The Bible Does Not Teach That Damascus, Syria Is About To Be Destroyed | Pursuing Truth. The Bible does not teach that Damascus, Syria will be destroyed in our future. We will see why this is true from both a historical and Biblical standpoint. Contrary to many predictions that are rapidly accumulating on the internet, not even Isaiah 17 contains such a prophecy for modern-day Damascus: The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be for flocks which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. Isaiah, by his own testimony (Isaiah 1:1), prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, all kings of Judah. “…Furious, I dyed like a red flower [Rezin's] charioteers, and their weapons I destroyed, and their horses.
So said Tiglath-Pileser III, the king of Assyria, regarding his military attack on Damascus in 732 B.C. “In 732 BC, the kingdom of Damascus lost its independence and existence, its holdings carved up into Assyrian provinces. Joel C. Like this: Syria Debate Throws Pro-Israel Groups For A Loss. Israel Published on September 11th, 2013 | by Mitchell Plitnick by Mitchell Plitnick Syria’s declaration that it would accept a Russian proposal to hand over its chemical weapons to an international body was the latest in a string of surprises around international concern over the ongoing, horrific civil war in that country.
It is extremely premature, at this point, to declare the threat of a US escalation over, but the delay this proposal produced does go a long way toward lowering the heat on the crisis and, at minimum, stretching the timetable. President Obama’s willingness to bring this idea to the U.N. The debate has been a difficult one in Washington. In one of a series of surprises around this issue, AIPAC publicly dove in to the Syria debate in DC, and faced the most daunting challenge they had in many years. A vote held immediately after the president announced he was going to request authorization from Congress would have likely been unsuccessful. About the Author. Obama's Strategically Incompetent, Useless and Nonsensical War Push.
Share Smoke rises after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in the village of Picture taken August 17, 2013. (Reuters/Khattab Abdulaa) In the midst of President Obama’s reckless push for war—a strategically incompetent, useless and nonsensical attack on Syria—the International Crisis Group has put forth a useful counterpoint, namely, a path toward a diplomatic solution.
However remote that might be, at this stage of the game, it’s the only way out, and it’s good that it’s been developed by an establishment organization whose leadership includes many former US and foreign diplomats But it’s too late, since Obama—with the able assistance of the Israel lobby, pro-war neoconservatives, and hawks of all kinds (liberal and conservative)—is all but assured of getting Congress to approve his wrath-of-God strike. The reason a missile attack on Syria is proving so unpopular on both sides of the Atlantic has nothing to do with neoimperial hubris. Juan Cole: On Syria: The U.S. Is No Lone Ranger and Should Put That Six Shooter Away - Juan Cole's Columns.
On Syria: The U.S. Is No Lone Ranger and Should Put That Six Shooter Away Posted on Sep 2, 2013 By Juan Cole The odd discourse in Washington around President Barack Obama’s determination to bomb Syria over the country’s use of chemical weapons assumes a moral superiority on the part of the United States and its allies on this issue that can only astonish anyone who knows the history. At the same time, the most propagandistic allegations are being made about Iran. The creation of a fetish around some sorts of weapons (i.e., chemical ones) takes the focus off others that are just as deadly to innocents.
The U.S. has had a checkered history in the use of unconventional arms, and is still among the most dedicated to retaining the ability to make, stockpile and use weapons that indiscriminately kill innocent noncombatants. The British government as recently as 2012 licensed its firms to sell chemical agents that can be used as poison gas precursors to the Baath government of Syria. A transition, but to where? Features POLITICS YEMEN. With vestiges of the Saleh era still ever present in Yemen, can planned elections in the impoverished state in 2014 deliver real change? Yemen’s Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC)-backed peace plan is moving into its final, crucial months. If all goes well, a new constitution will be ready to be put to national referendum by the end of the year and elections are scheduled to be held in 2014.
