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WEEK OF MARCH 24 THROUGH MARCH 30


Hizbullah Terror Cells Eroute to Northern Iraq

March 29…..(Middle East News Line)
The Hizbullah Terrorist organization of Damascus has joined the war in Iraq. Israeli intelligence sources said hundreds of combatants from the Iranian-backed Hizbullah have crossed into Syria and plan to continue on to Iraq to fight coalition forces. The sources said the Hizbullah members have left with their personal weapons and are expected to arrive in northern Iraq by early next week. The Hizbullah expedition was organized by the movement's secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, who ordered his fighters to deploy in the Shi'ite areas of Iraq. Nasrallah has sought to lead Iraq's Shi'ite majority amid the U.S.-led war in that country. Syria's UN Ambassador said that Syria will retaliate if U.S. forces attack. Syria also warned the Pentagon that if the US military decides to move against Syria or Hezbullah, Damascus will respond with military force. He said Syria is prepared "to react in kind." Meanwhile, US forces have come under attack by Iraqi suicide bombers, a tactic instated by the Hezbullah terrorist organization against American troops in Beirut, Lebanon back in 1981. Islamic clerics throughout the Middle East have called for suicide bomber attacks, similar to the Palestinian suicide squads utilized against Israel, to be used against American soldiers in Iraq.

FOJ Note: America could find itself on the receiving end of the same kind of insidious suicide warfare that has plagued Israel for the past several years. Israel was continually berated for reacting in a heavy-handed fashion against these PLO-Hamas terrorist organizations. I am gravely concerned that America will find itself in the same situation as Israel.

Rumsfeld Warns Syria

March 28….(AP)
U.S Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld issued a stern warning to Syria today to stop sending military equipment to Iraqi forces, saying such shipments have included night-vision goggles. We consider such trafficking as hostile acts and will hold the Syrian government responsible for the incidents," Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon briefing. "There's no question but that to the extent that military supplies or equipment or people are moving across the borders between Iraq and Syria, it vastly complicates our situation," Rumsfeld said. Asked if the United States was threatening military action against Syria, Rumsfeld said: "I'm saying exactly what I'm saying. It was carefully phrased." "We have information that shipments of military supplies have been crossing the border from Syria into Iraq, including night-vision goggles," he said. When asked if the shipments from Syria were "State sponsored," Rumsfeld said he wouldn't answer because "it's an intelligence issue."

FOJ Note: President Bush in his Axis of Evil speech referred to States that “harbor” terrorists! He labeled Iraq, Iran and North Korea as the axis of evil States, but he inferred a dire warning to States that give refuge to, or provide a harbor to terrorists. Syria is central headquarters to terrorists organizations/international, and Focus on Jerusalem has warned of this very scenario for years.

Christian Relief Plan Angers Muslims

March 28….(World Net)
Franklin Graham, the outspoken evangelical Christian leader who has called Islam a "wicked religion" plans to bring relief aid to post-war Iraq amid early signs that his efforts will not be appreciated by American Muslim leaders. Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham, says the main objective of his group, Samaritan's Purse, will be to assist Iraqi refugees and others who are displaced, sick and hungry. "We realize we're in an Arab country and we just can't go out and preach," Graham said. However, he added, "I believe as we work, God will always give us opportunities to tell others about his Son. We are there to reach out to love them and to save them, and as a Christian, I do this in the name of Jesus Christ." Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, warned that evangelical groups use humanitarian concerns as a cover for their true motive – to convert Muslims to Christianity. "They go after them when they're most vulnerable and hope they can get them to leave their faith," he told Beliefnet. "It's a very despicable practice." Hooper believes Graham's effort could undermine President Bush's attempt to convince the Muslim world that the war is not against Islam. "If it becomes generally known, it's going to be a public relations disaster for the Bush administration," he said. The Muslim leader, who has said he wants the U.S. eventually to become a Muslim nation, said, "Franklin Graham obviously thinks it is a war against Islam."

The Southern Baptist Convention also has plans to bring humanitarian aid to Iraq. Richard Land, president of the denomination's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, believes American Christians should stop worrying about whether Muslims think America is anti-Islam. "What doesn't look that way to the Muslim world?" Besides, he said, "they're the ones declaring holy war, not us. They're the ones trying to convert people by force. They're the ones killing people in the name of religion, not us!

Al-Qaeda Fighting with Iraqis

March 28….(Sydney Herald)
British military interrogators claim captured Iraqi soldiers have told them that al-Qaeda terrorists are fighting on the side of Saddam Hussein's forces against allied troops near Basra. At least a dozen members of Osama bin Laden's network are in the town of Az Zubayr where they are coordinating grenade and gun attacks on coalition positions, according to the Iraqi prisoners of war. A senior British military source inside Iraq said: "The information we have received from PoWs is that an al-Qaeda cell may be operating in Az Zubayr. There are possibly around a dozen of them and that is obviously a matter of concern to us." It would be the first proof of a direct link between Saddam's regime and Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington.



Bush-Blair Meet at Camp David
Blair Discusses Peace-Security for Israel


March 27….(Reuters)
British Prime Minister Tony Blair met late Wednesday with U.S. President George Bush for a "war summit" at the Camp David presidential retreat. Among the subjects of discussion was the subject of peace and security between Israel and the new State of Palestine. ( I Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.)

U.S., U.K. believe it 'vital' to solve Mid-east conflict

Addressing parliament ahead of his departure, the British leader declared that he and Bush believed it vital to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calling it the one issue that most divides the pan-Muslim world from the West.

"It is important that we make sure that we broaden the agenda that we present to the world, which is why I believe that issues like the Middle East peace process are also, and particularly at this moment, especially important, at the time that we are taking military action in Iraq," Blair said in response to parliamentary questions, many of them focusing on the "road map" for Middle East peace, which was drafted by the "Quartet" of Middle East peacemakers - Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. Asked about British efforts to secure an independent Palestinian state and justice for Palestinians, Blair responded, "This will be a central part of British foreign policy." "I know that there is a great deal of cynicism and skepticism within the Muslim and Arab world about whether statements made recently about the publication of the road map and about the desire to take this process forward are simply statements that will be made in the context of military action in Iraq and then forgotten," Blair said. "They will not be forgotten. They will be taken forward, and they will be done." Blair and Bush have promised to make public the text of the road map as soon as newly-appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), presents his new cabinet. Blair added that in view of all of his conversations with "the American president, he believes, rightly, that this is a vital issue to resolve, because it is, probably more than anything else, the issue that keeps the Arab-Muslim world on one hand, and the Western world on the other, apart."

The prime minister stressed that in the context of securing justice, "People want to see a situation in which Israeli citizens are protected from the appalling ravages of terrorism, and Palestinians are able to live in their own viable state, and make a decent living for themselves."

Saddam heading for Syria?

March 27….(World Net)
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has made extensive preparations to flee Iraq and has already smuggled his family out to Syria, according to a report in London's Daily Telegraph. Just days before the bombing of Baghdad began, says the paper, Saddam's first wife, Sajida – mother of his heirs Uday and Qusay – fled to Damascus with three truckloads of possessions and 60 bodyguards. In addition, the dictator reportedly has been selling off property and valuables to raise money for his exile. Saddam's former protocol minister, Haitham Rashid Wihaib, told newspapers in London that Hussein's family members are staying with Iraq's ambassador to Syria. According to the Telegraph report, several of his most senior lieutenants, including his deputy Tariq Aziz, also have sent their families on ahead to Syria before the fall of Baghdad. The families were able to slip away because they had been staying close to the border for several weeks, avoiding allied monitoring of movements from Baghdad. Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said today the United States and Britain would never be able to subdue the whole country and warned Syria might be the next target on Washington's list. "For sure, the United States is a superpower that can occupy a relatively small country. The United States and Britain will not be able to control all of Iraq. There will be much tougher resistance," Assad said in an interview with Lebanon's as-Safir newspaper. "As long as Israel exists, the threat of a U.S. attack on Syria is there, said Bashar Assad.”

Syria's Assad: We Will Not Become Next Target

March 27….(Jerusalem Post)
Syrian President Bashar Assad was quoted in the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir Thursday as hinting that Syria expects to be the next target of coalition forces. "We will not wait until we become the next target," Assad was quoted as saying, adding that the attack on Iraq is aimed at other countries as well. Assad also called on other Arab nations to oppose the coalition forces and called Israel a threat to Syria, Israel Radio reported. As long as the state of Israel exists, Assad was quoted as saying, Syria remains threatened. He also said there's no chance that U.S. President George W. Bush's road map would put an end to the Palestinian intifada. In addition, Assad criticized Arab countries that are trying to stop the violence between Israel and the Palestinians, saying, "There are Arab nations that contribute to the suppression of the intifada even more than Israel itself does." Assad said a long-promised "roadmap" for an Israeli-Palestinian peace would fail. Assad said Washington's attitude towards Syria, which it has long deemed a state sponsor of terrorism, was constantly shifting as its interests changed. Syria, a staunch opponent of the week-old war to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, has roundly criticized other Arab leaders for failing to support its efforts to avert what Assad called "outright occupation and flagrant aggression."

FOJ Note: Damascus is home to over a dozen Middle East terrorist organizations. (Isaiah 17:1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.) (Jeremiah 49:24-25 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!) Damascus holds a very important key in end times Bible Prophecy and the coming confrontation over Israel and its security dilemma.


Saddam: "A Free Palestine from Jordan River to Mediterranean Sea"

March 26….(Jerusalem Post)
Saddam Hussein appeared on television and called for an independent and "free Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediteranean." Hussein spoke a lot about Jihad and holy war. Saddam appeared in full military uniform and seemed calmer than during his last national address Thursday following the first round of cruise missile attacks on his capital. He clearly appeared to be trying to rally his people as US and British forces are advancing toward Baghdad despite setbacks suffered Sunday in clashes, which left about 10 US troops dead and a dozen missing. "These decisive days, oh you Iraqis are in line with what God has ordered you to do, to cut their throats," he said. "Those who are believers will be victorious. In these decisive days, the enemy tried not using missiles and fighter jets as they did before. This time they sent their infantry troops. This time they have come to invade and occupy your land." Saddam Hussein appeared on television Monday morning and promised his nation that "victory is soon". Hussein called for martyrs to "strike at evil", and said that martyrs would be rewarded in heaven. "We have been promised victory by God. God has promised that the invaders will be defeated," he said. This is the Iraqi leader's second address since the outbreak of the war. Hussein said that Iraqi Mujahadeen were "causing the enemy to suffer". "We will make it as painful as we can for our enemies".

EU Looks to Include Russia and Israel

March 26….(EU Observer)
The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who takes over the EU helm in July, said the EU should enlarge to encompass even Russia and Israel so as to counterbalance the power currently enjoyed solely by the US. Speaking to the journalists after the end of the EU summit in Brussels on Friday, Mr. Berlusconi said that at the moment there is only one superpower, the US which has unilaterally decided to take action against Iraq. Facing an EU split over the Iraq issue, and the UN losing its credibility, Mr. Berlusconi, said that the EU needs to enlarge and strengthen itself. "We need an alternative to the US.

Syria Calls For End to US-Led War

March 26….(Jerusalem Post)
Hundreds of thousands of people protested the US-led invasion of Iraq - some burning American and British flags in the streets - in the Mid-east's largest organized protests since the war in Iraq began. As protesters burned US and British flags in Damascus, the Syrian government denounced the invasion as "unjustified aggression and a blatant violation of international laws." Following a Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa Miro renewed Syria's call for "the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of US and British invading troops from Iraqi territory," the official Syrian news agency said. Anti-war demonstrations have been taking place daily in Damascus and many other Arab capitals since the beginning of the war.

