Aug. 13….(AP) The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that San Francisco's mayor overstepped his authority by issuing same-sex marriage licenses this spring. The court also voided all the marriages of gay and lesbian couples sanctioned by the city. The court said the city violated the law when it issued the certificates and performed the marriage ceremonies in a month-long wedding march that began Feb. 12, since both legislation and a voter-approved measure defined marriage as a union between a man and woman. The court, however, did not resolve whether the California Constitution would permit a same-sex marriage, ruling instead on the narrow issue of whether local officials could bypass California's judicial and legislative branches. Chief Justice Ronald George noted that the ruling doesn't address "the substantive legal rights of same sex couples. In actuality, the legal issue before us implicates the interest of all individuals in ensuring that public officials execute their official duties in a manner that respects the limits of the authorities granted to them as officeholders." The justices also decided with a 5-2 vote to nullify the nearly 4,000 marriages performed before the court halted the weddings on March 11. Their legality, Justice Joyce Kennard wrote, must wait until "the constitutionality of California laws restricting marriages to opposite-sex couples has been authoritatively resolved through judicial proceedings now pending in the courts of California." The same-sex marriages had virtually no legal value, but powerful symbolic value. The justices agreed to resolve the legality of the weddings sanctioned by Mayor Gavin Newsom after emergency petitions were filed by a conservative group and the state's top law enforcement official, Attorney General Bill Lockyer. San Francisco's gay weddings, which followed a landmark ruling by Massachusetts' top court allowing gay marriage, prompted President Bush to push for changing the federal constitution to ban same-sex marriage, an effort that has become campaign fodder this election year. The California court sided with Lockyer's arguments, ruling that Newsom's actions would foment legal anarchy and sanction local officials to legislate state law from city halls or county government centers. When the justices agreed in March to hear the case lead other local officials to sanction "polygamy." Newsom's defiance of state law created huge lines at City Hall by gays and lesbians waiting to be married, and ignited a firestorm engulfing statehouses and ballot boxes nationwide. Missouri voters this month endorsed a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, a move designed to prevent that state's judiciary from agreeing with the arguments Newsom is making in California. A state constitutional challenge by gays in Massachusetts prompted that state's highest court to endorse the gay marriages that began there in May. A judge in Washington State this month also ruled in favor of gay marriage, pending a resolution from that state's top court. Louisiana residents are to vote on the same issue Sept. 18. Then Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah are to vote Nov. 2. Initiatives are pending in Michigan, North Dakota and Ohio. Four states, Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska and Nevada, already have similar amendments in their constitutions.

Aug. 13….(Jerusalem Post) Iranian officials, under pressure to freeze their nuclear program, have stunned European diplomats at crisis talks in Paris this month by demanding advanced nuclear technology, conventional weapons, and a security guarantee against a nuclear attack by Israel. The diplomats, from Britain, France, and Germany, were meeting the Iranians in an attempt to defuse the escalating crisis over Teheran's nuclear program. The Europeans were said to have been stunned by the demand and, said the Iranians' demands had sharply raised the nuclear stakes in the Mid-east. The Iranians produced their letter as the European diplomats sought to convince them to honor an earlier agreement to suspend work on their controversial uranium enrichment program, which could be used to produce material for nuclear power stations, but also to make nuclear weapons. According to the report, the Iranian officials refused point-blank to comply, saying they had every right under international law to pursue "peaceful" nuclear technology. They then shocked the Europeans by turning the tables with their own set of demands, which were contained in the letter. First, they demanded that the European trio support Iran's quest for "advanced nuclear technology, including those with dual use." Second, they demanded that the Europeans "remove impediments" to Iran acquiring such technology, and remain committed to this position, even if faced with "legal or political limitations," a reference to possible US pressure or future international sanctions against Iran. Third, and considered even more astonishing, they demanded that the Europeans meet their conventional weapons needs and "provide security assurances" against a nuclear attack on Iran. This is thought to refer to Israel's nuclear capabilities and its long-range delivery systems. The European trio are reported to be still considering their response, but British officials were quoted as saying the Iranian letter was "extremely surprising, given the delicate state of the process." The Europeans, whose engagement with Iran aims to draw the Islamic republic back into the international mainstream, were seeking to avoid a full-scale confrontation between the United States and Iran over Iran's nuclear program. Washington is insisting that the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which meets next month, refers the Iranian nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, where Iran would face possible sanctions.

Aug. 13….(CNS) For the first time in years, Jordan is in control of the administration of the Islamic religious authority on Jerusalem's Temple Mount instead of the Palestinian Authority, signaling a weakening of the PLO and a shift in Jordan's role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a new report says.
The Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Haram al-Shariff, is one of the most hotly contested issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has at times been a flash-point. Palestinians have rallied to the cause of the Mount dubbing the last nearly four years of violence as the Al-Aksa Intifadah, the uprising named after the Al-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount, Judaism's most holy site and the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina to Muslims, has been under Israeli security control since 1967 when Jerusalem was reunited as a result of the Six-Day war. However, Israel allowed the Jordanian-administered Wakf Islamic religious authorities to continue running the daily affairs of the site, now occupied by two important Islamic shrines - the Al-Aksa Mosque and golden Dome of the Rock. In an act of defiance, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat set up shop in eastern Jerusalem and eventually appointed his own mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ikrama Sabri, and other Palestinians officials over the Wakf, sidelining the Jordanian administration in the mid 1990s. But according to The Expulsion of the Palestinian Authority from Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, a publication of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jordan is back in control of the Wakf, due to a persistent Israeli policy of pushing the PA out of the city. "Israel has ended the Palestinian Authority's penetration of eastern Jerusalem and its control of the Muslim Wakf on the Temple Mount, restoring Jordanian religious administration of the Haram al-Sharif mosque compound," wrote Dan Diker in the paper, citing Israeli media as well as Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian security and diplomatic sources. "The expulsion of the Palestinian Authority from Jerusalem and the Temple Mount is the culmination of years of activity by Israeli security forces," Diker said. "Despite only a partial restoration of the status quo in Jerusalem, the return of Jordan's traditionally moderating influence over the Muslim Wakf administration sends an important message to those on both sides of the Jordan River," he said.
Implications
Calling the new Jordanian an "important watershed," Dr. Dore Gold, president of the JCPA, said that it shows that the PLO is losing its grip. "It points to a real trend to the weakening of the PLO presence," Gold said. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is firm in his position that Jerusalem not be re-divided," said Gold.
With Sharon's disengagement plan confined to the Gaza and the northern West Bank, West Bank Palestinians might have to choose in the future to make a choice in the future between linking themselves to Jordan or with what they consider the less desirable Gaza Strip, he said. While Amman's resumed control of the Muslim Wakf "will not result in Jordan's annexation of the West Bank," Diker said, that coupled with the Gaza disengagement plan, "has perhaps created a new opportunity for a greater cooperation between West Bankers and Jordan." According to Gold, the Jordanian participation means that the "paradigm" for an Israeli-Palestinian peace "has been reopened." Palestinian legislator Ziad Abu Ziad said admitted that "officially speaking" the Temple Mount is under Jordanian control, "practically" it was in Palestinian hands. According to the Oslo Accords, the PA was not allowed to have any presence in Jerusalem and the status of the city was to be discussed only in permanent status negotiations. But the PA set up institutions in Jerusalem following the signing of the Oslo Accords and operated the Orient House in eastern Jerusalem as a de facto PA Foreign Ministry, receiving diplomats and leaders from around the world.
Two competing visions
During the Oslo process, the PA was rarely confronted with infractions of the agreements it had made with Israel, but Israeli divisions exacerbated the issue. "Since the Oslo Accords there were two lines," said Gold. The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 on the White House lawn, represented the opening of official relations between Israel and the PLO. "There was the line adopted by current Labor Party leader Shimon Peres that the Palestinians would have control over religious institutions in Jerusalem," Gold said. On the other side there was the treaty negotiated by the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin with the late Jordanian King Hussein, which stated that, "Israel respects the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem." When permanent status negotiations begin with the Palestinians, "Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines," it said.

Aug. 13….(AP) Gov. James E. McGreevey, a one-time rising Democratic star and twice-married father, announced his resignation with the startling disclosure that he is gay and had an extramarital affair with a man that he said threatened to undermine his "ability to govern." My truth is that I am a gay American," McGreevey said Thursday at a news conference with his second wife by his side. He described decades of sexual confusion that dogged him through two marriages and ultimately led him to an act he called "wrong, foolish and inexcusable." "Given the circumstances surrounding the affair and its likely impact upon my family and my ability to govern, I have decided the right course of action is to resign," he said, without elaborating on what the circumstances were. McGreevey, 47, refused to answer questions. He said, "it makes little difference that as governor I am gay," but added that staying in office and keeping the affair and his sexual orientation secret will leave the governor's office "vulnerable to rumors, false allegations and threats of disclosure." Gay rights groups expressed support and compassion for McGreevey, but their reactions were tinged with sorrow because McGreevey announced his resignation just as he became the nation's first openly gay governor. "It is a very sad to thing to watch. It is kind of stunning, sad to me that in 2004 people are still having to struggle because of homophobia in society to come to terms with who they are," said Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal.
FOJ Note: The New Jersey Governor was raised as a Catholic altar boy. His assertion that his homosexuality is irrelevant shows that he is one mixed up dude, and is in danger before a righteous God, as is our also if it continues down this sadistic path toward gay marriage. (Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;)

Aug. 13….(Guardian) Security officials in Baghdad last night were urgently investigating the background of 30 Iranians who were caught fighting for a rebel Shiite cleric in Iraq, amid mounting concern over the involvement of the Tehran regime in the Najaf uprising. The Guardian has learned that the most senior members of the Iraqi government were briefed about the capture of the men yesterday, and also told of other evidence that fighters and equipment have been crossing the border from Iran. The source said members of Iraq's national security committee had yesterday been presented "with revealing information about the extent of Iranian involvement in Iraqi affairs", which was being taken seriously at the "highest echelons of government". Relations between Iran and Iraq, who fought a ruinous war from 1980-88, have plummeted in recent weeks. Iran yesterday summoned Iraq's top envoy in Tehran over the alleged arrest in Iraq of several reporters from Iran's state news agency and the fate of a kidnapped Iranian diplomat. Iran also denounced the assault by US marines and Iraqi forces in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf as "inhumane and horrible". Foreign diplomatic observers in Baghdad have been alarmed by the "stoking up of tension" between the two neighbors. One senior diplomat said the Iranians were pursuing their activities in Iraq "more aggressively than anybody ever dared think that they would.
FOJ Note: Focus on Jerusalem has regularly highlighted the fact that Iran is using subversive methods against the US mission to free Iraq from its terrorist enclaves. Iran plays a pivotal role in end-time prophetic events, and will ultimately join with Russia to invade Israel.

