MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By ILAN BEN ZION and HILLARY ZAKEN and AP – “The Turkish military mobilized large numbers of reinforcements from its eastern provinces to the Syrian border on Tuesday, amid rising tension with Damascus, after the downing by Syria of a Turkish Air Force jet on Friday, Turkish media reported.

Large numbers of Turkish troops — including at least 15 long-range artillery pieces and tanks – moved to the Syrian frontier from the eastern city of Diyarbakir. A video published by the Turkish Cihan News Agency showed Turkish tanks being transported by carrier trucks toward the frontier.

The mobilization followed statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the Turkish military will respond to any future violation of its border by Syrian military elements.

‘As awe-inspiring as Turkey’s friendship is, Turkey’s wrath is equally awe-inspiring,’ Erdogan told the Turkish parliament on Tuesday.

‘The rules of engagement of the Turkish Armed Forces have changed,’ Erdogan said. ‘Any military element that approaches the Turkish border from Syria posing a security risk and danger will be regarded as a threat and treated as a military target.’

Erdogan closed his remarks with an especially harsh condemnation of Syrian President Bashar Assad: ‘Turkey and the Turkish people will continue to provide all support until the people of Syria have been saved from this tyrannical, murderous, bloody dictator and his gang.'” Read more.

Assad Declares Syria At War As Battle Now Reaches Damascus – “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared on Tuesday that his country was at war and ordered his new government to spare no effort to achieve victory, as the worst fighting of the 16-month conflict reached the outskirts of the capital… The declaration that Syria is at war marks a change of rhetoric from Assad, who had long dismissed the uprising against him as the work of scattered militants funded from abroad. ‘We live in a real state of war from all angles,’ Assad told a cabinet he appointed on Tuesday in a speech broadcast on state television.” Read more.

Associated Press – “A Norwegian man has received terrorist training from Al Qaeda’s offshoot in Yemen and is awaiting orders to carry out an attack on the West, officials from three European security agencies told The Associated Press on Monday.

Western intelligence officials have long feared such a scenario — a convert to Islam who is trained in terrorist methods and can blend in easily in Europe and the United States, traveling without visa restrictions.

Officials from three European security agencies confirmed Monday the man is ‘operational,’ meaning he has completed his training and is about to receive a target. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly. They declined to name the man, who has not been accused of a crime.

‘We believe he is operational and he is probably about to get his target,’ one security official said. ‘And that target is probably in the West.’

A security official in a second European country confirmed the information, adding: ‘From what I understand, a specific target has not been established.’

European security services, including in Norway, have warned in recent years of homegrown, radicalized Muslims traveling to terror training camps in conflict zones. Many of the known cases involve young men with family roots in Muslim countries.

But the latest case involves a man in his 30s with no immigrant background, the officials said.” Read more.

Flashback: 35 Islamic Terror Training Camps Now Operating … Inside the United States– “A radical jihadist group responsible for nearly 50 attacks on American soil is operating 35 terrorist training camps across the nation, but the U.S. government refuses to include the organization on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorists. Jamaat ul-Fuqra, known in the U.S. as ‘Muslims of America,’ has purchased or leased hundreds of acres of property – from New York to California – in which the leader, Sheikh Mubarak Gilani, boasts of conducting ‘the most advanced training courses in Islamic military warfare.’ In a recruitment video captured from Gilani’s ‘Soldiers of Allah,’ he states in English: ‘We are fighting to destroy the enemy. We are dealing with evil at its roots and its roots are America.’” Read more.

Flashback: Experts: Islamist Terror Cells in Europe May Now Pose Biggest Threat to US Security – “Experts testifying before a congressional committee say the threat of terrorism may be greatest at present from Islamist terror cells in European countries. The experts told the House Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats that a combination of factors lead them to believe terrorist cells in Europe may pose the biggest threat to the security of the United States and its interests. Peter Bergen, who has written on al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, is among those who see a trend of growing alienation of Muslims in European countries as feeding the aims of terrorist groups seeking new members.” Read more.

By Michael Carmichael, Global Research – “Senior Israeli officials now confirm that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has, ‘decided to attack Iran before the U.S. elections in November.’

Netanyahu’s agenda is much broader than knocking out Iranian nuclear installations for his aim is to reshape the political landscape in the USA and Israel shifting everything to the far, far right in order to create a new comfort zone for religious fundamentalists.

