Wars And Rumors Of Wars

[Soldier4Christ]

Russian prez orders missiles on EU border after Obama victory
'Mechanisms must be created to block mistaken, egoistical ... simply dangerous decisions'

President Dmitri Medvedev took advantage of the euphoria in America today to order the deployment of missiles inside Europe as a response to US plans for a missile defence shield.

Speaking within hours of Barack Obama's election as the new US President, Mr Medvedev announced that Russia would base Iskander missiles in its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad next to the border with Poland.

He did not say whether the short-range missiles would carry nuclear warheads. Mr Medvedev also cancelled earlier plans to withdraw three intercontinental ballistic missile regiments from western Russia.

"An Iskander missile system will be deployed in the Kaliningrad region to neutralise if necessary the anti-ballistic missile system in Europe," Mr Medvedev said in his first state-of-the-nation address.

He added that Russia was also ready to deploy its navy and to install electronic jamming devices to interfere with the US shield, which involves the deployment of a radar station in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland.

His announcement prompted a burst of applause from government ministers and parliamentary deputies assembled in the Kremlin. The President failed to congratulate Mr Obama or even to mention him by name during his 85-minute state of the nation address televised live across Russia.

Instead, in a criticism directed at the US, Mr Medvedev declared: "Mechanisms must be created to block mistaken, egoistical and sometimes simply dangerous decisions of certain members of the international community."

He accused the West of seeking to encircle Russia and blamed the US for encouraging Georgia's "barbaric aggression" in the war over South Ossetia in August. He issued a warning that Russia would "not back down in the Caucasus".

"The August crisis only accelerated the arrival of the crucial moment of truth. We proved, including to those who had been sponsoring the current regime in Georgia, that we are strong enough to defend our citizens and that we can indeed defend our national interests," Mr Medvedev said.

"What we've had to deal with in the last few years - the construction of a global missile defence system, the encirclement of Russia by military blocs, unrestrained NATO enlargement and other 'gifts'... The impression is we are being tested to the limit."

Outgoing President George W. Bush insists that the missile shield is aimed at rogue states such as Iran. But the plan has infuriated Moscow, which argues that it threatens Russia's security and that the US is ignoring its concerns.

Mr Medvedev said that Russia had been forced to cancel its plans to withdraw the ballistic missiles, which have a range of 6,200 miles. He said: "We have told our partners more than once that we want positive cooperation, we want to act together to combat common threats, that we want to act together. But they, unfortunately, don't want to listen to us."

In his only reference to the US election, he said that he hoped the new administration would work to repair its relationship with Moscow. He said: "I stress that we have no problem with the American people, no inborn anti-Americanism. And we hope that our partners, the US administration, will make a choice in favour of full-fledged relations with Russia."

Mr Medvedev blamed the US for the global financial crisis, saying that the rest of the world had been "dragged down with it into recession". He claimed that the era of American domination after the collapse of the Soviet Union was now over.

"The world cannot be ruled from one capital. Those who do not want to understand this will only create new problems for themselves and others," he said.

Mr Medvedev, who was elected in March, also set out proposals to extend the presidential term from four years to six. He did not say whether the reform would apply to his current term.

[Soldier4Christ]

Iran warns U.S. after Obama win
'This is a clear message to the American president-elect'

Iran warned U.S. forces in Iraq on Wednesday that it would respond to any violation of Iranian airspace, a message analysts said seemed directed at the new U.S. president-elect more than neighbouring American troops.

The Iranian army statement, reported by state radio, came after a cross-border raid last month by U.S. forces into Syria, a move that was condemned by Damascus and Tehran.

But an Iranian politician said the timing suggested it was directed at Barack Obama, who won Tuesday's U.S. vote, more than the U.S. military, and might reflect concern by hardliners in Iran who thrived on confrontation with Washington.