U.S. Blames Turkey For Slow Advance In War

March 26….(Middle East News Line)
The U.S. Defense Department has cited the absence of Turkish military cooperation as a leading reason for the painstaking advance toward Baghdad. Pentagon officials said the absence of a northern front stems from the refusal of Turkey to allow the deployment of 62,000 American troops in that country. They said Iraqi Republican Guard divisions were able to withdraw from the north and focus on a defense of Baghdad and Tikrit in central Iraq. The U.S. military has been ordered to collect a huge amount of vehicles and material unloaded over the last few days at Turkish ports as part of now-defunct plans to move American troops through that country to the Iraqi border. The material is now headed for U.S. ships that will sail for the Persian Gulf. Officials said the diversion of the material as well as more than 20,000 U.S. troops meant to enter Turkey has hurt the war effort. They said this could extend the war against the regime of President Saddam Hussein for up to another two weeks.

FOJ Note: The Turkish diplomatic fiasco could cause unnecessary American casualties, and disrupt America's war efforts.

West Must Show Palestinian 'Resolve'

March 26….(BBC)
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said it is hypocritical for the West to demand Iraqi compliance with UN Security Council resolutions while appearing to hesitate over resolutions concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He told the BBC that he himself had been guilty of double standards "to a degree" but he promised that a new international peace plan, the so-called "roadmap", was close to realization. It only depended on a new Palestinian cabinet being sworn in and the Palestinian parliament giving its approval, he said. Mr. Straw said he understood concern in the Arab world about what he called "injustice against the Palestinians".

China Readies for Future War With US

March 26….(CNN)
The Iraqi war has convinced the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership that some form of confrontation with the U.S. could come earlier than expected. Beijing has also begun to fine-tune its domestic and security policies to counter the perceived threat of U.S. "neo-imperialism." As more emphasis is being put on boosting national strength and cohesiveness, a big blow could be dealt to both economic and political reform. That the new leadership has concluded China is coming up against formidable challenges in the short to medium term is evident from recent statements by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. Hu indicated earlier this year Beijing must pay more attention to global developments so that "China make good preparations before the storm, and be in a position to seize the initiative.

FOJ Note: (China is already jockeying for strategic positioning in the scenario described in Revelation 16:12 and Daniel 11:44)

Palestinians Cheer American Dead

March 25….(Arutz/World Net/FOJ)
Palestinian women held giant posters of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as they chanted slogans against the U.S.-led war in Iraq during a pro-Iraq rally in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Thousands of Palestinians poured out of mosques in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank after prayers to protest the U.S. war on Saddam Hussein. Palestinians in Ramallah celebrated Iraq's capture of American and British soldiers. A policeman at Yasser Arafat's battered headquarters said the news made it a "big day for the Iraqi people and all the Arabs and Muslims. Ramallah's Manarah Square has been euphoric after seeing Iraqi TV clips of killed American soldiers. "They have just shot down two Apache helicopters," an excited merchant shouted hysterically as he ran out of his shop. "This is unbelievable. The Americans are losing the war. Iraq is going to be Bush's Vietnam." Adorned with Iraqi flags and posters of Saddam, the Ramallah square has been the scene of daily demonstrations. The crowds chanted choice sayings such as, "Oh beloved Saddam, bomb, bomb Tel Aviv;" "Oh Saddam, we love you, why don't you annihilate all the Jews;" "Bush, soon Saddam will bury you." When the pictures of the American prisoners and the bodies of the dead American soldiers were shown on TV, there was a lot of excitement. It's very moving to watch Arab soldiers defeating American and British soldiers and killing them, said one Palestinian." How do we feel about Saddam? "Saddam is now more popular than ever. “We need an Arab leader that will stand up to the Americans, and defeat them so that we can march on Jerusalem!” (FOJ Note: I hope that President Bush is taking stock of the reaction in Ramallah to the killing of Americans in Iraq.)

Pope Implores Mary for Gift of Peace

March 25….(EWTN)
At the end of this morning's Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter's Square, during which he beatified five Servants of God, the Pope addressed pilgrims who came from diverse countries for the beatifications, and then prayed the Angelus with them. He greeted the pilgrim with a plea for world peace. "We now turn to Mary Most Holy, whom the new Blesseds loved and venerated with special devotion. Let us implore her, above all at this time, for the gift of peace. To her we entrust in particular the victims of these hours of war and their family members who are suffering.

(FOJ Note: There is only one who can deliver peace, and it is not Mary!)

An Analysis of the War Status

March 25….(Debka)
(FOJ) The US-UK coalition is probably going to come up short of the ground strength needed for the assault on Baghdad. General Tommy Franks' officers at Doha are saying that the Iraqi capital cannot be taken by only two US army divisions. While there is no intention of postponing the assault on Baghdad, General Franks is considering putting in a request to the White House for reinforcements. The 4th Armored Division passed through the Suez Canal Monday on its way to the Gulf. To shorten its journey, the division's troops will probably disembark at Saudi Red Sea ports and cut through east into Iraq. The 173th Airborne Brigade based in Italy, counterpart of the 82nd Airborne Division, has received orders to move out to northern Iraq. All these forces, as well as Iraq's elite divisions, are making ready to fight the main battle for Baghdad. According to our military sources, that campaign is most likely to get started on Saturday, March 29. Only then, will the two sides bring out their biggest guns and apply firepower to a degree never seen since World War II. If the battle goes against him, Saddam may well disclose the chemical and biological weaponry he has kept hidden, or even resort to some sort of nuclear device. That will also be the moment of greatest peril for Israel and Iraq's other neighbors. The roughly 100,000 soldiers in six Republican Guard divisions are considered Iraq's most loyal and capable force, better trained and better equipped than the rest of Saddam Hussein's 350,000-man army. Three of the divisions are now guarding approaches to Baghdad. Perhaps the toughest unit of all, the Medina Division, is dug in with its Soviet-made T-72 tanks to the south of the Iraqi capital and is the focus of a new American air assault. To defend Baghdad, the Republican Guard has established two defensive rings: one about 50 miles from the capital, and the other just on the outskirts. In addition to the Medina Division, the Nida is to the east and the Hammurabi to the west. A fourth division usually based in the north, the Adnan, moved close to Tikrit, Mr. Hussein's power base. Baghdad itself is defended by the Special Republican Guard, the most reliable Iraqi unit, which numbers more than 15,000 troops.

Ominous Threat From Islamic Nuclear Pakistan

March 25….(Washington Times)
A former Pakistani General has declared that Pakistan now has a nuclear missile that can reach Tel Aviv, Israel. The former Pakistani intelligence chief who was "strategic adviser" to his country's Islamist politico-religious parties, Gen. Hamid Gul, and retired head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, in his latest well-publicized (in Pakistan) statement, says: "We have the nuclear capability that can destroy Israel. Washington cannot stop Muslim suicidal attacks, nor can it withstand the Islamic bomb. The General stated, “we must continue the holy jihad against the U.S. because America will destroy Iraq and later on repeat the same act of war against Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia." "If the U.S. attacks Iraq, the Islamic alliance and all their supporters will attack Washington and Tel Aviv," he said. Another redoubtable MMA leader, Fazlur Rehman, said, for his part, "The U.S. better take seriously the consequences of its attack against Iraq because we are fully capable of taking revenge." Arguably the most powerful extremist religious leader, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, head of Jamat-e-Islamai, warned President Bush he "will suffer the horrible punishment of God." Pakistan possesses between 35 and 60 nuclear weapons with the missile capability (obtained from North Korea) to deliver them. This marks the first time an influential Pakistani, well-known for his visceral hatred of the U.S. and Israel, had mentioned another nation besides India as a possible target for Pakistani nukes. A number of Pakistani generals are Islamist fundamentalists and resent Mr. Musharraf's close alliance with the U.S.

FOJ Note: (Matthew 24:6-7And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.)

Arab League Supports Iraq/Saddam Hussein

March 25….(CNN)
The Arab League is considering a draft resolution on the war in Iraq and has offered solid support to the Iraqi people. The league, meeting in Cairo, called for an urgent U.N. Security Council session, and a demand that the US withdraw from Iraq. The consensus evolving from the meeting indicates strong support for the Iraqi people and their current situation. Amr Moussa, the league's secretary general, said: "I salute the Iraqis and wish them victory. (the defeat of America) The Arab League leaders say the war is an example of renewed Western imperialism. They say the war is part of a long-term plan is to change the Middle East map and remove national leaders such as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

PLO Condemns US War on Iraq

March 24….(Arab Press)
The Palestinian Authority has officially issued a statement in which says that it "totally" condemns the war launched by the United States against Iraq. We Palestinians are against the war on Iraq and we totally condemn this war in the Middle East. A solution must be found to this problem through diplomatic means, with the international community, said Saeb Erakat. "We are also warning Israel not to exploit this war against Iraq to carry out its attacks against the Palestinian people. Israel may act to destroy the Palestinian Authority and the peace process," he told AFP. The aggression by the vile Americans and the war against Iraq signifies a war against all Arabs and Muslims around the world," said Hamas senior official Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi. The war "shows the impotence of all Arab states. We call on all Arab states to act immediately to defend Iraq and counter the US war," he said. "I don't think America will win this war, as our jihad (holy war) and our resistance will teach the Americans and British a lesson they will never forget," he said. "The war against Iraq is a war against the while region. This war aims to create a new world forged in US interests and those of the Zionists, said Erekat in the PA statement.

FOJ Note: The Palestinian peoples are dancing in the streets of Gaza, calling upon Saddam Hussein to destroy Israel, and to inflict defeat upon America. Yet, the U.S. is soon going to be focusing on rewarding these sadistic lunatics with a State, all their own. The Peace Process that the whole world thinks is so invaluable should be done away with until the Palestinians learn to love peace, instead of loving to hate!

Russian Arms Dealer Supplying Iraq

March 24….(Washington Post)
Russian arms dealers have supplied Iraq with supplies and electronic jamming equipment that could throw U.S. planes and bombs off course. The Washington Post reports that Bush Administration sources know that a Russian company is helping the Iraqi military deploy global-positioning system jammers to Baghdad, while two other companies have sold anti-tank missiles and thousands of night-vision goggles in violation of U.N. sanctions. The United States protested the aid to the government of President Vladimir Putin. It has been confirmed that Russians were in fact selling the equipment to Baghdad and that Russian technicians were in the Iraqi capital this week, instructing Iraqis on how to use the devices. "We are very concerned about reports that Russian firms are selling militarily sensitive equipment to Iraq," State Department spokeswoman Brenda Greenberg siad. "Such equipment in the hands of the Iraqi military may pose a direct threat to U.S. and coalition armed forces." During more than a year of talks, the Russian officials initially denied the existence of the company that sold the electronic jammers, U.S. officials said. Later, (when they were confronted with the truth) the Russians sad they were closely monitoring the company. "The stuff's there, it's on the ground and they're trying to use it against us," a U.S. official told the Washington Post. "We regard this as a very serious matter and thus have raised it with the Russian government at very high levels over the past two weeks," Greenberg said. "The response so far has not been satisfactory. We hope the responsible Russian agencies will take our concerns seriously." Saddam Hussein's regime has upped its stockpile of anti-tank guided missiles produced by a company called KBP Tula, the Post reported. The United States slapped this company with sanctions last year for selling anti-tank weapons to Syria, officials said. But Iraq bought a "militarily significant quantity" of Kornet missiles from that company in the past two months, reports the Post, and Putin's government was notified. (Russia & France, are deceiving the world that these things did not exist, and falsely claiming 'peace' for their extreme fight against the US & our allies. They didn't want us in there at all, because they knew we'd find out more and more truth about their strong ties with Iraq.)

The White House voiced the greatest opposition to the jamming devices, which officials said sell for thousands of dollars each and were sold by the Moscow-based manufacturer, Aviaconversiya, the Post reported. These devices were initially imported to counter U.S. and British jets patrolling the "no-fly" zones of northern and southern Iraq, U.S. officials told the Post, and were deployed just last week when coalition forces began to attack Baghdad. U.S. officials were angered when they found out last week that the Russian firms were showing Iraqis how to use and fix the equipment even. The Russians "sure as hell should have been able to stop these guys," but instead have opened a door for it. Russia has equipped Iraq with as many as 400 electronic "jammers" that could throw America's smart bombs off their programmed path if the U.S. goes to war. The types of bombs whose courses may be altered by these jammers are called J-Dams, for "joint direct attack munitions," guided by global satellites. These are the military's GPS guided bombs. Each one costs about $21,000 and has a maximum range of 15 miles. Fox News' Foreign Affairs Analyst Marc Ginsberg, a former U.S. ambassador to Morocco, said Sunday that the United States is angry at Russia over the GPS jamming devices, in part because the Pentagon had to slow down its bombing of Baghdad for fear that the bombs would hit civilian targets.

