people," Bush said. Bush said he made the appointment in response to a request by the Iraqi Governing Council. "The future of the Iraqi people should not be mortgaged to the enormous burden of debt incurred to enrich Saddam Hussein's regime," Bush said. With experience in diplomacy and world finance, Baker "will help to forge an international consensus for an equitable and effective resolution of Iraq’s debt," Bush said. The issue of Iraq's debt must be resolved in a manner that is fair and does not unjustly burden a struggling nation at its moment of hope and promise. Baker, a Houston attorney, is a longtime Bush family friend who has held several high government posts. In the closely fought 2000 election, Baker headed up Bush's strategy team during the recount battle in Florida, which eventually ended up in the Supreme Court and delivered the presidency to Bush. He oversaw the presidential campaigns of Bush's father in 1980, 1988 and 1992. Of the total Iraqi foreign debt, some $40 billion is owed to the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Russia and other countries who are among 19 nations that belong to the Paris Club, an umbrella organization that conducts debt negotiations. At least $80 billion more is owed to other Arab countries and nations outside the Paris Club.
FOJ Note: James Baker was instrumental in helping to bring President Bush to power, and he is a vital and high profile player for the American oil interests throughout the Middle East. Baker has been brought on board to wield his powerful influence within the Paris Club membership! American oil companies have invested a great deal in each of the Bush presidencies. Mr. Baker operates the Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston, Texas, and is a partner in the Carlyle group, a merchant banking institution.
Baker has a reputation for being anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and pro big oil. Baker was instrumental in America’s fostering of the Oslo Peace Process, a process which effectively sought to appease Arab oil sheiks at the expense of Israeli security.

 

US and Russia on a Collision Course in Mideast!

Dec. 5….(Debka) The strategic partnership forged by Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin for the 2001 Afghanistan war is wearing thin under the conflict of interests in the strategic, oil-rich Caspian Sea region. The conflict is sparked by the bloodless coup that unseated Georgian President Edouard Shevardnadze last month. Instead of developing the region to their mutual advantage, Russia and the United States squared off December 2 at the ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe at Maastricht, the Netherlands, after Moscow refused to withdraw its remaining forces and military equipment from Georgia and Moldova. US Secretary of State Colin Powell reminded Moscow of its pledge at the 1999 OSCE meeting in Istanbul to completely withdraw its forces from Moldova and Georgia in four years. He also warned Moscow against supporting separatists in Georgia, a reference to the Kremlin meeting between Russian officials and leaders from South Ossetia and Abkhazia just after the coup in Tbilisi. The two regions broke free of Georgian control more than a decade ago and want to join Russia. Since shortly before the Afghan War, the United States has maintained military bases in Azerbaijan under agreements then forged between Washington and Moscow. The deal was for the Americans to withdraw as soon as Russian troops quit Georgia and Moldava. Debkafile’s military and intelligence sources explain Moscow is now determined not to let post-Shevardnadze Georgia swing into the American sphere of influence. The Russians look to prevent this by promoting the republic’s fragmentation into mini-states. By annexing South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Moscow will gain another military foothold in the Caucasian. The Americans may counter this move by retaining or even building up its own military presence in the region. In Baku, Rumsfeld will reportedly open discussions with Azeri president Ilham Aliyev and defense minister Safar Abbiyev on new American bases in the country. The United States already maintains a small detachment of US troops in Georgia too under accords for collaboration in fighting international terror. Also on Wednesday, a high-ranking US delegation landed in Tbilisi to help Georgian interim leaders arrange a new election. It was made up of state, defense, treasury and justice department officials, but it is not clear if they brought financial pledges to the republic which is teetering on the brink of economic collapse. Also taking an interest in Georgia are “world financiers”, a group of whom joined the procession of arrivals Wednesday. Among them was the exiled Russian tycoon Boris Beresovsky. Living in London since Putin threw him out of Moscow, he is now after a handy base close to Russia for his opposition campaign against the Russian leader. He reckons that in Georgia he can buy one relatively cheaply. The stakes in this scrap between Washington and Moscow are high. Oil-rich Azerbaijan on the shore of the Caspian Sea is an ideal spot for American bases and airfields because of its location close to the Middle East, Russia and China. Both Azerbaijan and Georgia lie on the route of a pipeline being built by western oil majors which when completed in 2005 will ship Caspian Sea oil to world markets.
FOJ Note: Focus on Jerusalem Prophecy Ministry has been warning its readers about this impending prophetic scenario for years now! The Caspian Sea oil-region looms large in causing a rift between the US and the Russia-Persia-China nexus. Sitting quietly and confidently on the sidelines, anxious to reap a whirlwind from the Caspian oil region is the EU.