Obama has said he would toughen sanctions on Iran but has also held out the possibility of direct talks to resolve rows, which include a dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

"Recently it has been seen that American army helicopters were flying a small distance from Iraq's border with Iran and, because of the closeness to the border, the danger of them violating Iran's border is possible," state radio reported.

"Iran's armed forces will respond to any violation," radio said, citing a statement from Iran's army headquarters.

Washington, which has not had diplomatic ties with Tehran since 1980, has accused Iran of funding, equipping and training militants in Iraq. Iran denies this and says security problems are due to the presence of U.S. troops who should quit Iraq.

"This is a clear message to the American president-elect because radicals are not very happy that Obama has been elected," said the Iranian politician.

LOGGERHEADS

He said Iran could have chosen to pass such a message through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which handles U.S. interests in the absence of a U.S. mission. That route had been used in the past.

The two countries are also at loggerheads over Iran's disputed nuclear work. Washington says Tehran is seeking an atomic bomb. Tehran says it wants the technology to make electricity so that it can export more of its oil and gas.

Iranian government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said he hoped Obama would make "fundamental changes in the approach of the United States towards global issues" and end "aggression towards other countries," state broadcaster IRIB reported.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, according to IRNA news agency: "The election of Barack Obama ... is a clear sign of the American people's wish and desire for fundamental changes in America's domestic and foreign policies."

Obama, like Bush, has not ruled out military action although he has criticised the outgoing administration for not pushing for more diplomacy and engagement with Iran.

"Change of political figures is not important by itself. What is more important is a change of American policy," Ali Aghamohammadi, a close aide to Iran's most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Reuters.

Iran has warned it would respond to any attack on its territory by targeting U.S. interests and America's ally Israel, as well as closing the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway at the mouth of the Gulf and vital route for world oil supplies.

Some Iranians were enthusiastic about the U.S. vote.

"I hope that our relations with (America) will improve as Obama has talked of direct negotiations with the Iran," said Mona Saremi, a 22-year-old student.

But some analysts were cautious, saying Obama had to show he was offering more than a change in style from Bush. "It is for the Americans to show that something has changed, not the Iranians," Tehran University professor Mohammad Marandi said.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

Does anyone get the idea that there is really no way to appease many entities around the world? I'm thinking that the Global problems are going to be much more than just economic. I'm certainly not hinting to be a prophet or anything like that, but I do read the Bible. The signs are increasing that many things in the Bible may be close to being fulfilled. I'll just say that I joyously anticipate getting to see my LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 119:105  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

[HisDaughter]

World faces growing risk of war: US intelligence chief 

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The world faces a growing risk of conflict over the next 20 to 30 years amid an unprecedented transfer of wealth and power from West to East, according to the US intelligence chief.

Michael McConnell, the director of national intelligence, predicted rising demand for scarce supplies of food and fuel, strategic competition over new technologies, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

"What I'm suggesting -- there's an increased potential for conflict," McConnell said in a speech Thursday to intelligence professionals in Nashville, Tennessee.

"During the period of this assessment, out to 2025, the probability for conflict between nations and within nation-state entities will be greater," he said.

Conditions for "large casualty terrorist attacks using chemical, biological, or less likely, nuclear materials" also will increase during that period, he said.

McConnell described a multi-polar world in 2025 shaped by the rise of China, India and Brazil, whose economies will by then match those of the western industrial states.

"In terms of size, speed, and directional flow, the transfer of global wealth and economic power, now underway, as noted from West to East is without precedent in modern history," McConnell said.

Territorial expansion and military rivalries are not likely but cannot be ruled out, he said.

"We judge these sweeping changes will not trigger a complete breakdown of the current international system, but the next 20 years of transition to a new system are fraught with risks and many, many challenges," he said.

By 2025, China is likely to have the world's second largest economy and to have emerged as a major military power, the largest importer of natural resources and the largest contributor to world pollution.

"China is poised to have more impact on the world over the next 20 years than any other country," he said.

India will have either the third or second largest economy and will press to become "one of the significant poles of this new world," he said.