FOJ Note: Russia, along with France and China are using Iraq in their scheme to dethrone the US from its status as the world's lone superpower. Russia is also assisting Iran in the development of weapons of mass destruction.

US Forces Find Chemical Weapons Plant

March 24….(Fox News)
A senior Pentagon official confirmed to Fox News on Sunday that coalition forces have discovered a "huge" chemical weapons factory near the Iraqi city of An Najaf, which is situated some 225 miles south of Baghdad. Coalition troops are also said to be holding the General in charge of that facility. The chemical plant is described as a "100-acre complex," surrounded by an electrical fence. The plant was also apparently camouflaged to avoid aerial photos being taken. It is not yet known what chemicals were being produced at the plant.

FOJ Note: Saddam Hussein claimed he didn't have any such facilities!

CIA Sets Up Department to Implement the Road Map

March 24….(Ha Aretz)
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is establishing a special department that will be responsible for implementing the road map for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. According to reports reaching Jerusalem, CIA officers will coordinate supervision and monitoring of the implementation of the road map, and track both sides' implementation of their responsibilities. One team within the CIA department will focus on the reorganization of the Palestinian security services. The CIA move is seen as an indication of the seriousness with which the Americans intend to see the road map implemented. A government source said last night that the U.S. administration is getting ready to implement the plan, with an emphasis on the security aspects as the key to any progress. That's why the CIA got the job, said the source, noting that in the past the CIA was involved in helping to form and structure the Palestinian security services. In the past, Israel agreed to a small CIA team monitoring the territories, to track possible cease-fires and to supervise Palestinian reforms. CIA Director George Tenet prepared a cease-fire plan two years ago, that Israel and the PA never implemented, which has evolved into the security core of the road map. Tenet visited Israel two and a half weeks ago for meetings with PM Ariel Sharon and the heads of the intelligence community. According to the American plan, the U.S. will head the supervising mechanism of the road map's implementation, helped by the other members of the Quartet - Russia, the EU and UN - and other elements.

FOJ Note: (1Thessalonians 5:2-3 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.)

Pope John Paul II Protests War on Iraq

March 24….(FOJ)
Pope John Paul II issued another formal protest against the war on Iraq today, stating that the war is a crime against humanity. He added that the US war on Iraq is serving to disrupt the Vatican efforts of harmonic dialogue and unification between Christianity and Islam.

FOJ Note: (II Corinthians 6:14-15 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?) (Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.)



WEEK OF MARCH 17 THROUH MARCH 23


Saddam Hussein's Days Are Numbered

March 21….(FOJ)
Saddam Hussein is apparently desperate. Reports from Iraq indicate that Hussein is offering a reward for any Iraqi who shoots down a British or US aircraft, or kills or captures a pilot or soldier. Any Iraqi who kills an Allied serviceman will receive 25 million dinars (about £9,000) and the reward will be doubled if the enemy is taken alive, said Saddam's decree, published by the state-run Iraqi News Agency. The same reward applies for capturing or killing enemy soldiers on the ground. If the rewards memorandum is legitimately from Hussein, that mere fact reveals that Saddam army is in disarray, and quickly becoming undependable, even in Hussein's own perspective. It may be Saddams goal to use American captives as his last stand for defense. There have been reports from several sources that indicate that Saddam Hussein was seen being carried from the “target of opportunity” location in Baghdad on a stretcher.

The Next 24-48 Hours Are Critical in Baghdad

March 21….(Reuters)
U.S. and British invasion forces penetrated deep into Iraqi territory on Friday, meeting sporadic resistance on the road to Baghdad where President Saddam Hussein prepared for his last stand. U.S. and British leaders said the campaign to oust Saddam was going according to plan but warned that the real battle still lay ahead. Saddam has withdrawn his best trained and most loyal forces to Baghdad, where he may be planning to force invaders into dangerous and punishing street fighting in hopes of inflicting heavy casualties. Iraq said Saddam had survived a U.S. attempt to target him directly on Thursday. U.S. army units of an armored division ran into Iraqi resistance that halted it temporarily near Nassiriya on the Euphrates river while it called for backup. The town is a main strategic crossing point over the Euphrates, just 235 miles southeast of Baghdad. Iraqi ministers vowed to "incinerate" the invaders and asserted that Saddam had survived an early missile strike on a leadership bunker. But Washington appeared to be holding much of its air power in reserve, (the shock and awe campaign-and which may be imminent) apparently hoping that Iraqi resistance would collapse as invasion troops neared the capital. Commanders said the next 24 hours would be decisive.

US Marching Towards Baghdad

March 21….(AP)
U.S. and coalition forces swept across the Iraqi desert Friday, seizing key towns in the southern part of the country, U.S. and British officials said. A convoy of Bradley fighting vehicles and M1A1 Abram tanks and other vehicles from the 3rd Squadron of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment, lead element of the 3rd Infantry Division, racing unopposed toward Baghdad. U.S. and British troops seized in lightning raids two strategically important air fields in western Iraq and some strategic oil fields in southern Iraq west of the city of Basrah. Two western Iraq air fields have also been taken. The missiles Saddam Hussein fired at U.S. and British forces in Kuwait appear to have been the same weapons he either claimed not to possess or agreed to destroy. American, British and Kuwait military officials said Iraq fired at least three missiles Thursday, which have been banned by the United Nations. The first salvos were both a telling sign of Iraq's hidden weapons and a frightening reminder that Saddam still has the capability to deliver chemical or biological warheads, if he is still alive, and that continues to be the subject of much discussion. Early reports indicate that Saddam and his inner circle were indeed at the target of opportunity that American cruise missiles struck in the opening moments of the war.

Iraqi Leadership Seems to be Crumbling

March 21….(MSNBC)
Less than 24 hours after the attack on Iraq began, the Pentagon was reportedly in secret surrender discussions with Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard. NBC News reports that U.S. forces have actually held back on launching the major "shock and awe" campaign which military planners had vowed to unleash in recent weeks as the negotiations continue. Pentagon officials say the meetings were prompted by serious cracks in the Iraqi regime. "There are significant indications that the Iraqi military is breaking from within," NBC reports a Pentagon source as saying. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld revealed the United States is talking directly to Iraqi military leaders, even those in the Special Republican Guard. He said the Iraqis are being told they could avoid all-out war if they took out Saddam themselves. "The Iraqi soldiers and officers must ask themselves whether they want to die fighting for a doomed regime or do they want to survive," Rumsfeld said. Military intelligence has been picking up signs and 'circumstantial evidence' that Saddam and his senior leadership were either incapacitated or out of communication with battlefield commanders." Yet there was no confirmation if he had been wounded or killed.



U.S. Launches Cruise Missiles at Saddam

March 20….(AP)
U.S. and coalition forces launched missiles and bombs at targets in Iraq as Thursday morning dawned in Baghdad, in a "decapitation attack" aimed at Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and other top members of the country's leadership. U.S. warships in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf fired more than 40 satellite-guided Tomahawk cruise missiles, military officials said. F-117 stealth fighters, which each carry two 2,000-pound "bunker buster" bombs, also were involved in the strikes, though apparently against a target other than Saddam. Iraq responded to the attack by firing at least four missiles into northern Kuwait, two of which were intercepted by U.S. Patriot missiles.

Delta Force Commandos Pursue Saddam

March 20….(Washington Times)
Elite teams of US Delta Force commandos who have been inside Iraq for weeks are preparing to descend on Baghdad with the objective of capturing or killing President Saddam Hussein, US defenSe officials said yesterday. Small, highly mobile units picked from the US Army's most revered and secretive fighting force have been assigned a key mission of the war: to hunt down Saddam, his two sons and at least a “dirty dozen” of Iraq's top military and civilian leaders. The Delta Force, the US equivalent of the British SAS, has 306 men. It has been training for several years with the CIA for the specific mission of hunting down the Iraqi leader, officials said. Last night they were being mobilized to infiltrate Baghdad and Saddam's home city of Tikrit to begin the hunt.

Saddam Hussein/Iraq TV Address

March 20….(Debka)
Saddam Hussein said very little in his very brief televised address to the Iraqi people beyond declaring repeatedly that Iraq would defeat the invader and was fighting for freedom and humanity. He blamed the attack on Americans “driven by criminal Zionism” is support of Palestine three times. He declared: “We will defeat the Americans who are driven by criminal Zionism to this invasion. He ended brief address with: Long live Iraq, Long live Jihad, Long live Palestine!

Palestinians Hail Saddam, Burn U.S. Flags

March 20….(Ha Aretz)
Hundreds of schoolchildren in the Gaza Strip Thursday hailed Saddam Hussein and protested against the American assault on Iraq, as strong condemnation of the U.S. action was heard as across the Muslim Middle East. In the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun early Thursday, about 700 Palestinians, most of them school children, waved Iraqi flags and posters of Saddam Hussein and burned two U.S. flags after the attack in Iraq. Among the slogans they shouted were "Death to America, death to Bush," and "We will sacrifice our soul and our blood for Saddam."

World Split Over U.S. Attack

March 20….(CNN)
The U.S.-led attack on Iraq has drawn a rapid and divided reaction from around the world. Permanent members of the U.N. Security Council were quick to condemn the start of the war on Thursday, saying it was a violation of international law. China, which like France and Russia had pushed for a diplomatic solution through the United Nations, called for an immediate halt to military action and a return to efforts to resolve the crisis peacefully. Shortly after U.S. President George W. Bush announced the strike aimed at taking out Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said the war was a violation of the U.N. charter and international law. Russian President Vladimir Putin came out strongly against the attack, saying it brought into question the role of international law. France, who threatened to veto any U.N. resolution authorizing war and was the loudest opponent in the West, called for it to be finished as soon as possible.

Baghdad Welcomes 'Moment of Liberation'

March 20….(World Net)
Many newly emboldened Iraqis are revealing to the few reporters left in Baghdad that they see America's military action as their moment of liberation. "Many, many Iraqis are telling us now, not always in the whispers we only heard in the past, but now in quite candid conversations, that they are waiting for America to come and bring them liberty," said New York Times reporter John Burns in an interview from Baghdad last night. "Along with all of this apprehension," said Burns, "Americans should know that there also is a good deal of anticipation. Iraqis have suffered beyond, I think, the common understanding in the United States from the repression of the past 30 years."

Saddam Escapes First Round Hits

March 20….(FOJ)
President Saddam Hussein accused the United States of committing a “shameful crime” by attacking Iraq, urging his people in a nationally televised address Thursday to “go draw your sword” against the enemy. Saddam Hussein appeared on Iraqi television about 2 hours after the US cruise missile attack on Baghdad, wearing a military uniform, vowing that “Iraq will be victorious.” Hussein appeared to be somewhat subdued and with a puffy face, showing signs of strain, and wearing reading glasses. He referred to U.S. President Bush as 'little, evil Bush.” “Draw your sword and be not afraid,” he urged the Iraqi people, before ending the speech by chanting, “Allahu akbar” or Allah is greater, and saying, “Long live jihad (holy war) and long live Palestine.” The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency believed that it had a fix on Saddam's exact location, and presented President Bush with a hopeful target of opportunity in the opening salvo of the war.

Bush Sends Iraq Letter of War to Congress

White House: Americans need to be prepared for deaths!
March 19….
In a letter to Congress, President Bush on Wednesday offered the administration's formal justification for war with Iraq, declaring that diplomacy had failed to resolve the crisis and tying military action to the battle against terrorism. The letter, to the House speaker and Senate president pro tempore, comes on the same day that a U.S.-imposed deadline for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq expires at 8 p.m. ET. If Saddam does not leave, Bush has vowed to invade Iraq at a time of the United States' choosing. The White House said the president hopes the war will be "as precise and as short as possible," but Americans need to be prepared for the loss of lives.

