White House proposes drastic cuts to State Department and funding for UN and NATO and other groups
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
By MATTHEW LEE and FARNOUSH AMIRI Published: 1:31 PM GMT+12, April 15, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has proposed gutting the State Department’s budget by almost 50%, closing a number of overseas diplomatic missions, slashing the number of diplomatic staff, and eliminating funding for nearly all international organizations, including the United Nations, many of its agencies and for NATO headquarters, officials said.
The proposal, which was presented to the State Department last week and is still in a highly preliminary phase, is not expected to pass muster with either the department’s leadership or Congress, which will ultimately be asked to vote on the entire federal budget in the coming months.
Officials familiar with the proposal say it must still go through several rounds of review before it even gets to lawmakers, who in the past have amended and even rejected White House budget requests. Though the proposal is preliminary, it gives an indication of the Trump administration’s priorities and coincides with massive job and funding cuts across the federal government, from Health and Human Services and the Education Department to the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Notes from an internal meeting about the proposal have been circulated in online chat groups among foreign service officers since the weekend but exploded Monday when the State Department was due to present a separate unrelated reorganization plan to the OMB.
One senior U.S. official familiar with the OMB proposal called it “aggressive” in terms of cost-cutting, but also stressed that it was an early outline that mirrored what OMB chief Russell Vought sought to do in President Donald Trump’s first administration when he served in the same job. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.
While President Trump seems more determined than any others to reduce the American National Debt, this will have a profound effect on American Support for Global Agencies and for NATO.
From a Bible Prophecy view we know that NATO must come to an end and morph into a European Defence Force with Russie included and acting as a Guard unto Europe. This might seem a little far fetched to a lot of Politicians but it will happen because the Bible describes the GeoPolitical Allignment of Nations at the Time of the End before Christ will Return.
President Macron is also on record saying he wants to bring Russia back to the negotiating table and begin dialogue on some form of a Security Pact with Russia, so there is already some thoughts about what might be beyond NATO as it now stands.
The Bible has long revealed that Russia and an EU Army will enter into a final conflict with Israel and the Middle East. Germany is the key country in what Bible Prophecy refers to as the land of “Magog”. They are spoken of militarily as the “King of the North”. Together the Bible says that Russia and the EU will invade the Middle East in the Last Days. So Bible Students expect to see Germany and France taking a greater role in leading Europe. It is also interesting to see Germany taking greater control of a continent they tried to take by war and failed.
Yet again we see in Todays News Headlines words that show how the Nations are fulfilling the latter day alignment of Nations as Prophesied by the Bible.
See this article to learn more about this and the latter day prophecies of the Bible.
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Marco-Rubio-and-Expense-Cuts.jpg350490Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2025-04-15 20:41:092025-04-15 20:46:55White House proposes drastic cuts to funding for UN and NATO
by Mark Toth and Jonathan Sweet, Opinion Contributors – 03/17/25 7:00 AM ET AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko
In the opening months of the war in Ukraine, we warned about the strange case of Dr. Vladimir andMr. Putin. Duality of purpose and multifaceted end states have always been central to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calculus and decision making.
Controlling Ukraine and its mineral riches is his immediate goal as the would-be Don of the Donbas. But Putin’s broader geostrategic goal also includes dismantling NATO.
Putin knows, conventionally-speaking, that his military cannot defeat NATO in Ukraine, much less Europe. But he can create enough division from within its ranks to divide the United States, old NATO and new NATO in order to fracture trust from within the 32-member defensive alliance.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed as much during a press conference with Putin on Thursday. Referring to President Trump’s proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, Lukashenko reminded the audience that he had observed early in the war that a deal between Washington and Moscow “would be the end of Europe.”
By “Europe,” he also meant “NATO.”
Putin seized on the point. He noted that if the U.S. and Russia cooperate on energy deals, Europe will then be able “to get cheap Russian gas.” Cheap, perhaps in terms of monetary cost, but as Putin knows, European independence — and by extension NATO — would again be undermined by its dependence on Russian sources of energy.
EU countries have spent more on Russian energy in the last three years than they have invested in Ukraine’s defense. This has, among other things, led to Hungary and Slovakia to veto NATO and EU measures to support Ukraine.
