Two weeks after the Israeli raid on a predominantly Turkish flotilla to Gaza became an international incident, Iran has announced that it will send its own flotilla to the blockaded territory. Unlike Turkey, which had formerly been one of Israel's most important allies, Iran has always been openly hostile toward Israel. The “plight” of Palestinians has long been a useful justification for the leadership in Tehran, which seeks to provoke Israel and increase Iranian influence among Arabs. Some worry Iran could send a naval escort with the aid ships, thus raising the possibility of violence. So what can we expect to result? The talking heads of world-wide media are expressing various opinions:
The French Press Agency reports that the U.S. is worried about Iranian action, "The United States on Monday questioned the Iranian Red Crescent's decision to send aid ships to Gaza, saying Tehran's intentions toward the Palestinian territory were not 'benign.' ... The Iranian Red Crescent announced Monday it would send three ships with humanitarian aid to Gaza, in the latest bid to break the blockade imposed on the Palestinian territory by Iran's arch foe Israel."
On the other hand, Newsweek's Mark Hosenball dissents, "U.S and European officials seem surprisingly relaxed about news that Iran is sending its own seaborne challenge to Israel’s Gaza blockade. ... despite concern that the Iranians are sending the ship in a deliberate attempt to provoke the Israelis and worsen already severe tensions in the area, European and U.S. officials say Tehran actually seems to have dialed back some of its rhetoric and threats for the moment."
Does Iran really want a violent confrontation, or just attention? The Christian Science Monitor's Scott Peterson writes, "Analysts say that Iran’s reaction – including Ahmadinejad’s repeated reminders that the Islamic Republic has championed the Palestinian cause since the 1979 Islamic revolution – is designed to recapture from Turkey part of its self-declared role as the regional bastion of militant resistance that fights for the oppressed. ... If Iran were to send such a flotilla, it would likely steal the limelight back from the Turks only in the event of a similar confrontation." Iran analyst Ali Nourizadeh tells Voice of America, "I think the whole matter is just a propaganda game. Iran knows that the Israelis would not allow them to get close to Israeli territory and even the Egyptians would not welcome them, and that the Iranian parliamentarians have to obtain visas to go to Egypt and I do not think the Egyptians would welcome such a delegation. Iran lost the propaganda game to Turkey and they now just want to show that they are there."
While there may be some wisdom to be gleaned from these media men, here’s what I think: (after all, this is “The View From Here…not the view from there!) The prophet Ezekiel revealed thousands of years ago, that following Magog's (Turkey’s) leadership, we will soon see "Persia (Iran), Cush (Sudan) and Put (Libya) … all with shields and helmets" (Ezekiel 38:5). By itself, Turkey, who launched this blockade-running game, is a formidable and powerful nation, but what will Israel and the western world do when, as the Bible predicts, Turkey leads a military coalition that includes Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan and several other nations as well against Israel? The options then will be quite limited, to say the least. But with whatever option He chooses, Jesus is ultimately going to defend Israel. Hopefully, the U.S. will be on the right side of that battle. I would suggest our best response is to start praying. (1 Peter 4:7)
Sources:
Bracing for Iran Mark Hosenball, Newsweek;
Empty Rhetoric Ali Nourizadeh, Voice of America;
They Want Conflict Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor ;
Not So Benign The Editors, Agence France-Presse ;
Should We Be Worried About Iran's Gaza-Bound Flotilla? Max Fisher, Atlantic Wire
The Emerging “Strong Horse” of the Islamic World, Joel Richardson, WND
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tick… Tick... Tick…
The attempt this week by nine Turkish-flagged cargo ships to run the Israeli blockade off the coast of Gaza has become the focus of international attention and may rapidly become the “incident” which will be used to justify the next war on Israel. If you only listened to the so-called “news-reports“ spun out by the main-stream media wire services and networks, you would come to the intended conclusion that Israel is the aggressor, bullying and violently confronting the peace-loving “activists” who were only trying to bring humanitarian aid to the poor downtrodden Palestinians in Gaza. But what really happened here? Why is there a blockade of Gaza in the first place? Why did Israel board those ships? And what is the real agenda behind this incident?
Gaza, one of two Palestinian-run territories within Israel itself, is under the control of Hamas, a terrorist organization whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel. From Gaza, over 7000 katusha rockets have been launched into Israel. (Chew on that for a moment!) Imagine if terrorists within Cuba and under their government’s protection had launched over 7000 buzz bombs on Florida. Would we not place a blockade around Cuba to prevent missiles and other deadly arms from arriving there? (I seem to remember something like that in the history books?) The Israeli blockade of Gaza has been in effect for three years! Everybody knows that if you are on a ship headed for Gaza, you must stop and be inspected by the Israeli navy for weapons. This was no secret to the IHH-funded ships. IHH, the “Islamic charity” based in Turkey that sponsored this maritime operation, has been branded by the US government as a “front” for terror. This nice sounding “relief” organization even has a “dove of peace” displayed in their logo, but they are, in fact, channeling contributions to terrorists. Read about them here:
http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/hamas_e105.htm .