Tariq Aziz May Have Defected!

March 19….(Debka)
According to a exclusive reports from military and intelligence sources, top members of the Saddam Hussein regime have begun to desert him. Sources in Kurdistan report that Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz visited Turkey and instead of returning to Baghdad headed into Kurdistan and went into hiding under Kurdish protection. He is said to be under interrogation by American intelligence officers. Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan has not been seen in Baghdad for three days and may too have fled the country.

Russia Wants Iraqi Oil Contracts Honored

March 19….(Stratfor)
Even if the United States succeeds in its attack against Iraq, Russia wants its major oil contracts in Iraq honored, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said March 18. "Russia's oil contracts were developed on a clear legal basis. They are completely legitimate in nature and therefore we expect them to be fulfilled," Ivanov said. Some of Russia's oil companies have been unable to exploit sites due to existing U.N. oil embargoes on Iraq.

FOJ Note: FOJ reported last year that the U.S. and Russia entered into a “gentleman's agreement” concerning Iraqi oil. If that agreement somehow becomes lost in the shuffle, it will surely give Russia the incentive to make the prophesied move mentioned in Ezekiel 38 into the oil rich region, and against Israel.

Russia Fears US Oil Companies Taking Over World's 2nd-Biggest Reserves

(Independent)
Oil companies from around the world are manoeuvring for the multibillion-dollar bonanza that would follow the ousting of Saddam Hussein. Russia is so concerned that it has been holding secretive talks with the Iraqi opposition to shore up its economic interests in the country which still owes Moscow $7bn dollars from Soviet times. With the second-biggest reserves in the world, Iraq's underdeveloped oilfields have become a key negotiating chip and a backdrop to talks between the US and the other permanent members of the UN Security Council – all of which have major economic stakes in regime change in Iraq. It has also given fuel to critics of America's war plans who say the desire for regime change is at least partly driven by economics. Oil industry experts say there is growing concern that America would dominate the Iraqi oil industry after Saddam. As a result, a number of oil companies have reportedly held talks with the Iraqi opposition to ensure they are involved in any future deals. The removal of Saddam Hussein and the end of sanctions that likely would come his ouster, portends that oil companies such as ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco as well as Russian, Chinese, and French companies would seek to develop the lucrative Iraqi reserves. There's not an oil company out there that wouldn't be interested in Iraqi oil.



Arafat Appoints a Prime Minister

March 18….(Ha Aretz)
Mahmoud Abbas, the PLO Secretary General who is usually referred to as Abu Mazen, has been nominated by Yasser Arafat to be the Palestinian Authority's Prime Minister. He is the most senior Palestinian leader after Yasser Arafat. Born in Safed in British Mandate Palestine in 1935, he is one of the few surviving founder members of Fatah, the main political grouping within the Palestine Liberation Organization. He co-founded Fatah with Yasser Arafat and accompanied him into exile in Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia. Widely regarded as the architect of the Oslo peace process, he accompanied Mr Arafat to the White House in 1993 to sign the Oslo Accords. Referring to the current intifada, Abu Mazen has called for a halt to armed attacks on Israeli targets to avoid giving Israel a pretext to destroy the last vestiges of Palestinian autonomy. The bill defining the role of the Prime Minister was approved with 69 votes and one abstention in the 88-member parliament. Arafat now has to sign the legislation and formally offer the job to his preferred candidate, Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), the No. 2 man in the PLO. Abu Mazen is also the candidate favored by the United States and Israel. The power struggle between Arafat and the parliament is closely watched by international Mid-east mediators who have sought to sideline Yasser Arafat because of his association with terrorism. President Bush said last week that installing a credible Palestinian Prime Minister with real powers is a prerequisite for unveiling a U.S.-backed three-year "road map" to Palestinian Statehood. Last month, Arafat agreed, under intense international pressure to appoint a Prime Minister.

A Coalition Enforcing World/UN Resolutions

March 18….(FOJ)
Today the news headlines are filled with dramatic military scenario's depicting how a “coalition of the willing” will march on Baghdad and enforce the UN Security Council's many resolutions (resolution 1441) against Iraq, mandating that the Iraqi regime comply with weapons disarmament. I have read how the US-British led coalition has amassed nearly 300,000 troops and 700 combat aircraft together with a multi-armor core of divisions will encircle Baghdad When war begins, coalition aircraft will release hundreds of precision munitions on key air defense and command targets. After a few days of air strikes to soften Iraqi resistance south of Baghdad, Army soldiers, led by the 3rd Infantry Division, and Marines from the 1st Expeditionary Force will move in blitzkrieg fashion north to Baghdad along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The coalition will attack from all directions utilizing sea-based carriers to launch a full-scale air assault on Iraq.

My mind is racing a few years forward in time, and speculating about another “coalition of forces.” I wonder about the prospect of a coalition of forces being arrayed against Israel to enforce UN Resolutions against Israel, stipulating that Israel comply with the world's resolutions concerning the Promised Land. Russia is prophesied to lead a coalition of forces against Israel in the latter days. (Ezekiel 38:2-10 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, (air assault) thou, and all thy bands, (coalition) and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:)

Trouble Such as the World Has Never Seen!

March 18….(FOJ)
Last night President Bush made some important and startling comments in his address to the American people. He reported that Intelligence gathered by this and other government's leave no doubt that the Iraq regime under Saddam Hussein continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised. He said that Saddam Hussein has a deep hatred of America and our friends, and that he has aided, trained and harbored terrorists, including operatives of al Qaeda. He continued to say that the danger ahead is clear: “Using chemical, biological, or one day nuclear weapons, obtained with the help of Iraq, terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in America.” Before the day of horror can come, before it is too late to act, this danger will be removed, he said. “The United States of America has the sovereign authority to use force in assuring its own national security”. The United Nations Security Council has not lived up to its responsibilities. So we will rise to ours. The President also stated, “In this century, when evil men plot chemical, biological and nuclear terror, a policy of appeasement could bring destruction of a kind never before seen on this earth.” The President's concluding statement sent a chill up my spine! I truly believe that we are embarking ever closer and closer to the coming Day of the Lord, the epic “Time of Jacob's Trouble”, when God shall gather all nations together at Armageddon. It will be a time of trouble like this earth has never seen before! (Matthew 24:21-22 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.)

Iraq Rejects Bush Ultimatum

March 18….(Fox News)
Saddam's eldest son rejected President George W. Bush's ultimatum Monday night for the Iraqi ruler and his sons to go into exile within 48 hours or face “military conflict launched at a time of our choosing.” The loose presidential phrasing enabled the White House to consider advancing the date of the full-scale offensive against Iraq before the 48 hours expired, particularly after the brutal threat that accompanied Uday Hussein's rejection. “The wives and mothers of those Americans who will fight us will cry blood, not tears,” he said. “They should not imagine that they will have a safe spot inside the land of Iraq or outside it.” Hussein's son tauntingly urged Bush to leave his office in America with his family. Iraq's al-Shabab television, owned by Saddam's son Odai, said the decision to defy President Bush's ultimatum was made in a joint meeting of the Revolution Command Council, Iraq's highest executive body, and the leadership of the ruling Baath party. Odai Hussein had already issued his own rejection of the ultimatum in a statement distributed by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. He said Bush was "unstable" and that the U.S. leader "should give up power in America with his family." He also warned that a U.S.-led attack will force Iraq to broaden the war against the United States. There was no immediate word from Odai's younger brother, Qusai, now widely thought to be Saddam's right-hand man. He is in charge of Saddam's personal protection and the elite Republican Guard Corps. Defiant to the end, Saddam warned that American forces would find an Iraqi fighter ready to die for his country "behind every rock, tree and wall."



Bush: Saddam-Get out of Town in 72 Hours

March 17….(World Net)
President Bush will address the nation on Iraq at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time tonight. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he will give Saddam Hussein a final ultimatum. "In his speech he clearly will issue an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein that the only way to avoid the 'serious consequences' that were built into Resolution 1441 is for Saddam Hussein and his immediate cohorts to leave the country and to allow this matter to be resolved through the peaceful entry of force and not conflict," said Powell. Sources indicate that Hussein would be given 72 hours to go into exile.

Saddam Will Take War to the World

March 17….(AP)
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein warned Sunday that if Iraq is attacked, it will take the war anywhere in the world "wherever there is sky, land or water." President Bush gave the United Nations one more day to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff. With nearly 300,000 U.S. and British troops in the Persian Gulf ready to strike, Bush and the leaders of Britain and Spain at an emergency summit in the Azores Islands said the United Nations must decide by Monday to support "the immediate and unconditional disarmament" of Iraq. In a meeting with military commanders Sunday, the Iraqi leader threatened a broader war if the United States attacks. "When the enemy starts a large-scale battle, he must realize that the battle between us will be open wherever there is sky, land and water in the entire world," Saddam said. Iraq responded to the looming threat of war last night with a warning that tens of thousands of Iraqi men and women had volunteered as "martyrs in the battle with the American enemy". Within minutes of the end of the Azores summit, the leadership in Baghdad turned on the battlefield rhetoric and said it was ready to fight at an hour's notice, if necessary. It raised the spectre of suicide bombers wreaking havoc on American and British targets around the globe.

Today is the 'A Moment of Truth' on Iraq

March 17….(AP)
The Bush administration presented the world with a nonnegotiable demand yesterday regarding Iraqi President Saddam Hussein: It is time for him to go. President Bush said Sunday the opportunity for a diplomatic solution to the confrontation with Iraq would end Monday, calling it "a moment of truth for the world." Bush said he hopes the United Nations "will do its job," but warned that France's threatened veto of any U.N. resolution to authorize force means that "cards have been played." Bush made his comments after a brief summit in the Azores with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. A British official had described the meeting as the "last chance for diplomacy." The United States has advised the United Nations to pull its weapons inspectors out of Iraq The advice, late on Sunday, followed an ultimatum from President Bush that the world body had just one more day to give its blessing to a resolution sanctioning the use of force to rid Iraq of suspected weapons of mass destruction.

Syrian, Iranian Presidents Discuss Iraq

March 17….(FOJ)
Iran's supreme Islamic leader told Syrian President Assad Sunday that the United States may inflict immediate damage on the Middle East, but resistance from the region would result in the United States losing its superpower status. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks with Syrian leader Bashar Assad stated that the U.S. may be able to inflict damages to the region in the short term, but resistance of the regional nations will finally inflict the biggest blow to the U.S. and will culminate in the fall of America's superpower image and status!" President Assad replied back to Khamenei that America was doomed to fail if it invades Iraq. Khamenei has advocated a nuclear attack on Israel, while Syria has likely accepted Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and dispersed them among the many terrorist organizations that operate in South Lebanon.



