THE ANTI-CHRIST AND THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

The Antichrist and the Protestant Reformation

"Protestants there are,
but Protestantism is no more."
--Alexander Vinet (1797-1847)

The Protestant Reformation in the 1500s literally changed the course of history. It helped move Europe out of the Dark Ages and led to the rise of true religious freedom. It's original principles eventually found expression in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America which teaches that when it comes to religion, the governments of earth have no right to control the conscience.

True Protestantism teaches salvation by grace through faith in Jesus (Eph. 2:8) and the supremacy of the Bible above the visible church (2 Tim. 3:16) - above traditions, pastors, priests, popes and kings (See D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation of the Sixteen Century, book xiii, chapter vi, pp. 520-524). It also teaches the priesthood of all believers (2 Pet. 2:9, 10) and that all people everywhere can be saved by coming directly to our loving heavenly Father through His only Son, Jesus Christ (John 14:6). "There is o­ne God, and o­ne mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5).

What did the major Protestant Reformers teach about the Antichrist? Whether you agree with them or not, it's important to realize what they taught. The following quotations are not intented to foster ill will toward any human being, for this would be contrary to teaching of Jesus Christ (John 13:34, 35), but rather to simply present what some of the most influential Christian leaders who have ever lived believed about "the little horn" (Daniel 7:8), "the beast" (Revelation 13:1), and "the man of sin" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) - about Antichrist.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) (Lutheran): "Luther ... proved, by the revelations of Daniel and St. John, by the epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. Jude, that the reign of Antichrist, predicted and described in the Bible, was the Papacy ... And all the people did say, Amen! A holy terror siezed their souls. It was Antichrist whom they beheld seated o­n the pontifical throne. This new idea, which derived greater strength from the prophetic descriptions launched forth by Luther into the midst of his contemporaries, inflicted the most terrible blow o­n Rome." Taken from J. H. Merle D'aubigne's History of the Reformation of the Sixteen Century, book vi, chapter xii, p. 215.

Based o­n prophetic studies, Martin Luther finally declared, "We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist." (Aug. 18, 1520). Taken from The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by LeRoy Froom. Vol. 2., pg. 121.


John Calvin (1509-1564) (Presbyterian): "Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt... I shall briefly show that (Paul's words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy." Taken from Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin.

John Knox (1505-1572) (Scotch Presbyterian): John Knox sought to counteract "that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church." As with Luther, he finally concluded that the Papacy was "the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks." The Zurich Letters, by John Knox, pg. 199.

Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) (Anglican): "Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons." (Referring to prophecies in Revelation and Daniel.) Works by Cranmer, Vol. 1, pp. 6-7.

Roger Williams (1603-1683) (First Baptist Pastor in America): Pastor Williams spoke of the Pope as "the pretended Vicar of Christ o­n earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not o­nly above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea, and God himself...speaking against the God of heaven, thinking to change times and laws; but he is the son of perdition (II Thess. 2)." The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by Froom, Vol. 3, pg. 52.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647): "There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition that exalteth himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God." Taken from Philip Schaff's, The Creeds of Christendom, With a History and Critical Notes, III, p. 658, 659, ch. 25, sec. 6.

Cotton Mather (1663-1728) (Congregational Theologian): "The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them." Taken from The Fall of Babylon by Cotton Mather in Froom's book, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 3, pg. 113.

John Wesley (1703-1791) (Methodist): Speaking of the Papacy, John Wesley wrote, "He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers... He it is...that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped...claiming the highest power, and highest honour...claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone." Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms, by John Wesley, pg. 110.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses: "Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Cranmer; in the seventeenth century, Bunyan, the translators of the King James Bible and the men who published the Westminster and Baptist confessions of Faith; Sir Isaac Newton, Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards; and more recently Spurgeon, Bishop J.C. Ryle and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones; these men among countless others, all saw the office of the Papacy as the antichrist." Taken from All Roads Lead to Rome, by Michael de Semlyen. Dorchestor House Publications, p. 205. 1991.
Taken from Chapter 9 of Steve Wohlberg's small book: The Antichrist Chronicles: What Prophecy Teachers Aren't Telling You, and recorded in his larger book, End Time Delusions: The Rapture, the Antichrist, Israel, and the End of the World (published by Destiny Image).

Source: http://www.endtimeinsights.com

SDA CHURCH IS NOT BABYLON?

The Seventh-day Adventist Church IS NOT Babylon in 1893--WHY?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Most Seventh-day Adventist Church members, being loyal to their hierarchy of church leadership, quote a "famous" article, written by Ellen G. White in 1893, to "prove" that the SDA Church organization has not yet reached (and will never reach) the dreadful condition of spiritual declension called "Babylon." The familiar statement is found in Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers.
Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, Page 521:

APPENDIX NOTES

PAGE 23. PAMPHLETS DENOUNCING THE S.D.A. CHURCH AS BABYLON: REFERENCE IS MADE TO A PAMPHLET ENTITLED, "THE LOUD CRY OF THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE," PUBLISHED BY A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST LAY MEMBER, MR. STANTON, IN THE YEAR 1893. THIS MAN, IN HIS STUDY OF THE BIBLE AND THE TESTIMONIES, FOCUSED HIS ATTENTION PRIMARILY ON THE MESSAGES OF REPROOF AND REBUKE, FORGETTING THAT GOD HAD SAID THAT "AS MANY AS I LOVE, I REBUKE AND CHASTEN." REVELATION 3:19. HE CONCLUDED THAT THE TESTIMONIES OF REPROOF CONSTITUTED A MESSAGE OF REJECTION, AND THAT THOSE WHO WOULD JOIN IN SOUNDING THE LOUD CRY MUST WITHDRAW FROM THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH. THE CHURCH, HE ASSERTED, HAD BECOME BABYLON, AND THOSE WHO WOULD FINISH GOD'S WORK IN THE EARTH AND MEET THEIR LORD IN PEACE MUST SEPARATE FROM THE BODY.

AN ARDENT DISCIPLE, MR. W. F. CALDWELL, WAS DISPATCHED TO AUSTRALIA TO CARRY THE MESSAGE TO THAT LAND AND TO VISIT MRS. WHITE, WHO, IT WAS SUPPOSED, WOULD JOIN THEIR FORCES OF "REFORM." ARRIVING IN AUSTRALIA, HE DISCOVERED THAT WHILE HE HAD BEEN CROSSING THE PACIFIC TO AUSTRALIA, A TESTIMONY WAS ON ITS WAY FROM NEW ZEALAND TO AMERICA SPECIFYING THE MESSAGE OF THE "LOUD CRY" TRACT AS "ONE OF THE DELUSIONS DESIGNED TO CREATE CONFUSION AMONG THE CHURCHES," AND STATING IN THE CLEAREST LANGUAGE THAT "IF YOU ARE TEACHING THAT THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH IS BABYLON, YOU ARE WRONG." SEE THE FULL LETTER ON PAGES 58-62. MRS. WHITE MET THIS MISLEADING TEACHING IN A SERIES OF ARTICLES IN THE REVIEW AND HERALD ENTITLED "THE REMNANT CHURCH NOT BABYLON," NOW COMPRISING PAGES 32-62 OF THIS VOLUME. THIS OFFSHOOT MOVEMENT HAD BUT A VERY SHORT LIFE.

Ellen White's reasons for writing her testimony in opposition to these brethren are well understood by reading the following article penned by her hand. When the principles involved are rightly discerned and applied, it is clear that her 1893 assessment of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is not relevant to our modern times and the present state of the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization.

God's Rebuke to Laodicea--Ellen G. White

Those who have published the "Loud Cry" tract have not consulted me upon the subject. They have quoted largely from my writings and put their own construction upon them. They claim to have a special message from God to pronounce the Seventh-day Adventist Church Babylon, proclaim her fall, and call the people of God to come out of her, and try to make the testimonies substantiate their theory. These publications are misleading minds, and increasing the prejudice already existing, and tend to make it more difficult to get access to them to present the message God has given in warnings to the world of altogether a different character from the ideas presented in these pamphlets.

I arose at half-past two o'clock; I could not sleep; the burden was upon me. The history of the children of Israel urged itself upon my mind, and many points were so clearly pressed upon me that I dared not keep silent. I wrote twenty-three pages between three o'clock and half past twelve o'clock. My spirit was stirred within me. I felt a burden for the people of God, not only on account of this one production, but because of many such matters which are coming to the people, claiming to be messages from God. "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20)

A number of these pamphlets came to the post office, with instruction to the postmaster to hand them to Seventh-day Adventists. The people of Wellington are full of prejudice. The circulation of D. M. Canright's falsehoods has created prejudice, making it next to impossible to reach the people, and everything of this character creates the suspicion that we are working under cover. These pamphlets and telegraph dispatches from Brother C[aldwell] are of a character to confirm these suspicions. All these things are closing the doors of the people against us. The way is being hedged up by just such things.

