MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“BAGHDAD – Iraq’s Shiite-led government cracked down harshly on dissent during the past year of Arab Spring uprisings, turning the country into a ‘budding police state’ as autocratic regimes crumbled elsewhere in the region, an international rights groups said Sunday.

Security forces abuse protesters, harass journalists, torture detainees and intimidate activists, Human Rights Watch said in the Iraq chapter of its annual report.

‘Iraq is quickly slipping back into authoritarianism,’ said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for the New York-based group. ‘Despite U.S. government assurances that it helped create a stable democracy (in Iraq), the reality is that it left behind a budding police state,’ she said.

Protests against Iraq’s U.S.-backed and democratically elected government erupted around the country in February 2011, alongside other demonstrations in the Arab world.

While protests in other countries demanded the downfall of autocratic regimes, most of the demonstrations in Iraq pushed for improved services like reliable electricity and water, and an end to corruption.

The government clamped down, sometimes sparking bloody clashes — as when 14 were killed in confrontations between security forces and civilians across the country during the Feb. 25 protests billed as the ‘Day of Rage.’

A year later, with U.S. troops withdrawn and Iraq’s government mired in a political crisis, the protest movement has all but died out. Demonstrators who gather in Baghdad’s central Tahrir Square are usually outnumbered by the security forces watching over them.

‘Iraqis are quickly losing ground on the most basic of rights, including the right to free speech and assembly,’ said Samer Muscati, an Iraq researcher for the group.” Read more.

Flashback: Barack Obama declares Iraq war ‘an extraordinary achievement’ – “Barack Obama marked an end to a war he once described as ‘dumb’ by declaring the conflict in Iraq a success and saying the last US troops will leave in the coming days with their ‘heads held high’. The president told an audience of soldiers at Fort Bragg that the final pullout from Iraq after nearly nine years of war is a ‘historic’ moment and that the country they leave behind is ‘an extraordinary achievement’.” Read more.

As I commented here, I’m not convinced that Russia is directly mentioned in the Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel 38 and 39. The word that many often point to in an effort to suggest that Russia is mentioned specifically here is the word “rosh” (H7218) in 38:2, but this word simply means “chief” or “head”, as in Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year). Nowhere in the whole of Scripture has “rosh” ever referred to Russia.

If we consider Gog-Magog and the “known world” from Ezekiel’s time and perspective, however, the far north would likely bring us all the way up to the Black Sea and the northern shores of modern day Turkey to areas northeast of Turkey, even to northern Iran and Afghanistan and beyond where we find other former Soviet Republics. It is my view that we are likely looking at northern nations/peoples/fighters from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Dagestan and possibly even Chechnya, and across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan. In these areas, Islam is the dominant religion. This does not mean that Russia will not be involved, however. After all, there are “many people” or “nations” with Gog according to 38:6, and Russia could be one of them in some way, shape or form. But Russia is not mentioned by name specifically at all in the text …

Psalm 83:1-4,17-18, “… Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from [being] a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more’ … Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish, That they may know that You, whose name alone [is] the LORD, [Are] the Most High over all the earth.”

Ezekiel 39:6-8, “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I [am] the LORD… Then the nations shall know that [I am] the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. ‘Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘This [is] the day of which I have spoken.‘”

By Joshua Kucera – “Russia will be holding a series of military exercises in the North Caucasus, Armenia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia this fall, reportedly in preparation for a possible U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. The exercises, called Kavkaz-2012, will be held in September and won’t be tactical/operational but strategic (i.e. won’t involve large numbers of troops). The exercises will, however, include officers from the breakaway Georgian territories. The focus on surveillance, air defense and logistics suggests that Russia is tailoring the exercise to prepare for a U.S.-Israel-Iran war, says Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta [9]:

As suggested by the head of the Center for Military Forecasting, Colonel Anatoly Tsyganok, ‘Preparations for the Kavkaz-2012 exercises seems to have begun already largely due to the increasing military tensions in the Persian Gulf.’ ‘In a possible war against Iran may be drawn some former Soviet countries of South Caucasus. How, then, to ensure the viability of Russian troops stationed abroad, for example, in Armenia? Apparently, the General Staff will plan some proactive measures, including learning to organize in critical logistic supply of troops,’ said the expert…

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is ratcheting up the bellicose rhetoric (even by the high standards of the Caucasus) against Armenia, reports Bloomberg [12]:

Azerbaijan is buying up modern weaponry to be able to regain control of the breakaway Nagorno- Karabakh region quickly and with few losses should peace talks with neighboring Armenia fail, President Ilham Aliyev said.