Aug. 13….(World Net Daily) Though Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry says he opposes legalizing same-sex marriage, critics are pointing to the candidate's radical statements and writings in favor of homosexual marriage and claim this is one more divisive issue on which Kerry is attempting to play to both sides in an election year. Kerry was one of just a few senators who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, which then-President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1996. In a 1996 column for the homosexual publication the Advocate, Kerry slammed the act, known as DOMA, calling it "as unconstitutional and unnecessary as it is mean-spirited and malicious." DOMA, which passed with the support of 85 senators, says states are not required to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in other states. "Marriage" is defined in the law as "only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife." In his column, Kerry cites the Constitution's "Full Faith and Credit" clause, saying Congress does not have the authority to let states off the hook. Wrote Kerry: "Imagine the confusion if we didn't have such a clause: A child-custody decision in California could be ignored by Illinois; a divorce concluded in Nevada could be rejected in New York. DOMA does violence to the spirit and letter of the Constitution by allowing the states to divide." Kerry claimed DOMA created a "caste system" in the United States. "It seems no coincidence that every election year a few politicians gang together for some legislative gay bashing," he wrote. "This behavior panders to the basest instincts of the human condition, scape-goating and ostracizing. "But we are a better nation than that. Echoing the ignorance and bigotry that peppered the discussion of interracial marriage a generation ago, the proponents of DOMA call for a caste system for marriage." The senator praised homosexuals for their contribution to society. "I have long believed that gay people have a role in all public policy. Each gay man and lesbian in urban centers and small towns across this country brings a wealth of experience to the discussion of civil rights and discrimination." Though supporting state bans on same-sex marriage, Kerry has strongly supported "civil unions" for homosexuals. By saying that he favors civil unions, Kerry is hoping to skirt the gay-marriage-fence and make both sides think that he favors their views on gay marriage. In reality, Kerry favors gay-marriage, as evidenced by his wife Tereesa’s strong stand for gay marriage. Kerry is imply trying to pull the wool over the eyes of voters who support traditional American values on this issue.

Aug. 12…. (World Net Daily) In what some political observers might view as shocking news, a poll of America Online members is currently forecasting a landslide victory for President Bush, who collects 48 of the 50 states in this year's electoral race. The unscientific survey, whose results change in real time as more people vote, reveals with more than 34,000 participants, Bush takes a whopping 58 percent of the popular vote compared to 40 percent for Sen. John Kerry and 2 percent for Ralph Nader. According to AOL’s electoral map of the US, there's a massive sea of red marked in favor of the Republican president, while only two states, Connecticut and Vermont, along with the District of Columbia are marked in blue for the Democrat from Massachusetts. That's a total of just 13 electoral votes for Kerry, compared to 525 for Bush. The magic number of electoral votes to win the White House is 270. During this year's political season, professional pollsters using scientific methodology have shown a close race between Bush and Kerry. A Gallup survey following the recent Democratic convention had Bush receiving 50 percent support among likely voters, and Kerry with 47 percent.
FOJ Note: If the AOL poll pans out in November, one must wonder how and why the major news media and the national poll-takers would have erred so badly. Maybe the actual election will reveal that the powerbrokers of the mews media attempted to brainwash the public?

Aug. 12….(Worthy News) The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will monitor the US election on 2 November. It will be the first time such a team has been present for a US presidential election. Thirteen Democratic members of the House of Representatives had requested UN monitors for this year's presidential elections in an effort to avoid possible voting irregularities that plagued the 2000 election, the closest in US history. (FOJ Note: an election that Al Gore claims was stolen from him.) In a letter to the 13 Democrats, Assistant Secretary of State Paul Kelly did not mention the Democrats request for UN observers but said the United States had already invited the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe the 2004 presidential elections. The OSCE, based in Vienna, Austria, has sent more than 10,000 personnel to monitor more than 150 elections and referenda in more than 30 countries during the past decade, The OSCE is the largest regional security organization in the world with 55 participating States from Europe, Central Asia and North America. OSCE members, including the United States, agreed in 1990 in Copenhagen to allow fellow members to observe elections in one another's countries.

Aug. 12….(Washington Times) A scathing report by a Palestinian legislative committee lays the blame for the anarchy and drift within Palestinian society squarely on the Palestinian Authority and by implication on the man who leads it, Yasser Arafat. "The main reason for the failure of the Palestinian security forces in restoring law and order is the total lack of a clear political decision and no definition of their roles, either for the long term or short," the report says. A five-member panel of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) drew up the report after hearing testimony last month from dozens of witnesses ranging from Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and security officials to street activists and journalists. Panel members included both Arafat loyalists and critics. The report is remarkable in its frankness and its willingness to accept Palestinian responsibility for the failures of Palestinian society rather than pointing a finger only at Israel. Although the report does not focus on Mr. Arafat, it is clear from its contents that the failures of the Palestinian Authority stem from its leadership. The report calls for a halt to the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, a tactic it said had brought ruinous retaliation from Israel. "Those who fire the rockets do not represent the people and nation," it said. "They are doing it without thinking about the general interest and public opinion in the world and Israel. There is no vision or purpose to the rockets." The report also called for the resignation of Mr. Qureia's government and new elections. In testimony revealed by the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, to which a copy of the report had been leaked, Interior Minister Hakim Balawi laid responsibility for the chaos in the Palestinian streets directly upon the leadership, although he did not mention Mr. Arafat by name. "We lost control because of hesitation in the decision-making process and because we did not speak to the street about what we wanted and about the political situation," he said. "There is readiness on the part of the security forces, but there are no clear decisions and the political plan is not defined." The implication of the report is that uncontrolled actions by militant groups such as Hamas and the failure of the Palestinian Authority to exercise control have stood in the way of a political process leading to achievement of the Palestinian national goals, particularly the establishment of a state. "If this continues, it will send difficult messages to our people, to the Israelis who claim there is no Palestinian partner and to the international community, that we don't deserve a state."

Aug. 12….(Omega Letter) If a 10-kiloton nuclear weapon, a midget even smaller than the one that destroyed Hiroshima, exploded in Times Square, the fireball would reach tens of millions of degrees Fahrenheit. It would vaporize or destroy the theater district, Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal and Carnegie Hall. The blast would partly destroy a much larger area, including the United Nations. On a weekday some 500,000 people would be killed. Could this happen?
Unfortunately, it could, and many experts believe that such an attack, somewhere, is likely. The Aspen Strategy Group, a bipartisan assortment of policy mavens, focused on nuclear risks at its annual meeting here last week, and the consensus was twofold: the danger of nuclear terrorism is much greater than the public believes, and our government hasn't done nearly enough to reduce it. Graham Allison, a Harvard professor whose terrifying new book, "Nuclear Terrorism," offers the example cited above, notes that he did not pluck it from thin air. He writes that on October 11, 2001, exactly a month after 9/11, aides told President Bush that a CIA source code-named Dragonfire had reported that Al Qaeda had obtained a 10-kiloton nuclear weapon and smuggled it into New York City. The CIA has found the report plausible. The weapon had supposedly been stolen from Russia, which indeed has many 10-kiloton weapons. Russia is reported to have lost some of its nuclear materials, and Al Qaeda has mounted a determined effort to get or make such a weapon. And the CIA had picked up Al Qaeda chatter about an "American Hiroshima." President Bush dispatched nuclear experts to New York to search for the weapon and sent Dick Cheney and other officials out of town to ensure the continuity of government in case a weapon exploded in Washington instead. But to avoid panic, the White House told no one in New York City, not even Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Dragonfire's report turned out to be wrong, but similar reports that Al Qaeda has its hands on a nuclear weapon from the former Soviet Union have regularly surfaced in the intelligence community, even though such a report has never been confirmed. We do know several troubling things: Al Qaeda negotiated for a $1.5 million purchase of uranium (apparently of South African origin) from a retired Sudanese cabinet minister; its envoys traveled repeatedly to Central Asia to buy weapons-grade nuclear materials; and Osama bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, boasted, "We sent our people to Moscow, to Tashkent, to other Central Asian states, and they negotiated, and we purchased some suitcase nuclear bombs."
William Perry, the former Secretary of Defense, says there is an even chance of a nuclear terror strike within this decade, that is, in the next six years. "We're racing toward an unprecedented catastrophe," Mr. Perry warns. "This is preventable, but we're not doing the things that could prevent it." That is what I find baffling: an utter failure of the political process. The Bush administration responded aggressively on military fronts after 9/11, and in November 2003, President Bush observed, "The greatest threat of our age is nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in the hands of terrorists, and the dictators who aid them." The upshot is that the risk that a nuclear explosion will devastate an American city is greater now than it was during the cold war, and it's growing.

The Anti-Christian World Will Cheer Our Absence

Aug. 12….(FOJ) Have you ever noticed how the media and the politically correct culture cops explode in sanctimonious outcries of self-righteousness any time a public figure inadvertently insults one of the protected minority groups. Yet these same self-appointed powerbrokers never ever demand an apology when a secularist celebrity demeans Christianity, the Ten Commandments, the Bible, or a person espouses the Judeo-Christian ethic that frames the foundation of the American Republic. The secular Socialists view Christianity as a cancer to the cause of world peace, and to the creation of a secular utopian state in the United States. Christians and the word of God represent an obstacle to their dreams of "humanistic progress," because we keep harping about a return to the traditional morality and Christian principles that made America the home of the brave and the land of liberty. That is largely what today's judicial and culture war is all about. The ACLU will come running to defend the rights of gays and lesbians, but it never ever defends the civil rights of Christians. During this particular political season, the face of the Christian viewpoint is painted under the name of George W. Bush. This is the reason that the left and the secularists hate him so much. And these are the roots of the reasons why the world hates America. The world is saying, “America, just throw those Bibles away, stop praying, and stop talking about and preaching about that Jesus guy, and you can be accepted in our New World Order!” And by all means, get rid of those Bible believing fundamental, prophecy-spouting fanatical Christians, and we’ll all get along! Is it any wonder that the world will throw a party and send gifts to one another when the Rapture happens! The Revelation portrays a world scene during the great Tribulation when the two witnesses for Christ are killed and left lying in the streets of Jerusalem for 3-1/2 days. (Revelation 11:9-10 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.) The world hates Christ, and therefore it hates Christians, and the coming Tribulation era under the Antichrist will witness the climactic world party that the Christ haters will throw in our absence.

Houston Judge Orders Bible Remove

Aug. 11….(FOJ) A Houston, Texas judge has ordered Harris County officials to remove a Bible from a monument outside its civil courts building. Federal Judge Sim Lake stated in his official order that the county should be exercising religious neutrality and "not be seen as endorsing Christianity." He gave county officials 10 days to remove the Bible. Judge Lake stated in his statement against the Bible display that, "The court concludes that the purpose of the Bible display is to encourage people to read the Bible. What other purpose could there be for prominently displaying an open Bible in an illuminated case tilted toward passers-by in a heavily frequented plaza in front of the main entrance to the courthouse?" The Bible case was brought before Judge Lake’s court by real estate broker and attorney Kay Staley. "It is just a wonderful day for religious freedom and religious diversity," she said after the Judges ruling. The county argued that the display originated as a private expression of free speech, with private donations being used to buy the Bible, and that the county should not be held responsible for its contents. (Oh my goodness, we just can’t have people pointed towards reading the Bible in this country, now can we? And we for a surety must not allow the perception that the governing institutions condone or that they may be responsible for the contents of the Bible!) It dawns on me that the Bible is about as welcome in America as it is in Saudi Arabia now days. What must God be thinking as He looks on from above? Do you suppose He will protect America from its terrorist enemies in light of rulings like this? I dare say that, He will not, but will allow us to continue our prodigal course, and reap the seeds of our own destruction.

