News items that look towards Ezekiel 38 & 39

[Shammu]

Russia treaty freeze a warning to NATO

By Christian Lowe Tue Dec 11, 9:33 AM ET

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will not start a new arms race when it freezes compliance with a Cold War arms treaty on Wednesday but it does want to send a clear message it is not happy about NATO's eastward expansion.

Russia will suspend its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, a pact that limits weapons levels on either side of the old Iron Curtain and, according to Moscow, now gives NATO free rein to beef up its forces.

"There is no threat from Moscow. No one in Berlin would think that Russian tanks could move on Germany," said Anatoly Antonov, head of the foreign ministry's security and disarmament department.

But Russia's concerns about the CFE treaty "were not listened to and we are forced to take such a serious decision," he told reporters last week.

Western capitals regard Russia's move as another sign of the assertive approach to foreign policy under President Vladimir Putin. Moscow has also taken a tough stance against Washington's plans for a missile shield in Europe.

Russia's military says the only practical implication from the suspension, which comes into force at 0001 Moscow time on Wednesday, will be that it will stop exchanging data on troops levels and halt inspections.

But a senior lawmaker with Kremlin ties said last week Moscow would not rule out increasing its troops levels later if NATO ramps up its forces in eastern Europe.

RUSSIAN UNEASE

Russia's biggest grievance with the CFE treaty is that it restricts Moscow's freedom to deploy troops and weapons west of the Ural mountains, but it does not cap armaments in new NATO members in eastern Europe.

Russia has watched NATO's eastward expansion with unease and its concern has heightened as Washington prepares to open bases in new alliance members Bulgaria and Romania.

Policymakers in Moscow also fear NATO forces could be deployed in one of the ex-Soviet Baltic states, within striking distance of Russia's second city, St Petersburg.

"The hypothetical transfer of NATO forces into the Baltics is a real military threat," said Alexei Arbatov, an arms control expert at the Carnegie Moscow Center, an independent think-tank.

"This (freezing CFE compliance) is a signal that this does not suit us."

Western governments say they regret Russia's move on the treaty although they are not sounding the alarm.

"It's not a new Cold War or a new arms race -- there will be no material impact on security," said one Western diplomat. "But there will be a lack of transparency because the verification regime won't operate."

The CFE treaty has a long and tangled history. Signed in 1990 at the end of the Cold War, it secured the reduction or destruction of about 60,000 pieces of equipment and set limits on the conventional forces that remained.

New NATO members in the Baltics are not covered by the treaty. Others that are took with them into NATO their old Warsaw Pact weapons quotas, Russian officials say.

The treaty was revised in 1999 to take account of the changes but Western states have refused to ratify it, arguing that Moscow had not fulfilled a commitment to withdraw its forces from ex-Soviet Moldova and Georgia.

Russia disputes this and says the only troops it has left in the two countries are peacekeepers.

Foreign ministry official Antonov said Russia was still committed to negotiating a solution on the treaty.

"The moratorium is not an aim in itself. It is a way of attracting the attention of our partners," he said. "We are open to dialogue even after December 12."

Russia treaty freeze a warning to NATO

[Soldier4Christ]

 A number of Middle East countries are speeding up their Middle East development projects

In recent months, a number of Arab countries have boosted their nuclear programs in what experts believe to be a response to Iran's aggressive drive to acquire nuclear weapons with these Arab nations saying they are simply developing nuclear technology for peaceful means.

Analysts however, point out that most of the nations in question are in possession of huge oil reserves or they have access to natural resources which can easily be used to produce the needed power thereby eliminating the need for the costly development of nuclear facilities. Experts argue that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Libya and Turkey are speeding up their nuclear development due to the interest of global powers competing to sell their nuclear technology.

The nuclear surge in the Middle East should alarm the world and help us to realize the geopolitical ramifications of these developments especially in light of Biblical prophecy.