This is not real news as Putin as been wanting to divide the EU from America for a long time and to put an end to NATO. The EU is already assessing what to do with Russia now that President Trump is back. President Emmanual Macron has also been on record saying that he wants to bring Russia back to the negotiating table and begin dialogue on some form of a Security Pact with Russia, NATO’s existence in its current form will be an issue even more so now.
The Bible has long revealed that Russia and an EU Army will enter into a final conflict with Israel and the Middle East. Germany is the key country in what Bible Prophecy refers to as the land of “Magog”. They are spoken of militarily as the “King of the North”. Together the Bible says that Russia and the EU will invade the Middle East in the Last Days. So Bible Students expect to see Germany and France taking a greater role in leading Europe. It is also interesting to see Germany taking greater control of a continent they tried to take by war and failed.
Yet again we see in Todays News Headlines words that show how the Nations are fulfilling the latter day alignment of Nations as Prophesied by the Bible as NATO must come to an end.
See this article to learn more about this and the latter day prophecies of the Bible.
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Putin-who-next.jpg12791880Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2025-03-19 09:28:232025-03-19 09:28:51Putin’s real goal is to Destroy NATO
US Senator joins Elon Musk in calling for withdrawal from NATO
Utah Sen. Mike Lee posted ‘get us out of NATO’ on X on Saturday
Gustaf Kilander in Washington D.C. Sunday 02 March 2025 18:10 EST
Absurd to claim Republicans support Putin, says Speaker Mike Johnson after Trump Zelensky clash
Elon Musk shared his support for the US leaving NATO and the UN on Saturday night and was joined in the cause by Utah Sen. Mike Lee.
The head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) took to X to write “I agree” to a post stating “It’s time to leave NATO and the UN”
Musk is joined by several Republican lawmakers, such as Lee, who have questioned U.S. membership of NATO.
Lee, who has criticized NATO for quite some time, has said that the alliance is a “great deal for Europe” but a “raw deal for America.” He has suggested that US resources are being used to defend Europe while doing little to protect America.
“Get us out of NATO,” Lee wrote on X on Saturday.
Musk’s statement comes as the Trump administration is making clear that it may turn its back on its traditional allies. That includes America’s future in NATO.
Lee said on X that it was a “good time” to leave the alliance. Trump has on many occasions pushed European nations to spend more on defense, arguing that the US is carrying too heavy a burden to keep the alliance safe.
And see the latest headlines in Europe: NATO could be in final days warns former commander
Something everyone said couldn’t happen will happen, America will pull out of NATO and this is based on Bible Prophecy. Just like Britain had to pull out of the EU so too will this happen. But its surprising how fast things are moving, few if any would have seen this coming so quickly.
What also interesting is the EU is saying that need to Re-Arm and President Emmanual Macron says that the EU needs hundreds of billions in defense spending as US pivots away.
President Macron is also on record saying he wants to bring Russia back to the negotiating table and begin dialogue on some form of a Security Pact with Russia, NATO’s existence in its current form will be an issue even more so now.
The Bible has long revealed that Russia and an EU Army will enter into a final conflict with Israel and the Middle East. Germany is the key country in what Bible Prophecy refers to as the land of “Magog”. They are spoken of militarily as the “King of the North”. Together the Bible says that Russia and the EU will invade the Middle East in the Last Days. So Bible Students expect to see Germany and France taking a greater role in leading Europe. It is also interesting to see Germany taking greater control of a continent they tried to take by war and failed.
Yet again we see in Todays News Headlines words that show how the Nations are fulfilling the latter day alignment of Nations as Prophesied by the Bible.
See this article to learn more about this and the latter day prophecies of the Bible.
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/US-Senator-Mike-Lee.jpg7801003Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2025-03-03 20:27:082025-03-03 20:31:22US Senator joins Elon Musk in calling for withdrawal from NATO
Zelensky calls for creation of ‘armed forces of Europe’
He warns Trump not to deal with Putin ‘behind our backs’ over Ukraine’s futureBy OLIVIA CHRISTIE Published: 2 07:58 AEDT, 16 February 2025
President Zelensky has dramatically called for the creation of a European army – as he warned countries on the continent now needed to fight for ‘their own sake’.