Has Jordan Resumed Custody of Temple Mount?

Aug. 11….(David Parsons, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem) Some 15,000 Muslims associated with the radical Islamic Movement in Israel staged a provocative rally on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Saturday amid reports that Israel has quietly placed Jordan back in charge of the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque. Arguably the most sensitive piece of real estate on the planet, (ever wonder why?) the Temple Mount compound has again become a source of major concern in recent months, as Israeli authorities deal with bulges in the ancient retaining walls that threaten to collapse and police warn of Jewish extremists bent on provoking an incident at the site, either of which would convulse the Islamic world. To reduce tensions, Israel barred non-Muslims from entering the Mount over the weekend. But the Muslim activists showed no such sense of caution, rallying under the banner "Al-Aqsa in Danger," the same worn-out mantra used at the annual gathering for several years running. A large number of children were bused in for the event, while affiliated protests were held at other sites around Israel deemed important to Muslims. The head of the Islamic Movement's more radical northern branch, Sheikh Raed Salah, is imprisoned on charges of funneling money to Hamas, but he made an appearance by letter warning: "The missile that may destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque may destroy with it many other things." His deputy, Sheikh Kamel Hatib insisted that "the government of Israel will be responsible for any attack" on mosques in Jerusalem. The remarks were prompted in part by the recent statements of Public Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi, that a core group of Jewish extremists might launch an attack on the site in order to derail the disengagement plan from Gaza. However, Israeli President Moshe Katsav described Saturday's Muslim protest as "very irresponsible" and "a dangerous incitement that is bound to fuel a large fire." Meanwhile, important developments concerning the Temple Mount have been taking place under most radar screens, with a new briefing paper out of the Jerusalem-based think-tank The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) claiming that Israel has managed to dislodge the Palestinian Authority from its toehold on the Mount and to restore the Jordanian royal family as custodian of the Muslim shrines there. Citing Israel Television Channel One reports in July and other sources, the JCPA document, entitled "The Expulsion of the Palestinian Authority from Jerusalem and the Temple Mount," compiled by journalist Dan Diker, traces recent behind-the-scenes efforts by Israel to end the PA's penetration of eastern Jerusalem and its hijacking of the Muslim Waqf (trust) on the Temple Mount, restoring Jordanian religious administration of what Muslims call the Haram al-Sharif, or "Noble Sanctuary." The Center's paper says the expulsion of the PA from Jerusalem is the culmination of years of activity by Israeli security forces, which intensified in 2002 with arrests and expulsions of Palestinian security agents in Jerusalem's Old City and the closure of Orient House, freeing Arab residents from years of murder, kidnapping, and extortion. Jordan (and Egypt to an extent) was then granted a very public, central role in repairing bulges in the Temple Mount's outer walls, caused by the hasty construction of an underground mosque by the PA-controlled Waqf and its partner in the project, the Islamic Movement. In keeping with its 1994 peace treaty with Jordan, Israel has restored King Abdullah II and the Hashemite dynasty, which claims direct descent from the Prophet Mohammed, to their traditional role as guardian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.
 This includes removing the PA-appointed Mufti of Jerusalem, the firebrand Sheikh Sabri Ekrima, and restoring Jordanian appointee Adnan Husseini to his former office. This seems to have been accomplished with little outcry, since even during the past decade of PA encroachment in Jerusalem and its hostile takeover of the Waqf, Jordan continued to pay the salaries of most Waqf employees. Apparently, some Arab states have come to share Israel's concern that PA leader Yasser Arafat was exploiting the Temple Mount fissure to stir up pan-Islamic anger at Israel and destabilize the region. The recent moves send a clear message that Arafat is not acceptable to the Arab world as the custodian of Islam's third holiest shrine, according to the JCPA paper. It may also signal that Amman may be the address for resolving other issues with the Palestinian population, in light of the chaotic state of the PA, it concludes. These developments do not mark a full return to the status quo prior to 1996, but since August 2003 the Temple Mount compound has been reopened to Jewish and Christian visitors under limited conditions, and the ramp to the Mughrabi Gate is currently undergoing major improvements that signal Israel is determined to keep the site open to all in the long run.

 

Al Qaeda Hints at Major Assassination

Aug. 11….(Washington Times) US intelligence officials say a high-profile political assassination, triggered by the public release of a new message from Osama bin Laden, will lead off the next major al Qaeda terrorist attack, The Washington Times has learned. The assassination plan is among new details of al Qaeda plots disclosed by US officials familiar with intelligence reports who, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the killing could be carried out against a US or foreign leader either in the United States or abroad. The officials mentioned Saudi Arabia and Yemen, two nations that are working with the United States in the battle against al Qaeda, as likely locales for the opening assassination. The planning for the attacks to follow involves "multiple targets in multiple venues" across the United States, one official said. The new details of al Qaeda's plans were found on a laptop computer belonging to arrested al Qaeda operative Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan of Pakistan. Additionally, US intelligence officials said they think that several al Qaeda terrorists already in the United States are part of the plot, although their identities and locations are not known. The targets, in addition to the financial institutions in New York, Washington and Newark, N.J., that have been the subject of public warnings, include such economic-related targets as oil and gas facilities with a view toward disrupting the November election. "The goal of the next attack is twofold: to damage the US economy and to undermine the US election," the official said. "The view of al Qaeda is 'anybody but Bush.”
FOJ Note: Is it just me, or do Al Qaeda and the liberal socialists of American leftist politics have the same view about the election. Sometimes I think the liberal socialists would prefer the death of President Bush over Bin Laden.

 

Powell: Arafat Important, But He Must Go

Aug. 11….(Worthy News) US Secretary of State Colin Powell reiterated Tuesday the Bush Administration's pledge to work for a two-state solution in the Middle East, acknowledging that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had "a unique place in the minds and hearts of his people," but had failed to work toward peace. "We believe that Israel's plan to withdraw from Gaza, and to begin the withdrawal from the West Bank, with four settlements withdrawn from, represents a valuable opportunity to move forward," he told members of Seeds of Peace, a group that works with young people from the world's hotspots to build bridges for the future. "This initiative could help to bring both sides together to resume negotiations under the path, of the elements of the 'road map.'" Powell told the audience the United States was trying hard to play the role of honest broker in the region, where Washington is accused of having a markedly pro-Israel tilt. He said the Bush Administration's success last year to get both sides together at Aqaba, Jordan, to commit to the "road map" pointed to that role. He added the United States was still working to ensure the Palestinian Prime Minister received more power. The Palestinian leader (Arafat) has been sidelined in the peace process by both Israel and the United States. Both nations say he does not do enough to stop anti-Israel violence by militant groups, including some affiliated to him. For more that two years, he has been besieged by Israeli tanks and troops in his compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Powell said dealing with Arafat in the past had yielded few results and so there was no option except to ignore the Palestinian leader and find younger leaders who were willing to talk and make peace. "We finally came to the conclusion that we needed new leadership on the Palestinian side, and we encouraged the Palestinians to come up with a Prime Minister position and somebody for that position who would be empowered and would be able to represent the Palestinian people," he said. "We know that Chairman Arafat occupies a unique place in the minds and hearts of his people. He is the embodiment of their desires and wishes. But we do not think he has been an effective interlocutor toward peace, and therefore we thought the world would be better served, the region would be better served, the Palestinians would be better served if we can empower a prime minister who was operating with authority."
FOJ Note: Let me repeat the famous words of Gold Meir spoken to Anwar Sadat. “What took you so long, Mr. Secretary?” FOJ has documented for 9 years that Yasser Arafat could not be trusted, nor did he ever desire a peace with Israel. He, along with his terrorist comrades and sponsors are seeking the total destruction of Israel.

 

EU Discusses Israel's Inclusion in Revived Roman Empire

Aug. 11….(FOJ) A European Union team is to hold negotiations with Foreign Ministry officials in two weeks on Israel's participation in the Wider European initiative, in what is believed to be a final push to wrap things up before a new European Commission takes office in November. The negotiations, the fifth round between Israel and the EU are slated for August 24 in Jerusalem. The Wider Europe/New Neighborhood Policy is an initiative to upgrade the EU's relations with a circle of some 14 countries bordering the enlarged EU, with the ultimate goal being to allow free access to and from the EU of goods, services, capital, and people from the countries involved in the initiative. Before admission to Wider Europe is granted, the candidate countries have to meet certain benchmark requirements on a number of political and economic issues. European officials have not hidden that Israel's involvement in the program will not be divorced from whether or not there is diplomatic progress in the Middle East. European diplomats have also openly expressed frustration at their level of involvement in the disengagement plan, with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana saying during his visit last month that the EU will be involved in the diplomatic process whether Israel likes it or not. One official said that just as Israel is interested in a more active role in the EU, which the Wider Europe initiative affords, the EU is interested in a more active role in the diplomatic process, including disengagement. Israel, Jordan, Moldova, Morocco, Tunisia, and Ukraine are in the first wave of countries, along with the Palestinian Authority, to negotiate with the EU regarding participation in the program. European officials said there is an interest in completing basic negotiations with Israel before a new commission, the EU's equivalent of a new government, comes into office in November (and perhaps a new EU Super-President?) and will begin dealing with the issues. Under the Wider Europe initiative, which Israeli officials have said would open many doors currently closed to Israel and would move Israeli-EU ties up a notch, the depth of each country's ties with the EU will be determined on a country-by-country basis. The EU has openly made clear that one of the goals of the initiative is to offer deeper economic ties in return for political dialogue and democratic reform with countries that have little chance of full EU membership.

Why So Much Suffering for the Saints?

