MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

If a marriage of convenience means that Iran can still use Al Qaeda against arch-enemy Israel, they may overlook a bit of trouble in paradise …

By LARA JAKES – BAGHDAD (AP) — A spokesman for al-Qaida in Iraq said Friday that a Sunni Muslim war against Shiites in Iraq is inevitable and threatened relentless waves of attacks like the one a day earlier that killed at least 55 people.

The statement by Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, spokesman for the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq, tap into fears in Iraq and abroad about the country’s future stability and the government’s ability to protect its citizens following the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops in December.

Despite deadly assaults against the Shiite-led government’s security forces and Shiite pilgrims, there has been no indication that Iraq is returning to the sectarian bloodshed of 2006 and 2007 that pushed the nation to the brink of civil war. But Iraqis are increasingly frustrated with the government’s failure to prevent attacks that continue to kill scores of Iraqis every month.

In the latest attack, a series of bombings and shootings across the country on Thursday killed 55 and wounded more than 225. Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In a 33-minute audio statement posted on an extremist website, al-Adnani warned of an impending ‘stage of real confrontation and war against the despicable (Shiites).’

‘The war of the Sunnis with the (Shiites) is a religious war, a holy war of faith,’ he said, according to a translation of the remarks provided by the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks Islamist extremist messages. ‘There is no way out of it and there is no swerving from it.'” Read more.

A Match Made In Allah’s Valhalla: Sunni Al Qaeda’s Big Fat Shiite Iranian Wedding – “Last week, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper described the relationship between Iran and al Qaeda as a ‘longstanding … marriage.’ But you had to listen carefully to hear him say that. ‘Iran has harbored al Qaeda leaders, facilitators,’ Clapper told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. They have been ‘under house arrest conditions. [Iran’s rulers] have had this sort of standoff arrangement with al Qaeda, allowing [al-Qaeda] to exist [inside Iran], but not to foment any operations directly from Iran, because they’re very sensitive about, ‘Hey, we might come after them there as well.’… So there has been this longstanding, as I say, kind of, shotgun marriage, or marriage of convenience. I think, probably, the Iranians may think that they might use, perhaps, al Qaeda in the future as a surrogate or proxy.’” Read more.

Reuters – “Leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas turned publicly against their long-time ally President Bashar Assad of Syria on Friday, endorsing the revolt aimed at overthrowing his dynastic rule.

The policy shift deprives Assad of one of his few remaining Sunni Muslim supporters in the Arab world and deepens his international isolation. It was announced in Hamas speeches at Friday prayers in Cairo and a rally in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas went public after nearly a year of equivocating as Assad’s army, largely led by fellow members of the president’s Alawite sect, has crushed mainly Sunni protesters and rebels.

‘The Syrian revolution is an Arab revolution.’

Contemporary political rivalries have exacerbated tensions that date back centuries between Sunnis – the vast majority of Arabs – and Shi’ites, who form substantial Arab populations, notably in Lebanon and Iraq, and who dominate in non-Arab Iran.

Hamas and Hezbollah, confronting Israel on its southwestern and northern borders, have long had a strategic alliance against Israel, despite opposing positions on the sectarian divide. Both have fought wars with Israel in the past six years.

But as the Sunni-Shi’ite split in the Middle East deepens, Hamas appears to have cast its lot with the powerful, Egypt-based Sunni Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose star has been in the ascendant since the Arab Spring revolts last year.” Read more.

Revelation 6:8, “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

Another update on this seemingly never-ending saga. In Revelation 6:8 John describes what we’ve come to call the “fourth horseman of the Apocalypse” as being “chlōros“, literally translated as “green”. Green is the official color of Islam and is believed to be Mohammed’s favorite. The “fourth horseman” is described as having power over 1/4th of the earth. I don’t believe that it is a mere coincidence that Islam today has dominion over 1/4th of the earth. John describes the “fourth horseman” as having the power to “kill with sword.” Islam is spread through Jihad, the “Sword of Islam.”  The “fourth horseman” also kills with hunger/famine. Islamists would rather see children starve to death than see them receive aid from the “Christian West.” The “fourth horseman” kills “with death.” The love of death, suicide missions and martyrdom for “Allah” permeates Islamic culture, so much that they even openly declare to “love death more than you love life.” Lastly, Revelation 6:8 describes the “fourth horseman” as killing with “the beasts of the earth.” The Greek word “thērion” is, I believe, being used metaphorically to refer to “savage”, “brutal” and “bestial” men. And the reaction of the Muslim world upon hearing of the “desecration” of their holy book is, yet again, proving to be nothing short of all-out savagery …

By Hamid Shalizi – “(Reuters) – Two Americans believed to be a U.S. colonel and major were shot dead in Afghanistan’s interior ministry on Saturday, security sources said, while rage gripped the country for a fifth day over the burning of the Muslim holy book at a NATO base.

A spokeswoman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed two of their servicemen had been shot dead in central Kabul by an individual who turned his weapon on them. She declined to say if the killer was a member of the Afghan military or police.