Russia also will be part of that group but only if it expands and diversifies its economy and integrates it with the world global economy, he said.

"Strategic rivalries are most likely to revolve around trade, demographics, access to natural resources, investments and technological innovation. There will be a struggle to acquire technology advantage as the key enabler for dominance," he said.

[HisDaughter]

White House ‘very concerned’ about transition attack

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White House press secretary Dana Perino warned Thursday that the administration is “very concerned” about the threat of a terror attack during the transition or the early weeks of the Obama administration.

“That is something that we're very concerned about,” Perino said. “We've seen that in other countries — Spain, obviously, had that terrible bombing.”

Perino said that “we know that Al Qaeda and others try to test a new administration,” echoing Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who caught flack for a similar statement on the campaign trail.

Perino added that the Bush administration is “determined” to make sure that "we overlap in terms of our understanding and capabilities so that ... when we hand the baton over to the Obama team, that they have that full range of capabilities and also all the knowledge that they need to help continue to keep us safe.”

“I don't know of anything specific,” she added, “but we do know that this is just a heightened period of concern.”

[Soldier4Christ]

Chinese troops line up against North Korea
Military escalation attributed to worries over Kim Jong-Il's failing health

Analysts on the Asian Desk at MI6 say China's People's Liberation Army has moved as many as 100,000 troops to its border with North Korea, ostensibly to block refugees from fleeing into China in the event of the death of Kim Jong-II, the president of the pariah state, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

North Korea also has announced it will reinforce its border with South Korea after accusing its neighbor of "provocation beyond the danger level."

The result, according to one analyst, is "the most explosive situation since the Korean War."

The intelligence analysts – working with highly classified reports from the area by agents of the Secret Intelligence Service – believe the movements are a direct result of the unsuccessful attempt by four leading Beijing surgeons, who operated on the ailing Kim in August in a Pyongyang military clinic, to correct heart failure that led to a stroke.

"In the past month, we have had clear evidence that Kim's condition has deteriorated," confirmed a senior intelligence source who was one of the foreign delegates at the celebrations of North Korea's 60th anniversary last month.

In the past week, both MI6 and the Foreign Office – along with the State Department and the CIA -- have drawn up contingency plans in the event of Kim's death.

The plans are a comprehensive overview of how to deal with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks following Kim's death.

The possibilities are reinforced by photo-interpreters, who have queried state-issued photographs of Kim taken before his surgery.

"They show a man already exceedingly frail and older than his given 66 years," said an analyst. "The probability is that his iron grip on the country has gone."

[Shammu]

The Coming Middle East Missile War

iskander.jpg
Russia's plan for the new Iskander theater ballistic missile doesn't stop with their proposed Kaliningrad deployment. Aviation Week reports that once domestic requirements are met, Russia may export the weapon to Syria, India, and the UAE -- to start. Algeria, Belarus, Kuwait, and Vietnam have also expressed interest in the SCUD replacement, though Russia claims to be working on an "Echo" variant of the rocket for export that reduces the Iskander's range from 400km to appx. 280km.

Russia's export of its latest and hottest weapon system isn't exactly news -- they've been supplying the world with military hardware for decades. What is interesting is the potential for another East v. West technological showdown in the Israeli-Syria theater. Israel is currently deploying a robust rocket and missile shield that is designed to knock out everything from short range Hezbollah rocket attacks all the way up to an Iranian Shahab-III ballistic missile laydown. That shield will include top-of-the-line American missile defense systems such as the Patriot PAC-3, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), and a highly-sensitive new x-band radar, as well as Israeli weapon systems like David's Sling and Iron Dome.

As with the Six Day War, the October War, and the invasion/occupation of southern Lebanon, Israeli and Syria may once again test the mettle of US vs. Russian weapon platforms in the near future. Considering the frightening power of ballistic missiles one would hope that America's defense technology again proves superior.

