MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan – U.S. Senator John McCain said Sunday that military action to protect civilians in Syria might be considered now that NATO’s air campaign in Libya is ending.

However, President Barack Obama’s administration has made clear it has no appetite for military intervention in Syria — a close ally of Iran that sits on Israel’s border — and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton noted Sunday that the Syrian opposition has not called for such action as President Bashar Assad’s regime.

‘Now that military operations in Libya are ending, there will be renewed focus on what practical military operations might be considered to protect civilian lives in Syria,’ McCain said at the World Economic Forum in Jordan. ‘The Assad regime should not consider that it can get away with mass murder. Qaddafi made that mistake and it cost him everything,’ he added, referring to ousted Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi who was captured and killed last week by fighters loyal to the new government.

‘Iran’s rulers would be wise to heed similar counsel,’ McCain said.” Read more.

Flashback: Syria: If Nato Attacks We’ll Fire Missiles at Tel Aviv, Hezbollah Will Launch Missile Attack on Israel, Iran Will Attack US Warships in Persian Gulf – “Syrian President Bashar Assad warned western countries on Tuesday that if Syria comes under NATO attack it would fire missiles at Tel Aviv, Iranian semi-official news agency FARS reported. During a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmad Davutoglu Assad allegedly threatened: ‘If a crazy measure is taken against Damascus, I will need not more than 6 hours to transfer hundreds of rockets and missiles to the Golan Heights to fire them at Tel Aviv.’ According to the report, Assad also reiterated that Damascus will call on Hezbollah to launch such an intensive rocket and missile attack on Israel.” Read more.

Flashback: Israel Ready to Strike Syria, Lebanon, Gaza if Assad Launches Missiles at Tel Aviv – “Israeli officials have reportedly warned Syrian dictator Bashar Assad that if he uses the downfall of his regime as an excuse to launch missiles at Tel Aviv, Israel will respond with a massive assault against Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. Unnamed Israeli government sources told News First Class that the threat was relayed to Assad via European intelligence agencies… Israel’s threat included Lebanon and Gaza because Assad is said to have boasted that his own missile barrage on Tel Aviv would be complemented by Hizballah and Hamas attacks on Israel.” Read more.

Flashback: Top Syrian Cleric Warns West: If You Attack Syria We Will ‘Prepare Suicide Bombers Who Are Already In Your Countries’ – “yria’s top Sunni Muslim cleric has warned Western countries against military intervention, threatening to retaliate with suicide bombings in the United States and Europe if his country comes under attack. Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun gave a speech and told the U.S. and Europe that ‘we will prepare suicide bombers who are already in your countries if you bomb Syria or Lebanon.’… Hassoun’s comments follow another warning by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who threatened ‘tough measures’ against any country that recognizes the newly formed opposition Syrian National Council.” Read more.

Hot off the heels of Tunisia’s anticipated election of the Islamist Ennahda Party comes new details regarding Libya’s plans to embrace an even ‘stricter’ form of Shariah than previously suggested.  Judging from the mark on the forehead of Libya’s interim leader — a sure sign of a very devout Muslim — there is a growing sense that as time progresses we’ll be seeing even more surprises sooner rather than later …

By Richard Spencer – “Libya’s interim leader outlined more radical plans to introduce Islamic law than expected as he declared the official liberation of the country.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the chairman of the National Transitional Council and de fact president, had already declared that Libyan laws in future would have Sharia, the Islamic code, as its ‘basic source’.

But that formulation can be interpreted in many ways – it was also the basis of Egypt’s largely secular constitution under President Hosni Mubarak, and remains so after his fall.

Mr Abdul-Jalil went further, specifically lifting immediately, by decree, one law from Col. Gaddafi’s era that he said was in conflict with Sharia – that banning polygamy.

In a blow to those who hoped to see Libya’s economy integrate further into the western world, he announced that in future bank regulations would ban the charging of interest, in line with Sharia. ‘Interest creates disease and hatred among people,’ he said.

Gulf states like the United Arab Emirates, and other Muslim countries, have pioneered the development of Sharia-compliant banks which charge fees rather than interest for loans but they normally run alongside western-style banks.” Read more.