The Ukrainian leader said on Saturday that Europe must take the threat of further war seriously amid concerns the US would negotiate a peace deal with the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Zelensky warned President Donald Trump not to deal with Vladimir Putin ‘behind our backs’ when it comes to Ukraine’s future.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he said: ‘I believe the time has come to create an armed forces of Europe. Money alone will not stop an enemy assault.
‘It is not just about budgets, it is about people realising they need to defend their own home.’
We need this so that ‘decisions about Europe are made in Europe’, Zelensky added.
The Ukrainian leader was alluding to a phone conversation between Trump and Putin, after which the Republican president said the two would likely meet to negotiate a peace deal.
Trump later assured Zelensky that he, too, would have a seat at the table to end the war that was sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
This is not a new call, President Marcron of France has said this a number of times before that Europe needs to be able to defend itself withou relying on the United States of America. President Emmanual Macron has also been on record saying that he wants to bring Russia back to the negotiating table and begin dialogue on some form of a Security Pact with Russia, NATO’s existence in its current form will be an issue even more so now.
The Bible has long revealed that Russia and an EU Army will enter into a final conflict with Israel and the Middle East. Germany is the key country in what Bible Prophecy refers to as the land of “Magog”. They are spoken of militarily as the “King of the North”. Together the Bible says that Russia and the EU will invade the Middle East in the Last Days. So Bible Students expect to see Germany and France taking a greater role in leading Europe. It is also interesting to see Germany taking greater control of a continent they tried to take by war and failed.
Yet again we see in Todays News Headlines words that show how the Nations are fulfilling the latter day alignment of Nations as Prophesied by the Bible.
See this article to learn more about this and the latter day prophecies of the Bible.
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Ukraine-President-Volodymyr-Zelensky.jpg12561880Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2025-02-16 11:28:312025-02-16 11:28:56Zelensky calls for creation of ‘Armed forces of Europe’
Europe braces for ‘most extreme’ military scenario as Trump-Putin 2.0 begins
Some European governments are afraid that Vladimir Putin may turn his armies their way after Ukraine. An isolationist White House may not help if he does.
LONDON — All over Europe, there are signs of a continent steeling itself for the unthinkable.
Lithuania plans to lay mines on its bridges to Russia, ready to detonate should Kremlin tanks try to cross. In the nearby Baltic Sea, NATO ships are hunting Russia’s so-called “Shadow Fleet” accused of cutting undersea communications cables. And in Europe’s skies there are plans to construct a vast missile defense system, similar to Israel’s “Iron Dome” but with the explicit purpose of shooting down rockets launched by Moscow.
European governments and citizens worry that an emboldened Kremlin may turn his armies their way after Ukraine. There is also widespread nervousness that the new U.S. president — an isolationist —has suggested he may not defend America’s historical NATO allies if they are attacked by Russia.
While President Donald Trump this week criticized Vladimir Putin, Trump has showed few signs of a meaningful shift from that position. On Thursday, he said in an interview with Fox News that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “was fighting a much bigger entity,” and that “he shouldn’t have done that, because we could have made a deal.”
He said little new about NATO or Europe, only reiterating his latest demand for European allies to pay 5% of their GDP toward defense — more than twice the NATO recommendation — and lamenting how much more Washington has spent than Brussels toward supporting Ukraine’s defense.
“NATO has to pay more,” Trump said. “It’s ridiculous because it affects them a lot more. We have an ocean in between.”
The stakes couldn’t be higher. European officials have repeatedly stated that Putin is preparing for a war with the West. For many, this is already happening, with think tank analysts,governments and NATO itself accusing Moscow of “hybrid warfare” attacks — from election interference to trying to crash airliners with firebombs.
Donald Trump is President again and seems to be wasting no time in letting Europe know where he stands on NATO. This development will ultimately see Bible Prophecy fulfilled with Europe ultimately drawing closer to Russia. We will watch to see what happens this year, but from this article and a few others, European leaders are worried about what might happen. Europe will form a ‘Security Pact’ with Russia.
This EU SUPERSTATE will along with Russia enter into a final conflict with Israel and the Middle East. Germany is the key country in what Bible Prophecy refers to as the land of “Magog”. They are spoken of militarily as the “King of the North”. Together the Bible says that Russia and the EU will invade the Middle East in the Last Days. So Bible Students expect to see Germany and France taking a greater role in leading Europe. It is also interesting to see Germany taking greater control of a continent they tried to take by war and failed.