Aug. 10….(FOJ) Have you ever felt like there seems to be a lot of suffering Christians in the world today. It seems that the whole world has turned against Christians, and especially against Biblically committed saints. The Voice of the Martyrs regularly documents the persecution of Christians all around the world, but it seems to me that even being a Christian in America is tough nowadays. Anti-Christian socialist forces are making gigantic inroads across the spectrum in the US. It seems that if anything is remotely connected to Christianity, then it has either become un-Constitutional or is considered old fashioned and out of step with modernity. (I Peter 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.) Even religion today is saying that if you are having to suffer as a Christian then there must be something wrong with you, and that God can’t bless you because of sin in your life. But choosing God’s will, even if it means you may have to suffer, is something that Jesus advocated. No pragmatic saint ever chooses suffering; but whenever trials come, a saint will simply choose God’s will, just as Jesus did, and more often than not in today’s world, that will mean enduring suffering! It is a fact that the saint who satisfies the heart of Jesus will make other saints strong and mature for God. Many people came to the knowledge of Christ as their personal Savior as a result of the empirical persecutions inflicted upon the early Saints by Rome. Christians do not need sympathy. No one better understands a saint than the saint who is as close and as intimate with Jesus as he can possibly be, and knows that Christ also suffered, and suffered far more. God is not the power causing our suffering, but He often allows some of it. Jesus had ample opportunity to feel sorry for himself because of the personal suffering he had to endure. He endured more suffering than any other being, and yet He was God. But he chose to endure the world’s harshest treatment; because He realized that He was in a hostile alien world, to save the world. Why does God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places, and to endure suffering? God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be. (I Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.) We simply need to learn to be content with God’s plan, and to be contented with godliness in our lives. In so doing you will come to the wisdom expressed by Peter. (I Peter 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.) This world is not our home, and we will not find a welcome here, until Jesus comes to conquer this world!

 

Why is Russia Helping to Make Iran a Nuke Power?

Aug. 10….(FOJ) Russia has announced that it has helped Iran to complete more than 90 percent of the Bushehr nuclear reactor in Iran. Russian officials said Moscow has accelerated work on the Bushehr power reactor. They said 1,500 Russian nationals and personnel from the former Soviet Union were sent to Iran to complete the $1 billion nuclear project. So far, officials said, Russia has completed procurement for Bushehr. They said the remaining work includes the assembly of the equipment, systems integration and preparing for operations. "By now, the first power unit of the Bushehr nuclear station is 90 percent ready," a Russian Atomic Agency official told the Moscow-based Tass news agency. Why is it that Russia is being so helpful in assisting Iran to become a nuclear power? The Bible forecasts an interesting relationship between Russia and Iran during the Tribulation era. It should be noted by Christian students of prophecy that Iran was a pro-American-West ally up until the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It is apparent to FOJ that the Persian Tiger is already preparing its claws for its prophesied alliance with Russia when it invades Israel in the very last days.

 

Saudi Royal Family Facing Troubles

Aug. 10….(Fox News) Behind a façade of control, the ruling family of Saudi Arabia is in tough shape and teetering on the brink of collapse, a victim of its own corruption and a violent Islamic insurgency at its door, some US experts warn. "It is a pretty fragile royal family, it's pretty corrupt and it's sitting on some pretty weak legs," Enders Winbush, director of the Center for Future Security Strategies with the Hudson Institute, told FOX News. "The question is, can it do enough soon enough to put off what I suspect will be the inevitable, that at some point it will come apart," he said. "Anyone who knows anything about the area knows it's not a question of ‘if,' but of ‘when,'" said Bill Lind, a military analyst with the Free Congress Foundation. "We (US) need to delay it as much as possible, and think of what to do when it does happen." Saudi Arabia's record has left open room for concern. Since a series of car bombs in May 2003, militant violence has escalated in the kingdom. This past May, a weekend rampage at two compounds housing offices and homes of expatriates in the city of Khobar left 22 people dead. In June, American contractor Paul Johnson was very publicly executed by militants in the country. Al Qaeda operatives claimed that Saudi security forces sympathetic to their cause aided in Johnson's abduction, which the government denied. Law enforcement authorities later discovered Johnson's head in a Riyadh home belonging to a suspected high-level terrorist. Nonetheless, last month's release of the Sept. 11 commission report vindicated the Saudi government of any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks upon the United States. A day before, in a statement distributed by the White House, President Bush used Saudi Arabia as an example of positive progress in the War on Terror. "[The Saudi government] is working hard to shut down the facilitators and financial supporters of terrorism," read a White House statement from July 21. "Today, because Saudi Arabia has seen the danger and joined the war on terror, the American people are safer," the release added. Aware of the pressures on it, the Saudi government has tried to take proactive measures. Last week Saudi security forces arrested Faris al-Zahrani, who is on a list of 26 top wanted militants with suspected links to Usama bin Laden's Al Qaeda group. In an overnight raid in June, Saudi forces killed the kingdom's top Al Qaeda leader Abid al-Aziz al-Muqran and three other terrorists. Despite Washington's historically close ties with the ruling royal House of Saud as well as the official White House line, the country, which holds the world's largest oil reserves, is a mess and desperately needs change that will benefit the Saudi people, say the experts who spoke with FOXNews.com. "We can wish this away all we want, but the reality is getting harder and harder to ignore," wrote former CIA Agent Robert Baer in 2003's "Sleeping with the Devil," which explores the US relationship with the House of Saud and the destructive trajectory the ruling family is on today. Baer said the billions of dollars spent each year by some 30,000 members of the family, combined with the corruption, debauchery and sporadic funding of Islamic extremist terror groups and mosques in and outside the country, have created a volatile beast that is racing back at them with a vengeance. "The terrorists who were created by the royal family as a political weapon to control the population and the Islamic world are trying to pull the kingdom backward," (drive a wedge between the US and the Saudi kingdom) said Stephen Schwartz, author of "The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role In Terrorism (2003)." "Saudi Arabia is at a fork in the road of its history," Schwartz said. Schwartz said he does not buy into the theory that the government's fall is imminent, but he does call the situation there "a crisis." He said a large middle class is repressed by the strictest of religious law, which bars women from an education and gives them no rights; men are whipped publicly if they don't get to daily prayers on time and people accused of crimes are beheaded in the public square. The middle class is becoming increasingly restless with the environment in the country, said Schwartz. "It has happened again and again in history, the business class and the elements of the ruling elite get together and merge a transition to normalcy and stability on the road to democratic reform." But others have said Schwartz's view is too rosy. A large percentage of the ulama, or religious leadership espouses incendiary anti-Western, anti-royal family rhetoric in schools and mosques across the oppressed country. That leadership has been bolstered by the war and subsequent instability in Iraq, said Lind. The rhetoric continues to be a tool of Saudi-born Usama bin Laden, who remains at large after his orchestration of the Sept. 11 attacks. "This is all one war," to purify the royal family and the Middle East of the "evil" Western influence, said Lind, who sees the violence in Saudi Arabia as part of a global Islamic insurgency. "When we do a thing like invade Iraq, we are going to have problems on the other parts of the single battlefield our opponents see." Saudi Arabia's state religious doctrine follows Wahhabite Islamic law, which is the ideology driving the fundamentalist militancy of the Al Qaeda network, according to experts. Baer and others say Saudi princes have often thrown money at religious leaders, extremists and otherwise, as a way to control them. "They retain remarkable tools of persuasion," said Jon Alterman, Middle East Program director for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It's a government walking around with a whole lot of money and they can co-opt a whole lot of people." Jim Phillips, Middle East expert at the Heritage Foundation, said the enormous amount of wealth owned by the royal family could help the government fend off an attempted overthrow. "They are in a position to forcefully block a coup or a revolt," he said. "There is a rising disenchantment with the royal family, but the Saudis have shown themselves to be more stable than it appears." Some experts suggest that if the government did implode, the extremists would rush in to fill the vacuum and the United States might have to move in to protect the oil supply in order to keep the world market in balance. Almost all agree, however, that Iraq, which sits on the kingdom's border, could shift behavior and attitudes in Saudi Arabia. Last month, the two nations re-established diplomatic relations after a 14-year hiatus. "If Iraq stabilizes, I see some hopeful signs," said Winbush, as the change would provide an attractive democratic model, and economic opportunities for the Saudi people living in poverty and fear across the border. "The other wild card of course, is if Iraq goes the other way and it descends into chaos," he said. "Then I think then you could see the Saudi regime being replaced by what I call 'The Nasties.'"

Rice: Iran's Nuclear Intentions Worrisome

Aug. 9….(AP) With Iran stepping up its nuclear program, a top White House aide said Sunday the world finally is "worried and suspicious" over the Iranians' intentions and is determined not to let Tehran produce a nuclear weapon. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice also said the Bush administration sees a new international willingness to act against Iran's nuclear program. She credited the changed attitude to the Americans' insistence that Iran's effort put the world in peril. She would not say whether the United States would act alone to end the program if the administration could not win international support. Iran's foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, announced a week ago that his country had resumed building nuclear centrifuges. He said Iran was retaliating for the West's failure to force the UN nuclear watchdog agency to close its file on possible Iranian violations of nuclear nonproliferation rules.
 Kharrazi said Iran was not resuming enrichment of uranium, which requires a centrifuge. But, he said, Iran had restarted manufacturing the device because Britain, Germany and France had not stopped the investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency. "The United States was the first to say that Iran was a threat in this way, to try and convince the international community that Iran was trying, under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, to actually bring about a nuclear weapons program," Rice said on CNN's "Late Edition." "I think we've finally now got the world community to a place, and the International Atomic Energy Agency to a place, that it is worried and suspicious of the Iranian activities," she said. "Iran is facing for the first time real resistance to trying to take these steps." Bush, in his 2002 State of the Union address, included Iran with North Korea and Iraq in an "axis of evil" dedicated to developing nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Since then, North Korea has publicly resumed its nuclear development program. In Iraq, invading US-led forces have found no such programs after President Saddam Hussein was deposed. Iran announced in June that it would resume its centrifuge program. Afterward, the US official whose job is to slow the global atomic arms race, Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, told Congress that Iran was jabbing "a thumb in the eye of the international community." On NBC's "Meet the Press," Rice reasserted that the world has fallen in line on Iran and said she expects next month to get a very strong statement from the IAEA "that Iran will either be isolated, or it will submit to the will of the international community." She also said, "We cannot allow the Iranians to develop a nuclear weapon. The international community has got to find a way to come together and to make certain that that does not happen."