If nothing else, Ivan's callous proliferation of these heavy shooters should be enough to cast doubt on any existing plan to cut missile defense from the budget.

The Coming Middle East Missile War

[Shammu]

Future is nuclear war and famine

By Jim Mannion in Washington | November 21, 2008
Article from:  Agence France-Presse

THE use of nuclear weapons will grow increasingly likely by 2025, US intelligence warned in a report on global trends that forecasts a tense, unstable world shadowed by war.

"The world of the near future will be subject to an increased likelihood of conflict over scarce resources, including food and water, and will be haunted by the persistence of rogue states and terrorist groups with greater access to nuclear weapons," said the report.

"Widening gaps in birth rates and wealth-to-poverty ratios, and the uneven impact of climate change, could further exacerbate tensions."

Called Global Trends 2025 - a Transformed World, the 121-page report was produced by the National Intelligence Council, a body of analysts from across the US intelligence community.

Officials said it was being briefed to the incoming administration of president-elect Barack Obama. A year in the making, the report does not take into account the recent global financial crisis.

"In one sense, a bad sense, the pace of change that we are looking at in 2025 occurred more rapidly than we had anticipated," said Thomas Fingar, deputy director of National Intelligence.

One overarching conclusion of the report is that "the unipolar world is over, (or) certainly will be by 2025," Mr Fingar said.

But with the "rise of the rest," managing crises and avoiding conflicts will be more difficult, particularly with an antiquated post-World War II international system.

"The potential for conflict will be different then and in some ways greater than it has been for a very long time," Mr Fingar said.

The report has good news for some countries:

- A technology to replace oil may be underway or in place by 2025;

- Multiple financial centres will serve as ``shock absorbers'' of the world financial system;

- India, China and Brazil will rise, the Korean peninsula will be unified in some form, and new powers are likely to emerge from the Muslim non-Arab world.

Risk of nuclear war

But the report also says some African and South Asian states may wither away altogether, organised crime could take over at least one state in central Europe; and the spread of nuclear weapons will heighten the risk they will be used.

"The likelihood that nuclear weapons will be used will increase with expanded access to technology and a widening range of options for limited strikes," it said.

The report highlighted the risk of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East where a number of countries are thinking about developing or acquiring technologies that would be useful to make nuclear weapons.

"Over the next 15-20 years, reactions to the decisions Iran makes about its nuclear program could cause a number of regional states to intensify these efforts and consider actively pursuing nuclear weapons," the report said.

"This will add a new and more dangerous dimension to what is likely to be increasing competition for influence within the region," it said.

The report said it was not certain that the kind of deterrent relationships that existed for most of the Cold War would emerge in a nuclear armed Middle East. Instead, the possession of nuclear weapons may be perceived as "making it safe" to engage in low intensity conflicts, terrorism or even larger conventional attacks, the report said.

The report said terrorism would likely be a factor in 2025 but suggested that al-Qaeda's "terrorist wave" might be breaking up.

"Al-Qaeda's weaknesses - unachievable strategic objectives, inability to attract broad-based support and self-destructive actions - might cause it to decay sooner than many people think," it said.

"Because history suggests that the global Islamic terrorist movement will outlast al-Qaeda as a group, strategic counterterrorism efforts will need to focus on how and why a successor terrorist group might evolve during the remaining years of the 'Islamic terrorist wave'."

The report was vague about the outcome of current conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and nuclear armed Pakistan.

In 2025, the government in Baghdad could still be "an object of competition" among various factions seeking foreign aid or pride of place.

Afghanistan "may still evince significant patterns of tribal competition and conflict".

"The future of Pakistan is a wildcard in considering the trajectory of neighbouring Afghanistan," it said.

Future is nuclear war and famine

[Shammu]

Pakistan: We're ready for war with India
Pakistan warned it is ready for war with India if it is attacked following the strike by the Mumbai terrorists.