Yet again we see in Today’s News Headlines words that show how the Nations are fulfilling the latter-day alignment of Nations as Prophesied by the Bible.
See this article to learn more about this and the latter day prophecies of the Bible.
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Trump-and-Putin.jpg163289Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2025-01-27 21:10:122025-01-27 21:10:45Europe braces for ‘most extreme’ military scenario
In Unpacked, Brookings experts provide analysis of Trump administration policies and news.
THE ISSUE: President Trump wants to make the “ultimate deal” to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has put his son in law Jared Kushner in charge of achieving it.
Kushner will have a real challenge when it comes to being effective especially because the objective circumstances for Israeli and Palestinian peace making are very, very dismal.
THE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Because Kushner is seen as President Trump’s trusted confidant, the whole region will understand that he speaks for the president.
Both Arab and Israeli leadership could take advantage of Kushner’s lack of experience in Middle East policy by employing tactics that will make it extremely difficult for him to move forward with a deal.
The dismal circumstance surrounding Israeli and Palestinian peace making and failures on both sides to fulfil their commitments to the two-state solution will also make it challenging for Kushner to be effective.
There are three ways President Trump, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas could help pave the way for a negotiated agreement:
Settlement activity would need to be constrained.
The Israeli government could help the Palestinian economy grow in the West Bank by enabling construction and development in areas that have been off-limits for the Palestinians.
The Sunni Arab states – Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (the “Arab quartet”) – could be encouraged to join the process to provide cover and support for Palestinian concessions.
These efforts might bear fruit because these four Arab states and Israel share a common interest in combating the threat from Iran’s hegemonic aspirations in their part of the Middle East.
This will be an interesting development to watch. Bible Prophecy says that Israel will be a land dwelling in Peace so we must yet see things develop to allow for this. The removal of all Terrorists is vital to allowing this to happen.
We also know from Bible Prophecy that Israel and its neighbours especiall Eqypt will be an area not only dwelling in Peace by also very prosperous, a place where goods and gold have increased to the point the the King fo the North will want to come to take a “great spoil”. This is what we read in Ezekiel Chapter 38 the chapter that describes the King of the North led by Russia coming down into the Middle East.
7 “ ‘Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10 “ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.” 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?”
This ensuing Battle will constitute the Battle of Armageddon as described in the Bible.
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Palestinian-Gaza-Solution.jpg401602Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2025-01-25 13:23:032025-01-25 13:25:21Trump’s “ultimate deal” to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The PCK oil refinery, which is majority owned by Russian energy company Rosneft and processes oil coming from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline, on May 3, 2022 in Schwedt, Germany. Hannibal Hanschke/Getty Images
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Russia’s brutal, illegal war on Ukraine is lumbering into its fourth year, yet Europe still hasn’t used all its leverage against Moscow. Despite far-reaching cutbacks that have transformed global energy markets—and the European Union’s pledge to terminate all energy deals with Russia by 2027—the continent still maintains multifarious links to the Russian energy sector. Several European countries have failed to completely sever their energy ties to Russia, and the notoriously pro-Russian governments of Hungary and Slovakia are among them—but they are not alone. In 2024, only Slovakia deposited more into Russian accounts for fossil fuels than France, followed by Hungary, Austria, and Spain.
A December report from the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) concluded, “Although Russian fossil fuel exports to the West have decreased, glaring loopholes in the sanctions’ regime persist.” Nowhere are the failings more prominent than with liquified natural gas (LNG). In 2024, the EU imported a record 16.5 million metric tons of LNG from Russia, surpassing the 15.2 million in 2023.
EU countries, led by Germany, have done much to truncate their Russian energy dependencies. Between early 2022 and the end of 2023, the EU slashed its imports of Russian fossil fuels by 94 percent, from $16 billion per month to around $1 billion per month, according to Belgian think tank Bruegel. Coal imports are nil. But countries across the bloc are still buying energy supplies from Russia and thus paying straight into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest.