The world has been focused on Iran's nuclear development program that experts claim has positioned Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon of Mass Destruction (NWMD) within a short period of time, maybe within the next one or two years. Now, there is a growing concern with the nuclear surge in the Middle East as a number of nations rush to develop their own nuclear capabilities. Experts are particularly curious as to the nuclear programs in a region which holds approximately 25% of the Earth's oil resources.

Some experts stress that peaceful nuclear technology can easily be converted to serve a nuclear weapons program. The list of nations who are developing these nuclear programs are the same countries on the list of nations that align themselves for an attack on the Jewish state of Israel in the Last Days.

The ancient Jewish prophets Daniel and Ezekiel and the Psalmist list the nations that will be included in this coalition of enemies against Israel, Daniel 11, Ezekiel 38 and Psalm 83. Under the guise of fear of the Iranian nuclear threat these Middle East nations are developing an arsenal that could be used against Israel.

[Shammu]

Nasrallah replaced as head of Hizbullah military wing

According to London-based newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has ordered Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah to hand over control of Hizbullah’s military wing to deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qasim

Roee Nahmias
Published: 12.13.07, 23:31
Israel News

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has ordered Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah to relinquish control of Hizbullah’s military wing to his deputy, Sheikh Naim Qasim, the London-based newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Thursday.

These reports, based upon “sources within the liaison and recruitment office of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards based in Lebanon,” serve to confirm earlier reports in various media regarding this transfer of power from Nasrallah to Qasim.

Sources within the Revolutionary Guards operating in Lebanon, report that there have been marked differences of opinion between Nasrallah and Qasim as of late regarding key issues facing Hizbullah’s military wing. This ultimately led Khamenei to restructure Hizbullah’s chain of command, and transfer power to Qasim.

Nasrallah will continue to reign as Hizbullah secretary-general, as well as heading the organization’s intelligence unit. Imad Mornia, Hizbullah’s chief of operations, will continue to act as liaison between Hizbullah, the Palestinians, Iranian intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards.

Hizbullah was quick to deny these reports of turmoil facing its military wing. “These reports are utterly unfounded, groundless and lack all basis in objective fact,” said Hizbullah sources.

“These reports of turmoil in Hizbullah’s leadership stem from the world’s distress at the support the organization enjoys, the lofty status that its leader Sheik Nasaralla enjoys within the Arab world, and the resolve that Hizbullah’s warriors show in face of Israeli occupation.”

Nasrallah replaced as head of Hizbullah military wing

[Shammu]

Israel: US report on Iran may spark war

By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Sat Dec 15, 11:35 AM ET

JERUSALEM - Israel's public security minister warned Saturday that a U.S. intelligence report that said Iran is no longer developing nuclear arms could lead to a regional war that would threaten the Jewish state.

In his remarks — Israel's harshest criticism yet of the U.S. report — Avi Dichter said the assessment also cast doubt on American intelligence in general, including information about Palestinian security forces' crackdown on militant groups. The Palestinian action is required as part of a U.S.-backed renewal of peace talks with Israel this month.

Dichter cautioned that a refusal to recognize Iran's intentions to build weapons of mass destruction could lead to armed conflict in the Middle East.

He compared the possibility of such fighting to a surprise attack on Israel in 1973 by its Arab neighbors, which came to be known in Israel for the Yom Kippur Jewish holy day on which it began.

"The American misconception concerning Iran's nuclear weapons is liable to lead to a regional Yom Kippur where Israel will be among the countries that are threatened," Dichter said in a speech in a suburb south of Tel Aviv, according to his spokesman, Mati Gil. "Something went wrong in the American blueprint for analyzing the severity of the Iranian nuclear threat."

Dichter didn't elaborate on the potential scenario but seemed to imply that a world that let its guard down regarding Iran would be more vulnerable to attack by the Islamic regime.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had disputed the U.S. intelligence assessment this month, saying that Iran continues its efforts to obtain components necessary to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran still poses a major threat to the West and the world must stop it, Olmert said.

