Inside the White House
Netanyahu’s claim to Judea and Samaria - Israel breaks 50-year record for most rainfall
Eye to Eye: Trump’s “peace envoy” in Israel as Puerto Rico impacted by most damaging earthquake in over a century.
President Trump’s gamechanger and more sanctions
Iran tensions
Security beefed up amid Iran’s $80 million Trump bounty
‘Almost inconceivable’ for attacks on US bases to be the end of Iranian retaliation, expert says
After The Missile Attack, Is Iran Done With Its Retaliation?
US journalist mourn death of Iranian terrorist
Trump wants NATO to be more involved in the Middle East. That may take some convincing.
Evaluating the State of Iranian Terrorism Capabilities
February 11, Iran’s Revolution Day, marks estimated revenge timeline for Soleimani’s death
Khamenei Wants to Put Iran’s Stamp on Reprisal for U.S. Killing of Top General
Iran Raises Red Flag Over ‘Messianic Mosque’ Declaring ‘End-of-Days’ War’ for First Time Ever
February 11, Iran’s Revolution Day, marks estimated revenge timeline for Soleimani’s death
Insight
The right strategy for Iran isn’t regime change. It’s regime collapse
Operating in the Gray Zone: Countering Iran's asymmetric way of war
Iran considers 13 scenarios to inflict ‘’Historic Nightmare’’ on the U.S.
Pacific Commander: Sub-hunting spy plane missions continue in Pacific
US imposes visa bans on International Criminal Court investigators - Pompeo
Pompeo champions the faithful
Connecting the Dots
Apostasy in the Church: Church is a Drag
Islam on the crucifixion and return of Jesus
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Thoughts, Prayers, and Inspiration
By Claudia Koenig
For Claudia’s website, click here: http://soulsaviour.org
For 'Thoughts, Prayers, and Inspiration' click here http://www.soulsaviour.org/salvation-stories/
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Inside the White House by Bill Koenig
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, Isaiah 62:6, KJV
But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. Ezekiel 33:6, KJV
Netanyahu’s claim to Judea and Samaria - Israel breaks 50-year record for most rainfall
Over the years there has been a direct land connection to either record rains or extreme drought in Israel. When Israel’s leaders participate in peace talks, there are extended periods of drought (sometimes with fires) and when the leaders acknowledge Israel’s right to their covenant land, abundant, record-setting rain follows.
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After Likud win, Netanyahu vows to ‘finalize borders,’ get US to back annexation – December 27, 2019
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-thanks-trump-vows-us-recognition-of-israeli-sovereignty-in-west-bank/
In a victory speech on Friday morning, Dec. 27, 2019, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed his “final and sweeping” win in the Likud primary on Thursday, thanking US President Donald Trump and vowing to bring US recognition of Israeli sovereignty in West Bank settlements — a move tantamount to annexation.
“First, we will finalize our borders; second, we will push the US to recognize our sovereignty in the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea; third, we will push for US recognition of our extension of sovereignty over all the communities in Judea and Samaria, all of them without exception; fourth, we will push for a historic defense alliance with the US that will preserve Israeli freedom of action; fifth, stop Iran and its allies decisively; and sixth, push for normalization and agreements that will lead to peace accords with Arab countries,” Netanyahu said.
“The opportunities are within reach,” he added.
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Netanyahu: I won’t let settlements be uprooted in any diplomatic plan – Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020 - Jerusalem Post
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Israel breaks 50-year record for most rainfall – Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020- Jerusalem Post
The heavy rains that have swept the nation over the last two weeks are expected to continue through Friday, according to meteorologist reports.
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Eye to Eye: Trump’s “peace envoy” in Israel as Puerto Rico impacted by most damaging earthquake in over a century.
We are thankful that President Trump has gone much further than any previous U.S. president in his bold public support of Israel in the following ways:
-He moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem
-He signed a resolution acknowledging Israel's right to the Golan Heights.
-He stated that Israel's settlements are not illegal.
-He refused to commit to a Palestinian state.
-He eliminated Iran's General Soleimani.
-He withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.
However, at the time of the Trump administration’s “deal of the century” peace talks and meetings, five recording-setting hurricanes hit the United States or the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Those storms — Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence and Michael — had their names retired because of their catastrophic impacts.
On Monday and Tuesday, Trump’s envoy to Israel, Berkowitz, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White Party. At the time of the meetings, Puerto Rico had a 6.4 earthquake off its coast, producing the most damaging earthquake in over a century. On Thursday, two-thirds of the island was still without power.