Defense spending will rise 1.8 percent this year to $3.47 billion, which Aliyev said tops Armenia’s entire state budget.

‘It’s not a frozen conflict, and it’s not going to be one,’ Aliyev said today in remarks broadcast on state television channel AzTV.

Would war in Iran have any effect on the Nagorno-Karabakh situation? The mind reels” Read more.

Report: Russia in deal to deliver Syria fighter jets – “Russia has signed a deal to sell Syria nearly 40 fighter jet trainers for over half a billion dollars, a Russian newspaper reported on Monday, despite growing international criticism over its military trade with the violence-ridden country. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used troops and tanks to try to crush a 10-month-old popular revolt and thousands of people have been killed.” Read more.

Iranian trucks carrying missile materials intercepted en route to Syria – “Four Iranian trucks were stopped two weeks ago in Turkey’s Kilis province on the border with Syria and were found to be carrying raw materials used in the making of ballistic missiles, Turkish daily Taraf has reported… Although the contents of the trucks were not publicized by customs officials, Taraf stated that on Friday it obtained reports confirming the trucks’ dangerous load. According to the daily, one of the trucks was carrying four six-meter-long cylindrical tanks and heat-resistant materials, while the other three were carrying 66 tons of sodium sulfate, all of which were on their way to Syria possibly to be used in the making of chemical missiles.” Read more.

By David Blair – “This deployment defied explicit Iranian threats to close the waterway. It coincided with an escalation in the West’s confrontation with Iran over the country’s nuclear ambitions.

European Union foreign ministers are today expected to announce an embargo on Iranian oil exports, amounting to the most significant package of sanctions yet agreed. They are also likely to impose a partial freeze on assets held by the Iranian Central Bank in the EU.

Tehran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation. Tankers carrying 17 million barrels of oil pass through this waterway every day, accounting for 35 per cent of the world’s seaborne crude shipments. At its narrowest point, located between Iran and Oman, the Strait is only 21 miles wide.

Last month, Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, commander of the Iranian navy, claimed that closing the Strait would be ‘easy,’ adding: ‘As Iranians say, it will be easier than drinking a glass of water.’

But USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered carrier capable of embarking 90 aircraft, passed through this channel and entered the Gulf without incident yesterday. HMS Argyll, a Type 23 frigate from the Royal Navy, was one of the escort vessels making up the carrier battle-group. A guided missile cruiser and two destroyers from the US Navy completed the flotilla, along with one warship from the French navy.” Read more.

Fars: Iran ‘definitely’ closing Strait of Hormuz over EU oil embargo – “Tensions in the Gulf could reach a breaking point as a senior Iranian official said Iran would ‘definitely’ close the Strait of Hormuz if an EU oil embargo disrupted the export of crude oil, the semi-official Fars news agency reports. The announcement came in response to a decision by the European Union on Monday to impose an oil embargo on Iran over the country’s alleged nuclear weapons program. ‘The pressure of sanctions is designed to try and make sure that Iran takes seriously our request to come to the table,’ EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said. However, with Washington’s decision to deploy a second carrier strike group in the Gulf, the EU’s attempt to pressure Iran economically could greatly increase the likelihood of all-out war in the region.” Read more.

By Moran Azulay – “After recent reports of a meeting between MK Hanin Zoabi and a Hamas official it is now revealed that two United Arab List-Ta’al MKs had met with the figure earlier.

Masud Ganaim and Ibrahim Sarsur visited the home of Hamas parliamentary speaker Aziz Dwaik, 64, to offer their support after he was released from an Israeli prison in June 2009. Dwaik was arrested again on Thursday.