Israel has for years been warning that Iran is working on nuclear weapons and backed the United States in its international efforts to exert pressure on Iran to stop the program. Israel considers Iran a significant threat because of its nuclear ambitions, its long-range missile program and repeated calls by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for the disappearance of Israel.

Iran says its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes.

Israel will work to change the American intelligence agencies' view of Iran, said Dichter, a former chief of Israel's Shin Bet secret service agency.

"A misconception by the world's leading superpower is not just an internal American occurrence," Dichter said.

Any future faulty U.S. intelligence on the actions of Palestinian security forces could damage peace efforts, Dichter said.

"Those same (intelligence) arms in the U.S. are apt to make a mistake and declare that the Palestinians have fulfilled their commitments, which would carry with it very serious consequences from Israel's vantage point," Dichter said.

Israel: US report on Iran may spark war

[Shammu]

Azerbaijan: Western secrets sent to Iran
36 minutes ago

BAKU, Azerbaijan - Azerbaijan's security agency said Saturday that 15 people convicted this week of treason had passed information on U.S., British and Israeli activities in the ex-Soviet republic to Iranian intelligence.

The National Security Ministry gave new details about the group, which allegedly passed to Iranian agents details on Western embassies, companies, pipeline operations and employees operating in Azerbaijan from 2005 to 2006.

The Court for Grave Crimes on Monday sentenced the 15 to lengthy prison sentences in a case that highlighted Azerbaijan's concern over the influence of neighboring Iran.

The 15 were arrested in January on suspicion of crimes including plotting to forcefully seize power, treason, organizing a criminal group, possession of weapons and drugs, and counterfeiting.

Two members of the group allegedly met repeatedly with intelligence agents in Iran, where they received training, equipment, maps and more than $10,000 in funding, the ministry said.

Said Dadashbeyli, the alleged leader who worked at a U.S.-Azerbaijani drilling company, sought Iranian support for a plot to seize power in Azerbaijan and establish Islamic law in the oil-rich country. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, along with two other group members. The others received sentences ranging from two years to 13, the court said.

Dadashbeyli's lawyer said the charges were unfounded.

Predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan has increasingly been caught in a tug-of-war for influence between the secular, democratic West and its large southern neighbor.

Rumblings of Shiite political Islam have been particularly noticeable in the more conservative regions that border Iran, and the secular government has displayed concern over Iranian influence and Islamic extremism.

Azerbaijan: Western secrets sent to Iran

[Shammu]

Putin Orders ‘First Strike’ Against US Forces Over Kosovo

by Robert Jones

In reading the latest Military and Intelligence reports circulating in the Kremlin today one cannot help but have the feeling that our World has entered into a Time Warp and instead of this being 2007, we have been plunged back 93 years to 1914.

In 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Austro-Hungarian Empire issued an ultimatum to the Russian backed Serbian government, and who instead of bending to the Western Powers mobilized for war.  The resulting aftermath of the First World War left over 40 million dead with an additional 50 million human beings killed by the Spanish Flu Epidemic spread around the World by Western military forces returning from war in 1918.

Here in 2007, we, again, have the specter of World War looming over us as Serbia, once again backed by Russia, is mobilizing for war due to the Western Powers intention to acknowledge the independence of the Serbian province of Kosovo, and which Russia has vowed will not be allowed to stand.

This is coupled with China announcing the possible beginning of human-to-human Bird Flu transmission and Russia reporting another outbreak of this deadly disease and which the World Health Organization has warned will turn into a catastrophic pandemic.

In response to the latest war provocations by the Western Powers, President Putin today ordered the ‘official’ ending of the arms control treaty with the NATO Nations.  Putin has further ordered Russia ’s Naval Forces back on World-Wide patrol status, with particular focus being on the Russian Navy’s ability to confront NATO Forces in the Mediterranean Sea , and which controls the sea access to the Balkans.