Afghanistan’s Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the shootings, which it said were in retaliation for the desecration of the Korans at Bagram airfield.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an e-mailed statement to the media that four high-ranking Americans had been killed, though the Islamist group often exaggerate and inflate claims of casualties.

The Koran burnings underscored the deep cultural divide that still exists more than 10 years after U.S. troops invaded to oust the Taliban and has deepened public mistrust of Western troops struggling to stabilize the country.

An Afghan security source said the shooting of the two Americans in the Interior Ministry could be connected to the burning of the Korans…

Muslims consider the Koran to be the literal word of God and treat each copy with deep reverence. Desecration is considered one of the worst forms of blasphemy.

Four Afghans were shot dead by Afghan security forces as demonstrators came out to the streets on Saturday, with an attempt by protesters to bombard a U.N. compound in the north.

Despite an apology from U.S. President Barack Obama and a call for restraint from Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, thousands have taken to the streets. Twelve people were killed and dozens wounded on Friday, the bloodiest day yet in demonstrations.

On Thursday, an Afghan national army soldier joined the protests and gunned down two American soldiers.” Read more.

NATO Recalls All Staff From Kabul Ministries After 2 US Advisers Killed – “The commander of NATO and U.S. forces says that all NATO personnel are being recalled from Afghan ministries following an attack at the Interior Ministry in Kabul. Gen. John Allen says staff are being recalled ‘for obvious force protection reasons.’ He says NATO is investigating Saturday’s shooting and will pursue all leads to find the person responsible for the attack.” Read more.

Insult to WWII heroes: Graves of British troops smashed and desecrated by Libyan Islamists in protest over U.S. soldiers’ Koran burning – “A furious mob has desecrated dozens of Commonwealth War Graves in a Libyan cemetery amid continuing fury in the Middle East over the burning of the Koran by U.S. soldiers. Headstones commemorating British and Allied servicemen, killed during World War II campaigns in the Western Desert, lay smashed and strewn across Benghazi Military Cemetery. Protesters rampaged through site on Friday, despite efforts by America to calm tensions sparked when it emerged U.S. soldiers had burned Muslim holy books in a pile of rubbish at a military base in Afghanistan.” Read more.

By AARON KLEIN – “TEL AVIV – NATO countries are strongly considering the possibility of an international deployment to Syria if the Syrian opposition does not make major advances in the next few weeks, according to informed Middle Eastern diplomatic and security officials.

Egyptian security officials, meanwhile, outlined what they said was large scale international backing for the rebels attacking the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad – including arms and training from the U.S., Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Several knowledgeable Egyptian and Arab security officials claimed the U.S., Turkey and Jordan were running a training base for the Syrian rebels in the Jordanian town of Safawi in the country’s northern desert region.

The security officials also claimed Saudi Arabia was sending weapons to the rebels via surrogates, including through Druze and Christian leaders in Lebanon such as Druze leader Walid Jumblatt; Saudi-Lebanese billionaire Saad Hariri, who recently served as Lebanon’s prime minister; and senior Lebanese opposition leader Samir Farid Geagea.

Syrian sources claimed to WND that Jordan’s fingerprints can be seen on the opposition forces entering the country. They claimed that just this week they shot dead 15 armed smugglers coming into the country from Jordan and that Jordanian forces helped to cover the smugglers’ tracks on the Jordanian side of the border. They said the incident did not make it to the news media.

While Turkey, the U.S. and Arab countries may be arming the opposition, Russia has been directly aiding Assad’s forces on the ground, according to informed Middle Eastern diplomatic and security officials.

In one recent incident, when opposition forces successfully destroyed a Russian-provided tank in the rebel stronghold of Homs using an anti-tank missile, the officials said that Russian technicians took fragments of the missile to study the components in a Russian lab to determine the exact missile used.

WND previously reported Russian military experts have been inside Syria helping Assad’s regime face down the months-long insurgency.

NATO war in Syria in March?

Meanwhile, according to the Middle Eastern diplomatic and security officials speaking to WND, the international community is considering launching Read more…

By Cliff May – “The Bush administration waged what it called a Global War on Terrorism. Yet against Iran, the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, no serious actions were ever taken. President Obama is waging what he calls a ‘war against al Qaeda and its affiliates.’ Yet he and his advisors are reluctant to articulate what has become indisputable: Iran and al Qaeda are affiliated.

Senior Obama officials have come closer to calling a spade a spade: Last week, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper described the relationship between Iran and al Qaeda as a ‘longstanding … marriage.’ But you had to listen carefully to hear him say that.

‘Iran has harbored al Qaeda leaders, facilitators,’ Clapper told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. They have been ‘under house arrest conditions. [Iran’s rulers] have had this sort of standoff arrangement with al Qaeda, allowing [al-Qaeda] to exist [inside Iran], but not to foment any operations directly from Iran, because they’re very sensitive about, ‘Hey, we might come after them there as well.’… So there has been this longstanding, as I say, kind of, shotgun marriage, or marriage of convenience. I think, probably, the Iranians may think that they might use, perhaps, al Qaeda in the future as a surrogate or proxy.’