Last Updated: 12:13PM GMT 09 Dec 2008

The remarks by Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who also insisted he would not hand over any suspects in the Mumbai attacks, come amid mounting tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

India has said it is keeping all options open following last month's carnage by the Mumbai terrorists, who killed more than 170 people.

"We do not want to impose war, but we are fully prepared in case war is imposed on us," said Mr Qureshi.

"We are not oblivious to our responsibilities to defend our homeland. But it is our desire that there should be no war."

Indian officials say the hardline Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group, which is based in Pakistan despite being banned by the government, is behind the bloodshed, and Indian media have suggested there could be Indian strikes on militant camps.

Mr Qureshi said he was sending "a very clear message" that his country did not want conflict with India.

"We want friendship, we want peace and we want stability - but our desire for peace should not be considered Pakistan's weakness."

The minister also said that India's demands for the extradition of suspects in the Mumbai attacks were out of the question and that Pakistan, which has arrested 16 people since Saturday, would keep them on home soil.

"The arrests are being made for our own investigations. Even if allegations are proved against any suspect, he will not be handed over to India," Qureshi said. "We will proceed against those arrested under Pakistani laws."

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain and nearly came to a fourth in 2001 after an attack on the Indian parliament that was blamed on LeT.

Under international pressure to act, Pakistan raided a camp run by a charity, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, that many believe has close links to LeT, and arrested 15 people.

The authorities are questioning Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, who was among those arrested at the weekend.

Pakistan: We're ready for war with India

[Shammu]

School closure saves lives of pupils
Dec. 31, 2008
Abe Selig
THE JERUSALEM POST

Beersheba experienced its second day on the front lines Wednesday as Hamas stepped up Grad-type rocket attacks, striking an open area and a high school - the second educational institution in the city to be hit since rockets began falling there Tuesday night.

A day earlier, a kindergarten was hit.

Fortunately, both schools were closed due to the security situation, and no one was hurt.

It had been unclear late Tuesday if children were to return to their classrooms on Wednesday in the south's largest city. But a final decision came at 4 a.m.,when Mayor Rubik Danilovitz met with officials from the Home Front Command and other security services.

They decided to keep the schools closed as the situation in Gaza was likely to continue for days.

If proved to be a prescient decision: hours later, the first Grad of the morning slammed into the Comprehensive Alef high school near the city center.

The rocket pierced through the ceiling of a classroom around 9:30 a.m. - where ninth graders would have been sitting had school been open.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to imagine what would have happened here if school had not been canceled today," National Parents Organization head Yitzhak Maimon said as he toured the classroom. "The mayor and the Home Front Command made the right decision, and it's going to stay this way for the foreseeable future."

There were no injuries in the city, but a number of people were treated for shock. The damage could be seen from outside the building, as concrete on the second floor crumpled from the hit, and rocks and other debris were scattered on the ground.

Inside, rubble covered the hallway, and a pupil's painting - two sharks swimming carefree in the ocean - lay on the floor, covered by concrete and dust. The classroom itself had a hole through the roof, and a desk, directly beneath the rocket's entry point, had been hit dead-on.

The explosion created another hole in the wall, and ceiling tiles were thrown in every direction. Ball bearings and bolts, which terrorists often pack into the rockets to increase their deadliness, had sprayed throughout the classroom, leaving holes in the walls.

Parents and security personnel gawked at the damage, saying quiet thank you's that no one had been in the room at the time of the strike.

Across town at the kindergarten hit on Tuesday evening - the first strike in the city - the damage was just as haunting. While that rocket struck long after the children had gone home, it landed in the playground, spraying the same type of ball bearings as far as a block away.

The marks and holes from the shrapnel could be seen from the playground back into the building, as workers struggled to piece back together the ceiling tiles, some of which had been blasted 20 meters away from the building.

At a nearby home, Raisa Zaberoff, a 70-year-old immigrant from the former Soviet Union, struggled to put the blinds back up in her bedroom. Her backyard, which faces the kindergarten, was also sprayed with shrapnel, leaving scars on the fence posts and windowsills of her home, and shattering the windows.