Particular ominous in these new reports is that Putin has reportedly ordered Russian Military Forces to ‘First Strike’ capability against any NATO force that may seek to block Russia’s sea access to the Balkans and relief to the Serbs upon the outbreak of war.

Though being kept from the American people themselves, and as the former Soviet Leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, has warned, the United States Military Leaders aggressive moves in the Balkans and the Middle East are designed to confront Russia, and not Iran as these peoples are being led to believe.

It is more than a coincidence, too, that the United States is, once again, leading the World towards another depression by their insane monetary polices as they did in the aftermath of the World War I and which led to the Great Depression.

World War, Catastrophic Flu Pandemic and World Economic Collapse have long been the Western Powers ‘master plan’ goal to accelerate their main objective of One World Government upon our World, and which only Russia and China have the ability to prevent.

What is most extraordinary about the horrific plans of the Western Powers against our human race, however, is not their stated goals, but that so many of the Western peoples still fail to see that their lives are about to be destroyed, exactly like those of their ancestors from last century.

As the American people alone face the crushing burdens of accelerating oil prices, the collapse of their stock market, the World-Wide collapse of the US dollar, and the catastrophic collapse of their housing market, it is, perhaps, instructive for them to know what their War Leaders know, and which is:

Putin Orders ‘First Strike’ Against US Forces Over Kosovo

[Shammu]

Russia orders new strategic nukes
Posted 7h 30m ago

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's military has commissioned another batch of new intercontinental ballistic missiles — nuclear weapons officials boast can penetrate any prospective missile shield, reports said Sunday.

The announcement comes amid tensions between Moscow and Washington over U.S. plans for missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The three new Topol-M missiles are capable of hitting targets more than 6,000 miles away and, mounted on a heavy off-road vehicle, are harder for an enemy to track it down, officials said.

The Topol-M missiles, which had been deployed only in silos before December 2006, are stationed near the town of Teikovo, Russia's Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement carried by the ITAR-Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies.

The same unit commissioned the first batch of such truck-mounted missiles a year ago.

The Topol-M's chief designer, Yuri Solomonov, has said the missile drops its engines at a significantly lower altitude than earlier designs, making it hard for an enemy's early warning system to detect the launch.

He said the missiles' warhead and decoys closely resembled one another in flight, making it extremely difficult for a foe to select the real target from a multitude of false ones.

Windfall oil revenues in recent years have allowed the Kremlin buy weapons and fund the development of new missiles. The deployment of Topol-Ms, however, has proceeded slowly and Soviet-built ballistic missiles have remained the backbone of the nation's nuclear forces.

Teikovo, a small town in the Ivanovo region, is located about about 150 miles northeast of Moscow.

Russia orders new strategic nukes

[Shammu]

Polish PM Tusk rejects Russian ballistic threat
Sun Dec 16, 2007 12:07pm EST

WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk dismissed on Sunday a Russian warning that the positioning of a U.S. anti-missile base in Poland could trigger a Russian ballistic missile attack.

He was replying to a Russian warning that the firing of a weapon from a U.S. anti-missile system in Poland could be misread by Moscow's automated defences, triggering the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in return.

"When I hear the words of a Russian general about an automatic reaction, that recalled the worst of times to me," said Tusk, whose country was an unwilling member of the Soviet bloc from 1944 to 1989.

"Remarks of that type are impermissible, because no Russian general is going to influence Polish-U.S. negotiations on the question."

Defense minister Radoslaw Sikorski had said earlier Poland would listen to Russia's arguments but would take its own decision on the missile shield.

Sikorski, who is due to meet Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak shortly, said: "We have not yet reached a conclusion as to whether the anti-missile shield is necessary."

On Saturday, army Chief of Staff Yuri Baluyevsky told a news conference in Moscow: "The firing of an anti-missile rocket from Poland could be seen by Russia's automated system as the launch of a ballistic missile, which could provoke a responsive strike."