What happened last week is not the “ugly-Israel” picture being painted by the media - an image which is now being used to lather up hatred of Israel in the UN and around the globe -it was a very calculated provocation by IHH. The “relief” ships would not stop when ordered so they were boarded by Israeli navy seals armed primarily with PAINT BALL GUNS. (You can verify this by watching the video!) As soon as the Israelis boarded the ship they were attacked with iron pipes and knives. Several of the Israelis were seriously beaten and stabbed, one was thrown overboard. Eventually a gun battle ensued in which nine “activists” were killed and three Israeli commandos were seriously wounded. What is not being reported, is that prior to this action both Israel and Egypt offered to take the cargo from these ships directly to Gaza. If the sole intention of the IHH was humanitarian relief it certainly would have accepted these offers -if not from the hand of the hated Jew at least from an Islamic brother!
So what is really behind this and why is it happening now? In the fall of 2007 I wrote three columns about the rise of Islamic radicals to power in Turkey through the election of AKP party candidates to the offices of President and Prime Minster and an AKP majority to parliament. Turkey, once considered a “moderate” Islamic nation, a NATO ally and a nation whose secular government was aligned more closely with Europe and the west, has undergone a dramatic transformation which is now almost complete. Turkey has abandoned a century of secular democratic rule to become in practice an Islamic state, even though its constitution still says otherwise – America take note! Turkey has moved away from the west and become aligned with Iran and Syria, two of its radical Islamic neighbors. This blockade running operation, while not done with Turkish navy ships, was done with at the very least, tacit approval by the Turkish government. And what about the timing? I believe this provocation has been planned for a long time, but they were waiting for one big thing….Iranian nuclear capability! We have allowed Iran to get the bomb and now we will have to pay the piper. Or should I say, Israel will.
This is not going to quietly go away. In fact, at this writing, IHH has another six ships waiting to try it again, only this time the whole world will be watching. Time will tell if this is the next big thing on the prophetic horizon. But one thing is sure, the clock is ticking….and midnight is very close.
Gaza, one of two Palestinian-run territories within Israel itself, is under the control of Hamas, a terrorist organization whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel. From Gaza, over 7000 katusha rockets have been launched into Israel. (Chew on that for a moment!) Imagine if terrorists within Cuba and under their government’s protection had launched over 7000 buzz bombs on Florida. Would we not place a blockade around Cuba to prevent missiles and other deadly arms from arriving there? (I seem to remember something like that in the history books?) The Israeli blockade of Gaza has been in effect for three years! Everybody knows that if you are on a ship headed for Gaza, you must stop and be inspected by the Israeli navy for weapons. This was no secret to the IHH-funded ships. IHH, the “Islamic charity” based in Turkey that sponsored this maritime operation, has been branded by the US government as a “front” for terror. This nice sounding “relief” organization even has a “dove of peace” displayed in their logo, but they are, in fact, channeling contributions to terrorists. Read about them here:
http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/hamas_e105.htm .
What happened last week is not the “ugly-Israel” picture being painted by the media - an image which is now being used to lather up hatred of Israel in the UN and around the globe -it was a very calculated provocation by IHH. The “relief” ships would not stop when ordered so they were boarded by Israeli navy seals armed primarily with PAINT BALL GUNS. (You can verify this by watching the video!) As soon as the Israelis boarded the ship they were attacked with iron pipes and knives. Several of the Israelis were seriously beaten and stabbed, one was thrown overboard. Eventually a gun battle ensued in which nine “activists” were killed and three Israeli commandos were seriously wounded. What is not being reported, is that prior to this action both Israel and Egypt offered to take the cargo from these ships directly to Gaza. If the sole intention of the IHH was humanitarian relief it certainly would have accepted these offers -if not from the hand of the hated Jew at least from an Islamic brother!
So what is really behind this and why is it happening now? In the fall of 2007 I wrote three columns about the rise of Islamic radicals to power in Turkey through the election of AKP party candidates to the offices of President and Prime Minster and an AKP majority to parliament. Turkey, once considered a “moderate” Islamic nation, a NATO ally and a nation whose secular government was aligned more closely with Europe and the west, has undergone a dramatic transformation which is now almost complete. Turkey has abandoned a century of secular democratic rule to become in practice an Islamic state, even though its constitution still says otherwise – America take note! Turkey has moved away from the west and become aligned with Iran and Syria, two of its radical Islamic neighbors. This blockade running operation, while not done with Turkish navy ships, was done with at the very least, tacit approval by the Turkish government. And what about the timing? I believe this provocation has been planned for a long time, but they were waiting for one big thing….Iranian nuclear capability! We have allowed Iran to get the bomb and now we will have to pay the piper. Or should I say, Israel will.
This is not going to quietly go away. In fact, at this writing, IHH has another six ships waiting to try it again, only this time the whole world will be watching. Time will tell if this is the next big thing on the prophetic horizon. But one thing is sure, the clock is ticking….and midnight is very close.
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