Wow, who would have thought that this would still be the situation?? But this is all in line with Bible Prophecy as Europe will join with Russia in forming the King of the North. And now with Donald Trump back in as US President there will be more pressure on Europe to increase their NATO financial support, Europe is already planning ways by which they can resist Trump. In 2023 President Emmanual Macron wanted to bring Russia back to the negotiating table and begin dialogue on some form of a Security Pact with Russia,
The Bible has long revealed that Russia and an EU Army will enter into a final conflict with Israel and the Middle East. Germany is the key country in what Bible Prophecy refers to as the land of “Magog”. They are spoken of militarily as the “King of the North”. Together the Bible says that Russia and the EU will invade the Middle East in the Last Days. So Bible Students expect to see Germany and France taking a greater role in leading Europe. It is also interesting to see Germany taking greater control of a continent they tried to take by war and failed.
Yet again we see in Todays News Headlines words that show how the Nations are fulfilling the latter day alignment of Nations as Prophesied by the Bible.
See this article to learn more about this and the latter day prophecies of the Bible.
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/German-PCK-Oil-Refinery.jpg428643Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2025-01-25 13:01:472025-01-25 13:02:45Europe Somehow Still Depends on Russia’s Energy
Saudis want peace with Israel, don’t care about Palestinian state
December 17, 2024
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP)
Netanyahu believes that the Saudi Crown Prince is not particularly interested in a Palestinian state.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Saudi Arabia may drop its requirement that Israel make an absolute commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian State as a pre-condition for a normalization agreement, according to a report in Haaretz.
Instead of requiring Israel to promise to establish a Palestinian state, the wording of the agreement now requests that Israel merely “create a pathway” to a two-state solution.
The talks began after the ceasefire with Lebanon with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducting the negotiations with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman through Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
According to the report, Netanyahu believes that the Saudi Crown Prince is not particularly interested in a Palestinian state, but feels he must address the issue to deal with public pressure.
Therefore, the open-ended wording that Israel should “create a path towards statehood” will likely garner political support.
In addition, a normalization agreement is likely to facilitate a hostage release deal since Riyadh has expressed interest in the reconstruction of Gaza, a positive for Israel since it would involve a more moderate Arab State.
Interestingly Joel 3 which is about the lead up to Armageddon says that Saudi Arabia shall be on control of the Gaza and Southern Lebanon areas where these terrorists are.
4 “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon (southern Lebanon = Hezbollah) and all you regions of Philistia? (Gaza = Hamas) Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples. m6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.
7 “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, (Saudi Arabia, see below) a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.
‘Sabeans’ = שְׁבָא (compare Æth. ሰብእ፡ man), [Sheba],—(1) Sabœans, Sabœa, a nation and region of Arabia Felix, rich in frankincense, spices, gold and gems, 1 Ki. 10:1, seq.; Isai. 60:6; Jer. 6:20; Ezek. 27:22; Ps. 72:15; carrying on a celebrated traffic, Eze. loc. cit.; Ps. 72:10; Joel 4:8; Job 6:19; but Job 1:15, carrying on depredations in the neighbourhood of Ausitis. The genealogies in Genesis mention three men of this name—(a) the grandson of Cush, and son of Raamah, Gen. 10:7;—(b) a son of Joktan, Genesis 10:28 (which accords with the Arabic traditions);—(c) a grandson of Ketura, Gen. 25:3; and in two of the places (a, c), Shebah is coupled with Dedan his brother; this I would thus account for, by supposing that there were two Arabian tribes of this name, the one descended from Joktan in southern Arabia (letter b), the other dwelling by the northern desert of Arabia, near the Persian gulf and the mouth of the Euphrates (letters a, c, and Job loc. cit. [But a and c were of different ancestry]). = Modern day Saudi Arabia
So yet again what we are seeing develop here is in direct fulfilment of Bible Prophecy and further evidence of the King of the South emerging in the Middle East.
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Crown-Prince-of-Saudi-Arabia.jpg400600Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2024-12-21 13:17:312024-12-21 13:19:21Saudis want Peace with Israel
Assad’s fall weakens Iran’s influence, shifting the balance of power in the Middle East
The fall of Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad, once seen as an unshakable fixture in the Middle East, has sent ripples across the region, setting the stage for a dramatically altered geopolitical landscape. Assad’s authoritarian rule, inherited from his father in 2000, crumbled after a surprise offensive by opposition forces in northwestern Syria. This marks the end of a 53-year dynasty that wielded control with an iron fist and its collapse ushers in a complex era of uncertainty and potential transformation.