 

Facts About Arab Americans

Dec. 5….(Joseph Farah) New Census Bureau data show the population of Americans of Arab ancestry has doubled in the last two decades. As the grandson of immigrants from the Arab world, I'm not surprised. I know why most Arabs come to this country. They come to escape Islamic persecution in the Arab world. They come for the freedom America affords. They come for opportunity. But most of all they come for a life away from the brutal reality of Islamo-fascism, which dominates the Arab nations. How do I know this? I know from personal, anecdotal experience. I know why friends and family members came here. But I also know because the statistics offered by the Census Bureau demonstrate it. While Islam is the overwhelmingly dominant religion of the Arab world, only 23 percent of the Arabs in this country are Muslim. That statistic speaks volumes. Even after the latest wave of emigration from the Arab world, 77 percent of Arab-Americans are non-Muslims, mostly Christians. As an Arab-American, I can tell you that there is an assumption by most Americans that Arabs, even Arab-Americans, are Muslims. That is not the case. Christian Arab-Americans tend to have vastly different viewpoints on the Middle East than Muslim-Americans. They tend to have vastly different outlooks on the war on terror than Muslim-Americans. Most Arab-Americans, like most Americans, want to see their brethren in the Arab world freed from oppression by the mullahs and the oil sheikhs. I believe most Arab-Americans, like most Americans, want to see the United States defend itself from terrorist attack. I believe most Arab-Americans, like most Americans, want to see freedom breaking out in the Arab world. And, I believe most Arab-Americans, like most Americans, don't want to see the U.S. orchestrate the creation of another terrorist state (Palestine) in the Middle East.
(FOJ Note) Joseph Farah is a 3^rd generation Arab American Christian. His remarks reproduced for you here reveal that Arabs simply need the Gospel of Christ, as does Iraq and the entire Arab world. Islam is the force that compels the Arabs to hate Israel, while Christianity compels people to love the Jews. The Islamic Curtain that shadows the Middle East is just as oppressive as the old Iron Curtain in Germany, and is symbolic of the Global war today between the East and the West. (Democracy and Dictatorship) Daniel 11:40-44 depicts this very scenario. The Ten Kings of the Last Days will not “cleave” together in constructing their new world order, but will contend with each other for supremacy. Islam, like Communism is just another method the Dictatorships have of controlling vast areas of the world.

US Will Intercept WMD Shipping

Dec. 4….(Middle East News Line) A leading U.S. official has asserted that Syrian weapons of mass destruction threatens U.S. interests. Undersecretary of State John Bolton warned that the United States plans to use diplomatic and other unspecified measures to halt the WMD programs of Syria and other states he deemed as rogues. He said they include Cuba, Iran, Libya and North Korea. In an address to the Fletcher Conference in Washington on Tuesday, Bolton said the United States and its allies have been steadily preparing for the interception of WMD and missile shipments to Syria and other Middle East states. He said U.S. allies, under the auspices of the Proliferation Security Initiative, have been training in naval interdiction exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and other areas. "Rogue states such as Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya and Cuba, whose pursuit of weapons of mass destruction makes them hostile to U.S. interests, will learn that their covert programs will not escape either detection or consequences," Bolton said.