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Berkowitz meets Netanyahu over potential Trump peace plan rollout; to meet with Gantz – Monday and Tuesday - Jerusalem Post
US Special Envoy Avi Berkowitz is in Jerusalem discussing the possible release of the Trump Administration's peace plan prior to the Israeli election in March.
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This morning’s 6.4 earthquake off the southern coast of Puerto Rico is likely the island's most damaging earthquake in over a century. - Tuesday - CNN
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Puerto Rico earthquake: Roughly two-thirds of island without power amid dozens of aftershocks – Wednesday - CNN
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Most Puerto Ricans still without power, many sleeping outdoors after quakes - Thursday - Reuters
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Trump’s peace plan is on the way: Is Israel ready? – analysis
January 7, 2020
Source: Jerusalem Post
With 10 months to the presidential election in the US, President Donald Trump's administration is considering presenting its peace plan in the coming weeks, even ahead of the March 2 Knesset election.
The Trump administration’s reasoning is clear. If there’s an Israeli election in March, there probably won’t be a government until May, bringing them very close to the presidential election. It’s not likely that Trump will actually be able to bring about the “Deal of the Century,” as he called peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and he would want to present himself in as positive a light as possible so close to his reelection bid. In addition, he will want to focus on his campaign and not put any more challenges in his path.
So while the White House held back on releasing the deal for the first two election seasons in Israel, waiting for a third to end may be too much to ask. Deputy Assistant tothe President Avi Berkowitz was in Israel this week and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to talk about pushing the plan.
Still, Berkowitz and Trump’s Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, the plan’s top proponents, are very closely coordinated with Netanyahu and with Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer. It also seems clear that Trump would like Netanyahu to remain prime minister, going so far as to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan shortly before the first election in 2019 – even if the president has been keeping his distance lately after two losses for Netanyahu.
As such, any rollout will probably be coordinated with Netanyahu for maximum benefit – or at least minimum fallout – from the pre-election timing.
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President Trump’s gamechanger with Iran
President Trump’s decision to take out the world’s number one terrorist General Soleimani is a gamechanger. Soleimani was the mastermind of the entire Iranian caliphate strategy in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. He had US troop’s blood on his hands from numerous attacks. He was evil!
He was very close to Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei who was visibly shaken during this past week’s funeral activities. Khamenei went to Soleimani’s home to console his family the day after his killing in Iraq.
Soleimani was a tactical genius that traveled the Middle East with freedom. A U.S. General mentioned arriving in Erbil to meet with the Kurds. Soleimani’s jet was parked on the tarmac at the Erbil airport next to his.
When the sanctions were lifted due to the Iran nuclear deal in 2015 Soleimani traveled to Moscow the next day to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. An article below states Soleimani asked Russia to intervene in the Syria war.
To watch the Democrats and Washington, D.C. think tanks condemn Trump’s decision is the same mindset that has allowed these terrorists and their terror proxies unimpeded consequences for their actions over the years.
Once again, President Trump did what he had to do to rid the Middle East of a major threat to the region. Soleimani’s elimination is more significant than the killing of Osama bin Laden and Abu Baker al-Baghdadi.
In response, Iran fired 15 missiles at US bases. The trajectory of the weapons seemed to be an attack across the bow but not a precise hit. Fortunately, there was no loss of life, which would have very likely caused President Trump to respond.
Persians are very smart people. The Iranian leaders are three-dimensional chess players. They have a plan, strategic and patient to implement. Soleimani’s killing obviously disrupted their plans but it won’t stop them.
As mentioned this week in Washington (article below), the U.S. is not after a regime change but a regime collapse. President Trump has also stated as long as he is president Iran will not be allowed to be a nuclear power. Today, Secretary of State Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasure Mnuchin added additional economic and diplomatic sanctions. How will Iran respond? The articles below speak of possibilities and offer insight.
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Trump administration hits Iran with economic, diplomatic sanctions after missile attack -
The Trump administration on Friday announced additional sanctions on the Iranian regime, days after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq -- as part of an ongoing effort to choke Iran’s economy and end their “destructive foreign policy.”
“The goal of our campaign is to deny the regime the resources to conduct its destructive foreign policy,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, announcing the sanctions alongside Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, told reporters in the White House. “We want Iran to simply behave like a normal nation and we believe the sanctions that we impose today further that strategic objective.