The Hamas man was first arrested in August 2006 by IDF forces in Ramallah as part of a series of arrests in the wake of the abduction of Gilad Shalit. A geography professor, Dwaik was convicted of membership in a terrorist organization in 2008. He was sentenced to three years in prison, two years of probation and was ordered to pay a NIS 5,000 fine (roughly $1,318).

After his release, and several days prior to Zoabi’s visit, the Hamas leader met with Ganaim and Sarsur as well as former Rahat council head and senior official in the Islamic Movement’s northern branch Jumaa Qsasi.

The MKs are claiming the meeting was legitimate as the people concerned were ‘political figures fighting against the occupation.’ MK Ganaim said, ‘We visited the house together with several other members of the Palestinian council. Hamas was legally and legitimately elected in what the whole world admitted were just elections and we went to visit the officials after they were released from jail.’

Referring to claims they were in contact with figures who were jailed for aiding terror, Ganaim said: ‘As political figures they should never have been arrested. Our arrival there was not in violation of the law. I, as a Knesset member or a private person, am allowed to visit a person who was wrongly arrested. It has never been proven they were involved in the alleged activity. They have a right as occupied individuals to fight for life in dignity.’

Likud MK and chairman of the Knesset house committee Yariv Levin said in response: ‘The Arab MKs are competing who is the greatest traitor and terrorist sponsor while using the weakness of the legal system. The Attorney General must take a firm hand and put an end to the parade of MKs spitting in the State’s face and protect Israel and the Knesset from the terror sponsors amongst us.'” Read more.

Member of Israel’s Knesset, Ibrahim Sarsur, Supporting Terrorism (Video):

Israeli Knesset Member Sarsur: “The faith sprouted in Mecca. The Caliphate and the end of days will sprout from Jerusalem and in the land of Palestine… This will be the center of the Caliphate. And more than that, this land will be the land of resurrection… Yes, there is a force in Southern Lebanon that proudly raised its head to challenge; the call for rebellion against the American and Israeli supremacy, the project that carries the seeds of dignity, the project that is based on Islamic pillars and foundations and has a vision to manage the war with the enemy Israel…”

Here’s an update on this story (which Obama has so far been silent on). As for the anti-Semitic Mufti, his response to criticism was the same as that of all Islamic supremacists: His words were “taken out of context”. Because we’re not presently in the “end of days”. Yet. Seriously, that was his response. He was merely quoting the reliable Hadith telling us about a new genocide of Jews that was coming. Soon. According to Mufti Mohammed Hussein, perhaps the “end of days” won’t officially begin until next week. No word yet, however, on whether or not the declaration that Jews were “descendants of the apes and pigs” was also taken out of context …

By DIAA HADID – “JERUSALEM (AP) – The Palestinians’ top Muslim cleric faced sharp Israeli criticism Sunday for a speech in which he quoted a religious text that includes passages about killing Jews in an end-of-days struggle.

Mufti Mohammed Hussein’s comments came at a political gathering of supporters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He said his remarks were taken out of context and that he didn’t incite people to kill Jews. But by speaking at the venue, Hussein appeared to be linking the battle to the conflict with Israel.

‘The hour of resurrection will not come until you fight the Jews,’ Hussein told the gathering, citing a hadith, or saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. ‘The Jews will hide behind stones and trees. But the trees and the stones will call: oh Muslim, oh servant of God, there is a Jew hiding behind me so come and kill him.’…

The mufti delivered his three-minute speech on Jan. 7 in an Arab neighborhood of east Jerusalem during celebrations of the 47th anniversary of the Palestinian movement Fatah, said Itamar Marcus of Palestine Media Watch, an Israeli watchdog group that tracks incitement.

Marcus’ group posted excerpts of the speech on YouTube last week. The comments drew angry reactions from Israelis on Sunday.

‘We’re talking about a heinous offense that all nations of the world must condemn,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement sent to reporters by text message. He asked the Israeli attorney general to launch an investigation.

It is unclear what authority Israel would have since Hussein is appointed to his position by the Palestinian president. There was no immediate comment from Abbas’ office.

Hussein, who is based in Jerusalem, said his comments were taken out of context.

‘I was speaking about the final signs of the day of resurrection,’ Hussein said. ‘I did not incite, and I did not call for killing. We are not, at present, at the end of days.'” Read more.