Poland has asked the United States for Patriot missiles or similar air protection to defend its cities if it is to host the anti-missile shield on its territory.

Russia is opposed to the U.S. plan to site up to 10 ground-based interceptor missiles in northern Poland and a radar facility in the Czech Republic to protect against attacks from what it calls "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the plan could unleash a new arms race and might force Moscow to take retaliatory measures.

Polish PM Tusk rejects Russian ballistic threat

[Soldier4Christ]

Islam's world takeover -- two different approaches

Israel author and lecturer Avi Lipkin believes the civilized world will eventually be compelled to take out the radical Iranian regime to prevent it from plunging the world into economic chaos.

Lipkin, who used to serve as a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces, says there are clearly two divergent camps in the Islamic world as to how to take down the West and convert the entire world to Islam. Lipkin says the Sunnis, led by Saudi Arabia, prefer what he calls "the more peaceful approach."

"The Sunnis do not want to destroy the Christian economy," he explains. "What they want to do is ... buy it out -- buy out your banks and your real estate, your corporations, the media, etcetera." That approach, he continues, "basically says we want to preserve America so that we can buy it out and turn America into an Islamic nation and conquer the world for Allah through the petro dollars."

But according to Lipkin, the Shiites -- led by Iran -- have a far different approach. "[They say] we've got to destroy America, destroy the European economies, destroy the world economy, bring everything down, create a complete chaos and anarchy, and then Allah wins. And of course Allah is the devil," he adds.

Lipkin believes that much of the civilized world will unite to bring down the Iranian regime before it is able bring about the collapse of the global economy.

[Soldier4Christ]

 The Israeli Air Force is now training outside of Israel, preparing for the real thing, an Iranian strike

According to a senior Israeli Defense Force officer, the Israeli Air Force has been conducting an increasing number of training missions outside of Israel, over the Mediterranean, in the United States, Canada and other countries.

The announcement of the new Israeli Air Force training policy comes as Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter said that something went wrong in the software the Americans use to analyze the severity of the threat of a nuclear Iran, not only to Israel but the whole region including northern Africa and Europe.

As the Israeli Air Force trains for the real thing, an attack from Iran or other distant threat, Bible prophecy predicting just such an attack comes better into focus.

The statement by the Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter that the intelligence estimate made by the United State was not reality. He said that Iran is a major threat for the entire Middle East region and all of the countries of Europe as well which has caused the Israeli Air Force to begin preparing for the real thing.

The real thing defined militarily is the attack on Israel by her number one enemy, Iran, but also includes the multiple attacks that could well take place at the same time.

The Israeli's realize that they live in a tough neighborhood and they must be prepared to defend themselves, thus the new training policy for the Israeli Air Force holding exercises outside of Israel.

This report is evidence that the prophetic passages penned by Daniel, Ezekiel and the Psalmist seem to be moving closer to fulfillment. Ezekiel 38:5 mentions Persia which is modern day Iran, as one of an alignment of nations that will attack Israel in the last days.

Iran is only one of over ten nations that will join in the attacks on the Jewish state itself. Nations like Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Lebanon and others as foretold in Daniel 11 and Psalm 83.

The reality that the Israeli Air Force is preparing now for the real thing is indeed evidence that Bible prophecy will be fulfilled. And maybe in the very near future.

[Soldier4Christ]

IAF: Training Abroad for the 'Real Thing'


Israel Air Force has been conducting an increasing number of training missions outside of Israel, over the Mediterranean, in the United States, Canada, Italy and other countries.

According to a senior IAF officer who spoke to Maariv/NRG this week, one of the reasons for this training policy is the Iranian threat: "The IAF's fighter jets need to train for missions against very distant targets, like Iran, and they therefore require long operational ranges," the officer explained. In addition, he said, the IAF fighters use long range radar guided missiles, and therefore need to practice over larger areas, such as the sea.