Muammar Gaddafi’s grisly death raises questions about Libya’s new rulers – “… Gaddafi’s death is already showing up some of the weaknesses of Libya’s new rulers. The claim by the interim prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, that he was killed in ‘crossfire’ looks ever more false with every new piece of video. Both he and his son Mutassim were alive when captured, and dead soon after. A statement by an anonymous NTC source that ‘they beat [Gaddafi] and they killed him’ seems closer to the mark. But Mr Jibril angrily rejected demands by the United Nations and some in the West for a proper investigation into the circumstances of Gaddafi’s death… The dictator’s treatment – before and after death – underlines that Libya does not have a government, or a state with functioning standards, only a collection of militias.” Read more.

Flashback: US Intelligence Report Says Libyan Jihadists Planning to Subvert Post-Gadhafi Gov’t and Create an Islamist State – “Jihadists among the Libyan rebels revealed plans last week on the Internet to subvert the post-Moammar Gadhafi government and create an Islamist state, according to U.S. intelligence agencies. U.S. officials said spy agencies are stepping up surveillance of Islamist-oriented elements among Libyan rebels. A government report circulated Tuesday said extremists were observed ‘strategizing’ on Internet forums about how to set up an Islamist state in Libya after the regime of Col. Gadhafi is defeated.” Read more.

Iran doesn’t have to misread.  Iraq has already made it very clear whose side they are on …

“WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran should not misread the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as affecting the U.S. commitment to the fledgling democracy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday.

President Barack Obama’s announcement Friday that all American troops would return from Iraq by the end of the year will close a chapter on U.S.-Iraq relations that began in 2003 with the U.S.-led invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Washington has long worried that meddling by Iran, a Shiite Muslim theocracy, could inflame tensions between Iraq’s Shiite-led government and its minority Sunnis, setting off a chain reaction of violence and disputes across the Mideast.

Clinton said in a series of news show interviews that the U.S. would continue its training mission with Iraq and that it would resemble operations in Colombia and elsewhere. While the U.S. will not have combat troops in Iraq, she said the American presence would remain strong because of its bases in the region.

‘Iran would be badly miscalculating if they did not look at the entire region and all of our presence in many countries in the region, both in bases, in training, with NATO allies, like Turkey,’ she told CNN’s ‘State of the Union.'” Read more.

Iraq rejects US request to maintain bases after troop withdrawal – “The US suffered a major diplomatic and military rebuff on Friday when Iraq finally rejected its pleas to maintain bases in the country beyond this year. Barack Obama announced at a White House press conference that all American troops will leave Iraq by the end of December, a decision forced by the final collapse of lengthy talks between the US and the Iraqi government on the issue. The Iraqi decision is a boost to Iran, which has close ties with many members of the Iraqi government and which had been battling against the establishment of permanent American bases.” Read more.

Iraq Sides With Iran, Sends Essential Aid to Syria’s Assad – “More than six months after the start of the Syrian uprising, Iraq is offering key moral and financial support to the country’s embattled president, undermining a central U.S. policy objective and raising fresh concerns that Iraq is drifting further into the orbit of an American arch rival — Iran. Iraq’s stance has dealt an embarrassing setback to the Obama administration, which has sought to enlist Muslim allies in its campaign to isolate Syrian autocrat Bashar al-Assad. While other Arab states have downgraded ties with Assad, Iraq has moved in the opposite direction, hosting official visits by Syrians, signing pacts to expand business ties and offering political support.” Read more.

This is where lawlessness leads, and it confirms what the initial video evidence suggested …

“A Libyan rebel confessed on camera Sunday to killing Muammar Gaddafi.

The provisional government in Libya is claiming Gaddafi was killed in a shootout in the city of Sirte, where the ousted leader had been hiding.

However, following his death videos began to surface showing Gaddafi bleeding while being held by rebels, which raised the suspicion he was executed.

The rebel, who identified himself as Senad el Sadık el Ureybi, said: ‘We grabbed him, I hit him in the face. Some fighters wanted to take him away and that’s when I shot him twice, in the head and in the chest.’

He noted that Gaddafi didn’t die instantaneously, and that it took half an hour. He said he didn’t like the idea of Gaddadi being caught alive.” Read more.