These men who think they are doing God service are working on the enemy's side, not on God's side. . . .
. . . No one can be safe now unless riveted to the eternal Rock. We have every reason to be grateful and trustful in God. The Lord Jesus knoweth them that are His. He died to save a lost world, and He is gathering out from it an army to serve under His banner. And He will present to Himself a glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

I understood that both these men were at the General Conference [held in Battle Creek, February 17 - March 6, 1893], that is, S[tanton] and C[aldwell]. Could they not discern there the revealings of the Spirit of God? Could they not see that God was opening the windows of heaven and pouring out a blessing? Why was this? Testimonies had been given correcting and counseling the church and many had made a practical application of the message to the Laodicean Church, and were confessing their sins and repenting in contrition of soul. They were hearing the voice of Jesus, the heavenly Merchantman, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

These brethren who claimed to have this wonderful light had the very same work of repentance and confession to do, thus clearing the rubbish from the door of their own hearts, and opening the door of their hearts to welcome the heavenly guest. Had they placed themselves in the channel of light, they would have received the most precious blessings from heaven. They would have seen that the Lord was indeed gracious, manifesting Himself to His people, and that the Sun of Righteousness had risen upon them. This was precious merchandizing actively carried on. The counsel of Christ to the Laodicean Church was being acted upon, and all who were feeling their poverty were buying gold (faith and love), white raiment (the righteousness of Christ), and eye salve (true spiritual discernment).

Why did not these brethren fall into line, and place themselves in the channel of light? They were poverty stricken and knew it not. They were not working in Christ's lines, were not softened and subdued by His Holy Spirit, and were so blinded that they could not see the strong beams of light that were coming from the throne of God upon His people. They heard not the voice of the true Shepherd. They were listening to the voice of a stranger.

When I consider the infirmities of these misled brethren, I feel deep sorrow of heart that they did not plead with God, "Bless me, O God bless, now I see my error. Thou art communicating to Thy people the richest truths ever committed to mortals. These people are not Babylon; for Thou hast given to them righteousness and peace; and Thy joy, that their joy may be full." Oh why did they not open the door of their heart to Jesus? Why not have removed right there all that obstructs the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness that they might shine to the world? While God's blessing was penetrating everywhere, while His presence was consecrating and sanctifying souls unto Himself, why did they not place their souls in the channel of light? It was because Satan had cast his hellish shadow athwart their pathway to obstruct every ray of light.
How could they come from that meeting where the power of God was revealed in so marked a manner, and proclaim that the loud cry was that the commandment-keeping people were Babylon. Satan was saying that same thing to Christ when Joshua stood before the angel. Satan was declaring his sins to be so great that he should not be restrained from destroying him. The words of Christ are applicable to these brethren, and to all who advance similar sentiments. "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel" (Zechariah 2:2,3). Who clothed him with filthy garments? "And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways,and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by" (Zechariah 2:4-7). The work of Satan is to cover the repentant, believing, commandment-keeping people of God with defiling garments; Jesus Christ commands them to be clothed with His righteousness, garments woven in the loom of heaven.
. . .
Beware of those who arise with a great burden to denounce the church. The chosen ones who are standing and breasting the storm of opposition from the world, and are uplifting the down-trodden commandments of God to exalt them as honorable and holy, are indeed the light of the world.

How dare mortal man pass his judgment upon them, and call the church a harlot, Babylon, a den of thieves, a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, the habitation of devils, making the nations drunk with the wine of her fornication, confederating with the kings and great men of the earth, waxing rich through the abundance of her delicacies, and proclaiming that her sins have reached unto heaven and God hath remembered her iniquities? Is this the message we have to bear to the Seventh-day Adventists [in 1893]? I tell you, No! God has given no man any such message. Let these men humble their hearts before God, and in true contrition repent that they have even for a time stood by the side of the accuser of the brethren who accused them before God day and night. . . .

It seems almost impossible that anyone who had a genuine experience in the faith should suggest such erroneous applications of Scripture as applicable to God's commandment-keeping people. Supposing this spurious message is the one everyone must hear for this time, "Come out of her My people," where shall we go to? Where shall we find the purity, goodness, and holiness where we shall be secure? Where is the fold where no wolves will enter?
. . .
The Lord has had a church from that day [Christ's lifetime], through all the changing scenes of time to the present period, 1893. The Bible sets before us a model church. They are to be in unity with each other, and with God. When believers are united to Christ the living vine, the result is that they are one with Christ, full of sympathy and tenderness and love. When anyone is drawing apart from the organized body of God's commandment-keeping people, when he begins to weigh the church in his human scales, and begins to pronounce judgment against them, then you may know that God is not leading him. He is on the wrong track.
. . . .
Ms 21, 1893 , pp. 1-10. (Untitled manuscript, June 12, 1893.)Manuscript Releases Volume One, Pages 348-357.

Babylon is said to be "the mother of harlots." By her daughters must be symbolized churches that cling to her doctrines and traditions, and follow her example of sacrificing the truth and the approval of God, in order to form an unlawful alliance with the world. (GC 382, 383)

All font colors and brackets supplied by webmaster.

NOTE: Those who have had opportunities to hear and receive of the truth and who have united with the Seventh-day Adventist church, calling themselves the commandment-keeping people of God, and yet possess no more vitality and consecration to God than do the nominal churches, will receive the plagues of God just as verily as the churches who oppose the law of God. Ellen G. White: 19MR 176 (1898)

Source: http://csda.us/sda_1893.html
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WHO AND WHAT IS BABYLON

• Who And What Is Babylon?
  
  Descriptions and delineations of the characteristics of Babylon derived from the Bible(See if your church exhibits any of these characteristics, and be sure to look at the possible spiritual meaning to the characteristic. NOTE: Not every characteristic needs to be seen before your church can become Babylon)
  
