Security Concerns Surround Syrian Chemical Arsenal
The security of Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons could be at risk as President Bashar Assad continues a violent crackdown on protests against his government, the Washington Post reported last week (see GSN, Aug. 25).
Syria is believed to hold tons of various chemical warfare materials, notably the nerve agent sarin, that could be carried by Scud missiles and other delivery systems. The lethal stockpile, dating to the 1970s, apparently is intended to counter nuclear-armed Israel.
The United States and Israel are monitoring Syria's stocks of unconventional weapons materials and delivery systems, the Wall Street Journal reported on August 27. The concern is that extremists might exploit the unrest to acquire the materials (Jay Solomon, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 27).
Also today, we have more on the story of the growing alliance between anti-Israeli governments, Turkey and Egypt:
Turkey set to sign military pact with Egypt
Erdogan decided on Tuesday to reap the political profit from his stand against Israel, and announced to reporters that Turkey is suspending military and commercial relations with it. Additional sanctions, he suggested, could be implemented, and Turkish warships will be seen "more frequently" in Mediterranean waters.
Below, we see the most recent update by Joel Rosenberg regarding the Middle East:
Likelihood of an "all out war" growing
More than ever, Israel needs leaders like the “sons of Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” (I Chronicles 12:32, NIV) Israel also needs faithful friends who will show unconditional love and unwavering support for the Jewish people, while also showing love and compassion towards the Palestinians. These are increasingly difficult times for Israel, and Christians around the world need to be even more faithful in prayer for peace and more determined to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus
Evidence of a gathering storm continues to mount in the epicenter. Consider the latest:
This article then provides a list of different situations in the Middle East today that point to war - highlights below:
- “Recent revolutions in the Arab world and the deteriorating ties with Turkey are raising the likelihood of a regional war in the Middle East
- ‘This leads us to the conclusion that through a long-term process, the likelihood of an all-out war is increasingly growing,’ the IDF general said. ‘Iran has not abandoned its nuclear program. The opposite it true; it continues full steam ahead,’ he said. ‘In Egypt, the army is collapsing under the burden of regular security operations, and this is reflected in the loss of control in the Sinai and the turning of the border with Israel into a terror border, with the possibility that Sinai will fall under the control of an Islamic entity.’”
- “Referring to what he characterized as the possibility of a ‘radical Islamic winter,’ Major-General Eisenberg said: ‘This raises the likelihood of an all-out, total war, with the possibility of weapons of mass destruction being used.’”
- Meanwhile, evidence continues to mount that Iran is working on nuclear weapons.
Also see:
Turkey set to sign military pact with Egypt
A military and economic alliance with Egypt is set to be signed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The deal should be clinched when Erdogan visits Cairo next Monday - the first such visit paid by a Turkish prime minister in 15 years.
Turning to Europe:
UBS: Euro Collapse Could Lead To Martial Law
In a similar vein to how Hank Paulson threatened martial law on the streets of America if the bailout failed to pass, top banks like UBS are now warning of “authoritarian or military government” and “civil war” in a bid to frighten away member states from leaving the euro.
It’s a transparent ploy designed to create the pretext for empowering the EU to enforce a common economic policy across all member states, something that British Prime Minister David Cameron is now openly backing.
In a UBS Investment Research release, the Swiss bank warns that should member states begin to desert the euro, precipitating a collapse of the single currency, “some form of authoritarian or military government, or civil war,” would likely ensue.
Billionaire investor George Soros has now joined the chorus, warning that the “crisis has the potential to be a lot worse than Lehman Brothers,” unless the European Union is handed more power to create a central economic authority.
There would be no mass panic, no civil unrest and no need for martial law, but the banking establishment has to make it appear that way in order to preserve the euro and keep the continent on track for a future amalgamation into a 4th Reich-style federal superstate, which was the agenda from the very beginning.
Why Eurozone should become United States of Europe, by David Cameron
David Cameron was branded an EU ‘enthusiast’ by Tory Eurosceptics last night as he said Britain must let eurozone countries move towards a United States of Europe with a common economic policy.
The Prime Minister admitted he was not sure whether Germany and other countries had the political will to prevent a break-up of the single currency, but insisted they must be allowed to try – even if that meant closer integration.
Mr Cameron, appearing before the liaison committee of senior MPs, suggested that opportunity might come further in the future if a new treaty is deemed necessary.
Fears of eurozone contagion spread
The eurozone’s attempts to defend itself against the spread of contagion are showing signs of failure on almost every front, putting a global financial crisis originating in Europe back on the table.
“Our new baseline outlook includes widespread bank and financial institution failures in Euroland,” Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, said in a note.
“We fear a global economic depression — less severe in North America — originating in Euroland’s sovereign debt crisis and banking sector fragility,” he said.
This “is not just a financial crisis,” Federico Ghizzoni, the head UniCredit, Italy’s largest bank, said in Frankfurt Tuesday. “For the first time, the European system is really at stake.”
In the world:
Remember that famine is one of the "signs" of this age?
Brace Yourself For 'Food Scarcity'
This is a fascinating article which reveals modern-day farming and how precarious it has become:
But of the nearly 7 billion people on Earth, an estimated 850 million are undernourished or chronically hungry. With global food production hurting and prices rising, this number is swiftly climbing.
In Matthew 24, Jesus Christ told His disciples what would precede His Second Coming and the end of this present world. Among the signs Jesus told us to watch for, He warned: “and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” (verse 7).
“We’re descending into a food crisis that’ll ravage the world as we know it,” Cooper says. “Food prices will not come down. We should prepare ourselves now to see food shortages.” It’s one thing to have to pay more for food, assuming you have the money. But what if the food isn’t even there?
The combination of global population and food demand is rising about 2 percent a year. Meanwhile, food production is rising at only about half that rate.
You can add to this fundamental reality a myriad of other pressures on the food supply: more adverse weather events—droughts, floods, and other disasters—that reduce crop yields or wipe out harvests; vanishing marine life, including ocean fish catches—the top source of protein for Asians—because of over-fishing, pollution and other causes; government enactments like farm subsidies, food price controls, taxes, regulations, restrictions and so on.
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