In The News: The Middle East And The Coming Financial Collapse

Both stories are prominent in the news today:

NYT: US, Israel Discuss Destroying Syrian Weapons

The United States and Israel were in discussions over whether Israel should take out Syrian weapons facilities as the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad falters, The New York Times reported Thursday.

According to the report, which cited two administration officials, the United States is opposed to such an attack "because of the risk that it would give Mr. Assad an opportunity to rally support against Israeli interference."

“We believe that the assassination of the top Syrian government officials will speed up Assad’s downfall,” Barak told Panetta, who is scheduled to visit Israel later this month. “We are also closely tracking the possibility that Hezbollah will try to move advanced military platforms or chemical weapons from Syria to Lebanon.”

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah confirmed in a Wednesday that Syria provided arms not only to Hezbollah, but to terrorist groups in Gaza as well.

Jordan King: Al-Qaeda Could Obtain Syrian Chemical Weapons

King Abdullah II of Jordan warned Wednesday that the situation in Syria is spinning out of control and in a worst case scenario al-Qaeda could obtain some of the regime’s chemical weapons.

“Our information is that there is a presence of al-Qaeda in certain regions inside Syria, and has been there for a while,” he told CNN.

Lieberman: No Doubt Hizbullah, Iran Behind Attack

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel had “solid evidence” that Hizbullah and Iran were behind Wednesdays attack

Speaking Thursday morning, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel had “solid, indisputable evidence” that Hizbullah was behind the terrorist attack in Bulgaria on Wednesday. “Hizbullah terrorists undertook this attack, aided by Iran's Revolutionary Guards.” Lieberman added that Israel had made a “positive identification” of the terrorists involved in the attack.

After the attack Wednesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a statement that “all the indications are that Iran is behind this deadly attack.

Anti-Israeli Attacks To Mount In Sync With Syrian War, Looming Strike On Iran

The tactics Iran, Syria and Hizballah have set out for escalating their terrorist attacks on Israel differentiate between “local” and high-value “strategic” targets. They have now decided to up the assaults on the latter to keep pace with the worsening war situation in Syria and the approach of an attack on Iran’s nuclear program.

The US and Israeli leaders agreed to work together in the investigation of the bus explosion in Bulgaria.
Our sources stress that this is just diplomaticspeak for holding off on action. Despite Netanyahu’s pledge of a “strong response” to the attack, it was decided that a proactive response to the attack by striking an Iranian or Hizballah target would exacerbate a situation which US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta described as “spinning out of control.”

Israelis have learned in the three years of Netanyahu's tenure as prime minister that expressions like “strong,” “forceful,” “determined” “we cannot tolerate” etc. mean just the opposite. Israel’s enemies also understand him to mean that he will sit tight and do nothing.

However, an escalation of attacks on Israeli “strategic targets” predicted by intelligence experts in the coming days may make this do-nothing policy untenable. After all, talking to Obama won’t deflect Iran, Syria and Hizballah from their resolve to vent their urge for revenge on Israel.

A few hours after the attacks in Bulgaria and Damascus, Nasrallah had found his tongue and was crowing:
"We know what your [Israel’s] first strike will be and we promise you a big surprise."

His words were a warning to Israel and a message to Washington that anyone trying to reach the bunker in which he has been hiding since 2006 was in for a big surprise.

Three U.S. Aircraft Carriers Now In The Middle East With Fourth En Route

A week ago we reported news that Middle East veteran aircraft carrier CVN-74 Stennis was ending its brief sabbatical prematurely, and far earlier than previously expected, and heading right back into the field, er sea, of action. As Kitsapsun reported, "Bremerton-based aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is returning to the Middle East much sooner than expected...with Iran making threats, crew members learned Saturday they'll be leaving again in late August for eight months."

As it turns out, a third carrier was already en route, and as of today, CVN 69 Eisenhower is either at the opening of the Straits of Hormuz, or just past it. That makes 3 aircraft carriers in the middle east, 2 in the Gulf and the Arabian Sea and one just off the coast of Syria. And technically, the LHD 7 Iwo Jima Big Deck Amphibious ship, which is also just off the coast of Iran region, makes three and a half. Which means that a 5th one (rounded up) - Stennis - is coming in 1-2 months. Good luck Iran.

Peres: Israel Will Hit Terror Nests Around World

In unusually tough remarks, President Shimon Peres responded Thursday to the Burgas terror attack saying that Israel will hit terror nests around world.

"We were witnesses to a deadly terror attack coming out of Iran ... we know there were other attempts, and this time they succeeded," the president stated.

"It [Israel] has the means and the will to silence and paralyze terror organizations," Peres asserted.

Earlier Thursday Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated that Hezbollah was responsible for the terror attack in Burgas under the auspices of Iran.

"This is an Iranian terror campaign that is spreading throughout the world," Netanyahu said. "Israel will react powerfully against Iranian terror,"

Clashes In Damascus, Assad Said To Be In Latakia

Clashes erupted on Thursday near Syrian government headquarters in Damascus after rebels attacked forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, who have deployed armored vehicles and increased roadblocks across the city, activists and residents said.