  1. Abundant in treasures--Jeremiah 51:13.
  2. All connected with her are made rich (not riches of heaven)--Revelation 18:19.
  3. Are liars--Jeremiah 50:36.
  4. Are mad (lost their reason) upon their idols--Jeremiah 50:38.
  5. Beasts inhabit--Isaiah 13:21-22.
  6. Believes that God does not dwell with humanity (Christ's nature before fall)--Daniel 2:11.
  7. Believes they are gods--Isaiah 47:8, 10.
  8. Besieges God's professed church until it falls captive--2 Kings 24:10-12, 25:1-4; Jeremiah 39:1-2.
  9. Breaks bones of God's people--Jeremiah 50:17.
  10. Breaks down walls of God's professed church--2 Kings 25:9; 2 Chronicles 36:19; Ezra 5:12; Jeremiah 39:8.
  11. Builds city and tower whose top reaches unto heaven--Genesis 11:4.
  12. Builds great image of man for all to worship--Daniel 3:1-7.
  13. Burns with fire God's professed church--2 Kings 25:9; 2 Chronicles 36:19; Jeremiah 21:10, 38:23, 39:8.
  14. Camps against God's professed church until is succumbs--Jeremiah 52:4-7.
  15. Carries away treasures (precious truths) out of God's once faithful church--2 Kings 24:13; 2 Chron 36:7, 10, 18.
  16. Carries away all the mighty men--2 Kings 24:14.
  17. Casts out God's people--Jeremiah 51:34.
  18. Causes God's people to be slain--Jeremiah 51:49.
  19. Celebration is in her midst--Jeremiah 51:39.
  20. Commands all to worship image of man at sound of music--Daniel 3:1-7.
  21. Completely captivates majority of members until only a remnant remain--2 Kings 25:11-12, 22; 2 Chronicles 36:20; Ezra 5:12; Jeremiah 39:9-10, 40:11.
  22. Completely removes all precious vessels which were once held by God's church--2Kings 25:13-17.
  23. Connected with hell--Isaiah 14:9.
  24. Connected with Mysteries of spiritualism--Revelation 17:5.
  25. Connected with scarlet-colored beast (secret societies)--Revelation 17:3.
  26. Connected with ships (other churches)--Revelation 18:17.
  27. Connected with spiritualism--Ezekiel 21:21.
  28. Corrupts earth with fornication--Revelation 19:2.
  29. Crushes God's people--Jeremiah 51:34.
  30. Cuts down people as trees--Isaiah 14:8.
  31. Cuts in pieces precious vessels of God's once faithful church--2 Kings 24:13,25:13; 2 Chronicles 36:19.
  32. Deals in slaves--Revelation 18:13.
  33. Deals in souls of men--Revelation 18:13.
  34. Deceives by sorceries--Revelation 18:23.
  35. Defiles sacred vessels and precious things of God's design--Daniel 5:2-4.
  36. Destroys all the earth--Jeremiah 51:25.
  37. Destroys God's heritage--Jeremiah 50:11.
  38. Devours God's people--Jeremiah 51:34.
  39. Does evil among God's people--Jeremiah 51:24.
  40. Does not consider her possible destruction (does not lay these things to heart)--Isaiah 47:7.
  41. Does not glorify God--Daniel 5:23.
  42. Does not remember warnings given about her destruction--Isaiah 47:7.
  43. Does not want to fight outwardly--Jeremiah 51:30.
  44. Does violence to God's people--Jeremiah 51:35.
  45. Does what she wants to, yet believes she will see no sorrow (no punishment or judgment for her actions)-- Revelation 18:7.
  46. Drunken with the blood of God's saints--Revelation 17:6.
  47. Dwells carelessly--Isaiah 47:8.
  48. Dwells upon many waters--Jeremiah 51:13.
  49. Employs reapers to harvest fields (sown with seeds of falsehood)--Jeremiah 50:16.
  50. Employs sowers (to spread seeds of falsehood)--Jeremiah 50:16.
  51. Fears not the Lord--2 Kings 17:25.
  52. Full of astonishment--Jeremiah 25:10.
  53. Full of falsehoods--Jeremiah 51:17.
  54. Full of pomp--Isaiah 14:11.
  55. Full of unclean birds--Jeremiah 50:39.
  56. Full of wild beasts--Jeremiah 50:39.
  57. Full of vanity--Jeremiah 51:18.
  58. Given to pleasure--Isaiah 47:8.
  59. Glorifies herself--Revelation 18:7.
  60. Great majority of wise men are liars and corrupt--Daniel 2:2, 9.
  61. Grows fat (on sin)--Jeremiah 50:11.
  62. Has broad walls--Jeremiah 51:58.
  63. Has daughters--Jeremiah 50:42.
  64. Has high gates--Jeremiah 51:58.
  65. Has trial (inquisition) to determine crimes against her decrees--Daniel 3:13-15. 66. Heart is lifted up--Daniel 5:20.
  67. Her captains are drunk and asleep--Jeremiah 51:57.
  68. Her cities (churches) are a dry land (no refreshing of the latter rain)--Jeremiah 51:43.
  69. Her cities (churches) are a wilderness--Jeremiah 51:43.
  70. Her cities (churches) are desolate (no Saviour)--Jeremiah 51:43.
  71. Her cry (glory) is found in ships--Isaiah 43:14.
  72. Her men are brutish in their own knowledge--Jeremiah 51:17.
  73. Her mighty men are drunk and asleep--Jeremiah 51:57.
  74. Her princes are drunk and asleep--Jeremiah 51:57.
  75. Her rulers are drunk and asleep--Jeremiah 51:57.
  76. Her waves (ministers--those raised up above the level of the sea or people) do roar--Jeremiah 51:55.
  77. Her wise men are drunk and asleep--Jeremiah 51:57.
  78. Highest leader becomes angry when his will is disregarded for God's will--Daniel 3:19.
  79. Highest leader makes hasty decisions--Daniel 2:15.
  80. Holds God's people captive--Jeremiah 50:33.
  81. Is clothed in gorgeous apparel (but not the robe of Christ's righteousness)--Revelation 17:4, 18:16.
  82. Is covetous--Jeremiah 51:13.
  83. Is desolate--Jeremiah 25:10; Revelation 17:6.
  84. Is filled with delicacies--Jeremiah 51:34.
  85. Is full of abominations--Revelation 17:4.
  86. Is full of filthiness--Revelation 17:4.
  87. Is full of mingled-people (mixed-multitude)--Jeremiah 50:37.
  88. Is great and mighty in eyes of world--Revelation 17:18, 18:10, 16.
  89. Is intimately connected with merchants--Isaiah 47:15; Revelation 18:3.
  90. Is lustful--Revelation 18:14.
  91. Is naked--Revelation 17:16; Isaiah 47:3.
  92. Is perverted--Isaiah 47:10.
  93. Is proud against the Lord--Jeremiah 50:29, 31-32.
  94. Keeps God's people captive as prisoners--Isaiah 14:17.
  95. Language was confounded (confused)--Genesis 11:7-9.
  96. Lifts up self against the Lord--Daniel 5:23.
  97. Lives deliciously--Revelation 18:7
  98. Lucifer is her king--Isaiah 14:4, 12.
  99. Made up of many nations (churches) flowing (uniting) into one--Jeremiah 51:44. 100. Makes all nations (churches) commit fornication with her--Revelation 14:8, 18:3.
  101. Makes all nations (churches) drink of her wine (false doctrines)--Revelation 14:8,18:3
  102. Makes all the earth drunken--Jeremiah 51:7; Revelation 17:2.
  103. Makes all the earth mad (without reason)--Jeremiah 51:7.
  104. Makes God's people empty--Jeremiah 51:34.
  105. Makes inhabitants of earth commit fornication with her--Revelation 17:2.
  106. Mind hardened by pride--Daniel 5:20.
  107. Mounts up to heaven--Jeremiah 51:53.
  108. Not humble of heart, even though aware of God's will--Daniel 5:22.
  109. Once had (heavenly) craftsmen in her, but no more--Revelation 18:22.
  110. Once had (heavenly) music in her, but no more--Revelation 18:22.
  111. Once had the light of a candle in her, but no more (no more light of God's truths--candlestick removed)--Jeremiah 25:10; Revelation 18:23.
  112. Once had the sound of a millstone in her (grinding out seed or hammering out thetruth), but no more--Jeremiah 25:10; Revelation 18:22.
  113. Once had the voice of the bride in her (was once the true church), but no more--Jeremiah 25:10; Revelation 18:23.
  114. Once had the voice of the Bridegroom (Christ) in her, but no more--Jeremiah 25:10; Revelation 18:23.
  115. Once had the voice of gladness (gospel of Christ) within, but no more--Jeremiah 25:10.
  116. Once had the voice of mirth within, but no more--Jeremiah 25:10.
  117. Once was clean and pure, but now is a cage (closed structure) of every unclean and hateful bird--Revelation 18:2.
  118. Once was the habitation of God's angels, but now is the habitation of devils--Revelation 18:2.
  119. Once was the hold of the Holy Spirit, but now is the hold of every foul spirit--Revelation 18:2.
  120. Oppresses--Isaiah 14:4; Jeremiah 50:16, 33.
  121. Persecutes by fire all who do not bow and worship image of man--Daniel 3:6. 122. Places relatives in high positions of leadership (nepotism)--2 Kings 24:17. 123. Practices abundant enchantments--Isaiah 47:8, 12.
  124. Practices divination--Ezekiel 21:21.
  125. Practices sorcery--Isaiah 47:9, 12.
  126. Produces evildoers--Isaiah 14:20.
  127. Produces other harlots--Revelation 17:5.
  128. Puts on pretense of piety--Isaiah 47:1.
  129. Refuses to be healed of sin--Jeremiah 51:9.
  130. Refuses to let go of God's people--Jeremiah 50:33.
  131. Reigns over others--Revelation 17:18.
  132. Reigns without a king (being a widow, or divorced by Husband)--Revelation 18:7. 133. Replaces God's people with pagan believers--2 Kings 17:24.
  134. Sins have reached unto heaven (corporate probation closed)--Revelation 18:5. 135. Sits on seven hills--Revelation 17:9.
  136. Sits upon many waters--Revelation 17:1, 15.
  137. Shows no mercy--Isaiah 47:6.
  138. Shows no respect for age--Isaiah 47:6.
  139. Sleeps a perpetual sleep--Jeremiah 51:39.
  140. Smites--Isaiah 14:6.
  141. Speaks with a great voice--Jeremiah 51:55.
  142. Strives against the Lord--Jeremiah 50:24.
  143. Swallows up God's people--Jeremiah 51:34.
  144. Takes away precious things belonging to God's people--Isaiah 39:6.
  145. Teaches immortality of the soul (a lady for ever)--Isaiah 47:7.
  146. Teaches that she will never be destroyed (a lady or church for ever)--Isaiah 47:7.
  147. The praise of the whole earth--Jeremiah 51:41.
  148. Tries to be worshiped as God--Isaiah 14:14.
  149. Tries to hide her nakedness--Isaiah 47:3.
  150. Tries to hide her shame--Isaiah 47:3.
  151. Tries to make themselves a name--Genesis 11:4.
  152. Tries to prevent separation (lest we be scattered)--Genesis 11:4.
  153. Tries to serve God and false gods at same time--2 Kings 17:32-33.
  154. Tries to unite all into one--Genesis 11:4.
  155. Trusts in wickedness--Isaiah 47:10.
  156. Unites God's precious vessels (truths) with corrupt vessels (false doctrines)--Ezra 5:14.
  157. Uses intimidation to bring about submission of will to worship image of man--Daniel 3:13-15.
  158. Uses slime as mortar for the walls of Babylon--Genesis 11:3.
  159. Waters are dried up--Jeremiah 50:38.
  160. Worships false gods--Isaiah 21:9.
  161. Worships idols--Jeremiah 50:2.
  
  Why Does God's Once Faithful Church Become Part of Babylon?
  