"Look here," she said in broken Hebrew, pointing at the ceiling in her kitchen. "Somehow the shrapnel got all the way into here."

She gestured toward holes in her ceiling.

"But my neighbors across the street said even their windows were broken," Zaberoff continued. "I just keep thanking God that I was at my daughter's house when it happened, and that the kids had already gone home from school."

Zaberoff said she heard a few of the sirens that sounded on Wednesday - five were reported in all. She knew that parts of the city had no siren system, and in others that did, it simply wasn't working.

Other residents complained of similar problems.

"I didn't hear the siren, but I sure heard that boom," said a young woman who had ventured out to walk her dog. "What's going on? Why can't they fix the siren?"

By early afternoon, the Home Front Command had begun tackling the problem, telling reporters in front of City Hall that all of the sirens had been fixed.

"There was a brief hiccup with the siren system this morning, but we've fixed it and residents will be able to hear their sirens if they go off," Deputy OC Home Front Command Brig. Gen. Avraham Ben-David told The Jerusalem Post.

"However, some parts of the city are not equipped with sirens at all, but they will be within the next 48 hours," he said.

"However, for residents in those areas, and they know who they are, I cannot stress how important it is that they keep a radio on and keep an eye on their TV, because, for example, Radio Darom is working with the Home Front Command to broadcast the siren every time it sounds," he said.

Still, the possible lack of a working siren scared many people into staying home for the day.

"I'm staying in until this blows over," Miri Shalom said as she stood in front of her apartment building in the Alef neighborhood. "Siren or no siren, I'll only go out for a few minutes here and there."

Pausing to catch her breath, Shalom expressed a sentiment felt by many residents.

"I can't believe rockets are hitting Beersheba," she said. "No one believed that they could, but here they are, they're really coming down."

School closure saves lives of pupils

[Shammu]

IAF hits mosque storing rockets
Dec. 30, 2008
Yaakov Katz
THE JERUSALEM POST

As Hamas continued to bombard the South with dozens of rockets on Wednesday, senior defense officials said a ground operation was "days away."

The air force struck Wednesday at more than 25 targets throughout the Strip, including a Gaza City mosque that the army said was being used to hide Kassam rockets. The IAF reported several secondary explosions following the strike.

A number of Hamas outposts and command posts were also destroyed, as well as a tunnel in Khan Younis that was used to covertly move weapons throughout southern Gaza.

Since Operation Cast Lead began on Saturday, fighter jets have carried out some 500 sorties against Hamas targets, the IDF said, adding that attack helicopters had also flown hundreds of combat missions. According to the IDF, at least 95 percent of the targets were hit.

Also on Wednesday, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Yuval Diskin told the cabinet that Hamas had turned some mosques into command and control centers, assuming that Israel would not bomb them. He also said Hamas has stockpiled weapons in mosques.

After the security cabinet on Wednesday rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour suspension of the fighting, defense officials said the IDF was ordered to complete preparations for a ground operation, the second stage of Operation Cast Lead.

"The ground operation will come as a surprise," an official explained. "Hamas fighters are currently waiting in their positions for us to come, but they will be shocked and surprised when it happens."

The incursion, the official said, would not be designed to retake the Gaza Strip.

"It is not in our interest to conquer all of Gaza since then we don't know how we will get back out," the official said. "Instead what we are talking about is a surgical operation that will have the effect of changing Hamas's attitude and making the group understand that it is against its interest to fire rockets into Israel."

As the rocket fire intensified on Wednesday, when more than 60 rockets hit the South, Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided to expand the "special security situation," that he had previously declared, to all communities within 40 km. of the Gaza Strip, up from 30 km.

The declaration grants the Home Front Command the authority to close factories, cancel conferences and events, and conduct other civilian activities. It also enables the security establishment to play an active role in municipal affairs alongside the local authorities.