Fighting has been focused in the southern and north-eastern suburbs of the city, as well as the central areas of Mezze and Kafar Souseh where several security sites are located.

Assad, who has not made a public appearance since Wednesday's bombing, was commanding the government operation, they said. It was not clear whether Assad travelled to the Mediterranean sea resort before or after the attack.

"Our information is that he is at his palace in Latakia and that he may have been there for days," said a senior opposition figure, who declined to be named.

Assad Gave Us Rockets To Fire At Israel Nasrallah Says

The Assad regime provided Hezbollah and Hamas with the rockets fired at Israel during the 2006 Second Lebanon War and thereafter, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday. He also vowed to unleash a “new surprise” on Israel should it strike Lebanon.

Nasrallah addressed a crowd of supporters gathered in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh in southern Beirut via video feed on the sixth anniversary of what his organization regards as its victory over Israel in the Second Lebanon War.

The Hezbollah chief, speaking from a bunker, came out as more pro-Assad than ever, praising the Syrian regime for its support of the Palestinian cause.

Nasrallah remarked that the three members of President Bashar Assad’s inner circle who were killed in Wednesday’s bombing in Damascus were proponents of the “resistance” against Israel.

“Today Israel is happy about what happened in Syria, and justifiably so,” Nasrallah charged, adding that Israel does not want a strong Syria.

“My war is with the Israelis, my struggle is with the Israelis,” he said.

On A Bloody Anniversary, Israel Points The Finger Of Blame At Iran

Iran is the “greatest exporter of terrorism in the world,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after two previous recent attempted terror attacks on Israeli targets abroad. “There are no borders to Iranian terrorism,” was another sentence he used.

As we turn to the U.S. and the world, we can easily see the complete economic collapse that is headed our way:

Peter Schiff - This Is My Single Greatest Fear

Today Peter Schiff stunned King World News by speaking about his single greatest fear. Schiff, who is CEO of Europacific Capital, gave an extraordinarily candid interview. Here is what Schiff had to say: “My biggest worry is that capitalism and the free markets will get the blame when it really hits the fan. When we get the real crash and everything implodes, and it’s really an Armageddon style collapse, my fear (again) is that capitalism and free markets take the blame for problems that were created by government.”

Peter Schiff continues:

“Then we just finish our journey on the road to serfdom. We totally become a totalitarian, centrally planned, police-type state, where Constitutional rights go out the window. And really the only thing you can do as an American is leave.

We might have to have a violent revolution years in the future or maybe our children or grandchildren will have to fight for their freedom....

Schiff went on to warn: “The unfunded pension liabilities are enormous (a staggering $4.6 trillion), from the Federal government on down to local school districts. All politicians around the country have been buying the votes of government workers with promises of huge pensions down the road.

The problem is as these government workers are retiring, there’s no money there. And the only way to keep these commitments is to massively raise taxes on the people who still have jobs. It’s a huge problem.

Ultimately the governments are going to have to admit they can’t pay these pensions and government workers are going to be in for a rude awakening. It’s not just the taxpayers, everybody is going to lose in this deal, especially if the government prints massive amounts of money to pay for these bills.

Five Factors That Could Derail The Global Economy

Economist Nouriel Roubini is standing by his prediction for a global “perfect storm” next year as economies the world over slow down or shudder to a complete halt, geopolitical risk grows and the eurozone’s debt crisis accelerates.

Those factors are:

• A worsening of the debt crisis in Europe
• Tax increases and spending cuts in United Sates that may push the world’s biggest economy into recession
• A hard landing for China’s economy
• Further slowing in emerging markets
• A military confrontation with Iran

“Next year is the time when the can becomes too big to kick it down (the road)…then we have a global perfect storm,” Roubini said in a television interview with Reuters.

Why Are So Many Bad Things Happening To America?

Have you ever wondered why things have been going so badly for the United States in recent years?

Our economy is falling apart, we have been plagued with heat, drought and endless natural disasters, our cities are absolutely crumbling, we just keep getting involved in even more wars and Americans are more anxious and more overweight than ever before. So why are so many bad things happening to America? Why do we lead the world in so many bad categories? Why does nothing seem to be going right? Are we under some kind of a curse? It is almost as if we have entered a "perfect storm" that just keeps getting worse.

At this point, many Americans have "crisis fatigue" because our problems never seem to end. Each new crisis just seems to overlap with all of the other problems that are still going on. So why is this happening, and what is our country going to look like if our problems continue to multiply at this rate?

The following are some of the bad things that are happening to America right now....

Take a look at the list, which is impressive to say the least, and then ponder just what is going on in America right now and why is it happening?

The last words of this article are thought provoking but highly germane:

Perhaps we are really cursed.

20 Signs That All Point To The Exact Same Thing

The U.S. economy is in a massive amount of trouble. There aren't enough jobs. There isn't enough money to go around. Business activity is slowing down again. Household wealth has been falling. Food prices have been rising. Many state and local governments all over the country are flat broke and are drowning in debt. The federal government has been rolling up unprecedented amounts of debt in an attempt to keep things going, but everyone knows that kind of borrowing is simply unsustainable. So where do we go from here?