  1. Because her precious vessels are removed--Daniel 1:2. 2. Because her precious vessels are united with Babylonian treasures--Daniel 1:2. 3. Because her shepherds (ministers) caused their sheep (members) to go astray--Jeremiah 50:6. 4. Because her sins reach unto heaven (corporate probation closed)--Jeremiah 51:9. 5. Because her strength is placed in the church, not in God--Ezekiel 24:2, 21. 6. Because highest leader becomes blind--2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 39:7; Jeremiah 52:11. 7. Because highest leader does evil in God's sight--2 Chronicles 36:5. 8. Because highest leader hardens neck against God--2 Chronicles 36:13. 9. Because highest leader is among thorns--2 Chronicles 33:11. 10. Because highest leader makes covenant with Babylon leaders--Ezekiel 17:13. 11. Because highest leader stiffens neck against God--2 Chronicles 36:13. 12. Because majority of leaders and ministers follow after the abominations of othernations (churches)--2 Chron 36:14. 13. Because majority of leaders and ministers transgress against God--2 Chronicles 36:14. 14. Because of a famine occurring (no word of God) in midst of church--Jeremiah 52:6. 15. Because of arrogance--Isaiah 14:5. 16. Because of evil--Isaiah 13:11. 17. Because of evil doing--Jeremiah 32:30, 32. 18. Because of iniquity--Ezekiel 24:2, 23. 19. Because of pride--Isaiah 14:5. 20. Because of worshiping false gods--Acts 7:43. 21. Because of rebellion--Ezekiel 17:12, 24:3. 22. Because of there being no bread (no Saviour) in midst of church--Jeremiah 52:6. 23. Because of transgressions--1 Chronicles 9:1. 24. Because of wickedness--Isaiah 14:5. 25. Because she allowed abominations to be practiced in midst--Jeremiah 32:33. 26. Because she allowed scum to remain within her--Ezekiel 24:2, 6. 27. Because she allowed strangers into midst--Jeremiah 51:51. 28. Because she became polluted--2 Chronicles 36:14. 29. Because she broke covenant made with God--Ezekiel 17:19. 30. Because she chose to unite with Egypt (world) which occurs just before becoming part of Babylon--Ezek 17:15-18. 31. Because she despises oath made with God--Ezekiel 17:19. 32. Because she filled land (whole structure) with sin against the Lord--Jeremiah 51:5. 33. Because she follows other gods--Jeremiah 32:35. 34. Because she forgot her resting place (Jesus)--Jeremiah 50:6. 35. Because she forgot sacredness of God's Sabbath--2 Chronicles 36:21. 36. Because she harkened not to God's instructions--Jeremiah 32:33, 36:31. 37. Because she is full of blood--Ezekiel 24:2, 6-9. 38. Because she is full of filthiness--Ezekiel 24:2, 11. 39. Because she is full of iniquity--Isaiah 14:5. 40. Because she is full of lewdness--Ezekiel 24:2, 13. 41. Because she is full of lies--Ezekiel 24:2, 12. 42. Because she obeyed not God's voice--Jeremiah 40:2-3. 43. Because she provoked God to anger--Jeremiah 32:32. 44. Because she provoked God to wrath--Ezra 5:12. 45. Because she refuses to be purged by God--Ezekiel 24: 2, 13. 46. Because she sacrificed her children to false gods--Jeremiah 32:35. 47. Because she sinned against the Lord--Jeremiah 50:7. 48. Because she trespassed against God--Ezekiel 17:20. 49. Because she turned back and not face to God--Jeremiah 32:33. 50. Because the desire of her eyes was for the church, not for God--Ezekiel 24:2, 21. 51. Because the joy of her glory was not Jesus--Ezekiel 24:2, 25.
  
  Principles and Things to Remember About Babylon
  
  1. All inhabitants (members) are partakers of Babylon's sins--Revelation 18:4. 2. All inhabitants (members) are to receive of Babylon's judgments or plagues--Revelation 18:4. 3. All inhabitants (members) will fall in the midst of Babylon--Jeremiah 51:47. 4. All who are part of, or joined with, Babylon shall be destroyed--Isaiah 13:15, 14:22. 5. Babylon falls piece by piece--Jeremiah 51:31. 6. Babylon is likened to a destroying mountain--Jeremiah 51:25. 7. Babylon is the dwelling place for dragons--Jeremiah 51:37. 8. Babylon will fall suddenly and is completely unaware--Jeremiah 50:24, 51:8. 9. Blood is upon all the inhabitants (members) of Babylon--Jeremiah 51:35. 10. Even highest leader of Babylon will fall down and worship at feet of God's saints--Daniel 2:46. 11. Even the ungodly realized that God's once chosen and faithful church was part ofBabylon because she obeyed not God's voice--Jeremiah 40:2-3. 12. God's once faithful church became connected with Babylon, but while many of Hisprofessed people were being slain because of it, God extended mercy to thosewho had no connection with the rebellious church--Jeremiah 39:16-18. 13. God's once faithful church makes covenant with Babylon, but after it is made, theonly way the church can continue to stand is by continuing with covenant--Ezekiel 17:14. 14. God restores all His precious vessels (truths) only to those who separate fromBabylon--Ezra 1:11, 5:14-15, 6:5. 15. God's true people are to be delivered from midst of Babylon--Micah 4:10; Zechariah 2:7. 16. Highest leader of God's professed church was captured and made prisoner, butfinally gave up warfare and agreed to become a leader in Babylon--2 Kings 25:27- 30; Jeremiah 52:31-34. 17. Kings of the earth commit fornication with Babylon--Revelation 17:2, 18:3. 18. Merchants lived on Babylon's delicacies--Revelation 18:3. 19. Message of the fall of Babylon begins the time of harvest--Jeremiah 51:27, 33. 20. Names changed when become part of Babylon--Daniel 1:7. 21. No one is forced to leave Babylon to rebuild God's church--Ezra 7:13. 22. Only health reform kept a small remnant pure while in Babylon--Daniel 1:8, 16. 23. Only those who separated from Babylon to rebuilt God's church, and who were ofone accord, can be written down on the new membership list of God's church--Nehemiah 7:5-13, 8:1. 24. Only those who separate from Babylon will have God's covenant of peace--Jeremiah 32:36-44. 25. Some of those who separate from Babylon are made to wear crowns of gold--Zechariah 6:10-15. 26. Souls are held guilty of Babylon's sins if remain part of her--Jeremiah 51:6. 27. Souls are lost if they remain part of Babylon--Jeremiah 51:6. 28. Takes about three years to try and defile and corrupt God's people with Babylonianmeat and wine--Dan 1:5, 8. 29. The blood of all God's servants is found within Babylon--Revelation 18:24, 19:2. 30. The least (weakest) of God's flock brings Babylon down--Jeremiah 50:45. 31. There were three different attacks against church until it was completely conquered--Jeremiah 52:28-30. 32. Those who separate to rebuild God's church are supported with freewill gifts--Ezra 7:15-17. 33. Three parts make up Babylon the great--Revelation 16:19. 34. When Babylon captures church only a poor remnant left--Jeremiah 52:16. 35. When Babylon captures church she breaks down all her walls--Jeremiah 52:14. 36. When Babylon captures church she breaks down all the great pillars supporting it--Jeremiah 52:17, 20-23. 37. When Babylon captures church she burns it with fire--Jeremiah 52:13. 38. When Babylon captures church she takes away all the precious vessels (truths)--Jeremiah 52:18-19. 39. When church becomes part of Babylon, blindness occurs (eyes put out) andcannot really see that church and membership are indeed part of Babylon--Jeremiah 39:7; Ezekiel 12:13. 40. When church becomes part of Babylon, her members become lost sheep--Jeremiah 50:6. 41. When God calls for His people to separate from Babylon, it is a new beginning (1st day of 1st month)--Ezra 7:9.
  
  Source: http://www.3angelsministry.com/what_is_babylon.html

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (NOT SUGGESTIONS)

Exodus 20

1And God spake all these words, saying,
2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13Thou shalt not kill.
14Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15Thou shalt not steal.
16Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
18And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
24An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

TOUGH MOVES

THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ: CHANGING TACTICS IN THE REGION