 

Israel Still Faces 50 Daily Terror Warnings

Aug. 9….(JNEWSWIRE) The number of Israeli civilians killed in terror attacks in the last four years is nearly equal the number killed by terrorists in the preceding 53, Shin Bet head Avi Dichter told the cabinet Sunday. Dichter told the cabinet that from November 29, 1947, when the UN voted for partition and Jewish statehood, until the start of the current violence in September 2000, some 755 Israelis were killed in terror actions here or abroad. Some 674 Israeli civilians have been killed since September 2000. Dichter said that in 2004, 22 Israelis, or some 30 percent of the total casualties so far this year, have been killed in Hizbullah directed operations, carried out by the (Yasser Arafat’s) Tanzim-Fatah faction. The increased involvement of Hizbullah was one of the trends Dichter pointed out during his briefing. In addition to the increase of Hizbullah involvement in Palestinian terror attacks, Dichter said that there has been a substantial increase in the Palestinian use of women and children under 18 to carry out attacks. If in 2001 women and children took part in some 3% of the attacks, in 2004 they account for some 8 percent of the attacks. Dichter said this statistic reflects both the difficulty the Palestinians are having in successfully carrying out attacks involving men, and that the Palestinians are increasingly turning to "weaker and more impressionable" parts of the population for recruits. He also said that 17% of all Israelis killed since the beginning of the violence were killed in attacks involving east Jerusalem Arabs. While Dichter said Israel has had wide success in stopping suicide attacks, it is still unable to reduce the motivation to carry tem out. Dichter said that since January 2003, Israel has succeeded in foiling 70% of the attempted suicide attacks, and that since January 2004 this number has reached 77%. He said that the number of terror warnings remains steady at about 50 a day. Another sign that the Palestinians are having difficulty carrying out attacks is the increase in the use of Kassam rockets. Dichter said that in 2004 alone the Palestinians fired 168 Kassam rockets, or 40% of all the Kassam fired since they were first put into action in 2001. Dichter also said that 30% of the rockets fired this year were fired since the IDF moved in Beit Hanoun following the killing of two people by a Kassam in Sderot on June 29. Dichter informed the cabinet that in his estimation Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has managed to survive the chaotic last three weeks in the PA and calls for reform by using his 'classic techniques' such as new appointments and promises for reform. He said that even those in the PA who were opposed to these appointments have resolved themselves to the new situation. Dichter said that Yasser Arafat succeeded in diverting the Palestinian public's attention from calls for reform by focusing on perceived threats to the al-Aqsa Mosque.

 

Radical Islam’s War with Christianity

Aug. 9….(CBN) All over the Muslim world, conversion to Christianity can mean more than prison. It can be a death sentence. In countries where Islam reigns, Christians struggle just to stay alive. But Muslims in the United States and other western countries are protected and free to proselytize. And Islam is thriving here in America, aggressively taking advantage of western religious tolerance. Post-Saddam Iraq recently provided a vivid example of the worldwide double standard that Islam enjoys. It seems some people would rather let Iraqis suffer than see Christianity offering hope in the midst of a Muslim population. Iraq is in desperate need of necessities like water, food, and medical attention, and Christian charities have offered to help with lifesaving aid. But instead of being applauded, the effort has been attacked as a cover for Christian evangelization. It seems liberals and Muslims would rather let Iraqis suffer than see Christianity offering hope in the midst of a Muslim population. Iraq is in desperate need of necessities like water, food, and medical attention, and Christian charities have offered to help with lifesaving aid. But instead of being applauded, the effort has been attacked as a cover for Christian evangelization. It is as if Christian groups might share a dangerous virus in Iraq, and not a message of peace and tolerance. There is little tolerance in the Muslim world when it comes to Christianity. Millions of Christians have now died from persecution and war in the Muslim world. Although Saudi Arabia is the geographical heart of Islam, less than one fifth of the world's Muslims are Arabs. Most Muslims live east of Pakistan. And Islam continues explosive growth in Africa. By one estimate, the number of Muslims in Africa grew from 34 million in 1900 to 300 million in 2000 [Source: The History of Islam in Africa]. Christianity in Africa is actually growing faster, but has not caught up. In 1900, there were 10 million Christians there, and by 2000 there were 250 million [Source: The History of Islam in Africa]. Islam dominates above the 10th parallel, on a line that splits many nations in half. The northern portions of countries like Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, and Somalia are Muslim. Southern parts of these countries are Christian or other religions.
 Islam’s growth is fueled in part by Saudi oil money, and by Moammar Ghaddafy's pan-Arab aspirations. In most of Africa, where Islam and Christianity meet, people are killed, such as in the Sudan. And in Nigeria, Africa's largest country, the rise of Islam in the north has plunged parts of the nation into a religious civil war. Twelve Nigerian states now have Islamic fundamentalist Sharia law. Sharia is the law every Muslim is guided on. It is a rule, a regulation, a binding, every Muslim, wherever he is." To the renowned human rights expert Paul Marshall, the killings in Nigeria and the killings in New York on 9/11 happened for the same reason. It's about getting rid of the biggest obstacle to an Islamic planet: the United States. "The expression ‘Al Qaeda’ means, ‘The base,’ ‘The organization.’ But it does have an official name, and its name is ‘The World Islamic Front for Holy War Against Christians and Jews,’" Marshall said. "Osama Bin Laden, in many interviews, said there are two parties to this conflict. The first is world Christianity and its allies, the Jews, aided by America, Europe and Israel. The second party is the Islamic world. That's how they see this." Many American Muslim leaders have publicly condemned violence against Christians and Jews. Most American Muslims are peace-loving. But in Islam’s holy city of Mecca, in Arabic-language sermons, important Wahhabi preachers continue to call for the murder of Christians and Jews. And Saudi money has made its violent Wahhabi sect the dominant form of Islam in the world. Christianity may not be welcome in most Islamic states, but Islam has been welcomed in America, and it has used America's tradition of religious tolerance to full advantage. A study by the Council on American Islamic Relations says hundreds of new mosques have been built in the United States in the last 20 years. Estimates on the number of American Muslims vary widely, from three to eight million. Stephen Schwartz, author of The Two Faces of Islam, says we should not be alarmed by the growth of Islam in the United States, but by who controls it. "I would say billions of dollars have been spent in the United States to advance Wahhabism," Schwartz said. "The Wahhabi sect, backed by Saudi Arabia, controls 70 to 80 percent of the mosques in the United States. That means they control the teaching, the preaching, the literature that's distributed, and they control the training of the Imams. They control all the Imams in the federal and state prisons, and they control the imams in the US military. That is, they instruct, they indoctrinate and they certify the chaplains in the federal and state prison systems and in the military. Schwartz says there need to be congressional hearings into Saudi Wahhabi control of Islam in America. "We've never previously had the experience of a major attempt by a foreign government to control a religion in the United States," Schwartz said. "Just as the Communist Party recruited spies and traitors, the Wahhabi imams recruit terrorists. The Wahhabis are also continuing to build academies that are alleged to have used anti-Christian and anti-Semitic curricula, while Saudi Arabia does not even allow Christian worship in homes. Marshall says the United States should tell the Saudis: if you want to keep spreading Islam in the United States, stop banning churches and torturing Christians in Saudi Arabia. "I think it would be perfectly legitimate to say, ‘As long as you do that, we're not going to allow you to expand your facilities in our country,’" Marshall said. The Council on American Islamic Relations, which bills itself as "America's largest Islamic civil liberties group," did not respond to our request for an interview. The Islamic Society of North America, perhaps the leading Wahhabi organization in the country, said it opposes the way Christians are persecuted in many Muslim nations, and called for Christians and Muslims to work together. That might be possible in America, but seems unlikely in those nations where Wahhabi Islam rules.

WEEK OF AUGUST 2 THROUGH AUGUST 8

 

Russia Rebuilding its Mid-east Spy Network

Aug. 6….(GeoStrategy) Russia is rebuilding its spy network in the Middle East with a focus on Israel and Saudi Arabia. In both cases, Russia is seeking access to US-origin weapons technology. In Saudi Arabia, the Russian espionage effort is backed by a diplomatic campaign to play on Riyad's fears of Al Qaida and the unrest in the kingdom. Russian diplomats have touted Moscow's capabilities of replacing the US in operating Saudi oil fields and in providing advanced weapons. Meanwhile, Russian agents are trying to infiltrate companies to obtain US technology and Saudi secrets. The Russian effort in Israel is much bigger. In Israel, unlike Saudi Arabia, Russian diplomats easily blend into the large immigrant population from the former Soviet Union. Moscow is believed to have established a huge sleeper cell in Russian immigrant communities and some of them are believed to be trying to infiltrate government, the Foreign Ministry and the defense sector. Israel's security agencies have been working overtime to identify and track Russian agents. But the Russians believe in quantity, and this threatens to overwhelm Israeli authorities. Last month, Israeli authorities expelled a Russian national after determining that he was a spy. The Russian was identified as Konstantin Kapitonov, who had arrived in Israel as a correspondent for the Russian newspaper Russky Kuryer. What are the Russians looking for in Israel? Western diplomatic sources believe the focus is Israeli and US technology, particularly in the area of missile defense.
FOJ Note: Saudi Arabia is depicted in Ezekiel 38:13 as being concerned about Russian intentions on the Arabian Gulf. The House of Saud will one day be concerned about Russian moves into the Mid-east, and be curious as to whether Russia is intent upon occupying the oil reserves of the Mid-east. Ezekiel 38:8-12 indicates that Russia will indeed venture into Israel, with an eye on establishing itself as the new Superpower of the world.

 

EU Backs Down on Syrian WMD

Aug. 6….(GeoStrategy-Direct London) The European Union has eased its demand on Syria to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction. That's putting it diplomatically. EU sources said Brussels has agreed to revise a clause in an agreement with Syria that it reduce its missile and WMD arsenals. The sources said the move came during high-level talks between EU officials and the regime of President Bashar Assad over the last three months. The EU clause was to be included in an association agreement with Damascus that would provide Syria with economic and political benefits. Syria has refused to sign any accord that committed Damascus to eliminate its ballistic missile and WMD arsenal. (FOJ Note: Syria likely acquired Saddam’s arsenal with UN acquiescence) Under the revised accord, Brussels no longer insists that Syria reduce its ballistic missile arsenal. But a ban on biological, chemical and nuclear weapons would remain in force. Syria has been the lone holdout in the EU’s 12-member Mediterranean partnership effort. The United States, supported by Britain, urged the EU to include a WMD and missile ban on Syria as part of the partnership agreement. In December 2003, the EU announced that major negotiations with Syria had been concluded. But Britain, Germany and the Netherlands opposed Syria's entry until it pledged to eliminate its WMD program. Syria has developed and deployed the Scud C and Scud D medium-range missiles, which can reach distances of 550 and 700 kilometers, respectively. The CIA has asserted that Syria has amassed the largest CW stockpile in the Middle East and has developed CW warheads.
FOJ Note: The Burden of Damascus is reaching a climax. Can there be much time left before the countdown to the Tribulation scenario begins?

 

Al Qaida Seeks 'Hiroshima' Bomb to Attack US

Aug. 6….(Geostrategy-Direct) Al Qaida terrorists are seeking nuclear weapons and plan to carry out a Hiroshima-type attack against the United States, according to the September 11 commission report. The report states that Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaida have tried to acquire or make nuclear weapons for at least 10 years. "The greatest danger of another catastrophic attack in the United States will materialize if the world's most dangerous terrorists acquire the world's most dangerous weapons," states a section of the report on arms proliferation. The report, based on access to the most sensitive US intelligence on terrorism, states that in 1998 Bin Laden associates believed "their leader was intent on carrying out a 'Hiroshima.' These ambitions continue." The report states that as late as February 2004 Bin Laden and his terrorist group regarded acquiring weapons of mass destruction to be a religious obligation. (FOJ Note: Perhaps Saddam aided Bin Laden in this effort, knowing that the US was intent on finding his arsenal) Al Qaida is seeking nuclear capability and more than two dozen other terrorist groups are seeking chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials. A nuclear device could be constructed using a relatively small amount of nuclear material, the report states. A trained nuclear engineer with highly enriched uranium or plutonium "about the size of a grapefruit or an orange" along with commercially available material could make a nuclear device that would fit in a rental van, such as the one used in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. "Such a bomb would level Lower Manhattan," the report states. The report recommended stepping up efforts to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Of Al Qaida's more than 10-year effort to obtain nuclear arms, the report noted, "there is no doubt the United States would be a prime target." "Preventing the proliferation of these weapons warrants a maximum effort.