 

Giving Comfort and Aid to the Enemy

Dec. 4….(Commentary by Jack Kinsella) Hillary Clinton returned from her visit to Iraq to denounce President Bush's secret Thanksgiving visit to the troops as a 'politically-motivated publicity stunt'. It was typical of the increasingly bizarre behavior of the liberal left wing. Did Senator Clinton think that nobody would notice that she was also in Iraq? What was she there for? To boost troop morale? While the Bush visit was accompanied by cheers and standing ovations from the troops, Hillary's reception was a bit cooler. President Bush told the troops America was behind them and that victory was certain. Senator Clinton, on the other hand, told the troops fighting a heavily propagandized war that the war in Iraq has 'divided' America and that victory is 'not certain'. The troops were less than enthused to hear the Senator from New York tell them that there remained serious questions about why they were deployed to risk their lives. Many of them were visibly offended by the comments, which they interpreted as being insubordinate. Public officials in a war zone have a duty to support the troops and national policy. Can you imagine a US Senator visiting US troops in France during WWII telling them that we might not beat Germany, or that there were serious questions about why we were fighting Hitler? Hillary didn’t stop offending the troops she was visiting by being insubordinate to their Commander-in-Chief. When President Bush arrived, he followed military protocol, which says enlisted men eat first, followed by officers and public officials. But instead of eating their dinner, Bush served the troops their dinner as a symbol of his respect for their sacrifice. The President did not use his trip to bad-mouth political opponents or to demoralize the troops. After giving the troops her Thanksgiving message about the uncertainty of victory and lack of public support for their efforts, she and her entourage went straight to the front of the chow line, gobbling up the troopers’ Thanksgiving dinner before the troopers present even had a chance to sit down and say grace. Hillary toured Iraq during the daylight hours and spent each night in the relative safety of Kuwait. President Bush arrived at night (the most dangerous time) and gave thanks for the troops from the middle of the most dangerous place in Baghdad, the tarmac of Baghdad International Airport. He shared Thanksgiving with the troops, not in a hardened bunker, but in a flimsy mess tent. According to Section 2381 of U.S. Code Title 18, “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.” Hillary actually told our troops, “the outcome (of the war) is not assured”, remember. Demoralizing American troops and encouraging enemies to continue the battle is not what U.S. Senators ought to be doing. But that is exactly what the junior senator from New York did. Telling our armed forces in a combat zone, that there are many questions at home about the administration's policies" is more than irresponsible.

 

Assad Calls Israel “Source of World’s Problems”!

Dec. 4…..(FOJ) Syrian President Bashar Assad yesterday accused the Israeli government of following "the policies of escalation and extremism" and of turning the Middle East into a volatile and oppressed region. Mr. Assad accused Israel of rejecting Arab willingness to make peace. He claimed that tension throughout the region was due to "the policies of escalation and extremism the Israeli government follows and acts with unprovoked aggression against the Arab people in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria." The Syrian president warned that Israel’s policies portended "the most dangerous consequences if it continues to act irrationally. He called for an international will to put an end to Israel’s aggression. Assad charged that "the thing that caused the region to lose its stability, ruined its natural course of development and consumed all its development was Israel's occupation of Arab lands and its refusal to comply with the requirements of a just and comprehensive peace."

 

Yasser Arafat: A Legacy of Hate and Murder!