Syria, long a lynchpin in the geopolitical axis of Iran and Russia, now faces a precarious future. The anti-regime forces, spearheaded by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have sought to rebrand themselves as a nationalist force, pledging a diplomatic and cooperative future.
Despite these efforts, international skepticism persists. Concerns over governance, unity among opposition factions and the prospect of prolonged instability loom large. The lessons of post-Gadhafi Libya underscore the challenges ahead; regime change without a robust framework for stability often leads to protracted chaos and suffering.
The reshuffling of power in Syria has intensified broader consequences in the Middle East, with implications for neighboring states and global powers:
Assad’s downfall represents a significant blow to Iran, which relied on Syria as a strategic ally and a conduit to its regional proxies. Simultaneously, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen face mounting pressures, with Iraq distancing itself from Tehran’s regional ambitions.
The new opposition-dominated Syria presents a mixed bag for Israel. While the collapse of an Iranian ally is welcome, the emergence of potentially hostile elements close to its borders raises new security concerns. Israel has already taken preventative action, targeting weapon depots in Syria to prevent strategic arms from falling into the wrong hands.
The broader Middle East is undergoing a seismic shift. The Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent conflict significantly weakened both Hamas and Hezbollah, key players in Iran’s network of influence. Meanwhile, the Houthis in Yemen have remained resilient, posing challenges to global commerce and security.
The region’s trajectory is far from certain. Assad’s fall offers a moment of possibility for a more stable and cooperative Middle East, but the risks of fragmentation, prolonged conflict and external manipulation remain high. International actors, particularly the U.S., must balance short-term strategic interests with long-term stability goals, avoiding the pitfalls of fostering divisions that may backfire.
The new Middle East, defined by shifting alliances, weakened hegemonies and emerging opportunities, holds promise and peril. Whether it evolves into a region of coexistence and growth or succumbs to renewed cycles of violence will depend on the vision and cooperation of its key stakeholders.
The Middle East must be at Peace before the Return of Christ and this new development helps to remove a great obstacle to that as it pushes Iran back from its influence and ties to the current axis of Evil with the Shiite Terror groups it sponsors in the Middle East.
Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will form a prosporus King of the South with Israel’s economy benefitting all. This is not surprising to Bible Students as we fully expect to see this development based on Bible Prophecy that has foretold the alignment of Nations in the “latter days”. The Bible describes a King of the North and a King of the South Geo-political Alignment of Nations in the last days prior to the last battle of mankind and the intervention of Christ to established God’s Kingdom on Earth Forever. We read of this in Daniel Chapter 11:
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/hq720.jpg386686Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2024-12-12 13:33:472024-12-12 13:33:47The New Middle East after Assad’s fall
Updated on: November 6, 2024 / 7:52 PM EST / CBS News
Former President Donald Trump with former first lady Melania Trump and son Barron Trump during an election night event on Nov. 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images
Donald J. Trump’s projected victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election marks a historic and improbable comeback for the former president, who left office in 2021 after failing to overturn the 2020 election results. Afterward, he became the first former president to be charged with either state or federal crimes, with four separate indictments, one of which resulted in conviction.
“We overcame obstacles that nobody ever thought we could,” he said on election night after a bitter, bruising campaign. He vowed to fight for every family and for their futures. “This will truly be the golden age of America,” he vowed.
Trump was projected by CBS News to have won the battleground states of North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — surpassing the electoral vote threshold of 270 by 21 votes with a total of 291. Votes were still being counted in the other battleground states of Nevada and Arizona.
These are the Election Results as they stand on 8th November, but Trump is forecasted to win 312 Electoral votes and the Republicans have won a majority in the Senate and expected to remain in control of the House of Representatives giving Trump an apparalled mandate from the American people to bring change.
This is truly a remarkable result and one no one fully antisipated, all the polls were wrong and all the so called experts did not see this coming.
Let the Most High Rule in the Kingdom of Men
Donald J Trump has achieved an historical political comeback that most thought was impossible.
Donald Trump termed this election, “The most important election in the history of America” and recently added, “It is the most important election in the history of Israel.”
Donald Trump is the man God has chosen to accomplish what needs to be done to advance His purpose both in Europe and the Middle East.
A Divided State
There is no doubt about it: American society is about as polarised as it gets. The woke left has run rampant during the reigns of Obama and Biden. The leftist agenda has been pushed forward, supported by politicians, the media and Universities. The “right” side was asleep at the switch for a while until Trump showed up and turned mainstream politics on its head.