WEEK OF MARCH 10 THROUGH MARCH 16


Bush Addresses Issue of Peace Road Map

March 14….President Bush:
Good morning. We have reached a hopeful moment for progress toward the vision of Middle Eastern peace that I outlined last June. I spoke of a day when two states, Israel and Palestine, will live side by side in peace and security. I called upon all parties in the Middle East to abandon old hatreds and to meet their responsibilities for peace. The Palestinian state must be a reformed and peaceful and democratic state that abandons forever the use of terror. The government of Israel, as the terror threat is removed and security improves, must take concrete steps to support the emergence of a viable and credible Palestinian state, and to work as quickly as possible toward a final status agreement. As progress is made toward peace, settlement activity in the occupied territories must end. And the Arab states must oppose terrorism, support the emergence of a peaceful and democratic Palestine, and state clearly that they will live in peace with Israel. This moment offers a new opportunity to meet these objectives. After its recent elections, the nation of Israel has a new government. And the Palestinian Authority has created the new position of Prime Minister. Israeli and Palestinian leaders and other governments in the region now have a chance to move forward with determination and with good faith. To be a credible and responsible partner, the new Palestinian Prime Minister must hold a position of real authority. We expect that such a Palestinian Prime Minister will be confirmed soon. Immediately upon confirmation, the road map for peace will be given to the Palestinians and the Israelis. This road map will set forth a sequence of steps toward the goals I set out on June 24th, 2002, goals shared by all the parties. The United States has developed this plan over the last several months in close cooperation with Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. Once this road map is delivered, we will expect and welcome contributions from Israel and the Palestinians to this document that will advance true peace. We will urge them to discuss the road map with one another. The time has come to move beyond entrenched positions and to take concrete actions to achieve peace. America is committed, and I am personally committed, to implementing our road map toward peace. Our efforts are guided by clear principles: We believe that all people in the Middle East -- Arab and Israeli alike -- deserve to live in dignity, under free and honest governments. We believe that people who live in freedom are more likely to reject bitterness, blind hatred and terror; and are far more likely to turn their energy toward reconciliation, reform and development. There can be no peace for either side in the Middle East unless there is freedom for both. Reaching that destination will not be easy, but we can see the way forward. Now the parties must take that way, step by step, and America will be the active partner of every party that seeks true peace. Thank you very much.

FOJ Note: The President is making the biggest mistake of his life, and America is making a horrible attempt to appease the enemies of Israel, and ultimately reward the enemies of Jesus Christ. America's war on Iraq has just received a severe curse.

Anti-War Politics in America

March 14….(FOJ)
The right in America for people to dissent is a gift that comes with freedom, and the freedom to actively protest, especially when it comes to war is a privilege. However that right carries a very grave burden of responsibility in a free society. The “act” of protesting America's fight in a war can be divisive and tend to serve the enemies of America. Some people say that protesting and dissenting is what a democracy is all about, and that may be true. But in reality, America is not a democracy! America is a Republic, and is supposed to be in fact be a Christian Republic at that. Protesting against America is not being pro-American, nor being a good citizen. Being pro-America and a defender of truth and liberty is being pro-American. Wisdom demands that we as citizens persist in being loyal to our precious Republic, and that we limit our dissent to being domestic or internally, and resist it externally, or in foreign venues. Debating and dissenting for the sake of discovering the truth, and deciding what is right is our duty, and also being a good citizen of America. (aProverbs 20:18 Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.) (Proverbs 24:6-7 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counselors there is safety. Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.) There are no dissenters in Baghdad, or in most places in this world! They cannot even protest at the gate. (in public) The act of putting down America and its President, while exercising the freedoms granted to us under the banner of our Republic is not pro-American. It is not the act of dissenting that makes this country great, its is Christian principles. There is nothing noble in trashing America and her leaders on foreign soil, especially as we prepare for war against a foreign country. It is disgraceful, and it serves the enemies of freedom.

Iraq Mobilizing Scuds Against Israel

March 14….(Arutz)
American intelligence has detected Iraqi transfers of Scud missiles to areas within range of Israel, according to the reports. Iraq has been locating its scud launchers in the Jordanian border region in the pretext of launching scuds toward Israel, as it did in the 91 Gulf War. It is said that Saddam Hussein may strike against Israel and against American forces in the Persian Gulf if he reaches the conclusion that an American assault is inevitable. It has further been reported that Iraq has also mined its own oil fields.

France, China, and Syria Armed Saddam

March 14….(New York Times)
France, China and Syria all have a common reason for keeping American and British troops out of Iraq: the three nations may not want the world to discover that their nationals have been illicitly supplying Saddam Hussein with materials used in building long-range surface-to-surface missiles. We're not talking about short-range Al Samoud 2 missiles, which Saddam is ostentatiously destroying to help his protectors avert an invasion, nor his old mobile Scuds. The delivery system for mass destruction warheads requires a much more sophisticated propulsion system and fuels. A company named Qilu Chemicals located in China is a leading producer of a transparent liquid rubber named hydroxy terminated polybutadiene, and was contracted by Iraq to deliver the chemical shipments through a Parisian broker. The Syrian port of Tartus, which is the Mediterranean terminus for an Iraqi oil pipeline served as the transport intermediary for the Iraqi missile industry. The French connection, brokering the deal among the Chinese producer, the Syrian land transporter and the Iraqi buyer is no great secret to the world's arms merchants.

Senate Approves 'partial-birth' Ban

March 13….(MSNBC)
The Senate has approved a bill, which President Bush has promised to sign, to prosecute doctors who perform an abortion procedure that involves partial delivery of a fetus. It is not yet clear whether the law will pass muster with the Supreme Court, which three years ago struck down a similar Nebraska statute. Abortion rights supporters have pledged a court challenge. “This bill is unconstitutional,” argued Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California. The bill does exempt a partial-birth abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother. The procedure involves partial delivery of a fetus until the head or part of the lower body is outside the mother's body. At that point, the doctor punctures the skull of the fetus with a pair of scissors, and then inserts a suction tube and vacuums out the developing brain, killing the fetus. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., says the procedure “blurs the line between abortion and infanticide in the killing of a partially born child just inches from birth.” The bill says that anyone who performs the procedure known as partial-birth abortion “thereby kills a human fetus” and will be fined or imprisoned for not more than two years. The bill was approved by a vote of 64 to 33. Congress twice before passed legislation to impose a ban, but former President Clinton vetoed both measures. The legislation also says that Congress found that “the gruesome and inhumane nature of the partial-birth abortion procedure and its disturbing similarity to the killing of a newborn infant promotes a complete disregard for infant human life.”

FOJ Note: How ironic it is that the American cultural war involving the issue of Abortion should reach such a pivotal phase (anti-abortion President) at the same time that the war on Iraq is set to occur. Could it be that God is testing America?

EU Sees Russia, Israel, Arab Nations Joining Free Trade Union

March 13….(Reuters)
The European Commission has raised the prospect of countries stretching from Russia and Ukraine to Israel and Morocco joining a free trade area with the EU in which all their citizens could move freely. The Commission, the E.U. executive arm, endorsed plans for deepening economic and political ties with an array of countries in North Africa, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union which are set to border the enlarged European Union. The neighbors targeted include the former Soviet republics of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. The Mediterranean neighbors include Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia. The Commission said in a statement: "Over the coming decade, in return for concrete progress on political and economic reforms, all neighboring countries should be offered the prospect of a stake in the EU's internal market." This could lead to full freedom of movement for people, services, goods and capital between the EU and its neighbors. The so-called "Wider Europe" initiative coincides with the E.U. preparations to admit eight new members from ex-communist central Europe, including Poland and the Czech Republic, plus the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Malta, on May 1 next year. By offering a closer relationship, the EU hopes to cement stability, prosperity and democracy within its neighbors. FOJ Note: Rome wasn't built in a day, but yet the Revived Roman Empire is steadily being built.

Saddam Hussein Openly Supports Terror

March 13….(Ha Aretz)
Families of Palestinian suicide bombers received $245,000 in checks from Saddam Hussein on Wednesday, underscoring the Iraqi leader's continued support for a Palestinian revolt as he faces the prospect of a U.S.-led war. Leaders of a pro-Iraq Palestinian group handed out the checks after delivering fiery speeches extolling the Iraqi president's virtues to hundreds of relatives of "martyrs" packed into a dingy YMCA hall in Gaza City. Officials of the Palestinian Arab Liberation Front staging the ceremony said Saddam had now paid $35 million to support the kin of Palestinian suicide bombers who lost their lives in the uprisingp against Israel. "Saddam Hussein considers those who die in martyrdom attacks as people who have won the highest degree of martyrdom," an official of the Arab Liberation Front said. "Iraq and Palestine are in one trench. Saddam is a hero," said a banner over a mural of Saddam and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, who sided with Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War against U.S.-led forces but has kept a low profile this time.

FOJ Note: While the world muses over whether or not Sadddam Hussein is connected to terrorism, Saddam's funding for the Palestinian uprising continues to encourage "terrorism." He has even planned to kill his own people and blame it on American soldiers. What a charmer?

The Devil is Marching

March 13….(FOJ)
The Devil's logistically placed lieutenants in his end-times conspiracy against Israel are presently the main targets of the U.S. in the Middle East. The Devil is inflaming the Far East (North Korea-China) and Europe (France-Germany-Russia) against America. Anti-Semitism is driving the world toward Armageddon. Satan is manipulating many of the worlds venues in an attempt to stop America's thrust toward a war on Iraq, thereby protecting one of his "evil" agents. (Saddam Hussein) There is a controversy in this world over the existence of the nation of Israel. (Isaiah 34:8 For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.) After the September 11th attacks on America, President Bush asserted to the world that an Axis of Evil had assaulted America. He also asserted that the world would have to choose sides in the ensuing war on evil. He said to the nations of the world, “you are either with us or against us.” It seems to me that the Devil is gathering his agents against America for the sole purpose of eliminating America's traditional support for Israel. God forbid that America cease to support Israel!

Hezbollah Leader Says Muslim Nations Will Destroy Israel

March 12….(Jerusalem Post)
A US-led invasion of Iraq will awaken Arabs and Muslims, ultimately leading to Israel's destruction and bring an end to American dominance in the region, according to the leader of the Hizbullah militant group. Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, head of a radical Shiite Muslim group on a US list of terrorist organizations, referred to Washington's desire to get rid of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime as the fuel that may be needed to unite all of the Arab world together in its efforts to destroy Israel. The Americans may come and succeed in toppling this or that regime, but this US invasion could be a blessing in disguise," Nasrallah said. This American invasion will lead to an unprecedented awakening within the Islamic nation and among its youths, and to a holy war and revolutionary movement placing this nation before an inevitable decisive battle against Israel. Despite "divisions and weakness" plaguing the Arab and Muslim worlds, Nasrallah said: "We are heading toward the end of divisions and disintegration and to the elimination of the state of Israel from this region and the termination of American arrogance and hegemony over our countries and our resources." Hizbullah, backed by Iran and Syria, led a guerrilla war against Israel's 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in May 2000. The group rejects any idea of a Jewish state in the Middle East.

FOJ Note: In all of my review of Middle East news, I have never encountered a story that more aptly parallels the prophesied “Day of the Lord”. (You may note that the “Day of the Lord,” leading ultimately to Armageddon commences along the river Euphrates, which is in Iraq!

Jeremiah 46:10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

Zephaniah 1:14-15 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.


Vatican Becomes Anti-War Rally Central

March 12….(Washington Times)
Pope John Paul II and top Vatican officials are unleashing a barrage of condemnations of a possible U.S. military strike on Iraq, calling it immoral, risky and a "crime against peace." The Pope began a week of Lenten prayers, by saying that he will "bear in mind the needs of the Church and the concerns of all mankind, above all for peace in Iraq and the Holy Land." The stance reflects what experts say is the Vatican's evolving position on just war, already seen by its opposition to the Gulf War, as well as concern about the impact of war on relations between Christians and Muslims. "He is looking ahead for the rest of this century where Christian-Muslim relations are key to peace and religious freedom in the world. John Paul has insisted that war is a "defeat for humanity" and that a preventive strike against Iraq is neither legally nor morally justified. But in some of the Vatican's strongest language against a possible war, its foreign minister Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran said a unilateral military strike would be a "crime against peace" with no justification on grounds of self-defense. Vatican officials have also spoken of what they consider are the political realities of an American attack on an Arab country. "We want to say to America: Is it worth it to you? Won't you have, afterward, decades of hostility in the Islamic world." The Vatican that suggested that the U.S. was acting out of economic and political motives, not an attempt to disarm Saddam.

Egypt's Al Azhar Calls For Jihad Against U.S.

March 12….(Middle East News Line)
The most prominent Sunni Muslim seminary, sponsored by the Egyptian government, has called for holy war against the United States and its allies. The Cairo-based Al Azhar seminary issued a ruling on Monday that called on Muslims to wage a "jihad," or holy war against the United States and allied forces that participate in the war against Iraq. The seminary said all Muslims are required by their religion to join the jihad once the United States attacks Baghdad. The communique referred to the United States as the crusader.

Muslim Skeik Offers Good Advice to America!