Soldiers from Battalion 51 of the Golani Brigade, stationed along the Gaza border, said Wednesday that they were itching to invade and that all of the necessary preparations had been made.

"We all know what we are supposed to do and what our targets will be," said one commander. "All we need is the green light from the political echelon."

IAF hits mosque storing rockets
~~~~~~~~~~~

If Hamas is stupid enough to store missiles in a mosque they should be hit!! And by the looks of it, Hamas is stupid. They have been sending missiles and mortars into Israel, it's about time Israel struck back.

All's fair in love and war, especially when Hamas started this battle.

[Shammu]

Gerogia Moves Tanks Closer To S. Ossetia
by Staff


Georgian officials have confirmed moving tanks and armored vehicles near the border of the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

"We brought Cobra vehicles to border villages, including Nikozi, two weeks ago," said Shota Utiashvili, a spokesman for Georgia's Interior Ministry.

The Cobra armored vehicles and at least 28 tanks have been positioned closer to South Ossetia to patrol and control the area, Utiashvili said.

The European Monitoring Mission has expressed concern about the deployment, RIA Novosti reported Monday.

While South Ossetia, and nearby Abkhazia, internationally are recognized as part of Georgia, Russia officially recognized the two regions as independent of Georgia after clashes between Russian and Georgian forces in August, which left Russian forces deep in Georgian territory.

Gerogia Moves Tanks Closer To S. Ossetia
~~~~~~~~~~

What I've heard on the news,  Russia has slowly but surely during this time been moving more and more troops back into Ossetia. And while the world is watching Israel.............. Russia decides it's time to move things along slowly, while the world watches....................

[nChrist]

What I've heard on the news,  Russia has slowly but surely during this time been moving more and more troops back into Ossetia. And while the world is watching Israel.............. Russia decides it's time to move things along slowly, while the world watches....................

Things are really moving forward pretty quickly to what GOD has already Promised will happen. The Prophecy is MASSIVE, so this many things coming together in such a short time frame are SUPERNATURAL! There is no way that so many events can be coincidence - JUST LIKE the foretold birth, life, and death of JESUS CHRIST couldn't possibly be coincidence. The Old Testament Prophets gave DETAILS, and all of the DETAILS were RIGHT. Those DETAILS could have ONLY Come from GOD HIMSELF. THE SAME IS GOING TO BE TRUE WITH THE TRIBULATION PERIOD!

I would think that especially Christians could take a hint and see more than just MAN working. YES, I think the time is growing short. WE WILL SEE MUCH MORE, AND A FALSE PEACE WILL BE MADE! Christians might not even be here to see these things unfold, BUT THEY WILL UNFOLD AT GOD'S APPOINTED TIME! It's more than possible that Christians will be RAPTURED HOME TO GLORY before then.

Have you ever wondered about some of the things that might happen after Christians are suddenly removed from this earth? I have, and I especially wonder how many will pick up the Holy Bible with renewed interest after we're gone. The RAPTURE will definitely happen, but we don't know when and in what sequence of events. My personal opinion involves the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD living in our hearts and Christians being part of the "GREAT RESTRAINER" THAT WILL BE REMOVED to allow the devil FREE REIGN OVER THE EARTH. YES, THIS WILL HAPPEN, regardless of whether Christians are part of the "GREAT RESTRAINER" or not. I personally believe that we are because of Bible Teachings about the SPIRIT BEING ONE!

We live in fascinating times that are going downhill quickly. I only use the word "fascinating" because of the amazing details of the Holy Bible and ABSOLUTE KNOWLEDGE that all of the Promises of GOD are going to be fulfilled perfectly. WHEN? - SOON - GOD'S APPOINTED TIME!