 

US Warned: Nuclear Iran Would alter Military Balance in Mid-east

Aug. 6….(Geostrategy-Direct) The Bush administration has been warned of the consequences of an Iran possessing nuclear weapons capability. The warning came during recent testimony before the House International Relations Committee that discussed Iranian proliferation and its implication for terrorist groups. The administration was criticized for failing to prevent Iran from acquiring systems and fuel for producing nuclear weapons and delivery systems. "Iran's unconventional weapons program and its fondness for using terrorism as statecraft have made this pariah state a litmus test of President George Bush's war against terror," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia. "A nuclear Iran, combined with its deep-rooted terrorist infrastructure, is an Iran that must be stopped." [On July 27, Israel confirmed Western reports that Iran has resumed construction of gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment. Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon told Israel state television that the resumption of Iran's banned nuclear activities began about "two to three weeks ago."] Officials said Iran has been pursuing a covert nuclear program for more than 20 years, including manufacturing and testing centrifuge components and developing lasers to produce highly enriched uranium. Iran also plans to purchase up to six additional nuclear power plants as well as a heavy water research reactor. The CIA has warned that even intrusive International Atomic Energy Agency inspections might not prevent Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons, officials said. The CIA assessment was that Teheran could be using legitimate fuel production to cover up its weapons program. One thing is clear: an Iran with nuclear weapons could significantly alter the regional dynamics and lead to further proliferation in the region; both from other state-sponsors of terrorism, such as Syria, or from US allies which may feel threatened. Iranian nuclear capabilities would change perceptions of the military balance in the region, and could pose serious challenges to the US in terms of deterrence and defense." Iran could obtain plutonium required for nuclear weapons from the Bushehr light-water power reactor, scheduled for completion by 2006. Officials said Bushehr's 1,000 megawatt reactor could produce a quarter ton of plutonium per year, sufficient for at least 30 nuclear bombs. "Would a nuclear Iran sponsor nuclear terrorism?" Paul Leventhal, founding president of the Washington-based Nuclear Control Institute, asked in his testimony to the House subcommittee. "The conventional view is that Iran would not turn over nuclear weapons or the material and know-how for building them to a group it could not fully control. Yet, Iran's record of not only sponsoring terrorism but of using its own intelligence units to work directly with groups like Hizbullah and the Jerusalem Force of the Revolutionary Guard suggests surely the potential for Iran providing nuclear assets to groups it can control." Iranian opposition sources, in an assertion supported by the IAEA, said supreme leader Ali Khamenei has formed a military unit to operate a covert nuclear project parallel to the civilian program run by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. The civilian program was meant to deal with IAEA inspectors, while the military project, said to employ 400 nuclear physicists, engineers and technicians, has sought to stop the leakage of nuclear secrets and pursue a weapons program. During the House hearing, Michael Eisenstadt, a leading US expert on Iran, said Teheran could build a nuclear bomb within a year if it obtained fissile material from abroad. Eisenstadt said this assessment assumed that Iran possesses plans for a viable weapon design. "If North Korea were to enter the market as a purveyor of nuclear weaponry, Iran might be able to buy a bomb even sooner," Eisenstadt said. "In the event that Iran's reactor at Bushehr is finished in 2006; as promised by the Russians; Iran could produce enough fissile material for its first bomb within 2-3 years. (FOJ Note: Why would Russia be helping Iran build a nuclear bomb? Ezekiel 38 indicates that Iran will be an ally of Russia when Russia moves into the Middle East against Israel during the late-Tribulation. Russia is seeking to displace the US as the lone superpower in the world and the Mid-east with its oil is key to that ascension to world power. Russia and Europe, as well as China all want a change in the balance of power in the region, and there is only one way to alter the balance of power. The factors that would lead to such a change would involve the diminishment of the US in the region, and an isolated Israel.)

 

Jesus Is Coming Back....At Any Moment!

Aug. 6….(excerpt from Bill Keller) The trumpeter is warming up. The other day I read the most accurate description of our world today I have ever seen. Let me share it with you: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever praised. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Actually, this came from God Himself in Romans 1:21-32. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie.) If that doesn't describe our culture today perfectly, I don't know what does. Satan, the great perverter, has told the lie enough times that people have now accepted the lie as the truth, and rejected the truth as a lie exactly as God said they would. I know there is much debate and controversy within the Body of Christ as to exactly how the events of the end times will unfold. The Bible clearly teaches that no man, only God knows the hour of Christ's return. But make no mistake, this is not a Hollywood movie, it is a very real event that will take place. One thing is certain, when Christ does return, whatever must take place will quickly unfold and this world as we know it will no longer exist. The Bible clearly tells us what the last days prior to His return will be like. My friend, you do not have to have a Doctorate in Theology to read God's Word and know that without a doubt, we are in the LAST DAYS. In Paul's second letter to his young disciple Timothy, in chapter 3 verses 1-5, he describes the last days. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Peter also shared the signs of the last days in 2 Peter 3:3, "First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires." Jesus commented as well on the signs of the last days in Matthew chapter 24. His disciples asked Him point blank what will be the sign of His return and the end of the age. Jesus answered in verses 4-14, "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. You see my friend, this is why those who know Christ as their Savior have to be busy about the work of the Kingdom. We are clearly in the last days, the night is coming and we must work while it is still light. The imminent return of Jesus Christ is a message you will not hear in the church very often because too many pastors either don't believe He is coming back, or they have lost sight of how soon it will happen. God's people need to not only be ready themselves for Christ's return, but must be busy sharing this Good News with the lost and dying world that we live in. The Bible tells us it is only God's patience that is delaying the last chapter from being played out because it is His desire that none perish and ALL come to repentance.

Islamic Group Tries to Buy Missile Launchers

Aug. 5….(Fox News) Federal agents and Albany, New York police have arrested two men being charged with trying to purchase a shoulder-fired missile. The men may have ties to terrorist group Ansar al-Islam, which has been linked to Usama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terror network, according to law enforcement officials. That link is not noted in court documents, however. Ansar al-Islam has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings, kidnappings and killings in Iraq, and has ties to the US-led coalition's most-wanted terrorist there, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The State Department has also declared the group a foreign terrorist organization. "The fact is, there are terrorists among us who want to engage in acts to attack us again and take away our freedom," Gov. George Pataki said in a news conference today. "Our government, our administration in Washington, and local officials are taking this threat to our freedom very seriously and will continue to be aggressive and proactive against those who would wish to do us harm." The arrests were in large part due to tips from the public, Pataki and Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings said. Yassin Muhhiddin Aref, 34, the Imam of the mosque, and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain, the 49-year-old founder of the mosque and owner of the local Little Italy Pizzeria, were arrested early Thursday morning at their homes. The person they were allegedly trying to buy the missile from was not a terrorist but an informant participating in a sting operation; no missile ever was exchanged. The informant told the men he was associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Mohammed), an Islamic extremist group in Pakistan that the US government considers a terrorist organization.

Missouri Voters Ban Gay Marriages

Aug. 4….(AP) Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday to ban gay marriage, the first such vote since the historic ruling in Massachusetts last year that legalized same-sex weddings there. Although the gay marriage ban was widely expected to pass in conservative Missouri, experts said the campaign served as a key barometer for which strategies work as the gay marriage battle spreads to ballot boxes around the nation. At least nine other states, and perhaps as many as 12, will vote on similar amendments this year. The amendment garnered over 70 percent of the Missouri vote. Missouri and 37 other states already have laws defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. But amendment supporters fear a court could toss aside the state law, and they believe the state would be on firmer legal ground if an outright ban is part of the Constitution. Louisiana residents are to vote on a marriage amendment Sept. 18. Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah are to vote on the issue on November 2nd. Initiatives are pending in Michigan, North Dakota and Ohio. Four states already have similar amendments.
FOJ Note: Missouri is known as the “show me” State. Missouri has sure shown the rest of the country what to do about Gay Marriage!

 

North American Jews Immigrating to Israel

Aug. 4….(AP) Hundreds of North American Jews immigrated to Israel on Wednesday, the second such single-day mass immigration in the past month. The recent arrivals mark what Israel hopes will be a revival of immigration from the West, which dropped sharply after Israeli-Palestinian violence escalated four years ago and the Israeli economy plummeted. The group was brought to Israel by the Nefesh B'Nefesh, "Jewish Souls United Group," working with the Jewish Agency and the Israeli government. Offering financial support and planning, the program set a target of bringing 1,500 U.S. and Canadian Jews to Israel before the end of the summer. Three weeks ago, the same organization brought 500 immigrants from North America. It expects another planeload of immigrants next week. Separately, 200 French Jews immigrated to Israel last week, many of them complaining of rising anti-Semitism in France. American Jews have not been similarly threatened. Israeli government statistics show the number of new immigrants dropped by nearly two-thirds between the years 2000 and 2003, because of Arafat’s terror war.

Gen. Franks: Iraq Had WMD in 2003

Aug. 4….(Newsmax) Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak personally assured Gen. Tommy Franks that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction within two months of the US's attack, the former Centcom Commander revealed on Tuesday. "The Jordanians have reliable intelligence and sources in Iraq that say, in fact, that Saddam Hussein has biological and chemical weapons," Franks said King Abdullah told him. The Jordanian king passed the WMD intelligence on to Franks during a face-to-face meeting in Jan. 2003. The one-time top military man revealed King Abdullah's comments to ABC Radio Network host Sean Hannity, who interviewed Franks for his debut book signing at Huntington, New York's Book Revue. A warning from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was even stronger, Franks said. In his book "American Soldier," the ex-Centcom chief quotes Mubarak saying, "You've got to be very, very careful, general. We have spoken with Saddam Hussein. He is a madman. He has weapons of mass destruction, biological weapons. And he will use them against your troops." "A number of other leaders in the Mid-east told us he had them, too," Franks told Hannity, adding, "If you were president of the United States, could you avoid paying attention to that? "We don't want our kids to fight, Franks told Hannity. "But sometimes they have to fight and when they do, we have to support them," he added, before saluting two servicemen in uniform standing in the back of the room. "It doesn't take a lot of bravery for the general," Franks told the crowd, "but it takes a lot of bravery by guys like those standing right there." The Iraq war commander, who calls himself a political Independent, said he wasn't ready to announce which candidate he's backing in this year's presidential election. But he told Hannity, "I'm leaning towards George W. Bush." Asked about Sen. John Kerry, Gen. Franks responded that because of the war on terror, America now needs its military more than it has in decades. "And we just need to ask ourselves, 'Is Sen. Kerry going to be very respectful of the military of our country?'" But he took umberage at Kerry's decision to protest the Vietnam War while U.S. troops were still in harm's way. "I guess at the end of the day John Kerry will have to live with himself," the former Cent-com chief said. Gen. Franks also took issue with conspiracy filmmaker Michael Moore, who recently challenged Fox News Channel host Bill O'Reilly to say whether he would send his son off to "die for Fallujah." US troops, said Franks, "are not there to die for Fallujah; they're there to protect the United States of America."