We consume far more than we produce and we use debt to make up the difference. 40 years ago the total amount of debt in America (government, business and consumer) was less than 2 trillion dollars. Today it is nearly 55 trillion dollars. How in the world did we let the total amount of debt in the United States grow more than 27 times larger over the past 40 years? Our economic system is fundamentally broken, but most Americans don't realize it yet

However, the next great economic crisis is going to wake a whole lot of Americans up.

And when they realize what has happened to our future, they are going to be really, really angry.

It looks like we are on our own.

Soon, even more parts of the country will start looking like Detroit or Baltimore or Cleveland.

This country is rapidly falling apart, and the federal government is not going to save us.

That is why we need to focus on preparing to weather the coming storm on a family and community level.

There is hope in being prepared. The coming economic crisis will wipe out many Americans because they will never even see it coming. But that does not have to happen to you.

If you work really hard right now to prepare your family for the storm that is on the horizon, then you will have a much better chance of making it through to the other side.

In response to the questions above, "Why Is This Happening?", perhaps the answer can be found below:

In the midst of a major birth-pain, and so many pertinent news stories from around the world, the story below may be the most important:

Obama's FBI Sends Agents To Pro-Lifer's Home

You’re a Christian immigrant to the U.S. with a wife and newborn, but you feel strongly about the pro-life issue and periodically appear at a local abortion business to protest the killing and offer counseling should someone want that advice.

Then one day there’s a knock on your door, and two FBI agents identify themselves and start asking questions: Do you know pro-life protesters who are violent? Do you know pro-life activists who may be violent? To what church or church groups do you belong? What makes you believe in your cause? Why do you protest abortion? Are your friends aggressive or abrasive?

The interview stretches on.

Intimidated?

Then they note that you have a new family.

“You wouldn’t want to be apart from your wife and newborn,” they tell you. What about your mother-in-law, a nationally known pro-life activist? “Did you get your activist and pro-life ideas from her? Did she train or teach you?”

Are you intimidated now?

Then they warn that you shouldn’t trespass (even though you didn’t). Asked about the warning and why it was delivered, it gets repeated. And you’re told you cannot threaten violence, such as saying “If you get an abortion, I’ll see something bad happens to you.”

How about now?

He’s the son-in-law of pro-life activist Jill Stanek, a speaker, blogger and writer who was a registered nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill., when she discovered babies were being aborted alive there and left to die on closet shelves without medical care.

She later exposed that Barack Obama opposed legislation that would have required doctors to provide assistance to babies that survive abortion attempts, a position that critics described essentially as infanticide.

The intimidation concerns the Life Legal Defense Foundation, which has advised Moore to have someone video his protest activities. The group promises to defend him if the need arises.

Allison Aranda, senior staff counsel, charges the Obama administration “is essentially engaging in a witch hunt.”

“From the moment the new administration took office, the DOJ has been targeting peaceful pro-life sidewalk counselors,” she said. “They have come out guns blazing on several occasions, often bringing allegations that could later not be substantiated or in some cases clearly proven to be false.”

Stanek, who wrote about the episode on her website, noted that Aranda has seen the federal government use the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act to attack pro-life counselors. The federal law keeps pro-life counselors away from abortion business front doors.

Dana Cody, the executive director for Life Legal, told WND that the foundation for such aggressive tactics against innocent pro-life activists comes directly from the top. It was the FBI that set up a training program held several years ago for police who are called to respond to conflicts between abortion businesses and pro-life protesters.

These actions are “very chilling,” she told WND, “on private citizens, law-abiding citizens who are engaging in policy making speech in the public forum.

“To make matters worse, why are they asking questions about [Stanek]? Reports show that pro-life people are considered domestic terrorists. Is she on that list? How did they make the connection? That’s the chilling factor.”

Moore said he repeatedly was asked to name names of those who might be “violent or engaging in questionable activities.” But the agents assured him it would “not be snitching.”

“Targeted bullying by our government because of an individual’s viewpoint and willingness to share that message in the public square is intolerable,” she said. ” … We will not back down, and we will not be threatened.”

We are racing towards the Tribulation, there can be no doubting that. At the same time, we are also racing towards the epic battles described in Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38-39.

Biblical prophecy is coming to life now like it never has before and it is happening at light speed.

Its time to stay in prayer - praying for lost souls and praying that we'll be ready when Jesus gives us the call and comes to 'gather up' his beloved bride.

This world will soon be completely engulfed in spiritual darkness - nothing could be more clear.

In the words of the Apostle Paul:

"But you brothers, are not in darkness, so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness. So then, let us not be like the others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled....since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

For God did not appoint us to suffer this wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

He died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing"

(1 Thessalonians 5:4-11)

AMEN. He is coming soon - there can be no doubting that.

The hour is near. Let us prepare ourselves and be ready.