Love In Christ,
Tom

Ezekiel 7:1-9 NASB  Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me saying,  2  "And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel, 'An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land.  3  'Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you.  4  'For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will know that I am the LORD!'  5  "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'A disaster, unique disaster, behold it is coming!  6  'An end is coming; the end has come! It has awakened against you; behold, it has come!  7  'Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come, the day is near--tumult rather than joyful shouting on the mountains.  8  'Now I will shortly pour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you; judge you according to your ways and bring on you all your abominations.  9  'My eye will show no pity nor will I spare. I will repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the LORD, do the smiting.

[Shammu]

Things are really moving forward pretty quickly to what GOD has already Promised will happen. The Prophecy is MASSIVE, so this many things coming together in such a short time frame are SUPERNATURAL! There is no way that so many events can be coincidence - JUST LIKE the foretold birth, life, and death of JESUS CHRIST couldn't possibly be coincidence. The Old Testament Prophets gave DETAILS, and all of the DETAILS were RIGHT. Those DETAILS could have ONLY Come from GOD HIMSELF. THE SAME IS GOING TO BE TRUE WITH THE TRIBULATION PERIOD!

I would think that especially Christians could take a hint and see more than just MAN working. YES, I think the time is growing short. WE WILL SEE MUCH MORE, AND A FALSE PEACE WILL BE MADE! Christians might not even be here to see these things unfold, BUT THEY WILL UNFOLD AT GOD'S APPOINTED TIME! It's more than possible that Christians will be RAPTURED HOME TO GLORY before then.

Have you ever wondered about some of the things that might happen after Christians are suddenly removed from this earth? I have, and I especially wonder how many will pick up the Holy Bible with renewed interest after we're gone. The RAPTURE will definitely happen, but we don't know when and in what sequence of events. My personal opinion involves the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD living in our hearts and Christians being part of the "GREAT RESTRAINER" THAT WILL BE REMOVED to allow the devil FREE REIGN OVER THE EARTH. YES, THIS WILL HAPPEN, regardless of whether Christians are part of the "GREAT RESTRAINER" or not. I personally believe that we are because of Bible Teachings about the SPIRIT BEING ONE!

We live in fascinating times that are going downhill quickly. I only use the word "fascinating" because of the amazing details of the Holy Bible and ABSOLUTE KNOWLEDGE that all of the Promises of GOD are going to be fulfilled perfectly. WHEN? - SOON - GOD'S APPOINTED TIME!

AMEN!!

[Shammu]

Nasrallah says Hizbullah ready to fight Israel

'Lebanon war was just a walk in the park compared to what we have in store for you,' Hizbullah leader says in speech Wednesday. Nasrallah also slams Mubarak for refusing to open Rafah crossing

Roee Nahmias
01.07.09
Israel News

Hizbullah is prepared for any Israeli aggression, the organization's chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech Wednesday.

"For several weeks now, even before the aggression (in Gaza) began, and also later, we have been hearing threats. One says they'll destroy us within days, others say that within hours… and I say: We are not afraid of your planes or your threats we and are ready for any scenario.

"If they come to our houses, our villages and our neighborhoods, the Zionists will find out that their war in July (the Second Lebanon War) was a walk in the park compared to what we have in store for them now."

During his address Nasrallah mocked Israeli calls for toppling Hamas: "I say to Olmert, the failed leader who was defeated in Lebanon – you can never beat Hamas and Hizbullah."

In recent days concerns have been mounting in Lebanon in light of the escalation in Gaza. UNIFIL and the Lebanese army have boosted their presence in southern Lebanon, and Hizbullah is said to have raised alertness among its ranks to the maximum.

Nasrallah also slammed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday for refusing to open the Rafah border crossing. "Yesterday (Tuesday) a senior Egyptian official asked the Security Council if it needed to see more than 650 Palestinians killed and 2,500 injured in order to act responsibly.

 
"And I ask that same official – does the Egyptian government need more than that in order to open the Rafah crossing for the sake of Gaza's inhabitants and their firm resistance and triumph? All you are required to do is open the crossing, not to declare war," he added.

Nasrallah says Hizbullah ready to fight Israel