Netanyahu’s major backer, Sheldon Adelson, is now firmly behind Mitt Romney, and they are known to believe that an Israeli attack on Iran in September or October will displace Obama and many dovish Democrats in Congress and establish a hawkish regime in Washington.

Israel has agreed to restrain any attack on Iran until after the current round of five talks between Iran and the P5+1 that will come to an end in either late July or August:

‘U.S., Israel continue preparations for strike on Iran nuclear facilities.

The website cites U.S. defense contracts and Israel’s new military preparations, suggesting that ‘all sides are getting ready for whatever may come.’

Israel and the U.S. are pushing forward with preparations to jointly strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, the U.S. blog Business Insider reported on Saturday.

‘U.S. defense contracts, an Iranian F-16 acquisition, and Israel’s new military preparations suggest that all sides are getting ready for whatever may come,’ the report says.

According to the blog, the U.S navy has recently signed a $338 million contract with defense contractor Raytheon to ‘provide the Navy with 361 Tomahawk cruise missiles in their most recent configuration. According to the website, the U.S. is either renewing its stock of missiles or planning ahead.

‘On May 9,’ the report added, ‘the U.S. House of Representatives passed the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012, which seeks to ‘reaffirm the commitment to Israel’s security as a Jewish state; provide Israel with the military capabilities to defend itself by itself against any threats… [and] expand military and civilian cooperation.’

A senior Israeli official recently told Reuters that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to attack Iran before the U.S. elections in November.” (Haretz, June 23, 2012, emphasis added)

Military experts have long agreed that the ‘sweet spot’ for an Israeli attack on Iran will be Read more…

Does crow taste good, Jimmy Carter? Was this one of the “many shared interests” you had in mind, Barack Obama? …

Update: Morsi denies interview …

AFP – “TEHRAN: Egypt’s Islamist president-elect, Mohamed Morsi, wants to ‘reconsider’ the peace deal with Israel and build ties with Iran to ‘create a strategic balance’ in the Middle East, according to an interview published by Iran’s Fars news agency on Monday.

The stated goals are certain to alarm Israel and its ally the United States as they adapt to the new direction Egypt will chart with Morsi at the helm.

They could also boost Iran’s influence in the Middle East at a time of heightened tensions between Tehran and the West.

‘We will reconsider the Camp David Accord’ that, in 1979, forged a peace deal between Egypt and Israel that has held for more than three decades, Morsi was quoted as telling a Fars reporter in Cairo on Sunday, just before his election triumph was announced.

He said the issue of Palestinian refugees returning to homes their families abandoned in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and the 1967 Six-Day War ‘is very important’.

Morsi added though that ‘all these issues will be carried out through cabinet and governmental bodies because I will not take any decision on my own.’

Morsi also said he was ready to improve ties with Iran. The Islamic republic broke off diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1980, a year after Cairo signed the peace deal with the Jewish state.

‘Part of my agenda is the development of ties between Iran and Egypt that will create a strategic balance in the region,’ Morsi was quoted as saying.

Although Morsi resigned from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood to take the top job, Israel is wary of his election, fearing his Islamist record could jeopardise the chilly peace it has long enjoyed with its huge neighbour.

Iran’s foreign ministry on Sunday welcomed Morsi’s triumph.” Read more.

Flashback: Muslim Brotherhood Will Not Recognize the ‘Occupying Criminal Enemy’ Israel Under ANY Circumstances, Vows to Cancel the ‘Zionist’ Peace Treaty – “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will not recognize Israel ‘under any circumstance,’ the party’s deputy leader Dr Rashad Bayoumi told Arabic daily al-Hayat in an interview publish Sunday… When asked whether it is a requirement for the government in Egypt to recognize Israel, Bayoumi responded by saying: ‘This is not an option, whatever the circumstances, we do not recognize Israel at all. Its [Israel] an occupying criminal enemy.’” Read more.

Flashback: Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Vows to Never Speak or Meet With Israeli Officials – “The Muslim Brotherhood will not speak or meet with Israeli officials and its stance on Israel is not up for discussion, group spokesperson Mahmoud Ghezlan told London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. ‘It’s illogical to have dialogue, any dialogue, in light of the Israeli practices against the Arab peoples,’ the paper quoted him as saying in an article published Wednesday. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yigal Palmor told Israeli radio that Israel has not ruled out talks.” Read more.