 

Israel May be Compelled to Pre-empt

Aug. 4….(FOJ recommends this commentary by Rachel Neuwirth)

Iran is moving rapidly towards becoming a nuclear power. The Iranian mullahs have publicly promised to use nuclear weapons to exterminate Israel even if Israel were to achieve peace with the Palestinians. They also claim that Iran, with 70 million people, could absorb and survive any response from Israel while Israel, with only 5.5 million Jews, is vulnerable to devastating losses if only a few of Iran's missiles got through. Each time these Iranian threats were announced, the US administration failed to issue any statement in opposition. (When Saddam Hussein earlier vowed to "burn half of Israel" the US administration also remained silent.) The Iranian mullahs could not have failed to notice the significant American silence and to draw its own conclusions. They can also note that Israel is outside the NATO group and has no mutual defense treaty with the US. If Iran attacks Israel they need not fear any US response. All of Israel's past experiences with America and the UN underscore the reality of Israel's isolation and vulnerability. Some examples include:

1. At its birth Israel totally accepted the UN partition resolution. The Arabs rejected that resolution and attacked the new state, attempting to destroy it at birth. The UN failed to help Israel and America imposed a regional arms embargo, which only harmed Israel because the Arabs were already well-armed. Israel survived only due to its own sacrifice and would have perished if it depended upon the UN and the US. There was no subsequent punishment or even criticism for Arab aggression.
   
   

2. In 1967 Egypt and Syria were openly poised to launch an unprovoked attack to "drive the Jews into the sea" as Gamal Abdul Nasser avowed. There was no strong US warning to Egypt and Syria not to attack. Instead the US urged Israel not to pre-empt and to wait on US diplomacy. When it became clear that US diplomacy was failing and Israel could face catastrophic losses if the Arabs were allowed to strike first, Israel was forced to pre-empt. Again there was no subsequent punishment or even criticism for the Arab aggression.
   
   

3. In 1973 Egypt and Syria again were openly poised to launch an unprovoked attack on Israel. And again there was no US warning to Egypt and Syria not to attack. But this time Secretary of State Henry Kissinger did not just urge Israel "not to fire the first shot," he warned Israel not to pre-empt and to not even mobilize, lest it face the loss of American support. Israel would then have to face Egypt and Syria backed by Russia and be left all on her own. Israel obeyed, was attacked, and almost lost that war while sustaining horrendous loss of life and suffering a brutal blow to its economy. Again there was no subsequent punishment or even criticism for Arab aggression.

    These examples illustrate an ongoing pattern of UN behavior from Israel's birth until this day. The Arabs are always free to commit aggression and launch repeated attempts to destroy Israel without facing punishment or even criticism. It appears that the US will always act to restrain Israel from exercising its full right of self-defense but will never act decisively to blunt Arab aggression. (because of international pressure) If Israel concedes to the US pressure it could gravely endanger its security but if it acts in legitimate self-defense it could face US punishment because of a consistent US double standard in its foreign policy.
    Today the Iranian threat poses the greatest danger ever, because even a single nuclear missile reaching an Israeli population center could cause catastrophic damage and casualties. The US, the UN and the Europeans are also concerned, but only because Iranian nukes could also endanger them, and draw them into a regional war. However, they have so far failed to generate a sufficient collective response to guarantee that the ongoing Iranian quest for nuclear weapons will be halted and dismantled in time.
    The US is the lead player in the Middle East nuke-chess-game. President Bush is unlikely to act until after the November election, assuming that he is re-elected, especially in light of all the Iraqi criticism he has endured. President Bush, after Iraq, is now gun shy about his doctrine of pre-emption and has announced no deadline for Iran (Axis of Evil member) to terminate its nuclear program.
    Perhaps the West believes that Israel is their free insurance policy. They may prefer to have Israel take out Iran's nuclear facilities for them, as in 1981 when Israel bombed the Iraqi reactor. This means that Israel takes all the risk, Israel takes all the blame and the other nations benefit for free. The US and the other nations still want to avoid alienating more Muslims and want to appear "even handed" concerning Israel. Bluntly put, the survival of Israel may be desirable for the nations, but not at any cost in jeopardizing their essential oil supplies and facing increased enmity among the world's Muslims.
    It is not unreasonable to speculate that the US and Europe may have decided to wait and let Israel be forced to pre-empt and do their dirty work, and hopefully be successful. But if something goes wrong they can always claim plausible deniability and join in the denunciation and possible punishment against Israel to appease the Arabs. It has happened before after the 1981 Israeli attack on the Iraqi reactor.
    Another possibility is for the US and Europe to reluctantly allow Iran to go nuclear in the same way that we allowed North Korea to go nuclear while downplaying the real threat. And once they do go nuclear to then say that they have become too dangerous to attack and now we must negotiate, just as with North Korea which signed agreements, accepted US aid and then secretly violated their agreement and brazenly announced their nuclear capability. We have established the pattern and Iran could simply think that it can follow suit.
    Iran will then have additional options besides overt missile attack. They could build mini nukes and secretly distribute them to various terrorists for smuggling into target countries to be used against Israel and the West while adamantly denying all culpability. Heavy Western pressure might be put on Israel, including possible threats, to not pre-empt and to rely on their missile defense. This approach may appeal to the West because it simply plays for time and avoids having to take unpleasant decisions today that could upset their voters in the next election.
    What is the military option? Retired Air Force and Army Generals, Thomas McInerney and Paul E. Vallely wrote the book, Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror. (FOJ highly recommends this book) At a recent lecture they claimed that the US has the military capability to effectively take out the nuclear facilities of both North Korea and of Iran and can reach facilities buried deep underground. They stated that American capabilities are much greater than Israel's. If that is true, then it is primarily a US political decision rather than one of military capability.
    There are further complications if Israel feels compelled to pre-empt. Unlike Iraq in 1981, Iran's facilities are buried underground, dispersed and well protected with air defenses. Israel may not be able to readily neutralize these facilities. Iran also had ample time to develop a counter strategy to deter Israel that may include Syria's launching chemical and biological attacks on Israel combined with Iranian-backed Hizbullah attacks on northern Israel. If Israel is forced to pre-empt, other Arab countries may join in a general attack on Israel. This would rapidly create an entirely new situation that could escalate out of control. In such a situation Israel may be forced to use some of its nuclear weapons. (Note that prior to the invasion of Iraq, the US publicly reserved the right to use tactical nuclear weapons if required.) A worst-case scenario could also include an oil embargo and even destruction of some oil fields resulting in major damage to Western economies. Thus a Western policy that results in Israel feeling gravely threatened and forced to pre-empt could backfire severely against Western interests.
    There is also the question of knowing just how close Iran is to having the bomb. Keep in mind how often Western and US intelligence have been wrong in the past. There has also been a tendency to underestimate the capabilities of rogue nations and their ability to deceive. We were fooled by North Korea and then surprised at their progress. After the 1991 Iraq war we were surprised at how close Saddam was to having a nuclear bomb. He fooled us again by moving his nuclear weapons program to Syria-Libya while we were still searching in Iraq. We only found out when Muammar Ghadaffi decided to come clean.
    There are still other complicating factors, including the paranoia of the Iranian mullahs who may also act irrationally in response to their own fears, both real and imagined. Nevertheless the Iranian bomb must be stopped. In summary, it is definitely not in American or Western interests to leave Israel with no other security option except to pre-empt and thus open a Pandora's Box of horrors. The longer we wait to act, the higher the stakes and the greater the danger. And to again push this problem into the future may be the worst option of all.

Christ’s Compelling Purpose

Aug. 3….(FOJ-Darrell G. Young) Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will, and accomplished as historical fact that God the Father indeed offers his free gift of salvation to all mankind. (All of human history points, either forward or backward to that particular event in Jerusalem) Jesus came into this world to do his Father’s will, and Jerusalem was central to his mission. In Jesus excruciating time of agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed the following prayer,”(Luke 22:42-44 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. ) Seeking to do his Father’s will was the one dominating concern throughout Jesus life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether it was joy, sorrow, pain, conspiracy, success or failure, Jesus never ever deterred from his overall purpose, which was to go down into Jerusalem and submit himself to the cross. It was a mission that was foreordained before the foundation of the world So, having submitted to the Father’s Divine plan, Jesus had a date with destiny! For you and me, Jesus steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51-53 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.) The greatest thing for us as Christians today is to be “one with the Father’s purpose” in these Last Days. We talk so much today about feeling God’s presence in our lives, but we all need to be more cognizant of Christ’s compelling purpose for the world as he prepares to send Jesus back into the world, and another date with destiny in Jerusalem. And therein lies the purpose of Prophecy. Christ’s compelling purpose for going to Jerusalem 2000 years ago was to establish the rock of salvation, but his purpose for coming to Jerusalem in the near future is to establish His Kingdom. Amen! Let the world take notice.