Dec. 4….(FOJ) A new biography on Yasser Arafat by Barry Rubin and wife Judith Colp Rubin on Yasser Arafat entitled: Arafat: A Political Biography, is essential reading for anyone hoping to comprehend the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The Rubins have followed Mr. Arafat for decades, and now assert that the rejection of Barak's peace offer at Camp David in July 2000 is the key to their thesis about Arafat. Had Arafat’s real dream been to establish a Palestinian state and improve the situation of his people, then he would have said yes to Barak’s offer, or at the very least used it as a basis for compromise. (Ehud Barak has stated was his mission to expose as a non-peace maker) And whatever Barak may have intended, it is certain that his Camp David fiasco indeed showed that peace with Arafat was impossible. Arafat’s career has been an amazing paradox. He has been the unchallenged leader of the Palestinian people for decades. With the help of the former Soviet Union, he also created the horror of modern terrorism, and managed the incredible feat of simultaneously carrying out mass murder while garnering sympathy from the Western press. Meanwhile, Arafat has allowed the Palestinian people to rot in squalor. Arafat has done nothing but cause misery, poverty and unnecessary suffering on his people, by intentionally delaying any benefits or solutions to their problems so he could lay the blame on Israel. Arafat has milked the peace process for concession after concession. Everytime he receives each concession, he asks for yet another, all the while knowing that peace with Israel is the last thing in the world that he wants! Arafat is not intent on being the father of a new nation, (as the West thinks) but he is wholly submitted to feeding his demonic inspired hatred of Israel, and seeing the completion of his uncle’s scheme with Adolph Hitler (final solution) accomplished. His greatest fear is that history might portray him as a peacemaker with the despicable Jews! He is the primary and, for some mysterious reason an immovable obstacle to any chance of peace. Although the Bush Administration has sought to eliminate him from the peace process, the fact that the Administration continues to Israel to make even more concessions only serves to encourage the continuation of terror, either by Arafat or by some future Arafat! Someday, (not soon enough) Arafat will die, (74 years old) but given the monstrous hatred for Israel that Arafat and his world allies have instilled in the Palestinian people there is absolutely no reason to expect anything between Israel and the Palestinians but another False Peace! And the Bible predicts just such a scenario soon!

The Church has Abandoned Biblical World Views!

Dec. 3….(World Net Daily) A new survey by pollster George Barna finds only 9 percent of born-again Christians hold a biblical worldview. Barna, who surveyed 2,033 adults in his study, found only 4 percent of the general population have a biblical worldview and suggests many of the nation's moral and spiritual challenges are directly attributable to this fact. "If Jesus Christ came to this planet as a model of how we ought to live, then our goal should be to act like Jesus," said Barna. "Sadly, few people consistently demonstrate the love, obedience and priorities of Jesus. The primary reason that people do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus. Behavior stems from what we think, our attitudes, beliefs, values and opinions. Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life. We're often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than with experiencing truth and significance." For the purposes of the research, a biblical worldview was defined as believing that absolute moral truths exist; that such truth is defined by the Bible; and firm belief in six specific religious views. Those views were that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and that He also still rules it today; salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned; Satan is real; a Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people; and the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings. Only 7 percent of Protestants overall maintained a biblical worldview, according to this definition in the study. Of adults who attend mainline Protestant churches, only 2 percent shared those values. Among Catholics, less than one-half of 1 percent had a biblical worldview. The denominations that produced the highest proportions of adults with a biblical worldview were non-denominational Protestant churches, with 13 percent, Pentecostal churches, with 10 percent, and Baptist churches with 8 percent. Among the most prevalent alternative worldviews was postmodernism.
FOJ Note: A “Biblical world view” is an absolute essential in propagating the Gospel. It is also the only truth in evaluating world history, and the meaning of life. The demise of the “Biblical world view” within the modern church has helped to produce a church with little power, and a church with perverted perspective of world history, current events, prophecy, and the Christian role in the world. Oh how I wish Christians could grasp the seriousness of building, maintaining and perpetuating a Biblical worldview!
These horrible statistics by the Barna poll tear at my heart. Is it any wonder today that even those people that call themselves a Christian, and dominate our churches don’t understand the truth of a Biblical worldview. This problem lies at the very heart of the church’s ignorance of prophecy and current events.