Tough moves on Iranians and Syrians in Iraq planned

By Paul Richter, Times Staff Writer

January 11, 2007

WASHINGTON — U.S. forces will step up their offensive against Iranians and Syrians in Iraq as part of President Bush's new plan for the country, American officials said Wednesday, in a step likely to further inflame Washington's relationship with Tehran.U.S. officials contend that Iran and Syria have been allowing militants to enter Iraq from their territory, and accuse Tehran of providing arms, money and training to Shiite Muslim militias. In his speech laying out the plan, Bush bluntly warned the two countries that American forces would "disrupt" their activities and said he was sending U.S. warships to the region.
"We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria," Bush said. "And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq." Bush administration documents describing the plan say Iran "has been cultivating influence in Iraq through all means at its disposal." The documents describe the aggressive new administration policy as a "key operational shift" for the U.S. The papers say Syrian actions pose "less of a strategic threat to Iraq than the Iranian actions" but compound the challenges faced by the fledgling Iraqi government.A tough new U.S. approach to Iran is likely to sharpen frictions with the Shiite-led Iraqi government, which has close and valued ties with its eastern neighbor.Despite growing U.S. complaints about Syrian and Iranian meddling, encounters between American forces and nationals of the two countries have been rare.One notable exception came last month, when U.S. troops in Baghdad, in a raid, arrested Iranians they believed were running guns and planning sectarian attacks. The Iraqi government ordered the two men out of the country nine days later; many Iraqis were furious, complaining that the arrests were unjustified. Some Iraqi officials contended that the arrests were intended as a signal that Iraq should not build a relationship with Iran without U.S. permission.White House papers on Bush's new plan for Iraq say that, in conjunction with the tough new stance toward Iran and Syria, the U.S. is moving military equipment into the Persian Gulf. Pentagon officials said this week that they were ordering a second aircraft carrier battle group, including ships and warplanes, to the gulf, as a message to Iran. Bush in his speech said that intelligence-sharing would be expanded in the region and that Patriot air defense systems were being deployed "to reassure our friends and allies." The new policy comes at a time when the U.S. and Iran are already colliding on several fronts.Washington has been the primary force behind a diplomatic effort that last month led the U.N. Security Council to impose mild sanctions on Iran for enriching uranium as part of what U.S. officials believe is Tehran's effort to build a nuclear bomb. Iran insists that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful energy development.U.S. officials have been trying to strengthen defense ties with Persian Gulf and other states to counter Iran's perceived growing influence in the region.The U.S. Treasury Department has been taking steps to limit Tehran's access to Western investment, moves that have begun to crimp Iran's economy.Administration officials continue to reject a key recommendation of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel, to establish contact with Tehran and Damascus to explore common interests in Iraq and elsewhere.The panel, led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), said in its December report that the U.S. needed to open talks with the two nations even if it disapproved of the regimes, because Iran and Syria wield influence in Iraq.But the administration maintains that to reach any compromise with the two governments it would need to give way on vital issues, such as its push to end Tehran's nuclear ambitions and to halt Iran's support for militant groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. U.S. officials said Wednesday that they remained strongly opposed to talks.Even so, Bush's new plan calls for regional meetings that would draw Syria and Iran into group diplomatic discussions on Iraq, and could lead to conversations between Washington and the two countries as part of the group. The plan calls for the Iraqis to convene such a conference, just as they organized a multinational conference in Egypt in November 2004 to build more support for the new Iraqi state.*
paul.richter@latimes.com

Source: www.latimes.com

AL-QAIDA CHIEF IN SOMALIA DEAD?

Jan. 10, 2007, 12:11PM

Al-Qaida chief in Somalia may be dead
By SALAD DUHUL Associated Press Writer © 2007 The Associated Press

A-P correspondent Orla Reese reports yesterday's U-S airstrike killed a senior al-Qaida suspect. Orla Reese, A-P correspondent. A-P correspondent Orla Reese reports yesterday's U-S airstrike killed a senior al-Qaida suspect. Video Report -->
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A senior al-Qaida suspect wanted for bombing American embassies in East Africa was killed in a U.S. airstrike, a Somali official said Wednesday, a report that if confirmed would mean the end of an eight-year hunt for a top target of Washington's war on terrorism.
In Washington, U.S. government officials said they had no reason to believe that the suspect, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, had been killed. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the information's sensitivity.
The report came as U.S forces apparently launched a third day of airstrikes in southern Somalia. At least four separate strikes were reported around Ras Kamboni, on the Somali coast near the Kenyan border. Witnesses said an AC-130 gunship attacked a suspected al-Qaida training camp.
A senior Somali government official also said a small U.S. team has been providing military advice to Ethiopian and government forces on the ground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
In Washington, a U.S. official said it would be virtually unheard of for the United States to be involved in an operation of this size without "eyes on the ground."
Two senior Pentagon officials said they had heard of no plans to put any sizable contingent of Americans in Somalia. However, small teams of liaison officers _ such as special forces or trainers _ are another matter, the officials said.
All three officials also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the subject.
Meanwhile, Somalia's deputy prime minister said Wednesday that American troops were needed on the ground to root extremists from his troubled country, and he expected the troops soon.
Fazul, the al-Qaida suspect believed killed in the airstrike Monday, was wanted for allegedly planning the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
"I have received a report from the American side chronicling the targets and list of damage," Abdirizak Hassan, the Somali president's chief of staff, told The Associated Press. "One of the items they were claiming was that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is dead."
Fazul, 32, joined al-Qaida in Afghanistan and trained there with Osama bin Laden, according to the transcript of an FBI interrogation of a known associate. He had a $5 million bounty on his head for allegedly planning the 1998 embassy bombings, which killed 225 people.
He is also suspected of planning the car bombing of an Israeli beach resort in Kenya and the near-simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner in 2002. Ten Kenyans and three Israelis were killed in the blast at the hotel, 12 miles north of Mombasa. The missiles missed the airliner.
In Washington, an intelligence official said the U.S. killed five to 10 people in an attack on an al-Qaida target in southern Somalia but did not say who was killed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the operation's sensitivity.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said, meanwhile, that eight terror suspects had been killed in the U.S. airstrike, and he was awaiting results of DNA testing to determine their identities. He said he believed they were high-ranking members of the Somali Islamic movement.
He also said he was not aware of any American special forces in Somalia, but that the U.S. was providing intelligence.
In three days of attacks near Afmadow, close to the Kenyan border, 64 civilians had been killed and 100 injured, said elder Haji Farah Qorshel. There was no independent confirmation of his claim.
Hassan said local intelligence reports indicated that Abdirahman Janaqow, a deputy leader of the Somali Islamic militants, had also been killed.
The airstrikes were part of the first U.S. offensive in Somalia since 18 American soldiers were killed there in 1993.
The offensive is aimed at capturing al-Qaida members thought to be fleeing Somalia since the Islamic militia that sheltered them began losing ground to Somali government soldiers backed by Ethiopian troops last month. It has drawn international criticism, although Britain's leader Tony Blair has pledged support.
U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said the U.S. military assault had been based on credible intelligence. He would not confirm any details of the airstrikes, conducted by at least one AC-130 gunship. He would also not say if any specific members of al-Qaida had been killed, or address if the operations were continuing.
Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aided said U.S. special forces were needed on the ground as Somali and Ethiopian forces have been unable to capture the last remaining hideouts of suspected extremists.
"The only way we are going to kill or capture the surviving al-Qaida terrorists is for U.S. special forces to go in on the ground," said Aided, a former U.S. Marine. "They have the know-how and the right equipment to capture these people."
"As far as we are aware they are not on the ground yet, but it is only a matter of time," Aided said.
Leaders of Somalia's Islamic movement have vowed from their hideouts to launch an Iraq-style guerrilla war, and bin Laden's deputy has called on militants to carry out suicide attacks on Ethiopian troops.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since clan-based warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other. The interim government was established in 2004.
___
Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor in Washington, Salad Duhul and Mohamed Sheik Nor in Mogadishu, Terry Leonard in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Chris Tomlinson in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4460922.html

US PLANES BOMB SOMALIA

A warplane readies for takeoff on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower off the coast of Somalia on Monday. (AP)

US Planes bomb Somalia

Agencies

MOGADISHU, 10 January 2007 — US helicopter gunships attacked suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists hiding in Somalia yesterday, a Somali official said, a day after US Special Operations forces launched at least two air attacks against them in this restive Horn of Africa country. The attack helicopters were trying to kill Islamic extremists, said a Defense Ministry official. Earlier, Somalia’s president, Abdullahi Yusuf, had said the US was hunting suspects in the 1998 bombings of two US Embassies in East Africa and had his support.
Witnesses said 31 civilians, including a newly wed couple, were killed by the two helicopters yesterday. This claim and another of high civilian casualties in attacks on Monday could not be verified.
Yesterday’s helicopter strikes took place in the morning near Afmadow, 350 km southwest of the capital Mogadishu, a hilly, forested area close to the Kenyan border. On Monday, AC-130 warplanes killed what Somali officials said were large numbers of extremists in Hayi, 50 km from Afmadow, and 250 km away on a remote island believed to be an Al-Qaeda training camp on the southern tip of Somalia.
“US planes struck at Bankajirow this morning between 10 a.m. and noon. I think the US planes saw donkey carts crossing the grazing land and thought it was the Islamists trying to flee,” an elder told Reuters by telephone.
The elder from Afmadow, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals, spoke to Reuters by telephone from the Kenya-Somalia border crossing at Liboi.
Hayi and Bankajirow are between Afmadow and Doble, areas near the Kenyan border where the Somali government and allied Ethiopian forces believe Islamists fled after being chased across south Somalia in a two-week war last month.
The elder — a traditional leader in Somali culture — said the Islamists were not in the area under attack but about 240 km further south at Ras Kamboni, a suspected hide-out for militants at the southernmost tip of Somalia. “People don’t understand why the Americans have bombed the field. The Islamists are not there, they are miles away,” he said. Local people have fled the area but are unable to cross the sealed Kenyan border, he added.
It was the first overt military action by the US in Somalia since it led a UN force in the 1990s that intervened in Somalia in an effort to fight famine. The mission led to clashes between UN forces and Somali warlords, including the “Black Hawk Down” battle that left 18 US servicemen dead.
In a further escalation of US involvement, the US military said the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower had arrived off the coast to join three other US warships conducting anti-terror operations.
US warships have been seeking to capture Al-Qaeda members thought to be fleeing Somalia after Ethiopia intervened Dec. 24 in support of the government, which had been struggling to assert its authority in the face of a Somali Islamic movement.
Ethiopian and Somali troops had over the last few days cornered the main Islamic force in Ras Kamboni, with US warships patrolling offshore and the Kenyan military guarding the border to watch for fleeing militants.
The US Embassy in Nairobi reissued a terror warning yesterday to Americans living in or visiting the Horn of Africa.
President Yusuf told journalists in Mogadishu that the US “has a right to bombard terrorist suspects who attacked its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.”
But others in the capital said the attacks would only increase anti-American sentiment in the largely Muslim country. Already, many in predominantly Muslim Somalia had resented the presence of troops from neighboring Ethiopia, which has a large Christian population and has fought two brutal wars with Somalia, most recently in 1977.
Ethiopia’s prime minister said in an interview published yesterday that suspected terrorists from Canada, Britain, Pakistan and elsewhere have been among those taken prisoner or killed in the military operations in Somalia.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was quoted by French newspaper Le Monde as saying that he did not know the exact number of prisoners in Somalia “because it changes constantly.”
The US airstrikes will not improve the long-term stability of the volatile East African country, the European Commission said yesterday.
“Any incident of this kind is not helpful in the long term,” said Amadeu Altafaj, spokesman for EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel.