Diplomats involved in the political transition have hailed Yemen’s progress since reaching the brink of civil war in 2011 as a model for similarly conflict-afflicted states. Yet there are any number of risks in store for the country, not least widespread fears that the small group of tribal leaders, military officers and businessmen who dominated political and economic life will emerge from the country’s political transition in as strong a position as ever, and that not enough has been done to convince secessionist southerners that continued unity is in their best interests. UK 'to lead world' on aid for Syrian refugees. 3 September 2013Last updated at 11:31 ET David Cameron: "We'll help lead the world... and make sure vital aid gets through" The UK will "lead the world" in getting humanitarian aid to refugees in Syria, David Cameron has vowed. The prime minister repeated his assurance that there will not be another vote in Parliament on military action after MPs rejected it last week.
But he said the Commons defeat does not mean he can "do nothing" to help those affected by the two-year civil war. London Mayor Boris Johnson has said MPs should reconsider military action if the US opts to launch strikes. But Mr Cameron appeared to rule out such an option, saying: "I think Parliament spoke very clearly and it's important to respect the view of Parliament, so I am not planning to return to Parliament to ask again about British military action. " 'Vital aid' He added: "Now, that does not mean we do nothing on Syria.
"We'll go on doing that. 'Mutual consent' Continue reading the main story “Start Quote End Quote. Libya forced to import oil as bright new dawn fades. Interview 738 – Sharmine Narwani on the Geopolitics of the Syrian War. Israeli President Voices Strong Support for Obama’s Decision on Syria. Rage smolders on in Cairo's crucible of rebellion. Ed Giles/Getty Images CAIRO, Egypt — Sayed Abdellatif knows by name the police officer who gunned down his son two years ago during the bloody uprising against Hosni Mubarak.
But today, the baker from Cairo’s Imbaba neighborhood says he'll stand with the police and the army against the Muslim Brotherhood’s “terrorism.” In the warrens of Imbaba, Abdellatif and his neighbors renamed his alley from El Salam, meaning “Peace,” to Mohamed Sayed Abdellatif Street, after his 23-year-old son was killed. But recently, Abdellatif hung a new banner in a nearby intersection. This one features an image of his son’s face next to that of General Abdelfattah el-Sisi — the man who in early July ousted Mubarak’s elected successor, President Mohamed Morsi, a former top Brotherhood official. The banner declares solidarity with the military and the police. “The criminal Brotherhood sold the revolution and the blood of the martyrs,” he said.
Queues and blackouts Imbaba had never liked Morsi. Al Jazeera. Israeli President Voices Strong Support for Obama’s Decision on Syria. US Strike on Syria An "Uncalculated Adventure": Jadaliyya Co-Editor Bassam Haddad on MSNBC. MSNBC Headine "Haddad: Mulling Syria strike is an 'uncalculated adventure'" Former State Department Spokesperson P.J. Crowley, Mouaz Moustafa from the Syrian Emergency Task Force, Bassam Haddad from George Mason University, Reuter's David Rohde and MSNBC military analyst and former army Colonel Jack Jacobs join MSNBC's Craig Melvin to discuss the possible outcomes to the President's decision on seeking congressional approval before taking action on Syria. . . .
Video #1. . . [at 3.20] Craig Melvin (CM): How will the president's announcement today, and first of all, the president's announcement today, and unilateral action, how do both of those things be seen by other arab nations? Bassam Haddad (BH): Well, to begin with, I think it's a horrible idea. And one of the reasons he is going to congress, which apparently historically he did not have to do that, is basically to just make sure that he can say that he is keeping his word regarding the red lines. . . . This is the problem. In trying to help Syria, an intervention would destroy it. There was a moment early in the Syrian crisis when one could imagine that foreign intervention would have had salutary effects. In January 2012, I wrote that it was “time to think seriously about intervening in Syria” and laid out moral and strategic arguments in a piece for the Atlantic’s Web site.
Syria’s political history, the record of the Assad family and the routine way in which the regime used coercion and force to ensure its security all supported the notion that Assad would kill his way out of his troubles. In 1982, when Hafez al-Assad was in power and his son Bashar was 17 years old, the regime pounded the rebellious city of Hama into submission, murdering an estimated 20,000 people in the process. By late 2011, Bashar al-Assad’s security forces were killing peaceful protesters. His phony commitments to reform notwithstanding, it was clear that the younger Assad had adopted his father’s strategy to reestablish control. Assad would remain defiant in the face of an attack. In Syria, Anger and Mockery as Obama Delays Plan. A transition, but to where? Features POLITICS YEMEN. Rage smolders on in Cairo's crucible of rebellion. Peace - or Palestinian Surrender? An Interview with Norman Finkelstein | Review 31.