March 12….(World Net)
A Muslim sheik who condemns Yasser Arafat as a terrorist joined a Jewish rabbi in a protest outside the Palestinian Liberation Organization's U.N. mission in New York. Sheik Abdul Hadi Palazzi, secretary general of the Italian Muslim Association, says it is time for the "world and civilized nations not to consider the Palestinian Authority as representative of a people, of having a place among the nations, but rather as a gang promoting terror, educating children in terror from elementary school age." Palazzi urged the United States to become consistent in its fight against terrorism. He fears a repeat of history following the likely, upcoming defeat of Saddam Hussein. After the Gulf War in 1991, he noted, the U.S. pressed Israel to accept the Oslo peace process, which resulted in the present intifada, or uprising. Palazzi fears that after Saddam's demise, the U.S. will make a similar miscalculation and renew a path toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. "Why would you destroy a totalitarian regime in one part of the world and create it in another?" Palazzi asked. The U.S. essentially will have won a victory in the war against terrorism in Iraq, while rewarding terrorism in the Holy Land, he contends. You defeat Saddam Hussein and then you reward the Palestinian Authority, which was the best ally of Saddam Hussein, funded by him from the very beginning," Palazzi said. "Who was the best friend of Saddam Hussein?" he asked. "Yasser Arafat. Who gives money to families of suicide bombers? Saddam Hussein! There is no good terror or bad terror. It's necessary to fight terror in all its forms. If you promote a Palestinian State with American and European funds for the PLO, you increase the opportunity for terror."



Spain's Aznar Questions French "Interests" in Iraq

March 11….(Reuters)
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, an active supporter of the United States on Iraq, on Monday linked the "material interests" of France, Russia and China in Iraq to their opposition to the use of force there. Spain, currently on the U.N. Security Council, has joined the United States and Britain in backing a tough new resolution giving Iraq little time to disarm or face military strikes. "We don't have any material interests in Iraq...France has material interests in Iraq. Russia has material interests in Iraq. China has material interests in Iraq. We don't have any," Aznar told Telecinco television in drawing a distinction between governments on opposing sides within the U.N. Security Council. Asked by the interviewer if those interests explained the French, Russian and Chinese positions on Iraq, Aznar said.

Annan: U.S. Attack Without U.N. Illegal

March 11….(World Net)
United Nations chief Kofi Annan warned yesterday that the U.S. would be flouting international law if it engaged in military action against Iraq without a Security Council mandate. "If the U.S. goes outside the Security Council, it will not be in conformity with the U.N. charter," he said, according to the Australian Associated Press. Annan said that if the U.S. acts without U.N. sanction, "the legitimacy of such military action will be seriously impaired." "War must always be the last resort," he said. "The United Nations has a duty to search to the very end for a peaceful solution." The secretary general insisted that the U.N. would not be sidelined if the U.S. decides on its own to attack Iraq.

FOJ Note: The UN is working to undermine US sovereignty.

US Will Stick to Peace Roadmap

March 11….(Ha Aretz)
The United States vowed Monday to stick with its roadmap for a Palestinian state by 2005 even while war clouds gathered over Iraq. But a senior U.S. official said that before moving ahead, the administration wanted to be sure a newly appointed Palestinian prime minister would have authority over security and peacemaking. Reviving the phrase "peace process," the official stressed any shift in power within the Palestinian movement must be credible and genuine. Earlier, meeting in Ramallah on the West Bank, the Palestinian parliament approved the planned appointment of Mahmoud Abbas as Prime Minister. But the new position was vested with only limited powers, which could indicate Yasser Arafat remained in charge. President George W. Bush has conditioned his support for establishment of a Palestinian state on the removal of Arafat from power and the development of democratic institutions. In trying to enlist Arab governments to back war with Iraq the Bush Administration has faced repeated claims that it was moving too slowly in pushing Israel to yield more land to the Palestinians. France and a number of other European countries have supported the Arabs in that position. In devising a roadmap, the Bush Administration yielded the monopoly the United States held in peacemaking for 30 years by sharing mediation efforts with the United Nations, Russia and the European Union. Sharon has questioned U.N., Russian and European motives, but not Bush's, and said he would not start down the road to peace with the Palestinians until terror attacks against Israel were halted.

FOJ Note: The UN, Russia, and the EU seem to be working together in a coordinated effort to thwart America's support for Israel. America is making a deadly compromise by yielding to those efforts.



Iran Acquiring Nuclear Weapons
With Russian-Chinese Assistance


March 10….(MSNBC)
Near the town of Natanz in central Iran, 160 newly minted centrifuges stand in neat rows inside a nuclear complex that the United States and other countries were surprised to learn about only seven months ago. The machines have been tested and judged fully operational, senior Bush administration officials say. Sometime this year they will begin spinning hot uranium gas into nuclear fuel. When the project is completed in 2005, Iran will be capable of producing enough enriched uranium for several nuclear bombs each year. For a decade, U.S. efforts to keep nuclear weapons away from Iran focused on a location far to the south, a nuclear power plant being built with Russian help near the port city of Bushehr. Fearing that Iran would extract plutonium from the reactor's fuel for a nuclear weapon, U.S. officials have imposed sanctions against Russian companies and exerted enormous pressure on Russia, China and Ukraine to prevent them from supplying the Iranians with technical assistance. The Natanz plant poses a critical challenge to the Bush administration at a delicate time, just as North Korea also appears to be intensifying its efforts to build a nuclear weapon, and on the eve of a possible war with Iraq. The disclosures will raise difficult new questions about U.S. policy and the president's declared intention to preempt threats from those who seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Iran possesses an arsenal of medium-range ballistic missiles as well as the factories and engineers to produce new ones. It also has chemical and possibly biological weapons, according to the CIA. The National Council of Resistance of Iran, the opposition group that first reported the nuclear complex at Natanz, said that Iran continues to receive assistance from China and North Korea.

FOJ Note: It seems that America's three “axis of evil” designees all seem to have decided to push hard to provide themselves with weapons of mass destruction, and with the help of Russia and China! China is pushing North Korea in the Far East while Russia is arming Iran in the Mid-east! Sound familiar? (See Ezekiel 38, and Revelation 16)

Russia Warns US Against Attack on Iraq

March 10….(Harpazo)
Russia has warned Washington that it would be violating the United Nations Charter if it attacked Iraq without a UN mandate. Russia labeled the March 17 deadline unnecessary and unjustified and echoed a threat from France, which also has a veto on the council, to block any resolution authorizing the use of force. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov warned that "if the United States unilaterally launched a military strike on Iraq without a UN mandate, it would be in violation of the UN charter," in which case the Security Council would have to "make appropriate decisions".

China Worried about Mideast Oil Supplies

March 10….(Nando Times)
Vulnerable to outside shocks as its economy grows, China has been building up its oil reserves and finding new suppliers to protect itself from war-related disruptions. China now gets about 60 percent of its crude oil imports from the Middle East. Experts here fear that a protracted conflict could interrupt those supplies. China has increased imports from relatively stable oil producers such as Russia and Southeast Asian countries to help balance its heavy reliance on Middle East oil.

China Behind North Korean Threat

March 10….(World Net)
China is pulling the strings of North Korea in its bellicose, nuclear-armed defiance of the United States. North Korea could not be threatening the U.S. with nuclear missiles, as it is, without at least China's tacit support. Clearly, North Korea and China are allies. The Chinese want Taiwan. The North Koreans want South Korea. The only nation preventing both goals is the U.S. A secret deal between Washington and Beijing calls for China not to veto a new U.N. resolution authorizing force on Iraq in return for a pledge from Washington not to attack North Korea. Though China knows the U.S. is not going to launch a pre-emptive strike against North Korea without provocation and the U.S. knows China is not going to veto the U.N. resolution, sources say this agreement is a way for Beijing to let the West know that Pyongyang is part of its geo-strategic orbit by acting as its protectorate as well as assuming a higher profile internationally. "Could it be North Korea is not so much a 'rogue' state, as U.S. diplomats describe it, but rather is a strategic ally of China? It seems that China and Russia don't have much to lose in backing North Korea's bellicose stand against the U.S. "Not much to lose and, perhaps, plenty to gain." ''North Korean ballistic missiles can reach any part of the United States of America,'' said Kim Myong-Chol who also stated that if American forces carry out a pre-emptive strike on the Yongbyon facility, North Korea will immediately target and carry the war to the U.S. mainland, he said, adding that New York, Washington and Chicago would be aflame. China and Russia obviously don't mind North Korea threatening the US.

Iran Has 'Extremely Advanced' Nuclear Program

March 10….(CNN)
Iran has a nuclear program that is far more advanced than has been previously disclosed. Citing unnamed diplomatic sources, Time magazine says U.N. weapons inspectors have discovered that Iran's uranium-enrichment facility is "extremely advanced," to the point that it violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT]. On a visit last month to Iran, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, visited the facility designed to enrich uranium that Iran is building near Natanz. Diplomatic sources say he found the plant much further advanced than previously believed. The sources say work on the plant is "extremely advanced," involves hundreds of gas centrifuges ready to produce enriched uranium and "the parts for a thousand others ready to be assembled."

Pope John Paul II Working on Iraq Deal

March 10….(Sydney Herald)
Pope John Paul II has dispatched his emissaries to meet all the key parties involved in the Iraq Crisis during the past two weeks. His special envoy and permanent observer at the UN, Archbishop Renato Rafaele Martino, has been discussing a proposal with all the Security Council members. Cardinal Pio Laghi, a former Papal Nuncio, met with President George W Bush, while Cardinal Angelo Sodano has met with Tony Blair. Cardinal Roger Etchegaray met with Saddam in Baghdad and discussed the subject of the exile of Saddam Hussein. American sources have confirmed that the US and Jordan have recently discussed the prospect of using the UN to offer a formal exile and amnesty package to Saddam and his inner circle. Last month, Saddam rejected informal pleas to choose exile over war. Under the Pope's plan, Saddam Hussein and his family are to be given 72 hours on Tuesday to accept an offer of exile, while 50 of Iraq's top military brass will be offered an amnesty in return for full co-operation with the United Nations. The UN would then oversee the establishment of a post-Saddam government in Iraq and the UN, not the US, would take stewardship of Iraq's oilfields.



WEEK OF MARCH 3 THROUGH MARCH 9


Iraq Transports WMD To Syria

March 7….
(Iraq is said to have transported chemical and biological weapons to its borders with Syria and Turkey. U.S. officials said an Iraqi intelligence unit was spotted transporting the non-conventional weapons about six weeks ago from facilities in Baghdad to the Syrian and Turkish borders. They said the transfer of the weapons appeared to be part of an effort to conceal them from United Nations inspectors and spare them from any expected U.S. attack. "We know that in late January, the Iraqi Intelligence Service transported chemical and biological agents to areas far away from Baghdad, near the Syrian and Turkish borders, in order to conceal them," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said. "And they have concealed them from the prying eyes of inspectors."

FOJ Note: Focus on Jerusalem reported that Saddam has transported much of his wmd arsenal to Syria on January 20. (See January Newsroom) There is obviously some very close cooperation going on between Saddam Hussein and the regime in Damascus!

Bush and Saddam: Its High Noon!

March 7….(AP)
The United States and Britain will give Saddam Hussein a short deadline to comply with U.N. inspections or face war, diplomats said Friday as the Security Council opened a pivotal meeting on Iraq. The United Nations Security Council meets at U.N. headquarters in New York, March 7, 2003 to hear Dr. Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) deliver a report on weapons inspection in Iraq. Addressing the council, the top U.N. weapons inspectors said Iraq has been more cooperative in disarming, but Secretary of State Colin Powell insisted that Saddam's performance was "still a catalog of non-cooperation." Chief Inspector Hans Blix said Baghdad "can be seen as active, or even proactive," and top nuclear inspector Mohammed ElBaradei made his strongest statement yet in support of Iraq's efforts. "In the past three weeks, possibly as a result of ever-increasing pressure by the international community, Iraq has been forthcoming in its cooperation," ElBaradei said. When asked about giving Saddam an ultimatum -- a two- or three-day deadline to disarm, Bush said: "We're still in the final stages of diplomacy." The president noted that chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix would report Friday to the Security Council on Iraqi disarmament efforts. "The world needs him to answer a single question: Has the Iraqi regime fully and unconditionally disarmed as required by Resolution 1441? Or has it not?" Bush said.