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Iran tensions
Ronald Kessler: Security Beefs Up Amid $80 million Trump Bounty -
Source: Newsmax
Amid the $80 million bounty Iran has put on President Donald Trump, Mar-a-Lago has beefed up security, adding as many as four checkpoints, Ronald Kessler wrote in an exclusive for the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
"The Secret Service has substantially toughened security at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort after three potentially harmful intrusions and now as Iran has put out an $80 million hit on the president," Kessler wrote Monday.
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‘Almost inconceivable’ for attacks on US bases to be the end of Iranian retaliation, expert says After The Missile Attack, Is Iran Done With Its Retaliation?
By Golnaz Esfandiari / January 08, 2020 16:12 GMT
Source: Radio Free Europe
Iran's direct retaliation for the January 3 U.S. assassination of Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani raises the stakes in the escalating conflict between Tehran and Washington but puts the ball back in the Unites States' court, analysts say.
Raz Zimmt, an Iran analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, told RFE/RL that Iran was making a distinction between immediate revenge for Soleimani's assassination -- namely its missile attack -- and more important long- term strategic revenge, which is the removal of the United States from the region.
"Therefore, unless the U.S. retaliates to the Iranian attack, the Iranians, in my opinion, will prefer to execute a 'road map' or a working plan, ultimately aimed at ending the U.S. presence in Iraq, over continuing to hit American targets, which could further escalate the situation and even lead to a military confrontation which doesn't serve Iranian interests," he said.
Zimmt said Iran's plan could include "both military actions, especially through the use of proxies, and political pressure on Iraqi political factions and government to encourage a U.S. withdrawal."
For full article: Radio Free Europe
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‘Almost inconceivable’ for attacks on US bases to be the end of Iranian retaliation, expert says
January 8, 2020
Source: CNBC
Jarrett Blanc, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:
Blanc said: “If he [Trump] gloats that, you know, we’ve killed a top Iranian general and all they’ve done is hit the desert, he greatly increases the chances that there will be a further, overt response from Iran and again, increase the chance of a rapid escalation toward a really large scale conflict in the region.”
On the other hand, if Trump doesn’t gloat, the situation could be defused, he said.
“If he manages to keep the gloating to a minimum, it’s possible that the large scale, overt response has been satisfied and we move again into the more covert responses which, while terrible and potentially very damaging, don’t quite pose the same risk of war in the short term.”
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US Journalists Mourn Death of Iranian Terrorist
January 6, 2020
Source: Free Beacon
The U.S. media's peculiar (albeit predictable) response to President Donald Trump's successful assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani continued on Monday during their coverage of the terrorist's funeral in Tehran.
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Trump wants NATO to be more involved in the Middle East. That may take some convincing.
January 9, 2020
Defense News
WASHINGTON — As the American-Iranian crisis shows signs of de-escalation, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to ask NATO allies to step up efforts in the Middle East — at a time the alliance members may be especially reluctant to get involved.
“Today, I am going to ask NATO to become much more involved in the Middle East process,” Trump said in his national address. The president also called for “the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China” to “break away from the remnants of the Iran deal, or JCPOA, and we must all work together toward making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place.”
While it’s unclear what he meant by “Middle East process,” it appears Trump wants NATO to have a greater presence in the region. An alliance spokesperson said Trump had a phone call Wednesday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in which Trump “asked the secretary general for NATO to become more involved in the Middle East."
The two men “agreed that NATO could contribute more to regional stability and the fight against international terrorism,” per the NATO readout of the call. “They also agreed to stay in close contact on the issue.”
For that to happen, analysts agree Trump has his work cut out for him in convincing skeptical allies to invest more in a region that is far from the North Atlantic.
For full article: Defense News
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Ayatollah Khamenei: Iran's retaliation against US only 'a slap'
Jan. 8, 2020
Source: Iran's Press TV
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran’s early Wednesday missile attack on US bases in Iraq following the American assassination of a top general was just “a slap”.
"The talk of revenge and such debates are a different issue. For now, a slap was delivered on their face last night," Ayatollah Khamenei said in remarks broadcast live on national television Wednesday.
"What is important about confrontation is that the military action as such is not sufficient. What is important is that the seditious American presence in the region must end," he said to chants of "Death to America" by an audience in Tehran.
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Evaluating the State of Iranian Terrorism Capabilities
January 7, 2020
Source: Stratfor Intel
- In the wake of the U.S. airstrike that killed the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, the question is not if Iran will retaliate, but when, where and how it will do so.