Source: www.arabnews.com

NEW EMBASSY IN IRAQ

Construction cranes loom above the site of the new U.S. Embassy being built in Baghdad. The embassy will sit on 104 acres, six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York and two-thirds the acreage of Washington’s National Mall.

New U.S. Embassy in Iraq cloaked in mystery
Baghdad locale, slated to be completed in 2007, to be largest of its kind

Updated: 5:45 p.m. ET April 14, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The fortress-like compound rising beside the Tigris River here will be the largest of its kind in the world, the size of Vatican City, with the population of a small town, its own defense force, self-contained power and water, and a precarious perch at the heart of Iraq’s turbulent future.
The new U.S. Embassy also seems as cloaked in secrecy as the ministate in Rome.
“We can’t talk about it. Security reasons,” Roberta Rossi, a spokeswoman at the current embassy, said when asked for information about the project.

A British tabloid even told readers the location was being kept secret — news that would surprise Baghdadis who for months have watched the forest of construction cranes at work across the winding Tigris, at the very center of their city and within easy mortar range of anti-U.S. forces in the capital, though fewer explode there these days.
The embassy complex — 21 buildings on 104 acres, according to a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee report — is taking shape on riverside parkland in the fortified “Green Zone,” just east of al-Samoud, a former palace of Saddam Hussein’s, and across the road from the building where the ex-dictator is now on trial.
The Republican Palace, where U.S. Embassy functions are temporarily housed in cubicles among the chandelier-hung rooms, is less than a mile away in the 4-square-mile zone, an enclave of American and Iraqi government offices and lodgings ringed by miles of concrete barriers.
5,500 employees at the embassyThe 5,500 Americans and Iraqis working at the embassy, almost half listed as security, are far more numerous than at any other U.S. mission worldwide. They rarely venture out into the “Red Zone,” that is, violence-torn Iraq.
This huge American contingent at the center of power has drawn criticism.
“The presence of a massive U.S. embassy — by far the largest in the world — co-located in the Green Zone with the Iraqi government is seen by Iraqis as an indication of who actually exercises power in their country,” the International Crisis Group, a European-based research group, said in one of its periodic reports on Iraq.
State Department spokesman Justin Higgins defended the size of the embassy, old and new, saying it’s indicative of the work facing the United States here.
“It’s somewhat self-evident that there’s going to be a fairly sizable commitment to Iraq by the U.S. government in all forms for several years,” he said in Washington.
Higgins noted that large numbers of non-diplomats work at the mission — hundreds of military personnel and dozens of FBI agents, for example, along with representatives of the Agriculture, Commerce and other U.S. federal departments.
They sleep in hundreds of trailers or “containerized” quarters scattered around the Green Zone. But next year embassy staff will move into six apartment buildings in the new complex, which has been under construction since mid-2005 with a target completion date of June 2007.
Iraq’s interim government transferred the land to U.S. ownership in October 2004, under an agreement whose terms were not disclosed.
“Embassy Baghdad” will dwarf new U.S. embassies elsewhere, projects that typically cover 10 acres. The embassy’s 104 acres is six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York, and two-thirds the acreage of Washington’s National Mall.
Estimated cost of over $1 billionOriginal cost estimates ranged over $1 billion, but Congress appropriated only $592 million in the emergency Iraq budget adopted last year. Most has gone to a Kuwait builder, First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting, with the rest awarded to six contractors working on the project’s “classified” portion — the actual embassy offices.
Higgins declined to identify those builders, citing security reasons, but said five were American companies.
The designs aren’t publicly available, but the Senate report makes clear it will be a self-sufficient and “hardened” domain, to function in the midst of Baghdad power outages, water shortages and continuing turmoil.
It will have its own water wells, electricity plant and wastewater-treatment facility, “systems to allow 100 percent independence from city utilities,” says the report, the most authoritative open source on the embassy plans.
Besides two major diplomatic office buildings, homes for the ambassador and his deputy, and the apartment buildings for staff, the compound will offer a swimming pool, gym, commissary, food court and American Club, all housed in a recreation building.
Security, overseen by U.S. Marines, will be extraordinary: setbacks and perimeter no-go areas that will be especially deep, structures reinforced to 2.5-times the standard, and five high-security entrances, plus an emergency entrance-exit, the Senate report says.
Higgins said the work, under way on all parts of the project, is more than one-third complete.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12319798/

NEW WAY FORWARD

US twists civilian arms to fill its Fortress Baghdad

By Guy Dinmore

Published: January 8 2007 02:00 Last updated: January 8 2007 02:00

At the heart of George W. Bush's "new way forward" - which the president is expected to announce on Wednesday and involve substantial troop reinforcements - is the plan already under way to expand the US civilian presence across Iraq and complete the world's largest embassy in Baghdad.
Construction of what critics call "Fortress Baghdad" has led to arguments inside the State Department amid fears that the overwhelming diplomatic presence will perpetuate a sense of US occupation and become a focus of local anger.

US diplomats say that just as the armed forces are being stretched to breaking point, the US foreign service is suffering from low morale and operations in the rest of the world are being damaged by the diversion of resources to Iraq.
Officials are also questioning why the Bush administration is sending more civilians into a deteriorating war zone, and the effectiveness of the work they can do.
The embassy compound being built inside Baghdad's Green Zone covers 104 acres, making it six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York. A city within a city for more than 1,000 people, it will have its own water, sewers and electricity, six apartment buildings, a Marine barracks, swimming pool, shops and some walls 15 feet thick.
The State Department has told the Financial Times that the US civilian presence in Iraq has "grown considerably beyond the numbers projected for the new embassy compound", which is scheduled for completion by September 1 at a cost of $592m (€455m, £307m).
The department and other agencies, such as the Pentagon and Treasury which also supply staff, are working out how to accommodate the extra numbers that Mr Bush is expected to announce this week. Recruits are being attracted to one-year posts by a mix of cajoling and inducement - an almost doubling of their salary, four trips outside Iraq and guarantees of favourable postings afterwards.
Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, and other officials have repeatedly sent cables to personnel around the world saying diplomats have a patriotic duty to volunteer for Baghdad and the expanding "provincial reconstruction teams", where diplomats work out of military bases.
"Baghdad dwarfs everything else. It is becoming a monster that has to be fed every year with a new crop of volunteers," says one diplomat.
So far the State Department has not resorted to compulsory or "directed" assignments, a practice last used during the Vietnam war. But it has warned it would put assignments elsewhere on hold "if Iraq and Afghanistan and other priority posts are not staffed".
Among the many recommendations of the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton report on Iraq, issued in December, was that diplomats and other US personnel should be obliged to serve in Iraq if there were not enough volunteers.
Steve Kashkett, vice-president of the American Foreign Service Association, the professional body representing US foreign service officers, questions their logic.
"It makes no sense for the Iraq report authors simultaneously to propose scaling back the US military presence and beefing up the presence of unarmed US diplomats in a combat zone," he writes this month in the association's journal.
John Brown, who resigned as a US diplomat in protest against the 2003 invasion and now teaches public diplomacy, says the embassy "will be a symbol of the US occupation and the near-total separation of US embassy staff members from the society with which they are supposed to interact".
"Indeed, the planned embassy reminds me of the huge, cavernous buildings that housed Soviet missions in eastern Europe during the cold war. They were hated by the local population for all they stood for: secrecy, arrogance and domination."
Of the 1,000 or so US civilians staffing Baghdad at present - not including large numbers of private-sector bodyguards - there are about 200 career diplomats, plus some 70 in the provincial reconstruction teams that are set to expand.
Many other staffers are so-called "3161s" - recruited ad hoc and, according to the State Department, "fully qualified for their highly technical jobs". Diplomats question this, saying many are incompetent and have been hired for their loyalty to the Republican effort.
Asked why the US was sending more diplomats into a war zone when such conditions elsewhere in the world would lead to closure or drawdown of embassies, the State Department said such comparisons were "inappropriate", noting the embassy had suffered "minimal casualties".
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

Source: http://www.ft.com

THE AGE OF TERROR?