Norman G. Finkelstein is a man of contradictions. He is the Brooklyn-born son of concentration camp survivors who has enraged American Jews by denouncing the cynicism of what he calls the 'Holocaust industry.' He is a polemicist and inveterate contrarian who demolishes his opponents by scouring footnotes and soberly checking facts. He is an academic prodigy who, due to his notorious controversies, no longer has a university position. Though few will agree with everything he says, he is one of America’s indispensable public intellectuals.
In this wide-ranging interview with Review 31 to mark the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the author of nine books – from Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict (1995) to Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel is Coming to an End (2012) – reveals yet another seeming contradiction. Each party to the conflict has a different motive for participating in the current talks. The Latest from Mondoweiss for 09/02/2013. Here are the headlines from Mondoweiss for 09/02/2013: Dubious Intelligence and Iran Blackmail: How Israel is driving the US to war in Syria Sep 01, 2013 05:35 pm | Max Blumenthal President Barack Obama’s August 31 announcement that he would seek congressional authorization to strike Syria has complicated an aggressive Israeli campaign to render a US attack inevitable. While the Israelis are far from the only force in bringing the US to the brink of war – obviously Assad’s own actions are the driving factor – their dubious intelligence assessments have proven pivotal.
On April 25, the head of the Israeli army’s Military Intelligence research and analysis division, Brig. Gen. “The very fact that they have used chemical weapons without any appropriate reaction,” Brun said, “is a very worrying development, because it might signal that this is legitimate.” “I don’t know yet what the facts are,” Kerry said after a phone call with Netanyahu, “I don’t think anybody knows what they are.” David D. Arab League Endorses International Action. Gianluigi Guercia/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, at an Arab League meeting on Syria.
Saudi Arabia called for military action. The League moved beyond the more cautious stance it took just a few days ago, when it asked the United Nations Security Council to overcome its internal differences on the Syrian conflict — an outcome that was extremely unlikely given Russia’s strong support for Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad. This time, the League called for the United Nations and “the international community” at large to exercise their responsibilities under international law “to take the necessary measures” against the Syrian government. Obama administration officials considered the statement a step forward because it opened the door to action outside the Security Council. On Sunday afternoon, some Arab diplomats sought to portray themselves as stepping forward to take the lead in the Syrian crisis after Mr.
Inside the chamber, Mr. Insight: As Obama blinks on Syria, Israel, Saudis make common cause. By Jeffrey Heller and Angus McDowall JERUSALEM/RIYADH (Reuters) - If President Barack Obama has disappointed Syrian rebels by deferring to Congress before bombing Damascus, he has also dismayed the United States' two main allies in the Middle East. Israel and Saudi Arabia have little love for each other but both are pressing their mutual friend in the White House to hit President Bashar al-Assad hard.
And both do so with one eye fixed firmly not on Syria but on their common adversary - Iran. Israel's response to Obama's surprise move to delay or even possibly cancel air strikes made clear that connection: looking soft on Assad after accusing him of killing hundreds of people with chemical weapons may embolden his backers in Tehran to develop nuclear arms, Israeli officials said. And if they do, Israel may strike Iran alone, unsure Washington can be trusted.
Neither U.S. ally is picking a fight with Obama in public. "The idea of a punishment for a crime has lost its flavor. Israel fears being left alone to counter Iran nuclear programme. Syria Statement. Brussels | 1 Sep 2013 Assuming the U.S. Congress authorises them, Washington (together with some allies) soon will launch military strikes against Syrian regime targets.