- Iran's clerical regime has used terrorism over the decades to pursue asymmetric warfare with stronger adversaries via government operatives or proxies.
- While potential Iranian terrorism is a cause for concern, it is no reason to panic. Iran's terrorist operatives can be detected and its attacks thwarted.
Iran's leadership unsurprisingly has issued broad threats of retaliation in response to the Jan. 3 killing of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatening to exact "severe revenge." One of the most influential individuals in Iran, Soleimani was seen as the key to Iran's aggressive military initiatives across the Middle East. There is little doubt that Iran will indeed seek revenge.The real question is when, where and how it will attempt to seek it. But while terrorist attacks by Iranian operatives or proxy groups working at the behest of Iran are a valid cause for concern, they are no reason to panic. Their activities can be detected and defended against through solid intelligence work and careful vigilance.
Stratfor thinks it unlikely the Iranians will launch a direct military attack that sparks a regional war. Tehran carefully watched the U.S. military dismantle the formidable Iraqi military in 1991 and 2003 and the Libyan war machine in 2011, and does not want to risk the same fate. Rather, we believe Iran will continue to employ the same type of asymmetrical tools it has long wielded against the United States and its allies, which could include continued operations by proxy forces in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Yemen; global hacking attacks by Iranian "advanced persistent threats," a term used to describe the most prolific and long-lasting hacker groups; and violent protests. It could also once again attempt to carry out terrorist attacks.
Iran's Recent Struggles
The IRGC's struggles to carry out terrorism abroad were vividly on display in a series of poorly planned and executed attacks in 2011 and 2012, such as the February 2012 sticky bomb attack in New Delhi. They were also on display in attacks that were detected and thwarted, such as a February 2012 bomb plot in Bangkok.
While the 2011 plot to murder the Saudi ambassador in Washington was quite bold, it was also amateurish and ill-conceived. In this way, it resembled the 2009 activities of Mohammad Reza Sadeghnia, an IRGC operative arrested on solicitation of murder charges in California in 2009 who admitted to conducting preoperational surveillance on an Iranian opposition group broadcaster in Los Angeles and a Voice of America employee in London.
For full article: Stratfor Intel
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February 11, Iran’s Revolution Day, marks estimated revenge timeline for Soleimani’s death
January 7, 2020
Source: Debka
Tehran and Washington are on a straight line to collision, DEBKAfile’s military sources report. Tehran is unshakably resolved to avenge the death of its top general Qassem Soleimani, while the Americans are deep in preparations for counteraction. An incident on Monday, Jan. 6 created a misleading impression of US confusion. In a Pentagon letter, Baghdad was notified to expect unusual US helicopter activity over Baghdad’s Green Zone due to the “US-led task force preparing for onward movement.” This was misinterpreted in some European capitals and Baghdad as meaning that US forces were preparing to pull out of Iraq.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper set the record straight: “There has been no decision to leave Iraq Period,” he said. And Chairman of the US chiefs of staff, Gen. MarkMilley, was forced to admit that the letter’s release was “a mistake, an honest mistake, a draft of an unsigned letter, because we are moving forces around.”
On Monday, US Air Force B-52 bombers were transferred to the Indian Ocean island-base at Diego Garcia, ready at short notice to bomb the 52 targets inside Iran cited by President Trump should Iran or any of the Shiite militias across the region go into action against United States.
Iran, for its part, has readied its intermediate-range missiles for launch – although not as yet its long-range ballistic weapons.
According to current estimates by DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources in the West and in Israel, the Iranians are deep in extremely thorough preparations for a military escalation with the US in the second week of February. They are meanwhile conducting exploratory passes prior to landing heavy blows on US bases and other targets at that time.
This time frame is highly significant since on Feb. 11, the Islamic Republic celebrates the anniversary of its Shiite Revolution. An onslaught on the US military would be the most appropriate form of celebration, in the view of its current leaders – especially in Iraq, where the American presence stands in the way of dominating their most coveted territory of influence.
For full article: Debka
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Khamenei Wants to Put Iran’s Stamp on Reprisal for U.S. Killing of Top General
January 6, 2020
Source: MSN
In the tense hours following the American killing of a top Iranian military commander, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made a rare appearance at a meeting of the government’s National Security Council to lay down the parameters for any retaliation. It must be a direct and proportional attack on American interests, he said, openly carried out by Iranian forces themselves, three Iranians familiar with the meeting said Monday.