Israel Will Pay for War on Iraq

March 7….(FOJ)
Without even having tacit UN approval for an American led war on Iraq, the conventional wisdom is that Israel will ultimately have to pay for the U.S. attack on Iraq. The price will be a new Palestinian State to placate Islam and the Arab world (not to mention the UN) for America's overthrow of Saddam Hussein. There is no doubt that Muslims throughout the world, who rejoiced in the destruction of the WTC in New York on September 11th, 2001 will be more livid than ever its demonic hatred of the United States after Saddam is eliminated. Since the so-called "peace road map" for PLO-Israel peace provides for a Palestinian State, it is by its very nature a reward for the PLO, Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorism and will be regarded as such throughout the Arab world. The European Community, Russia, and the UN motivated partly by the fervor of anti-Semitism that consumes them, and partly by a fear of Arab terrorism, and partly by a desire to extract the United States from its position in the Middle East. Russia is anxious to assure itself the maximum possible share of Iraqi oil after the Saddam Hussein regime is displaced. The US's superpower status and national sovereignty are on the line in this geo-political game. And the creation of a 2nd Palestinian State with American backing will be a signal to Moslem terrorists the world over that terrorism still pays and the US war on evil is half-hearted at best! In the end analysis, after the war is over, it will be Israel that will end up paying!

Bush: “We Don't Need Permission”

March 7….(Washington Times)
President Bush said last night in a national press conference that he would pursue "the last phase of diplomacy" to persuade a skittish U.N. Security Council to help disarm Saddam Hussein, but vowed to act without its approval, declaring that "when it comes to America's security, we really don't need anybody's permission to act." The President said the September 11 attacks "changed the strategic thinking, at least as far as I was concerned, for how to protect our country. My job is to protect the American people. The events of September the 11th should say to the American people that we are now a battlefield, that weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a terrorist organization could be deployed here at home." Declaring that the United States and a coalition of willing nations will disarm Saddam if the United Nations fails, Mr. Bush assured Americans that "if we need to act, we will act. And we really don't need United Nations approval to do so. The President's tone was measured and sober during the three-quarters of an hour. The only time he appeared to struggle with his emotions was when answering a question about the role of his religious faith in handling the Iraqi crisis. "My faith sustains me, because I pray daily. I pray for guidance and wisdom and strength," he said. "If we were to commit our troops, I would pray for their safety, and I would pray for the safety of innocent Iraqi lives as well.



Arafat, Hezbullah Connected to Al Qaeda

March 6….(Debka)
The Palestinian suicide bomber that struck a Haifa bus yesterday was a 20 year old from the West Bank town of Hebron. He was identified as Mahmoud Hamdan Selim Kawasme, a member of a big Hebron clan and kinsman of a former mayor. A note found on his body praised to heaven the al Qaeda perpetrators of the September 11 atrocities in New York, in which more than 3000 people died. Initially he was described as a member of the Islamic extremist Hamas. The young killer was in fact a disciple of Fawzi Ayoub, the high-ranking Lebanese Hizballah officer. Ayoub is one of a group of Hizballah instructors, expert in terrorist techniques, who were imported by Yasser Arafat under a secret pact he forged with Hizballah chief Hassan Nasrallah before launching his Intifada in September 2000. The note found on the body of Mahmoud Kawasme, protégé of a Hizballah officer, epitomizes the murky operational collaboration that has developed between Arafat's Palestinian movement, the Lebanese Hizballah and Al Qaeda. Arafat is scheming away in his Ramallah headquarters, and will likely strive with all his might to mount a spate of horrendous terrorist attacks to prove that Israel's military stranglehold on Palestinian cities is powerless to prevent him from opening a second front in support of his friend, Saddam Hussein. He will not be the only instigator of violence; Iraqi terrorist cells operating in Jordan and Israel will do their worst, as will the Hizballah and al Qaeda cells, which have been biding their time for this critical moment.

Bush Convenes The War Cabinet

March 6….(Washington Times)
President Bush yesterday convened his war Cabinet on the U.S. plan for invading Iraq, and his field commander emerged to say that American forces are now ready to capture Baghdad and oust President Saddam Hussein. "If the president of the United States decides to undertake action, we are in a position to provide a military option," Gen. Tommy Franks, head of U.S. Central Command, said at a Pentagon press conference. The White House meeting is likely to be the last face-to-face briefing between Mr. Bush and his four-star commander, Gen. Franks, before war begins. Gen. Franks, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and CIA Director George J. Tenet all attended the war briefing for Mr. Bush. Gen. Franks told the war Cabinet how he plans to capture Iraq, either with or without stationing a large number of U.S. ground troops in Turkey to open a northern front against Saddam's forces. "There is no doubt we will prevail," Gen. Franks said at the Pentagon. If war does come, Mr. Rumsfeld said at the same press conference, "The Iraqi regime will be gone, and Saddam Hussein would be removed from power." The White House session yesterday underscored how close the United States is to waging a second war against Iraq in 12 years. Gen. Franks has more than 250,000 allied troops stationed in the region, including about 600 strike aircraft, five carrier battle groups and 30 ships capable of launching hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles on the first night of the war. One piece still missing is the Army's 4th Infantry Division. Its soldiers, tanks and attack helicopters sit in limbo while Turkey considers whether to hold a second vote in parliament on allowing 60,000 American troops to be stationed near Iraq's northern border. The U.S. official said that if Turkey gives a final rejection to the Bush administration's request, Gen. Franks may choose not to use the division at all and instead create a northern front with airborne troops. As for the timing of an attack on Iraq, the official said war could begin anytime after mid-March.



White House Rejects Pope's Iraq Argument

March 5….(AP)
The White House today rejected the Vatican's argument that there is no moral justification for a pre-emptive war in Iraq as President Bush met with a Vatican special envoy Cardinal Pio Laghi, sent by Pope John Paul II. The Pope has said a war would be a "defeat for humanity" and maintains the conflict would be neither morally nor legally justified. He wants Iraq to be disarmed through methods short of military force. Asked about that contention, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said today: "Clearly, the fact that Saddam Hussein has violated the United Nations Security Council resolutions means he is not following the legal path that the world has set out to preserve peace." "And the President thinks the most immoral act of all would be if Saddam Hussein would somehow transfer his weapons to terrorists who could use them against us," Fleischer said. "And so, the President does view the use of force as a matter of legality, as a matter of morality and as a matter of protecting the American people."

FOJ Note: Why does America need permission from the UN to defend itself against terrorists? Still, FOJ would like for the President to relay to the American people the evidence that he has that directly implicates Saddam Hussein with the September 11th attacks on America.

Israel Seeks International Treaty Against Suicide Bombers

March 5….(Ha Aretz)
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has completed a rough draft of an international convention against suicide bombers and will soon begin distributing it to foreign governments in an effort to obtain enough signatures to make it a recognized international treaty. The proposed convention, which calls for an international ban on incitement to or support for suicide bombings, contains three main articles:

* Inciting to suicide attacks will be defined as an international crime, as will assisting such attacks in any way, such as by preparing explosive belts.

* States and organizations will be forbidden to offer financial support to the families of suicide bombers. * A new international organization will be established, in coordination with the United Nations, to help states combat the phenomenon of suicide bombings.

There are currently 12 international treaties against terrorism on file at the UN. Most deal with civil aviation, and were drafted in response to the rash of skyjackings and attacks on airports in the 1970s. The 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, which took effect two years ago, states that committing, organizing or otherwise assisting terror attacks in any way is an international crime. It obligates signatories to enact legislation against terrorism and to indict or extradite suspected terrorists. It defines a terrorist bombing as detonating "an explosive or other lethal device in, into or against a place of public use, a State or government facility, a public transportation system or an infrastructure facility: (a) With the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury; or (b) With the intent to cause extensive destruction of such a place, facility or system, where such destruction results in or is likely to result in major economic loss." The 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, which took effect last year, obligates signatories to take action against the sources of terrorist funding, even if they masquerade as charitable organizations, and to confiscate any terrorist funding they find. Besides Israel, the only Middle Eastern countries to have ratified both treaties to date are Libya and Algeria. Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, or Saudi Arabia have yet accepted the international treaty against Terrorism.

FOJ Note: Why hasn't Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, or Saudi Arabia agreed to criminalizing terrorism? Perhaps they are involved in sponsoring international terror? Why is so hard to get nations to support banning terrorism? Meanwhile, today the World Bank condemned Israel for causing inhumane suffering amongst the Palestinian people.

Turkey, France, Germany, Russia turn on America

March 5….(World Tribune)
The Bush administration has abandoned the hope that Turkey will serve as a major front in the planned U.S.-led war against Iraq. Officials said the Defense Department has ordered U.S. Central Command to begin preparations to execute a contingency plan for a one-front war against Iraq. That front would be Kuwait and Central Command has been informed to prepare for the arrival of at least two additional divisions meant for deployment in Turkey. Also today, France, Russia and Germany announced that they will not allow" a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would authorize the use of force against Iraq.

What Happens If America Doesn't Go To War?

March 5….(by: Gary D. Halpert-Investors Insight)
I believe the odds for more serious terrorist attacks will INCREASE if we do NOT go to war. Let's examine this scenario. For whatever reasons, let's say that Bush decides in the next few days that we will NOT go to war. Let's just imagine what would happen next.

1. Al Qaeda would be emboldened. Al Qaeda has long believed the US is a "paper tiger." Yes, the US will go into limited military actions such as Bosnia, Kosovo and Somalia, largely with air power, but not a real war where large numbers of troops are actually at risk. Even our victory in Afghanistan did not impress al Qaeda. If Bush were to back down now, it would be cause for a grand celebration by al Qaeda and terrorists around the world. This would be the proof, they would proclaim, that the US is indeed all talk and no action. Let us also not forget that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, and if Saddam is left in power, he might sell the WMDs to terrorists, if he hasn't already. I believe if we were to back down now, the terrorists would be emboldened, and the threat of more serious attacks on the US will increase, perhaps significantly.

2. Saddam would dominate the region. Can you just imagine how Hussein would feel if he backed down George Bush and the United States, not to mention Tony Blair and the Brits? Can you imagine the publicity? He would instantly become the dominant leader in the region. He would resume his production of weapons of mass destruction. If the US backs down, it is all but certain that Saddam would increase the genocide, particularly against two ethnic groups, the Kurds and the Marsh Arabs, which has gone on for more than 20 years. It is still continuing. If Saddam survives as Iraq's leader, he can be expected to significantly increase the killing, as happened after 1991.

3. The message to North Korea. As a member of Bush's "Axis of Evil," North Korea is another major threat. In recent months, we have learned they have nuclear weapons. On February 24, the day Colin Powell visited South Korea, North Korea test-fired a new "surface-to-ship" missile. Clearly, this was a message from Kim Jong Il that North Korea intends to continue developing such weapons. On Monday, there was a mid-air confrontation with a North Korean jet and one of our military aircraft. Should the US back down on Iraq, the North Korean leadership would also be emboldened. They would conclude, "If the US backs down from Iraq, they certainly won't come knocking on our door."

North Korea Offers New Scuds To Mideast

March 5….(Middle East News Line)
North Korea has launched the marketing of a more accurate Scud-class missile to Middle East clients. Western industry sources said Pyongyang has been offering such countries as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen a more accurate version of the Scud B missile. The sources said the Scud B would maintain the range and payload of the original version but would include technology developed by North Korea. North Korea is seeking to help offer new and improved Scud Bs that would replace the aging arsenals of certain Middle East countries that oppose American presence in the region.