Geneva Peace Meeting Was Blatantly anti-Zionist

Dec. 2….(FOJ) At yesterday's Geneva launching ceremony Israeli Labor Party politician Yossi Beilin told the liberal world, "Peace is just around the corner!" The entire Geneva event was laced with anti-Israel and anti-Zionist speeches much like the UN sponsored anti-racism conference in South Africa two years ago. Yasser Abed Rabbo, the highest-ranking PA figure involved in formulating the Geneva Accords initiative, threatened that the counter-terrorism partition wall that Israel is building to stop terrorists will "cause the Palestinians to lose faith in the “two states for two peoples solution," and said that Israel was virtually another apartheid state. (ala South Africa) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter took the opportunity of the "peace" conference to blame Israel for the failure of the Road Map. He said that the "wall" Israel is building for the purpose of protecting itself from terrorist attacks is to blame for the Road Map's failure. "Bush's support for Israeli policy, and his ignoring of the Palestinian nation's suffering, encourages anti-American feelings and even terrorism," Carter added.
Carter even implied that until Israel accepts either the Geneva initiative or the Roadmap that terrorism should continue. It was agreed before the Geneva meeting that there would be no messages from Arafat allowed. But of course, the PA vehemently demanded that Arafat be permitted to speak and the EU/Swiss hosts conceded that a message from Arafat was vital to the conference. The message from Arafat, who is the father of modern-day terrorism then stated, "While Israel continues to build a Berlin Wall, we hold out an olive branch." His speech was reminiscent of his 1973 holstered-gun and olive speech at the UN. Arafat has not changed, and his mission of hate and destruction for Israel remains priority one. Mr. Arafat is basically saying that if Israel does not surrender to the “peace of Arafat”, then he will resort to his gun. His olive branch diplomacy is nothing more than political terrorism! And what is so amazing is that the world condones it. Jimmy Carter, Kofi Anna, and most world leaders fully condone Arafat and his terror tactics against Israel. The glitter of the Geneva ceremony will be manipulated by UN/European and other world leaders, along with the world’s favorite terrorist (Arafat) as a basis to pressure Ariel Sharon and George W. Bush into miscalculations, and into disfavor among the electors in each country.

 

Israel Rebukes Powell for Meeting Geneva Supporters

Dec. 2….(Jerusalem Post) Israel issued a rare rebuke to Washington, its closest ally, on Tuesday, saying Secretary State Colin Powell would be making a mistake if he met the architects of a symbolic Middle East peace plan. Vice Premier Ehud Olmert sharply criticized Powell for praising the unofficial Geneva Accord, whose co-authors are trying to capitalize on broad international support following its launch on Monday at a gala ceremony in Switzerland. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's office is preparing for a meeting between him and Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Israeli and Palestinian team leaders behind the GenevaAccord, The Geneva Accord was formally launched last night in a glittering and sometimes emotional ceremony in Switzerland emceed by Hollywood star Richard Dreyfuss. The event included a speech by Nobel Peace laureate and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who said that certain leaders in the region are now the main obstacles to peace in the region. (an allusion to Ariel Sharon)
FOJ Note: Secretary Powell is committing a gross error in diplomacy by meeting with a band of un-elected non-governmental geo-political saboteurs of the State of Israel. 

 

PLO/P.A. Smuggles Drugs into Israel

Dec. 2….(Arutz) While Yasser Arafat and the PA pretend to be engaged in a peace process, the PLO is also very involved in a scheme of drug smuggling. The PLO illegally smuggles 100 tons of marijuana and heroin into Israel every year from the Palestinian held territory. This fact was confirmed by Israel Police Drug Department head Yifat Steinberg yesterday at a Knesset anti-drugs committee session. The session was convened following the uncovering of what the Shabak and police called a very grave matter. It was found that Arabs of Yesha (Judea and Samaria) are attempting to enlist drug-addicted Israeli youth prior to their enlistment in the IDF, for the purpose of taking advantage of their need for drugs to force them to spy on the army. The Arabs promise addicts free drugs in exchange for classified information.

 

Hillary as Commander-in-Chief?