There are other considerations for conducting training abroad, as well, he said: Israel's skies are cluttered with civilian traffic; there are experiments by security industries which hamper flight, and environmental factors, among others.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert scolded cabinet ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday for making statements about a US intelligence report released last week that said Iran had ceased its nuclear weapons development in 2003.

"I ask the ministers to stop making statements about Iran and the American Intelligence Estimate," he said. "I wish to remind you that the cabinet discussed the matter and stated the Israeli position on the Iranian issue."

Olmert's remarks were seen as a specific rebuke in response to Public Security Minister and former General Security Service (Shin Bet) chief Avi Dichter's blunt criticism of the Americans' intelligence assessment of the Iranian threat, which he called a "misconception."

Speaking at an event Saturday in Holon, Dichter said, "Something went wrong in the 'software' the Americans used to analyze the severity of the threat of a nuclear Iran. Let us hope the United States knows how to fix that."

The Public Security Minister said part of the blame fell on Israel as well. "We did not succeed in convincing the US about how real and close the Iranian nuclear threat is. The size of the region that is threatened by Iran is [determined by] the range of its missiles," he said. "That includes all of the countries of Europe and North Africa."

Dichter added, "A mistaken conception by the world's leading power is not just an internal American issue. It has to alarm Israel and many other countries."

Olmert made it clear at Sunday's meeting that no further statements on the Iranian threat, the American understanding of that threat and its scope should be made.

"There is no place for private announcements by every single minister on this sensitive and complex subject," said the Prime Minister.  "These statements do not help us manage the struggle against the Iranian nuclear project and do not improve our relationship with the US. This matter needs to be handled with great care. I request ministers not to make statements on the subject if it is not within their ministry's purview."

[Shammu]

Russia test-fires intercontinental missile
Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:47pm IST


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia successfully conducted a test launch on Monday of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, the navy said.

A statement said the missile was launched from the Tula nuclear powered submarine in the Barents Sea in the Arctic and hit a designated area in the Kura testing ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula on Russia's Pacific coast.

"The launch was conducted from an underwater position as a part of training to test the readiness of the marine strategic nuclear forces," the statement said.

A navy spokesman would not say what type of missile was tested. Itar-Tass news agency said the Tula submarine carried Sineva missiles commissioned by a decree from President Vladimir Putin in July.

Missile tests have become regular occurrences in the Russian armed forces in the past few years. They are viewed by Russia's political and military leadership as evidence that they are reviving the country's military might.

Russia test-fires intercontinental missile

[Shammu]

Russia, Iran Tighten Military Ties
December 19, '07

(IsraelNN.com) Following a meeting between Iran's Defense minister, Mustafa Najar, and a top Russian security official, Mikhail Dmitriev, Najar said the countries shared "common strategic interests" and would widen their military cooperation.

The Iranian said the cooperation between the countries was mostly technical and defensive, with the aim of "maintaining security and stability in the region."

Two days ago, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it had transferred a shipment of nuclear fuel to Iran.

Russia, Iran Tighten Military Ties

[Shammu]

Israel, Russia on collision course after Moscow fuels Iranian nuclear plant?

By Stan Goodenough
Dec 18, 2007

When, in an effort to stop Iran from reaching the status of nuclear military power, Israel attacks the sites housing that country's nuclear program, it could find itself on a collision course with Russia.

This possibility emerged Monday amid reports that Russia had delivered what an unnamed Iranian official called a "first batch" of 82 tons of nuclear fuel to the Iranian plant at Bushehr.

According to the Israeli daily Ha'aretz, Russia announced its intention to supply the fuel just days after the publication of a US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) which concluded that Iran had stopped trying to build a nuclear bomb four years ago.

Hailed as a victory by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the NIE report led to an immediate evaporation of the international pressure on Iran to end its quest for nuclear arms, leaving Israel standing alone against the threat.