It was a startling departure for the Iranian leadership. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Tehran had almost always cloaked its attacks behind the actions of proxies it had cultivated around the region. But in the fury generated by the killing of the military commander, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, a close ally and personal friend of the supreme leader, the ayatollah was willing to cast aside those traditional cautions.
A reformist politician, Sadegh Kharazi, said he had not seen crowds this size since the 1989 funeral of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
“We are ready to take a fierce revenge against America,” Gen. Hamid Sarkheili of the Revolutionary Guard, declared to the throng. “American troops in the Persian Gulf and in Iraq and Syria are within our reach.”
“No negotiations or deal, only war with America,” students chanted in an online video from a university campus.
For full article: MSN
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Iran Raises Red Flag Over ‘Messianic Mosque’ Declaring ‘End-of-Days’ War’ for First Time Ever
January 5, 2020
Source: Breaking Israel News
A chilling sight appeared on Sunday as a red flag, symbolizing a call for vengeance, appeared over the Holy Dome Jamkarān Mosque in Qom, Iran. The call has end-of-days significance as the mosque is dedicated to the “Final Imam” the Shiite Muslims believe is the Mahdi, the messianic figure that will appear alongside Isa, the Muslim Jesus, killing all the infidels in order to prepare the world for the ultimate arrival of the Messiah.
The red flag, raised in response to a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani, read: “Those who want to avenge the blood of Husayn.”
In Shia Muslim traditions, flags are a significant part of the mourning rituals. Red flags in Shiite tradition symbolize bloodspilled unjustly and serve as a call to avenge a person who was slain. The flag was hoisted above the important Jamkaran Mosque which is on the outskirts of the holy city of Qom, about 100 miles south of Tehran
Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a senior lecturer in the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University, emphasized that the symbol could not be overestimated.
“The red flag means they are going to sink their enemies in a sea of blood,” Dr. Kedar explained explaining how this relates to ‘Husayn.
“To say that what happened last week is huge is an understatement,” Dr. Kedar said. “You can compare it to the assassination of Osama Bin Laden and Baghdadi together and it still would not come close.”
This call for massive bloodshed was echoed by Esmail Ghaani who took over for Soleimanias the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations arm.
“Be patient, and you will see the bodies of Americans all over the Middle East,” Ghaani said in a statement upon his appointment.
For full article: Breaking Israel News
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Does Soleimani’s Death Matter? Findings From A 2019 Workshop
by Michael Knights
PolicyWatch 3235
January 3, 2020
Last year’s Washington Institute forum on post-Soleimani succession suggested that the IRGC would lose a unique coordinating capability and its most important totem once he left the scene.
Source: Washington Institute
Last April, The Washington Institute held a closed-door roundtable to discuss the potential impact if Qassem Soleimani no longer commanded the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. Governed by the Chatham House rule, participants discussed how succession might work in the Qods Force and what Iran would lose if Soleimani became permanently unavailable, reaching consensus on many key issues. Now that the commander is indeed gone, their conclusions can help policymakers navigate the stormy seas ahead, though some aspects of his importance remain a matter of heated debate.
IRREPLACEABLE PERSONAL CACHET?
Workshop participants agreed that Soleimani had become a very valuable strategic asset to the IRGC-dominated Iranian because of his unique blend of three characteristics:government
- Close to Khamenei. There is no evidence that Soleimani had a close relationship with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei prior to being appointed as head of the Qods Force in 1997-1998. Once he assumed that post, however, Khamenei quickly began to regard him as a paragon of the Islamic Republic’s ideals. Unlike other subordinates, Soleimani was both obedient to the Supreme Leader and highly effective. Khamenei influenced—and was later influenced by—Soleimani’s uncompromising vision of a transnational, armed Shia movement at war with America, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.
- Risk-taker. Soleimani’s death was eminently avoidable, but he accepted a risk by moving too close to major concentrations of U.S. aerial and intelligence assets around Baghdad International Airport, at precisely the moment that U.S. officials had warned via backchannel that they might kill him. Yet his past risk-taking tendencies often advanced the regime’s regional interests. For example, he was the driving force behind the following innovative moves: deploying robust conventional military forces to save the Assad regime in Syria; using Shia legions from outside the region (Afghanistan, Pakistan) for the same purpose; asking Russia to intervene in the Syria war; shipping advanced weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen; and helping Hezbollah with tunnel and precision-strike projects in Lebanon.