Dec. 2….(FOJ) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton after following the President into Baghda, Iraq, accused President Bush yesterday of conducting the war by a "political calendar," saying he had dispatched the wrong "mix of troops" to secure the country and that victory "is far away." In an interview on NBC's "Today" show yesterday, Mrs. Clinton said her Baghdad visit last weekend was not to meet only the military, but with civilian American representatives" and that her trip revealed that the Bush Doctrine is not an effective strategy in Iraq. Success in rebuilding Iraq, she said can only come with the involvement of the United Nations, which has been reluctant to aid U.S. efforts in the country and has reduced personnel in response to a string of terrorist attacks. "We need to get the U.N. back in as quickly as possible to internationalize this," Mrs. Clinton said." "We need the legitimacy of the United Nations in order to move forward." Mrs. Clinton also told the Associated Press while touring Iraq on Friday that the United States could not be certain of victory in Iraq. The senator's message was a striking contrast to that of President Bush, who told cheering troops during a surprise trip to Baghdad a day before Mrs. Clinton arrived that there is no doubt that "we will prevail." "We will win because our cause is just," Mr. Bush said on Thanksgiving Day. "We will win because we will stay on the offensive. We will win because you're part of the finest military ever assembled. And we will prevail because the Iraqis want their freedom." Very clearly, Hillary wants to be President, and to be America’s Commander-in-Chief of armed forces! That ought to scare the terrorists to death.

 

Barak: Geneva Initiative is a Reward to Terror!

Dec. 2….(Jerusalem Post) Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, speaking on CNN Monday night, called the Geneva Initiative "a delusion" and said he was dead set against the accord. "After three years of one of he bloodiest suicide bombing campaigns in the history of terror led by PA Chairman Yasser Arafat and Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, this accord is rewarding terror. It will not save lives, it will lead to more deaths," Barak said. Barak emphasized that the Geneva Initiative does not solve the issue of the so-called Palestinian 'right of return', one of the most implacable obstacles to peace negotiations between the two sides. "The issue of right of return into Israel is not solved, it gives Israel a measure of control over the rate of that return, but it doesn't solve the problem, it complicates it. Contrary to what Jimmy Carter said tonight; there is no recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Not even this simplest demand is met," the former PM said. With Geneva, Israel simply concedes!

Muslims Decry Christian President Bush

Dec. 1….(World Net Daily) In a candid interview with an Arab weekly, a Muslim appointed by George W. Bush to a religious freedom panel charged the president's policies are driven by a Christian, religious fundamentalism from the colonial era and urged that President Bush not be re-elected. Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl, of Egypt, and appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent panel established by Congress that makes policy recommendations to the president and secretary of state. As a visiting professor at Yale Law School and a full professor of law at the UCLA School of Law, El Fadl told the Egyptian government weekly that he had warned Muslim groups in the U.S. that Bush "was a Christian religious fundamentalist, as are many of those around him. The professor said when Bush became president, "there was a revolution in American policy." "He brought in religious Christian people, and that is dangerous," El Fadl asserted.
FOJ Note: How awful, America electing a Christian President! Of course a Christian cannot even peep out of his tent in a Muslim country, let alone run for office, ..Oh I forgot,.. they don’t have elections in Arab/Muslim nations, they have dictators and assassinations.

 

Unbelieving 'Born-Agains'

Dec. 1….(World Magazine) Research continues to reveal a steady theological collapse among professing Christians in America. Secularists, Liberals, and Muslims do not need to fear conservative Christians, says Dave Shiflett in the Wall Street Journal. Christians, he says, are not all that interested in converting the heathen, nor in defending their faith. They don't really believe that there is such a thing as the heathen, tending to believe instead that every religion is equally valid. "Even the most feared of Christians, the dread 'born-agains' who have cost the high priests at People for the American Way so much sleep, often embrace the modern orthodoxies of tolerance and inclusion over the traditional teachings of their faith." He cites poll data from Christian researcher George Barna that 26 percent of born-agains believe all religions are essentially the same and that 50 percent believe that a life of good works will enable a person to get to heaven. More than one in three (35 percent) born-again Christians do not believe that Jesus rose physically from the dead.
FOJ Note: The above data is the very reason that America is in trouble! The secularization of America is nearly complete. The further these statistics reflect a departure from the fundamentals of Biblical doctrine, the closer America gets to apostasy and judgment. Is it any wonder so many Americans (and Muslims) hate President Bush? It is because of his Christian (moderate) background. Now the enemies of Christ within American culture are saying that there is no need to fear Biblical Christian America anymore because we are so few in number! Even the Muslims seem to sense that true Christianity is dying in America, and that America is ripe for Islam.