 

Five Reasons Same-Sex Marriage is a Disaster

Aug. 3….(James Kennedy) The wisest man to walk the planet, someone who shaped Western civilization explained marriage some 2,000 years ago. Maybe it’s worth knowing what he said. “Have you not read,” Christ said, “that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’” Here we have the short answer why marriage is always the union of a man and a woman and never the union of two men or two women. The Creator said so! And He makes the rules. He designed the different but complementary physical, emotional, and mental, characteristics of men and women that are the stuff of which marriages are made. Vive la difference! For those with ears to hear, God and our nature shout the same message about marriage: “It’s a man and a woman for life.” But for those who dismiss God and nature (not recommended) here are a few more reasons why same-sex marriage is a cultural catastrophe in the making. First, harm to children. Social science research strongly supports the common-sense observation that children do best when raised by their married mother and father. Twelve family scholars surveyed thousands of studies and reached the conclusion that “Marriage [traditional marriage] is an important social good associated with an impressively broad array of positive outcomes for children and adults alike.” Children raised by their married parents are less likely to experience child poverty, commit suicide, commit crimes, suffer physical or sexual child abuse, or to divorce later in life. Three decades into America’s epidemic of fatherlessness, we know that depriving children of fathers damages them and their future. Same-sex marriage will rob children of what they need most: the love and nurture of both a mother and a father. Second, the decline and fall of marriage. Hoover Institution researcher Stanley Kurtz has documented how 10 years of same-sex marriage, or its functional equivalent, civil unions, in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden has led to far fewer marriages and rocketing illegitimacy. Kurtz reports that since legalization of same-sex marriage, 80 percent of firstborn children are born out of wedlock, and 60 percent of children born thereafter are born to unwed parents. That’s bad news for children since unmarried parents are much more likely to split up. “Marriage in Scandinavia is in deep decline, with children shouldering the burden of rising rates of family dissolution,” writes Kurtz. “And the mainspring of the decline, an increasingly sharp separation between marriage and parenthood can be linked to gay marriage.” Third, polygamy and more. Once it is established that two men have the right to marry, it will be impossible to deny that same right to others. If marriage can be redefined as any two men or two women in love, what rational principle precludes extending that logic to polygamy, or any other combination of emotionally attached men, women, or children? If emotional attachment is the only standard by which we judge fitness to marry, then no sexual arrangement is off the table. Family law theorists are pushing in this direction. Kurtz cites, among many examples, University of Michigan law professor David Chambers, who thinks homosexual marriage will help to soften society to other alternatives. “By ceasing to conceive of marriage as a partnership composed of one person of each sex,” Chambers wrote, “the state may become more receptive to units of three or more.” The ACLU, which has announced its support for removing laws against polygamy, will be glad to help. Fourth, say good-bye to free speech. It’s speak now or be forced to forever hold your peace if same-sex marriage is legalized nationwide. That sounds extreme, but the push to stifle dissent is already evident in Canada, where homosexual marriage became legal last year. In April, the Canadian parliament passed a measure criminalizing “hate speech” against homosexuals. The law has a religious exemption, but that is little comfort since a Saskatchewan court has found the Bible to be hate literature. State authorities will soon be required to arrest pastors for “hate speech against homosexuals” if they preach a sermon with biblical references against homosexuality. Forty years after the sexual revolution promised “free love,” but brought divorce, illegitimacy, STDs, fatherlessness, and abortion, the last thing our nation needs is one more misguided social experiment.

 

Nancy Reagan Endorses President Bush

Aug. 3….(Newsmax) In a statement made yesterday, Nancy Reagan said she was strongly endorsing President Bush's re-election and rejected a published Internet report that she was not backing his run for a second term. Joanne Drake, the chief of staff for former President Ronald Reagan’s office in Los Angeles, said in a statement on behalf of the former first lady, “Mrs. Reagan supports President Bush’s re-election 150 percent.” Published reports have suggested that Mrs. Reagan was unhappy with President Bush for his opposition to taxpayer-funded stem cell research that kills human embryos, which Mrs. Reagan has supported after her husband’s long bout with Alzheimer’s disease. Mrs. Reagan’s son Ron Reagen spoke last week at the Democratic National Convention. He indicated that his mother supported his speech and that she was unhappy with the Bush administration for its stand on embryonic stem cell research. Ron Reagan gave an implicit endorsement to the Kerry-Edwards ticket. Drake, however, noted in her statement on behalf of Mrs. Reagan, “I think everyone would understand that while she may not agree with the president on every issue, this campaign is more than just one issue, it’s about leadership, and she believes that President Bush is the right man for the job.”

NYC, Wall Street, Washington DC on High Alert

Aug. 2….(MSNBC) Five financial centers in New York, Washington and Newark, N.J. were under tightened security Monday after authorities found unusually detailed information on a purported al-Qaida plot. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Sunday ordered the terror alert raised from yellow to orange in areas around these five buildings:

• the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington;

• the offices of Citigroup and the New York Stock Exchange in New York;

• the Prudential Plaza building in Newark, N.J.

The new alert status is based on "new and unusually specific information," Ridge said Sunday. It marked the first time the nation's threat-warning system, devised after the Sept. 11 attacks, has been used to denote threats against specific targets. "The preferred means of attack would be car or truck bombs," he added. Ridge did not elaborate on the intelligence that prompted the change, but said it was specific to certain locations and added that officials believe al-Qaida was planning attacks in advance of the November election. With the Republican National Convention scheduled to begin Aug. 30 in the city's Madison Square Garden, the city is a high-profile target.

 

Iraq Insurgents Making War on Christians

Aug. 2….(World Net Daily) In the latest and most dramatic evidence an all-out jihad has been declared against Iraq's minority Christian population, car bombs exploded outside at least five Christian churches today, killing more than a dozen people and wounding scores more in an apparently coordinated attack timed to coincide with evening prayers. No one knows with certainty how many Christians live in Iraq because they were not part of census statistics kept by Saddam Hussein. However, estimates run as high as 10 percent of the 25 million population. Though news reports today characterized the attacks as the first against Christian churches in Iraq, they were not. WND has chronicled the increasing persecution experienced by Iraqi Christians since the country was liberated.
Christians and churches have received letters in Arabic threatening that if they don't follow Islamic practice and support "the resistance," they will face the consequences: "torture, and burning or exploding the house with the family in it," says Elizabeth Kendal, researcher for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission.
Mandaean Christians, who follow the teachings of John the Baptist, have been receiving the same threats and suffering the same violence, Kendal says. The unchecked Islamic aggression is forcing the Christians to flee, As WND previously reported, Ken Joseph Jr., an Assyrian who directs Assyrianchristians.com, says several developments that "bode ill for Christians in Iraq are causing believers to flee the nation." Kendal says the Assyrian Christians greatly fear that the history of abandonment and massacre of their minority group is about to repeat itself. Historians regard the Assyrians as the indigenous people of Iraq. In biblical times, their homeland was centered around the Nineveh plains in Upper Mesopotamia, now northern Iraq, where they were visited by the prophet Jonah. The Assyrian Church of the East was founded in AD 33. Some 600 years later Arab invaders put the Assyrians under Muslim domination. Invasions over the centuries nearly eliminated them. The Assyrians fought for the Allies in World War I and were promised autonomy in their homeland upon victory. But they were abandoned to the mercy of the Ottoman Turks when the British mandate was lifted in 1932, resulting in the massacre of two-thirds of the population. In Saddam Hussein's secular state, the Assyrian remnant suffered severely under his discriminatory ethnic policy of Arabization.
Reuters news agency quoted Iraq's security adviser as saying that a key al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was responsible for the blasts, adding to fresh fears among Iraq's roughly 750,000 Christians that they may be targeted by Islamic extremists. "There is no shadow of a doubt that this bears the blueprint of Zarqawi," Mowaffaq al-Rubaie told Reuters on Monday, adding the attacks on Sunday evening were an attempt to drive Iraq's minority Christians out of the country. "Zarqawi and his extremists are basically trying to drive a wedge between Muslims and Christians in Iraq." The Voice Of the Martyrs (VOM), a Christian human rights group, said the attack came just a month after one Christian was injured when a grenade was thrown at a church in Mosul. VOM added that the most deadly attack was against a Chaldean church in the Doura district where, reportedly, at least eight people were killed. VOM, which has close ties to persecuted Christians in the region, urged its mainly born-again Christian supporters to "pray for those injured and the families of those killed." It also said it was crucial to "pray that these types of attacks will not escalate in Iraq" and to pray that Christians will "experience peace in the midst of this terrible storm" and that "Iraq will soon find the peace for which the majority of people are longing." Yet Iraqi pastor Ghassan Thomas told ANS earlier that violence is not necessarily bad news for spiritual growth in the country. "This is the best time. People are hungry for Christ, they need Christ now," he said in his Evangelical Alliance Church where hundreds of people were attending meetings in a rented church building in Baghdad.

 

Kerry Nominee Supports Arafat Regime

Aug. 2….(Frontpage) Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry’s newly appointed Middle East advisor, Martin Indyk, has been working for years to garner American support for Yasser Arafat and his terrorist regime. As the Middle East Advisor to the Clinton Administration, Indyk managed to help Arafat wrest complete control over the Palestinian people through deceit and subterfuge. And now, if he gets his way, American troops may find themselves in the middle of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip-providing cover for Hamas and Palestinian Jihad. The Israeli newspaper correspondent, Natan Guttman, from Ha’Aretz, reported that Indyk has said he expected the Israeli government to pay more serious attention to John Kerry. Sources close to Indyk indicated the Kerry campaign felt miffed that the Israeli government had yet to dispatch its head of state to meet with Kerry, and that the Israeli government was simply too closely coordinated with President George W. Bush. Indyk, who, by the way, is funded by millionaire toy inventor Haim Saban, also catapulted Ehud Barak into his short term as Prime Minister of Israel. Indyk is generally looked upon as the man who planned the Oslo process that gave Yassir Arafat and the PLO armed control over most of the Palestinian Arab population. In 1994, journalist Haim Shibi of the Yediot Aharonot newspaper reported that in 1987, Indyk had convinced more than 150 members of the US foreign policy establishment that Israel should unilaterally withdraw from territories gained in 1967 Six Day War. Indyk oversaw every step of the disastrous Oslo process with this precise policy in mind of Israel giving up land vital to her defense. And Indyk did not hesitate to misrepresent the intentions and policies of the PLO while doing so. Particularly, the PLO has never adhered to the basic commitment it made to cancel its covenant that calls for the eradication of the Jewish State. In September 1995, with the signing of the second Olso interim agreement at the White House, the US Congress mandated that the US would only be able to provide funds to the Palestinian Authority and provide diplomatic status to Arafat if the PLO covenant was finally canceled. The Palestinians have never done it, yet the foreign aid money kept rolling in to the Palestinian Authority. On April 24, 1996, the PLO convened a special session of its Palestine National Council (PNC) to consider the subject of the PLO covenant cancellation. Our news agency dispatched a Palestinian TV crew to cover that session, which filmed the event. The film crew brought back a videotape that showed a lively discussion, the conclusion of which was to ratify Arafat’s suggestion that the PNC simply create a committee to “discuss” the subject. I rushed the video to Ambassador Indyk for comment, but he did not respond to that request. In addition, he chose to ignore the decision of the PNC and instead to issue a falsified report to President Clinton and to the US Congress that the PLO covenant had been canceled. As a result, Arafat was provided with a red carpet greeting at the White House on May 1, 1996. Thanks to the obfuscations of Martin Indyk, Arafat received the crucial diplomatic recognition and foreign aid that he needed from the US to buttress the PLO. Indyk is on record saying that: “There is no other solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict but to share the holy city." Indyk has also roundly criticized Israel for going after the PLO terrorists, and has regularly stated that the terrorists are working beyond Arafat’s control

Share this page with your friends.

		September 2004
August 2004	July 2004	June 2004
May 2004	April 2004	March 2004
February 2004	January 2004	December 2003
November 2003	October 2003	September 2003
August 2003	July 2003	June 2003
May 2003	April 2003	March 2003
February 2003	January 2003	December 2002
November, 2002	October 2002	September 2002
August 2002	July 2002	June 2002
May 2002	April 2002	March 2002
February 2002	January 2002	December 2001
November 2001	October 2001	September 2001
August 2001	July 2001	June 2001
May 2001	April 2001	March 2001
February 2001	January 2001	December 2000
November 2000	October 2000	September 2000

Powered by Bravenet