UN has Secret Plan for Postwar Iraq

March 5….(Times)
The United Nations has drawn up a confidential plan to establish a post-Saddam government in Iraq in a move that suggests its leaders now consider war all but inevitable. The plan, obtained by the Times, has been produced in great secrecy over the past month, even though Security Council approval of a “war resolution” has not yet been passed. It envisages the UN stepping in about three months after a successful conquest of Iraq, and steering the country towards self-government, as in Afghanistan.

Suicide Bomber Strikes Haifa Bus

March 5….(Jerusalem Post)
There has been another Palestinian suicide bombing in the northern coastal city of Haifa at this hour killing 11 people and wounding about 30. Witnesses said there were a large number of bodies still in and around the bus. Northern police commander Ya'akov Borovsky said the bombing was a terror attack perpetrated by a suicide bomber. Witnesses said the roof of the bus was blown off and that the bus caught fire, leaving it in charred remains. An eyewitness said there were terrible scenes of body parts strewn across the street and bodies still in the wreckage of the bus. Residents said that many windows of buildings nearby were shattered. It was the first mass terror attack in Israel since a twin suicide bombing killed more than 20 at the old Tel Aviv central bus station on January 5. David Baker, an official in the Prime Minister's office said, "The Haifa attack was another brutal assault against innocent Israeli civilians.

Why is Bush For Palestinian Statehood

March 5….(Arutz)
In response to U.S. President George Bush's latest call on Wednesday for a Palestinian state n which he said it must "abandon forever the use of terror", the ZOA says that such a concept is unrealizable. The Zionist Organization of America says that the ongoing terrorist war waged by the PA Arabs against Israel, as well as "their culture of anti-Jewish hatred and violence," indicate that a PA state will not be "peaceful and democratic," but rather a terrorist entity. The ZOA has long been tracking how the PA has "consistently violated the conditions that President Bush spelled out last year: they have not disarmed, dismantled, or outlawed terrorist groups; they have not arrested or extradited terrorists; they have not halted their anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, and anti-America incitement; they have not replaced their terrorist leadership; and they have not embraced democracy and human rights." President Bush is supporting "a 'road map' that will create a Palestinian Arab state in the very near future, when the Palestinian Arabs have ruthlessly violated all the conditions he himself said had to be met before he would support the creation of such a state. Then last week, President Bush dropped his requirement that Yasser Arafat step aside for new Palestinian leadership. The findings of a recent Ariel poll showed that 61.1% of the Jewish population is against a PLO state, while only 31% of Israeli's support it.



Muslims/Catholics and One World Religion

March 4….(Zenit)
Vatican and Muslim representatives have decided on the need to stimulate knowledge of religions, to make distinctions among sacred texts, and to condemn terrorism. In a statement published after its Feb. 24-25 meeting held in Cairo, Egypt, the Joint Committee of the Permanent Committee of Al-Azhar for Dialogue with the Monotheistic Religions, and the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue emphasized "the role of religions for peace." "Care must be taken to distinguish between the sacred texts and teachings of our religions on the one hand, and the behavior and actions of some of their followers on the other," the final statement explained. Given the importance of the correct understanding of one another's religions, it "is proposed that meetings be arranged for lectures in comparative religion, to provide contextualized experience of the other's religion and to facilitate common reflection on the teaching of a religion that is not one's own. Quoting the Pope, the statement recalled that war "is a proof that humanity has failed. It brings about enormous loss of human life, great damage to the basic structures of human livelihood and the environment, displacement of large populations, and further political instability." In the present circumstances, (Iraq) there is the added factor of increased tension between Muslims and Christians on account of the mistaken identification of some Western powers with Christianity, and of Iraq with Islam," the religious representatives said. "We strongly affirm that double standards are to be avoided." "Peace, which is inseparable from justice, requires the fulfillment of all international obligations," the statement continued. "This principle applies generally and is, therefore, applicable to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The resolution of this conflict would contribute to resolving many of the outstanding problems of the Middle East."

FOJ Note: Are we witnessing the merger of the world's 2 great religions (2.7 billion followers) into a mutual religious society? And are they suggesting that fundamentalist Christians and radical Islamic terrorists are the enemies of peace? And are they suggesting that the US should help enforce UN Resolutions upon Israel just as we are enforcing them upon Iraq?

The Nazi Origins of Modern Arab Terror

March. 4….(Newsmax)
The agenda and political faith of Saddam Hussein, Yasir Arafat, Osama bin Laden, Hamas and the rest of the international Islamic terrorists can be traced back to World War II and two key figures, Adolf Hitler and Amin al-Husseini, known as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. The Nuremberg and Eichmann trials revealed that Nazi official Adolf Eichmann met with the British-appointed Mufti in Palestine in 1937. Following this meeting, the Mufti would become essentially an agent of Nazi Germany charged with the funding and organizing of pro-Nazi organizations in Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Iraq. In 1941, along with Rashid Ali and Khairallah Tulfah, Saddam Hussein's uncle, guardian and later father-in-law, the Mufti instigated a pro-Nazi coup in Iraq with Nazi-supplied weapons and aircraft. After the coup failed, the Mufti fled to Berlin, where he would hold his first of several meetings with Adolf Hitler. At this meeting the Mufti was reported to have dissuaded Hitler from considering the deportation of the Jews to Palestine. Instead, the Mufti advocated and even possibly suggested what came to be known as the final solution against the Jews. The Mufti's activities in Nazi Germany and occupied Europe would set the stage for today's Islamic terrorism. the Mufti delivered a speech in Berlin on March 1, 1944, to an audience of Hanzar troops in which he said: “Kill the Jews wherever you find them. This pleases our God, history, and religion. This saves your honor. God is with you.” On that day, today's modern Islamic terrorists received their marching orders.

US Forces Will “Go-it-Alone all the Way to Baghdad

March 4….(Times)
American forces will play the key role in the capture of Baghdad, with British troops being confined to the south of Iraq. “It won't be the Union flag flying over Baghdad,” one British defense source said. US Marines and armoured divisions will be given the role of advancing as rapidly as possible on the Iraqi capital. The Pentagon hopes that it will not be necessary to conduct a street-fighting operation to capture the city. However, if there has to be an assault on Baghdad to overcome resistance by Iraq's Republican Guard, the mission will be carried out exclusively by American forces. British troops are expected to assist in seizing Basra, Iraq's second city, and control the southern segment of the country, including the oil fields at Rumalia. America's chief commander in Europe said yesterday that the vote of the Turkish parliament, on Saturday, not to allow US troops to be based in the country would not ruin the overall battle plan. If Turkey had approved the use of its bases, American troops would have had a guaranteed supply chain and line of communication to Baghdad from the north. Defense sources said that plan “B” would involve a complex airborne operation, taking lightly armed infantry and marine forces from Kuwait to seize key locations in northern Iraq. Troops of 4th Infantry Division would have to drive there from Kuwait.

U.S. : War Won't Stop Until Saddam is Gone

March. 4….(UPI)
The United States said Monday that if U.S. forces entered Iraq, they would not stop until Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was removed from power. "Nobody should think -- not even for a second -- that military action could be possibly taken to disarm Saddam Hussein that would leave Saddam Hussein at the helm for him to re-arm up later. No, that's not an option," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters Monday. Also, Fleischer said, "nothing less, nothing less, nothing less than complete, total, immediate" disarmament would allow Iraq to evade military invasion.

Allied Warplanes start the 'unofficial war'

March 4….(The Age)
Britain and the United States have all but fired the first shots of the second Gulf War by dramatically extending the range of targets in the flight-exclusion zones over Iraq to soften up the country for an allied ground invasion. Allied pilots have attacked surface-to-surface missile systems and are believed to have hit multiple-launch rockets. Targets hit in recent days include the Ababil-100, a Soviet-designed surface-to-air missile system adapted to hit targets on the ground, and the Astros 2 ground rocket launcher with a range of up to 90 kilometres. These would be used to defend Iraq in the event of an invasion or to attack allied troops stationed in Kuwait. Defense officials admit privately that there has been an aggressive upping of the ante to weaken Iraqi defenses ahead of a ground invasion. Analysts confirm there has been an intensification of what is known as "the undeclared war on Iraq".



John Paul II Calls for Intense Prayer for World Peace

March 3….(Zenit)
John Paul II made a renewed appeal for prayer and fasting for peace in the world, especially in the Holy Land and Iraq. He reiterated an announcement he made a week earlier, designating Ash Wednesday as a day of prayer and fasting to avert war and violence. "This year we will undertake the penitential journey toward Easter with a greater commitment to prayer and fasting for peace, challenged by the growing threat of war," the Pope said today. "Peace, in fact, is a gift of God to be invoked with humble and insistent trust," he stressed. "Without surrendering before difficulties, it is also necessary to seek and go down every possible avenue to avoid war, which always brings mourning and grave consequences for all," he said. This Wednesday's day of prayer and fasting will be an occasion to pray for "peace in the world, in particular for Iraq and the Holy Land, especially through the recitation of the rosary," the Holy Father emphasized. The Marian prayer "will involve shrines and parishes, communities and families. This collective prayer will rise from every part of the earth through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy and Queen of Peace," the Pope added.

FOJ Note: The Pope has given some consideration to going to Iraq to act as a human shield.

Arafat Complicit in 1973 Murder of American Diplomats

March 3….(World Net)
On this day 30 years ago, two American diplomats were machine-gunned to death at the Saudi embassy in Sudan by Yasser Arafat's Black September organization. James J. Welsh told World Net Daily of virtually irrefutable evidence that Yasser Arafat himself planned, directed and ordered the murders of U.S. Ambassador Cleo Noel, U.S. Charges d'affaires George Curtis Moore and Belgian Guy Eid on March 2, 1973. Audio tapes made in Cyprus and U.S. embassies in Beirut and Khartoum left no doubt that it was Arafat's voice directing the operation from Feb. 28, the day before the men were kidnapped, to their execution two days later, Welsh believes the initial cover-up was to prevent embarrassment to the State Department and the Richard Nixon White House. After Nixon was gone, the matter was kept quiet to protect the future viability of the NSA's signals intercepts. But ultimately, he asserts, the cover-up has persisted for 30 years, through seven administrations, to protect Arafat's role as a "peacemaker" and leader of the Palestinian cause. If transcripts of the tapes, which Welsh saw in 1973 and others have seen since had been released 15 years ago, it would have destroyed Arafat, Welsh believes. Lt.Gen. Ion Mihai Pacep, formerly Romanian Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's chief of secret police, says he heard Arafat brag about the murders at a private dinner in 1973.

Israel will Retaliate Against Hezbullah

March 3….(Jerusalem Post)
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has given the go-ahead for the IDF to launch an attack on the thousands of Hizbullah rockets in south Lebanon during hostilities in Iraq, if Hezbullah fires opens fire during the war. Hizbullah has expanded its presence along the border since Israel evacuated the security zone almost three years ago and now has more than 20 outposts, from the Mediterranean to the Syrian border. Hizbullah is believed to have some 10,000 rockets, mostly short-range Katyushas, but the real cause for concern are Iranian-made Zelzal-2 and Fajr rockets, which could strike Haifa and Tel Aviv. The longer-range missiles are said to be under the control of Iranian Revolutionary Guards based in the Bekaa Valley. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is said to be a strong advocate of military action against Hizbullah.

Al Qaeda Chief of Operations is Captured

March 3….(Reuters)
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, 37, a “dangerous genius” and suspected mastermind of 9/11, was one of three men arrested Saturday in a pre-dawn raid in Pakistan, according to Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. Infamous for justifying 9/11 as, “Holy raids, his 'resume of death' includes: the first attack on the WTC in 1993; the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen which killed 17 U.S. military men; the synagogue bombing in Tunisia last April, resulting in the death of 19 tourists; and the possible involvement of the decapitation of Danny Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter. Mohammed, a Kuwait-born Pakistani national, has also been charged in connection with plots in the Philippines to bomb trans-Pacific airliners and crash a plane into CIA headquarters. Those were broken up in 1995. Considered the 'CEO' of al Qaeda, he was one of the FBI's 'most wanted' with a price tag on his head of $25 million.



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