Not quite a model of analytic clarity but, as I said, at least it approaches reality (and do note the cryptic warning about Iran deploying al Qaeda terrorists down the road – more about that in a moment). Also last week: The U.S. Treasury Department designated the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) — which it described as ‘Iran’s primary intelligence organization’ — for its sponsorship of terrorism. And among the terrorist groups Treasury said MOIS supports: al Qaeda.

The forms this support has taken: facilitating the movement of al Qaeda operatives in Iran, providing al Qaeda members ‘with documents, identification cards, and passports;’ also, providing both ‘money and weapons’ to al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq.

Michael Ledeen and Thomas Joscelyn, my colleagues at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, have for years been connecting the dots between Iran and al Qaeda. Former CIA director James Woolsey, now FDD’s Chairman, also has long argued that Islamist terrorists, despite their theological/ideological differences, can and do engage in Read more…

By Josh Rogin – “The State Department has begun coordinating with Syria’s neighbors to prepare for the handling of President Bashar al-Assad’s extensive WMD assets if and when his regime collapses, The Cable has learned.

This week, the State Department sent a diplomatic demarche to Syria’s neighbors Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, warning them about the possibility of Syria’s WMDs crossing their borders and offering U.S. government help in dealing with the problem, three Obama administration officials confirmed to The Cable. For concerned parties both inside and outside the U.S. government, the demarche signifies that the United States is increasingly developing plans to deal with the dangers of a post-Assad Syria — while simultaneously highlighting the lack of planning for how to directly bring about Assad’s downfall.

Syria is believed to have a substantial chemical weapons program, which includes mustard gas and sophisticated nerve agents, such as sarin gas, as well as biological weapons. Syria has also refused IAEA requests to make available facilities that were part of its nuclear weapons program and may still be in operation.

The State Department declined to provide access to any officials to discuss the private diplomatic communication on the record, such as the author of the demarche Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Tom Countryman. In a meeting with reporters earlier this year, Countryman expressed confidence that the United States knows where Syria’s WMD stockpiles are, but warned that they could become a very serious security issue for Syria and the region going forward.” Read more.

Flashback: Hezbollah may be receiving weapons of mass destruction from Syria – “French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Saturday that Israel has asked Western countries to stop their diplomatic campaign against the Syrian regime for fear that the weapons of mass destruction of the Syrian regime will fall in the hands of Hezbollah and Hamas. The newspaper said the chief of military intelligence in the Israeli army, Major-General Aviv Kochavi has relayed the Israeli position during his visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York a few weeks ago. According to a French diplomat Kochavi warned that the Syrian arsenal of weapons will be directed at Israel if the regime of Bashar al-Assad falls.” Read more.

Flashback: Nasrallah: Next War with Israel Will Start in Tel Aviv, Says Hezbollah Has ‘Many Surprises’ That Will Change the Face of the Region in a Future War – “The next war with Israel will start in Tel Aviv, not on the northern border, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned on Friday, the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper reported. ‘If Israel decided to wage a war against Lebanon, we will not only break the Israeli soldiers’ bones, we will smash them,’ Nasrallah was quoted as saying during a meeting with Hezbollah members. ‘The war would be waged without any red lines, and [Hezbollah] would in return commit to the new equations,’ Nasrallah said. ‘[Hezbollah] has many surprises that will change the face of the region,’ he added.” Read more.

Reuters – “PARIS – After months of reassuring secularist critics, Islamist politicians in Tunisia and Egypt have begun to lay down markers about how Muslim their states should be — and first signs show they want more religion than previously admitted.

Islamist parties swept the first free elections in both countries in recent months after campaigns that stressed their readiness to work with the secularists they struggled with in the Arab Spring revolts against decades-long dictatorships.

With political deadlines looming, the Tunisian coalition led by the reformist Islamist Ennahda party and the head of Egypt’s influential Muslim Brotherhood both made statements this week revealing a stronger emphasis on Islam in government.

Popular List, an Ennahda coalition member tasked with writing Tunisia’s new constitution, announced on Monday its draft called Islam ‘the principle source of legislation’ — a phrase denoting laws based on the sharia moral and legal code.

On Tuesday, Egyptian Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie said his group wanted a president with ‘an Islamic background.’ That term is vague, but not as vague as the conciliatory ‘consensus candidate’ talk heard from most parties until now.

Secularists in both countries warned voters against trusting the Islamists and these subtle changes could have come straight from a secularist playbook on how Islamists would gradually insert more religion into the political and legal systems.” Read more.

Security forces clash with radical Islamists in Tunisian town – “Police in a Tunisian town used tear gas on Thursday to break up a crowd of about 200 hardline Islamists, armed with sticks, swords and petrol bombs, who set fire to a police station, witnesses told Reuters. ‘The security forces are chasing about 200 Salafists armed with swords and sticks after an exchange of petrol bombs and tear gas,’ resident Omar Inoubli told Reuters by telephone from Jandouba, about 160 km (99 miles) west of the capital. ‘These groups set fire to a police station …. (They) are broadcasting recordings through the loudspeakers of mosques calling for jihad (holy war).'” Read more.