- Charismatic and photogenic. In addition to his magnetism as a relationship manager and power player, Soleimani was a media darling seemingly made for the age of online social networks. He was particularly loved by Afghan fighters, whom he supported in his early years; he also built a strong following among Arabs and Pakistanis.
- Committed and consistent. For most of his twenty-year career as Qods Force commander, Soleimani painstakingly nurtured his relationships with senior stakeholders across Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and other theaters of conflict. An Arabic speaker, he commanded respect—and sometimes fear—from local proxies and allies.
KEY ROLES IN THE QODS FORCE
Soleimani came to the Qods Force when it was in the doldrums and turned it into an effective source of power projection in Afghanistan, then Iraq, and finally Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen. In terms of his command style and focus, Soleimani specialized in four key roles:
- Coordination hub. Soleimani was empowered to lead Iran’s whole-of-government approach to regional interventionism, aided by his closeness with Khamenei, his personal dynamism, and his seniority (in date of promotion) over other IRGC commanders. As a result, he had the ability to draw forces from the IRGC and the conventional army (Artesh) into unprecedentedly effective joint operations. He was also Iran’s senior interlocutor with Iraqi, Lebanese, Russian, and Syrian partners.
- Operational firefighter. Soleimani moved between trouble spots efficiently, showing his face and holding key conversations with partners as needed. He operated in both the military and political spheres, visiting battlefronts while just as readily mediating the appointment of Iraqi prime ministers. As noted at the Washington Institute workshop, more than one Iraqi described him as “the last person we asked for help, but the first to arrive and deliver.”
- Visible totem of IRGC power. Participants in the workshop were told that the IRGC’s years-long power projection in the region rested on two pillars: missiles and Soleimani, the face of the Qods Force’s expeditionary capabilities.
- The IRGC’s domestic face. Soleimani was the only officer who could confidently show up at Iranian protest sites where most IRGC leaders were shooed away. His reasonably positive profile seemingly made him “un-booable,” and therefore a valuable bridge between the IRGC and disgruntled rural populations.
Michael Knights is a senior fellow with The Washington Institute.
For full article: Washington Institute
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The right strategy for Iran isn’t regime change. It’s regime collapse.
January 8, 2020
Source: The Washington Post
A targeted killing of a mass murderer is a horrible opportunity to waste. On Jan. 3, a U.S. drone commendably killed the mastermind of Iranian aggression, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and upended Iranian assumptions about declining American power in the Middle East. But this will, by itself, neither restore U.S. deterrence nor roll back Iranian power. Instead, the strike should be the opening salvo in a concerted strategy to bring about regime collapse in Tehran.
Since its birth, the Islamic republic has waged war and spilled blood - of Americans, Iraqis, Syrians, Yemenis, Israelis, Argentine Jews and Iranians, among many others - with virtual impunity. Only the Israelis have consistently retaliated. Iranian weapons in the hands of Iranian-backed groups killed 241 U.S. service members in Beirut in 1983 and more than 600 in Iraq during the 2000s. Yet Iran was never held responsible, which only emboldened its leadership.
After the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, and especially after the 2015 nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), Iran became confident that the United States had neither the means nor the will to challenge it for control of the Middle East. Enriched by the lifting of sanctions and unfreezing of funds, and undeterred by weak U.S. pronouncements, Iran unleashed a campaign for regional hegemony headed by Soleimani. The United States barely responded.
Against this backdrop of U.S. passivity, Iran began a new, bolder series of provocations last summer, culminating in the recent assault on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Unfortunately, President Trump initially displayed the same general reluctance as his predecessors to punish Iran.
For full article:The Washington Post
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Operating in the Gray Zone: Countering Iran's asymmetric way of war
January 2020
Source: The Washington Institute
The targeted killing of IRGC Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani marked the dramatic culmination of several months of U.S. tensionswith Iran. It has raised the urgent question of how Tehran will respond, and stoked fears of a broader conflict. Since 1979, the Islamic Republic has distinguished itself as perhaps the foremost practitioner of “gray zone” activities, and for nearly four decades the United States has struggled to respond effectively to this asymmetric way of war. For this reason, it is more important than ever for Washington to understand Tehran’s strategy and devise its own gray zone strategy to counter it.