If so, it will have taken such action for reasons largely divorced from the interests of the Syrian people. The administration has cited the need to punish, deter and prevent use of chemical weapons - a defensible goal, though Syrians have suffered from far deadlier mass atrocities during the course of the conflict without this prompting much collective action in their defence. The administration also refers to the need, given President Obama's asserted "redline" against use of chemical weapons, to protect Washington's credibility - again an understandable objective though unlikely to resonate much with Syrians. Quite apart from talk of outrage, deterrence and restoring U.S. credibility, the priority must be the welfare of the Syrian people. It is imperative to end this war. Why Syria? By Dr. STANLY JOHNY History repeats itself. Not as a farce; but as tragedy. Those who witnessed the White House-led propaganda against Iraq in the run-up to the 2003 American war on that country cannot miss the startling similarities between those days and the past few ones.
Replace Iraq with Syria. This time the target is Iran, and to weaken the geopolitical standing of Russia. A fall of Bashar al-Assad would break a vital link between the Hezbollah and Iran, thereby potentially weakening both. President Assad’s brutal methods to quell protests against his regime offered this Gulf-Atlantic axis more legroom to maneuver. Still, the Syrian government is winning the war, gradually though. The Plan The Assad government says it is rebels who used chemical weapons. Look at the map. Gates of hell? What the West is planning is a massive attack. Syria is not a major oil producer. The fall of Saddam has thrown his country into a deadly cycle of conflicts which still bleed Iraq. President Seeks to Rally Support for Syria Strike. Obama’s Syria Decision Greeted Silently by Israel. Syria resolution will be ‘a very tough sell’ in Congress, lawmakers say. Rand Paul: Assad 'Protected Christians' in Syria, Rebels 'Attacking Christians'
Strikes and lawlessness bring Libya’s oil industry to its knees. Review & Outlook: Leading From Behind Congress. Obama and aides confront skeptical Congress on Syria strike. Obama Starts Lobbying Blitz for Support of Strike on Syria. Chris Hedges on Obama's Decision to Attack Syria and "Give Congress a Voice" Syria: A Mystifying Lack of US Preparedness. Syria crisis: US readers' reaction. Shedding light on the Syrian refugee crisis. Responsibility to Object - By David Kaye. Obama and aides confront skeptical Congress on Syria strike. Gulf Arab Press divided on Syria Strike (OSC. The Gamble - By David Rothkopf. Mideast press uneasy after Obama's delay on Syria. Constituent Assembly member names announced. Poll: 46% of Israeli Jews believe Assad would hit Israel after US-led strike. Syria crisis: US has evidence that sarin gas was used in alleged attack, claims John Kerry - Americas - World.
Syria Statement. Syria Statement. Syria: A Mystifying Lack of US Preparedness. Obama informed Netanyahu prior to speech of plans to delay Syria strike - Diplomacy & DefenseIsrael News - Haaretz Israeli News source. Blog Archive Syria Insta-Symposium: Marty Lederman Part I--The Constitution, the Charter, and Their Intersection. Bushies fear Obama weakening presidency - David Nather and Anna Palmer. The Idiot's Guide to Fighting Dictatorship in Syria While Opposing Military Intervention.
Forcing Obama’s Hand in Syria. Rangel: Bring back the draft before launching air strikes in Syria - The Hill's Global Affairs. Congress to amend Obama’s ‘broad’ Syria strike plan. Syria crisis: Obama turns decision on military action over to Congress - Americas - World. Harkin Statement on Syria. Experts Fear That U.S. Plan to Strike Syria Overlooks Risks. U.S. military officers have deep doubts about impact, wisdom of a U.S. strike on Syria. Syrian Novelist Khaled al-Khalifa on a Possible US Strike.
Saudis Try to Gather Support for a Strike. In Their Districts, Members Of Congress Demanded A Syria Vote. Wealthy Widow Is Pouring Millions into Teach for America, Promoting a Pro-Israel Agenda to Needy and Impressionable Children. Strikes and lawlessness bring Libya’s oil industry to its knees. Pressure on Cameron for new vote on Syria strikes. Dubious Intelligence and Iran Blackmail: How Israel is driving the US to war in Syria. Exclusive: USS Nimitz carrier group rerouted for possible help with Syria. Lesley Riddoch: Syria does not fit Libya template - News. Higher Oil Prices Are Being Caused by Events in Libya, Iraq, Nigeria and Egypt as Well as Syria.