The United States Of Hysteria Strange smells and dead birds frighten many in the age of terror

Prison Planet January 9, 2007

Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones

Two incidents that occurred yesterday morning, dead birds in Austin Texas and a strange odor across New York, and the reaction they elicited, underscores the fact that Americans are living their lives on a day to day basis in abject fear of being a victim of a new terror attack, despite the fact that they have an equally dangerous chance of being struck by lightning. Welcome to the United States of Hysteria.
Just as New Yorkers were heading to work, a strange gas-like odor began to permeate the air from Manhattan to northeastern New Jersey, leading many to fear a dangerous chemical had been released and a biological attack was underway.
Schools, roads and office buildings were evacuated, subway stations closed, commuter trains re-routed and 911 calls ballooned. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg called a press conference to allay fears that terrorists had struck again but simply in the act of doing so, raised the specter of 9/11 once again to remind Americans who their bosses were in times of perceived crisis.
The smell has still not yet been fully explained, allowing rumors to fly and paranoia to percolate.

Meanwhile, in Austin Texas, reports began to filter through of dead birds found around the area of Congress Avenue and police officers feeling ill. Blocks were closed off and the 6th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team , a National Guard unit trained in dealing with how to respond to terror attacks and other catastrophes involving nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological material, was immediately deployed to the area.
Fears of a bird flu outbreak or an attack circulated before the event was dismissed as a case of mundane poisoning and the streets reopened.
Despite the severity of the incident being downgraded, several online respondents to a KXAN news story were still convinced that bird flu was the culprit. Others were more cynical. "Maybe this is just another government tactic to sell the garbage they call vaccinations against Bird Flu. Maybe it is something people need to wake up to - scare tactics," commented one.
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Yesterday's scares were by no means the first time Americans have been frightened into believing that false alarms were actually deadly terror attacks in the offing.
Back in May, a faulty construction drill was mistaken for gunfire in the Capitol Hill area. The entire Capitol complex was placed under lockdown by federal SWAT teams as were other buildings and schools throughout the city, even those well outside the immediate area. It was quickly established that there was no gunman but this didn't prevent people fainting and complaining of feeling ill during the incident, mirroring yesterday's events where individuals were taken to hospital. In all three cases, the cause of the perceived illness is nothing more than mass hysteria as a result of the paranoia inflicted upon the psyche of the nation since 9/11.
It matters not that in almost every case officials are swift to state that the events do not characterize a terror attack, because even as a precaution the presence of police, fire department, Homeland Security, FBI, National Guard and a myriad of other "anti-terror" forces are immediately deployed on the ground, giving the media ample opportunity to bombard viewers with more footage of men in uniforms and bio-hazard suits with guns "protecting" the American people.
As News Hounds clarifies, "Such images reinforce the perception that Americans live in constant danger and must keep the growing police state atmosphere in place regardless of the cost in terms of civil liberties. In other words, "See what could happen, America? This is why the government needs to spy on you, track your phone calls, and who knows what else. We're here to protect you."
In reality, as I discussed last week, peanuts are more dangerous to Americans than terrorists and accident causing deer, lightning strikes and swimming pools all represent a greater threat than "Al-Qaeda" to your life. People get in their cars and drive down the highway every day without fear of death despite the fact that September 11 casualty figures are surpassed every month on our roads.
Perception is reality and it is solely the maniacal hyping and fearmongering of the terror threat that maintains its hold over the rationality of the general public. In that sense, the government and the media are doing the very bidding of what the terrorists alone could never achieve - changing our way of life by creating a permanent state of manufactured alarm.
Were the simultaneous events in Austin and New York just a coincidence or are we witnessing, as some fear, the preparation for biological attacks on major U.S. cities blamed on Al-Qaeda and eventually connected to Iran to justify air strikes against that country's nuclear facilities?
Dick Cheney's USSTRATCOM contingency plan calls for attacking Iran in the immediate aftermath of a 'second 9/11' - no matter who is behind it - which of course is going to be the cabal Dick Cheney fronts for itself and the same pack of murderers that are actively seeking to initiate global ethic cleansing and genocide to bring about world war three and an Arab holocaust.
Were yesterday's events merely a dry run for the horror set to be unleashed by means of a false flag bio-attack on a number of major American cities? Or did they merely represent another sad indictment of how America has gone from being land of the free, home of the brave to land of the coward, home of the slave?
Source: http://infowars.com/articles/ps/united_states_of_hysteria.htm

HISTORICISM

I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it come to pass you might believe. John 14:29

Isaac Newton
Protestant History
3 Interpretations
Daniel
Revelation
Armageddon
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Site Index

Bible Prophecy was given to increase our Faith as the events foretold came to pass. Preterism doesn't predict anything and the predictions of Futurism never "come to pass." Neither of these false interpretations can ever create faith.
Neither interpretation can ever create faith.
We hope that this web site will help you rediscover the traditional Historicist interpretation of Bible Prophecy. This interpretation kindled the Protestant Reformation and sparked the great awakening. It was the prophetic faith of our fathers.
Historicism exposes the Rapture, ecumenical and future Anti Christ promoters for what they are, supporters of the true Anti Christ, the office of the Papacy.
It reveals that most of the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation have been fullfilled. As your eyes open you will be strengthened and encouraged. True prophecy glorifies the God that sees the end from the beginning!
The ecumencial movement is threatening every major doctrine of the reformation. It would usher in a new dark age. But Bible prophecy reveals a different conclusion. It is time to wake up and trim our lamps for there are great rewards to those that overcome the lukewarmness and blindness of this generation.
As you read, ask God for the annointing of his Wisdom. Discernment is his gift to those who ask in Faith.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; where unto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. II Peter 1:19.

Source: http://www.historicist.com/

IN GOD WE TRU$T

In God we trust -- it’s on the money!

By Nick Paccione

Online Journal Contributing Writer

Dec 15, 2006, 01:14

Is there any other culture in the world that has exploited their religious icons like America’s Christians have exploited God and Jesus?
It’s old news that George W Bush and Karl Rove created a coalition rooted in Christian support to win their elections. It’s newer news that a Bush insider has exposed the gimmickry and exploitation of Christians by the Republican power brokers.
Liberals had this puzzle pieced together years ago when Republican masterminds invented the “We Vote Pro-Life” movement. How frustrating it was to quarrel with someone who votes “pro-life” based on the single issue of abortion while ignoring monumental environmental problems, the proliferation of guns, rampant corruption and neglect of the mentally ill and impoverished.
It seemed amazing that Republican strategists were able to get millions of Christians to vote for candidates because they supposedly wore the Christian label while blatantly representing the antithesis of everything that Jesus cared about. But then again could Jesus have ever envisioned Hemi-powered pick-up trucks adorned with metallic “ixous fish” and glowing bumper stickers proclaiming what his legacy means to swarms of Americans?
“Real Men Love Jesus”
“His Pain Is Your Gain”
“Honk If You Love Jesus!”
“This Car is ‘Prayer Conditioned’”
“In Case of Rapture, This Car is Yours”
“T.G.I.F.: Thank God I’m Forgiven”
“Would You Follow Jesus This Close?”
“For All You Do, His Blood’s For You”
I persistently hear the voice of Fredrick from Woody Allan’s “Hannah and Her Sisters” in my head: “If Jesus came back and saw what's going on in his name, he'd never stop throwing up.”
Republican puppet masters aren’t the only ones benefiting from the manipulation of the simple-minded that would adorn their cars with this twaddle. Obviously, the televangelists are the most direct beneficiaries followed by the rest of the ministers that pass the collection basket and then enjoy all the luxuries of life.
Less talked about are the immensely lucrative industries that have been spawned by giving the faithful what they want and need. All the aforementioned slogans are also available on coffee mugs, T-shirts, sweatshirts, bookmarks, banners and wall plaques.
If you are so inclined, capitalistic Christians have the ideal item just for you and they haven’t missed a single heaven-sent gimmick. Scented candles promise to fill your home with the biblical odors of frankincense and myrrh, while various other aromas are designed to quiet your mind and lead you to more picture-perfect devotion. And who would dream of burning their candles without a candleholder inscribed with the words, “I Am the Light of the World”?
Your wall clock ticks away the seconds while the hands of time sweep past inspirational messages like “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” And just to keep you mindful of your piety while in the kitchen, why not invest in some Christian kitchenware including scripture-inscribed pottery, potholders, serving ware, pie plates, cutting boards, napkin rings, coasters and aprons. And don’t forget when it’s time to dry the dishes you’ll need your Thessalonians dish towels.
Whose bathroom would be complete without some “Fruit of the Spirit” bath towels? That’s right, you can even dry your work-worn hands on luxuriant terrycloth embossed with inspirational quotes from some of your favorite biblical action heroes.
And when it’s time to eat, serve up the biscuits in a beautiful basket ornamented with a Bible verse that makes mealtime more inspirational than ever. Made of solid maple, each basket is lasered with "Give us this day our daily bread” -- an extraordinary addition to any table. How about a lazy Susan painted with a verse or two from Corinthians? It’s the ultimate complement to your white linen napkins that are lovingly embroidered with “Come, Lord Jesus, Be Our Guest and Let These Gifts to Us Be Blessed.”
Why stop with the décor when you can eat an array of foods from a most ingenious company called “Food for Life.” They offer breads, buns, muffins, pocket breads, cereals, tortillas and pastas. Their Ezekiel line of foodstuff is inspired by a Bible verse that actually gives the recipe for whole grain products (Ezekiel 4:9). Their whole-grain breads are made from the seed-bearing trees as mentioned in Genesis 1:29. Packaged with colorful artwork of doves and Bible quotes, these fine foods are available in your grocer’s freezer and they are sure to fill you up in more ways than one.
Don’t overlook the kids. Just in case they’re not already embarrassed or slightly frightened by your fanatical lifestyle, you just might want to turn off the TV and set them to play with some wonderful Bible-based wooden building blocks. Who needs Barney when your offspring can amuse themselves and build a fort from bricks engraved with Bible verses? It all stacks up for hours of fun.
Joy is the name of the game for the whole family with incredible Bible memory matching games. Goodbye Candyland; hello Holy Land. And the teens in the family will have a genuine hoot with uproarious boxed competitive games, including “Bible Mad Gab,” “Bible Outburst,” and “The Life of Christ” board game. Put away Monopoly, Clue and Taboo and have some fun with the Holy Book. Don’t pass heaven; don’t forget to tithe $200.
Now let’s go to the office where your business card holder bears witness to your devotion. And when you’re signing those pink slips, contracts and imperative memos, use your lovely Christian rosewood pen -- the perfect tool for the very special executive. It’s laser-engraved with "Jesus Christ is Lord" and it can be used for years because you can refill it with standard Cross refills.
And when it’s time for bed, isn’t it a comfort to know that your greasy hair and runny drool are soiling a pillow that reminds you that “I Can Do Everything Through Him Who Gives Me Strength.” Just be careful not to put your face in the pillow to read as you’re dozing off; suffocation can be unforgiving.These products are just a few of thousands. If there’s money to be made, America’s Christians haven’t missed an angle. It’s a jamboree of gimmicks, ploys and dollars. How appropriate that the unfailing slogan on all U.S. currency boldly claims “In God We Trust.” It’s hard to argue with the relevance of that one.
Copyright © 1998-2007 Online Journal