In this timely Policy Focus, military analyst Michael Eisenstadt details how the Islamic Republic operates in the gray zone betweenwar and peace to manage escalation, leverages asymmetries to achieve disproportionate effects, and employs its hybrid force structure for maximum impact. The current U.S. approach, he explains, is based on overt action, blunt force, and emphatic messaging, all of which entail a heightened potential for escalation.But an alternative approach—one focused on unacknowledged activities, indirection, subtlety, and discreet messaging—could more effectively deter Iran while reducing the risk of further escalation and broader conflict.
Michael Eisenstadt is the Kahn Fellow and director of the Military and Security Studies Program at The Washington Institute. A former U.S. government military analyst, he served for twenty-six years as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve.
For full article: The Washington Institute
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Iran considers 13 scenarios to inflict ‘’Historic Nightmare’’ on the US
January 7, 2020
Source: Oil Price
Breaking a 5-day silence over its response for the US killing of General Qassem Soleimani, on Tuesday Iran said it was assessing 13 scenariosto inflict a "historic nightmare" on the US. "Even if the weakest of these scenarios gain a consensus, its implementation can be a historic nightmare for the Americans," Ali Shamkhani, the head of Iran's national security council, was cited by Fars news agency, adding that, "For now, for intelligence reasons, we cannot provide more information to the media."
Iranian officials previously said that U.S. forces in the region will be targets, and overnight the Iranian parliament on Tuesday designated the Pentagon and affiliated companies as terrorists.In response, the U.S. issued a warning to shipping in the Middle East over the possibility of Iranian action against U.S. maritime interests, the Associated Press reported, citing a statement.
Soleimani's death has rippled through the Middle East, withthe U.S. and its allies on high alertfor a retaliation attack by Iran.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, said Tuesday that the U.S. would suffer consequences for the killing of Soleimani "at a time and place of Iran's choosing." Zarif added the U.S. must leave the Middle East and warned that if they don't, a new multi-generational war could erupt.
For full article: Oil Price
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Pacific Commander: Sub-hunting spy plane missions continue in Pacific
January 9, 2020
Source: Fox News
The increasingly global reach of Chinese nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines, armed with JL-2 weapons reportedly able to hit parts of the U.S., continues to inspire an ongoing Navy effort to accelerate production of attack submarines, prepare long-dwell drones for deployment to the Pacific and continue acquisition of torpedo-armed sub-hunting planes such as the P-8/A Poseidon.
The Navy has been moving quickly to increase its fleet of Poseidon’s on an accelerated timetable; in the Navy’s 2020 budget, the service was authorized for a near term increase in Poseidon production by three, moving funding for the year up for nine Poseidons, as cited in a report from USNI news. Last year, the Navy awarded Boeing a $2.4 billion deal to produce 19 more P-8A Poseidon surveillance and attack planes. The Poseidon increase appears to align with the service’s overall Pacific theater strategy, which makes a point to sustain peaceful, yet vital surveillance and Freedom of Navigation missions in the region
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U.S. imposes visa bans on International Criminal Court investigators – Pompeo
March 15, 2019
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will withdraw or deny visas to any International Criminal Court personnel investigating possible war crimes by U.S. forcesor allies in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday.
The court, which sits in The Hague, responded that it was an independent and impartial institution and would continue to do its work “undeterred” by Washington’s actions.
The Trump administration threatened in September to ban ICC judges and prosecutors from entering the United States and sanction funds they have there if the court launched a probe of war crimes in Afghanistan.
Washington took the first step on Friday with Pompeo’s announcement.
“I’m announcing a policy of U.S. visa restrictions on those individuals directly responsible for any ICC investigation of U.S. personnel,” Pompeo told a news conference in Washington.
“These visa restrictions may also be used to deter ICC efforts to pursue allied personnel, including Israelis, without allies’ consent.”
Pompeo said the policy was already being implemented but would not elaborate, citing visa privacy laws. “These visa restrictions will not be the end of our efforts,” he said. “We’re prepared to take additional steps, including economic sanctions, if the ICC does not change its course.”
For full article:Reuters
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Pompeo champions the Faithful
December 23, 2019
Source: The Wall St. Journal
Christmas is anything but a season of peace and joy for millions of Christians around the world today. Not since the death of Stalin have Christians in so many places faced the levels of discrimination, violence, imprisonment and even death on account of their religion that they do today.