 

Geneva, UN, Roadmap, “They’re all anti-Israel”

Dec. 1….(FOJ) As many world leaders convene in Geneva, Switzerland to sign a controversial and informal peace "agreement" between Israeli opposition leaders and Palestinian figures, we find that the actual Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, is under more and more political pressure from the world. Sharon and Israel are being backed into a corner. The Geneva Accords are an unofficial "peace agreement" negotiated by Yossi Beilin, a key architect (and political back-stabber) of the now-defunct Oslo peace accords, and Yasser Abed Rabbo, Yasser Arafat's right hand man. America's envoy to the Middle East, William Burns met Sharon in an attempt to coerce Sharon to reinvest in the stalled Roadmap peace process with the Palestinians. (a better deal than Geneva) Thus the reason that Sharon has been so forceful in telling his constituents that a withdrawal from some settlements is a certainty. The so-called Geneva Accord, which has been drafted in secret by left-wing Israelis and unofficial Palestinian negotiators amounts to nothing more than a method of forcing Israel and the Sharon government to accept the UN plan! Israeli officials have denounced the plan as an attempt by Mr. Sharon's opponents to undermine the government, and in reality, the whole world wishes to see Mr. Sharon fall from power. Mr. Sharon has described the deal, due to be signed in Geneva today, as "traitorous," and he is absolutely correct. The Geneva Plan enjoys the blessing of Shimon Peres, the Israeli political icon of the Global elitists. (ala Carter) It has also been smiled upon by Yasser Arafat, the man who more than any other has devoted his life to the destruction of Israel. (Jimmy Carter, Kofi Anan, Nelson Mandela, and all the anti-Semites of the world) The Quartet and UN sponsored Roadmap is being maneuvered into becoming, not just a Bush Administration policy, or Quartet-sponsored peace plan, but the official Middle East policy of the entire United Nations, with no veto vote from the United States. Israel is being isolated from US protection and being backed into a political corner that is designed to force the Roadmap upon Israel and cause the downfall of the Sharon-Likud led government.

 

Carter slams Israel, Bush in Geneva Speech

Dec. 1….(Jerusalem Post) Former US President Jimmy Carter unleashed a fierce attack against the Israeli and American governments in his speech at the Geneva Initiative's ceremony in Switzerland. Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, blamed US President George W. Bush for anti-American sentiment and worldwide terror. "Bush's inordinate support for Israel allows the Palestinians to suffer," Carter said. "This is a source of anti-American sentiment in the world and encourages terror." Carter said Israel's settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the security fence are the main obstacles to peace. He called repeatedly for the return of Palestinian refugees to the territories, beyond what is called for in the Geneva Initiative. "Settlements prevent the return of the refugees who led their homes after the 1948 and 1967 wars," Carter said. "No matter what leaders the Palestinians may choose, Israel must choose between peace and settlements." Carter said the main flaw of the US-brokered road map is its step-by-step approach, which he said has allowed Israel to stop its advance by building "an enormous barrier wall." "Carter also said that peace prevailed after the Oslo Accord was signed in 1993, but that the peace was extinguished by suicide bombers and house demolitions. The former US president also called for the implementation of the Saudi Initiative, which called on the Arab world to recognize Israel in return for Israel accepting into its borders the flood of 4 million Palestinians who claim to be refugees. All the Geneva Accord signing speakers criticized the government of Israel. None criticized the Palestinian leadership. (Yasser Arafat)
FOJ Note: Former President Carter should be ashamed of himself. He is a disgrace! But this is not a surprise, as Mr. Carter has long exhibited positions alien to the Christian Bible and in total opposition to God’s design for Israel. Mr. Carter is a PR tool of the Global elitists, and a puppet of the Antichrist conspiracy. Mr. Carter was a failure as a President, and his advice and criticism of President Bush demonstrates that he is still ignorant about our perilous times!

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