Source: http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1534.shtml

LEADERS PROMISE MORE PAIN

American leaders promise more pain

By John Stanton

Online Journal

Contributing Writer

Jan 2, 2007, 01:26

Just 32 years ago in 1975, former US President Gerald Ford (unelected to both the vice presidency and the presidency) served as master of ceremonies for the close of the Vietnam War. There are two images that remain seared in the minds of many around the world from that terrible 10-year debacle and defeat. One is a photograph, taken by Hubert van Es during the fall of Saigon, depicting Vietnamese civilians climbing to the top of an apartment building frantically attempting to board a US helicopter. The other is a photograph, taken by Nic Ut, of a young Vietnamese girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, her flesh seared by napalm in a US aerial assault. She is running down a road, naked and screaming.
Thirty-two years later, as much of the world celebrated religious and cultural holidays, and prepared to greet the new year 2007, its newspapers and electronic media outlets depicted photographs and video of the hanging of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The 21st Century and the freedom-loving US government approved a good old-style 1800s' hanging in Iraq: Hussein, guilty of mass murder, swinging from a rope in a stairwell somewhere in Baghdad. In 1975, Ford and Kissinger gave a green light to Indonesia's invasion of East Timor, which left some 200,000 dead.
As an aside, perhaps Americans should be reminded of their history with hangings and what's likely to come from 21st Century military tribunals. According to Wikipedia, “the largest single execution in United States history was the hanging of thirty-eight Dakota people convicted of murder and rape in the Sioux Uprising. They were executed simultaneously on December 26, 1862, in Mankato, Minnesota. A single blow from an axe cut the rope that held the large four-sided platform, and the prisoners (except for one whose rope had broken, and who consequently had to be restrung) fell to their deaths. The second largest mass execution in United States history was also a hanging: the execution of 13 African American soldiers for their parts in the Houston Riot. Notably, both incidents involved ethnic minority defendants, and military tribunal judgments in time of war.”
Appetite for destruction
The two images from the Vietnam War and the photos and video of the hanging of Hussein capture in vivid detail the end results of strategies and tactics designed and executed by incompetent American leaders. Failure is everywhere in the stills and video. Failure to manage risk, failure to anticipate, failure to understand, failure to have compassion for human life, failure to accept change, failure to realize that perception is often not reality. Title, rank or advanced degree have never been a barrier to poor decision-making or the maniacal drive for power to ensure a lasting place in world history. On what basis can one make such an outrageous claim?
What's the record of the US leaders since 1975? Some of the highlights include: Vietnam War; Cold War (post Cold War mismanagement); Iranian Revolution/Hostage Crisis; Iran/Contra; HIV/AIDS (1980s); Grenada War; War on Drugs; Panama War; Iraq War I; Iraq War II; Afghanistan War I; Somalia I (think Blackhawk Down); Yugoslavia/Bosnia War; Ethiopia vs Somalia War (US now backing Ethiopia); War on Terror; Israel vs Lebanon/Hezbollah (US backing Israel); Lebanon Stability Operation (200 plus US Marines needlessly sacrificed); stolen presidential election of 2000 decided by US Supreme Court; 9-11 attack on New York City and Arlington, Virginia; military tribunals,; income disparity (US middle class disappearing); tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans; health care cost increases; record foreclosures and bankruptcies in 2006; 2007 recession looming; sanctioned domestic electronic surveillance, refusal to honor international treaties, nuclear proliferation (Egypt and Saudi Arabia will now build nuclear reactors); global warming; over 3,000 Americans dead and many more thousands maimed in Iraq II and Afghanistan I; military families on Food Stamps; unprecedented national debt, unreliable infrastructure (electrical grids, for example); 9-11 Commission and Iraq Study Group; and now trial balloons being floated for a return to military conscription.
But the nail in the coffin, so to speak, is that “The Vote” does not matter one bit. The 2006 mid-term elections in the USA sent a clear signal to US leaders that the time had come to get out of Iraq. And yet as the new year enters, Democrats and Republicans, CEOs and generals are united in their support for a troop “surge” in Iraq. Those in charge in America are creating the conditions which lead to open revolt. When votes do not matter, when draconian laws and regulations weigh on people, when employment is uncertain, and there is no longer any outlet for expression, frustration and anger set in. That leads to violence.
Operation Roadrunner
And what do the folks in charge offer as solutions? Catch phrases and information manipulation. Over at the Pentagon the thinking on Iraq II is something like this: go long, go short, maintain, get out, go left, go right, go, go down. Is this what $1 trillion a year buys. Meanwhile, the president, with his staff in tow, tells the American people. “ . . . My heart breaks everyday for our dead soldiers and their families. Next question . . . Go shopping.” Are you kidding?
What;s next!? Cartoon character Wylie Coyote briefs the Joint Chiefs, President Bush and incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Speaking on guarantee of anonymity, a source who was at the briefing said that, “Mr Coyote provided some keen insights that are applicable to the Global War on Terror, The War on Terror, The Long War, The Asymmetrical War, The Irregular War, The Calling of Our Time War. The president and Joint Chiefs were receptive. The Pentagon feels that if Mr. Coyote had the space, sea and land assets that we now have, he would have caught that Roadrunner whom we see as an example of your basic modern day al Qaeda/anti-American terrorist. Mr. Coyote was far ahead of his time in the use of technology from defense contractor ACME and his understanding and application of psychological operations techniques. We appreciate his timely advice.”
The world waits in horror for a congressionally mandated commission co-chaired by former President Bill Clinton and former President George Bush I to study every commission created from 2001 to 2008. Why not Homer Simpson and Sponge-Bob Squarepants?
What more can be said about the downright crappy leadership that the American public and the world have endured for a little over three decades. Clinton promised “A Bridge to the 21st Century.” That bridge needs to be demolished and a new one built. Unfortunately it is going to fall to the next three generations to fix it, if they can.
It's time to listen to the words of Malcolm X, speaking at Oxford Union, UK in 1964: “I read once, passingly, about a man named Shakespeare ,who wrote something that moved me. He put the words into a character named Hamlet who said, 'To be or not to be'. He had a doubt about something. 'To suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.' Compromise. 'Or to take up arms against a a sea of troubles and, by opposing, end them.' And I go for that. If you take up arms you'll end it. But if you sit around waiting for the ones in power to change things, you'll be waiting a long time. In my opinion, young people today, whites, blacks, browns whatever else there is, must realize that they live in a time of revolution, a time of change. Those in power have abused it and there has got to be change. A better world needs to be built and the only way it is going to get built is by extreme methods. I will stand with anyone, I don't care what color you are, as long as you want to change the miserable condition that exists on this earth.”John Stanton is a Virginia based writer specializing in national security and political matters. Reach him at cioran123@yahoo.com.
Copyright © 1998-2007

Source: http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1591.shtml