After more than a century of intermittent genocide, persecution and forced removals, ancient Christian populations in much of the Middle East are on the edge of extinction. Iraq’s Christian population, estimated at 1.4 million as recently as 2003, fell by almost 90% in the chaos that followed the American invasion. Roughly three quarters of Syria’s Christian population, estimated at two million before the current civil war, are refugees.Once a substantial percentage of the Arab Palestinian population, Christians are rapidly disappearing from the Palestinian territories. Egypt still retains a large Christian population, but Copts face pervasive discrimination and, especially in rural areas, violence.
Persecution hangs over beleaguered Christian communities in much of the world. Christians in sub-Saharan Africa face violence from Boko Haram fighters. In Pakistan no Christian is safe from false charges of blasphemy. Hindu mobs in India have attacked churches. In Indonesia, radical Islamists attempt to disrupt the traditionally peaceful relationships among the country’s religious groups.
The most alarming developments are taking place in China. As authorities in Beijing work to enforce ideological conformity and restrict debate among China’s 1.4 billion people, the Christian population is experiencing heightened scrutiny and pressure. Crosses have been pulled down from church roofs, and churches have been bulldozed. More ominously, the biometric monitoring and close surveillance that has been used to crush Tibetan Buddhists and the Muslims of Xinjiang has been systematically introduced into Christian churches across the country.
For full article:The Wall St. Journal
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Connecting the Dots
Apostasy in the Church: Church is a Drag
By Jim Fletcher
One can perhaps be forgiven for wondering just how much longer God will allow the current civilization to exist. Surely we are in the time when all is as in the days of Noah. Then, mankind had become so vile God implemented a divine wrath unseen since.
Now comes word that a church in Maine—which had previously displayed “artwork” depicting a homosexual environment in the Garden of Eden—is presenting Jesus in drag.
St. Paul’s in Malmo, Sweden, has a picture behind the pulpit, showing Jesus in high heels. The current “Last Supper” scene also shows drag queens taking the places of the Apostles. This particular painting is titled, “The Communion.”
Romans 1:18 says: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”
In Paul’s famous letter outlining God’s wrath against perversion, we read in clear language that homosexuality (and its kindred perversions) will be one of the hallmarks of a society that finally disintegrates at the end of time.
“For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.” (Romans 1:21-24)
And don’t think all this is confined to pagan Europe. Last year a university professor here in good old America claimed that Jesus had been a “gay, genderfluid drag queen.”
Professor Tat-siong Benny Liew, teaches New Testament Studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and his bizarre, blasphemous statement came from a 2009 book chapter he edited entitled, “Queering Closets and Perverting Desires: Cross-Examining John’s Engendering and Transgendering Word across Different Worlds.”
This is almost too much for a believer to process. I’m truly sorry to add to this filth, but the professor also claims that Jesus had a gay lover in a Roman centurion! One wonders how a Catholic school could allow this kind of evil to flourish.
Also in 2018, First Church Somerville (Massachusetts) held its eighth annual Drag Gospel Festival.
I’ll stop there with the examples. I also note with sadness that one of the few evangelical leaders that keeps us informed of such things is Franklin Graham. It is a scandal that more evangelical leaders do not bring these things to the attention of congregants. However, I have personal knowledge that several nationally-known leaders do not want to criticize perversions centering on homosexuality. They are afraid of repercussions from the wider culture.
Continue praying and teaching your own children and grandchildren Scripture, saints. It’s vitally important.
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Islam on the crucifixion and return of Jesus
By Bill Wilson, KIN Senior Analyst
WASH—Jan 9—KIN--Islam does not teach that Jesus was crucified. Therefore, the Messiah Jesus of Islam shed no blood for the remission of sins of those who believe. This is an extraordinary difference between the Muslim Isa (Jesus) and the Christian Jesus. The Qur’an Sura 4:158 says, “That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not nor crucified him...”
Philippians 2:5-11 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The return of the Islamic Jesus, Isa, is far different than the return of the true Jesus, the Christ of the Bible. Revelation 19:13-16 speaks of the Christ, “He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called is, “THE WORD OF GOD.” And the armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
The Muslim Jesus as the one who will return and witness against the saints and enlist other Muslims to help him kill Christians and Jews. The next Jot will discuss the similarities between Islam’s Jesus and Christianity’s False Prophet.define on the Day of Judgment he will be a witness against them;- There is not one of the People of the Scripture but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them - And there is not one of the followers of the Book but most certainly believes in this before his death, and on the day of resurrection he (Isa) shall be a witness against them.” Several other Sura specifically ; and Qur’an Sura 4:159 says, “And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him before his death