In a statement that might return to haunt him, US President George W. Bush said he supported Russia's supplying of the nuclear fuel because it removed any reason the Iranians might have for continuing to enrich its own uranium.

But Israeli officials are deeply concerned.

Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Liberman told the Knesset Monday afternoon that Iran needed only a few months to make the transition "from a civilian nuclear energy track to a military one."

A day earlier, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter had warned that the NIE report could pave the way for "another Yom Kippiur War."

And Ynet quoted an unnamed senior political-defense source as saying that "Iran will do anything to continue (developing nuclear technology) while attempting to confound the Western World."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has strategically aligned his country with Iran, resisting US requests to join an international embargo against the Islamic Republic and instead entering into a historic covenantal relationship with it.

This deepening relationship will only complicate any plans Israel has to strike Iran's facilities.

When Israel took out the French-sponsored Iraqi nuclear reactor called Osirak in 1981, it triggered a crisis with President Francois Mitterrand, who immediately vowed to rebuild the plant. Although he never kept his word, France did supply Iraq with five highly sophisticated fighter bombers armed with Exocet missiles.

Before Osirak, Israel's relations with France were seldom more than cordial. By contrast, its often tense relations with Soviet Russia have brought the Middle East to the brink of nuclear war on at least one occasion.

While the USSR is no more, analysts believe Putin seeks to re-establish the level of influence in the Middle East once enjoyed by the Soviet Empire.

Israel, Russia on collision course after Moscow fuels Iranian nuclear plant?

[Shammu]

Russian sect prays to Putin icons, claims he is the 'chosen one'
11/ 12/ 2007
   
MOSCOW, December 11 (RIA Novosti) - Vladimir Putin may be popular in Russia for saving the nation from the chaos of the 1990s, but a sect in the country has taken its devotion a step further by praying to 'presidential icons.'

The Bolshaya Elnya village in the Nizhny Novgorod Region is home to the "Rus' Resurrecting" sect, a group of local residents who believe that President Putin was both the Apostle Paul and King Solomon in previous lives.

Rus' is the term used for the medieval East Slavic nation that gave its name to modern Russia.

"We didn't choose Putin," Mother Fontinya told the Moskovsky Komsomolets paper, expounding on the first time she laid eyes on the "holy one."

"It was when Yeltsin was naming him as his successor [during a live New Year's Eve TV broadcast in 1999]. My soul exploded with joy! 'An ubermensch! God himself has chosen him!'" I cried.

"Yeltsin was the destroyer, and God replaced him with his creation," claimed Fontinya.

The sect possesses a President Putin icon that Fontinya claims miraculously appeared one day.

"He has given us everything," she said, pointing to the sky.

A special newspaper published by the sect - 'The Temple of Light' - features interviews with long-dead religious figures, including the Apostle Paul. The sect members are also convinced that President Putin knows about and supports the actions of their 'Mother Superior.'

Russian Christian sects have long been known for their unusual choices of icons, some of them praying to portraits of such well-known 'holy men' as Stalin and Ivan the Terrible.

Another Russian sect is currently holed up in an underground shelter in the country's central Penza Region and has threatened to commit mass suicide if any attempt is made to bring them to the surface.

Religion was tightly controlled in the U.S.S.R. and the collapse of the Soviet Union saw an explosion in sects and cults, as well as interest in New Age philosophies and beliefs. The back pages of many Russian tabloid newspapers are full of advertisements for 'healers' and 'magicians' who promise to bring happiness in love, success in business, as well as a range of other services.

One of the most well-known sects in Russia has its base near the southern Siberian town of Abakan, where thousands of people, both Russian and foreign, worship a former provincial traffic policeman, Sergei Torop, as the second coming of Christ.

There are currently believed to be around 500-700 such sects in Russia, containing some 600,000-800,000 people.

Russian sect prays to Putin icons, claims he is the 'chosen one'