God used Trump and his former administration, including Jared Kushner, to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and put into place the Abraham Accords, the most radical shift in world politics, breaking from the “accepted” narrative and bringing huge dividends to the nations that participated.
Both Trump and Netanyahu were forced out of office during the year following the Abraham Accords.
The momentum they had begun didn’t advance under Biden. Iran was boosted by Biden policies to use its proxies, starting with Hamas, then Hezbollah and the Houthis, to scuttle the warming of relationships between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The Biden Administration did not know what to do with the Hamas attack on Israel, vacillating between initial support and then pressure to make peace and the withholding of weapons for Israel to defend itself.
The Biblical Prerogative
As Bible believers, there is an over-arching principle that we must recognise:
“…the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” (Daniel 4:17)
It is God and the Angels that are in control of who assumes the mantle of power in America. We cannot know the direction God wants the world to go in, but God does know and works behind the scenes to keep His purpose on track.
Based on Bible Prophecy we expect to see the following during President Trump’s term:
Peace in Israel prior to the Russian invasion, as was discussed last week
A Resurgent Russia in control of Europe
America and Britain in full support of the emerging King of the South around Israel, Egypt and the Gulf Arab Countries as described in Ezekiel 38
How these are achieved, and in what order, we do not necessarily know, but that they will happen we can be assured based on Bible Prophecy.
IDF Armored Corps soldiers drill near Moshav Aniam on the Golan Heights, (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
Areas in northern Israel, including Metula, Misgav Am, and Kfar Gilad, were declared a closed military zone, and entry was prohibited.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
As of Monday night, Al-Arabiya reports that Israeli tanks crossed the border into southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese army withdrew from areas in southern Lebanon, and IDF began to open fire.
Areas in northern Israel, including Metula, Misgav Am, and Kfar Gilad, were declared a closed military zone, and entry was prohibited.
Earlier on Monday, Israel intercepted missiles coming from Lebanon targeting Central Galilee and Haifa Bay.
This occurred after the IAF destroyed a storage area for missile launchers close to the Beirut airport.
In addition, Israel destroyed dozens of terror targets in Lebanon, including command centers, weapons storage facilities, terrorist cells, launchers, and additional terror infrastructure sites.
The Wall Street Journal reported early on Monday that Elite units have been making short intelligence raids for weeks and even months in anticipation of acting on the necessity of permanently removing the Hezbollah terrorist organization from the border via a ground invasion.
Their probes have included terror tunnels built by Hezbollah right up to Israel’s northern border, dug to enable its specialized Radwan force to invade the Galilee much as Hamas did on October 7, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
With a new war now looking to take place in the North of Israel in Lebanon, we continue to witness Bible Prophecy being Fulfilled.
The war with Hamas and now in Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon has been foretold in the Bible and its result has also been foretold and it is leading to the time of the end when Christ will return.
It’s interesting that the very word ‘Hamas’ is a Hebrew Biblical word found in…
Psalm 83
1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. 2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult (Heb ESL 1993): and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. 4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. 5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
“tumult” is the Hebrew word 1993 הָמָה [hamah /haw·maw/] or hamas v. A primitive root [compare 1949]; TWOT 505; GK 2159; 34 occurrences; AV translates as “roar” eight times, “noise” six times, “disquieted” four times… Signifies: 1a (Qal). 1a1 to growl. 1a2 to murmur (fig. of a soul in prayer). 1a3 to roar. 1a4 to be in a stir, be in a commotion. 1a5 to be boisterous, be turbulent.
So very much like the modern day ‘Hamas’ terror group attacking Israel now.
Psalm 83 is a prophetic psalm that speaks of Israel’s enemies right up until Christ and the God’s Kingdom is established as it concludes with these words:
17 Let them be confounded and troubled forever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: 18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is YAHWEH, art the most high over all the earth.
This time can only refer to when God’s Kingdom and Glory is established on the Earth.
Joel Chapter 3
Interestingly Joel 3 which is about the lead up to Armageddon says that Saudi Arabia shall be on control of the Gaza and Southern Lebanon areas where these terrorists are.
4 “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon (southern Lebanon = Hezbollah) and all you regions of Philistia? (Gaza = Hamas) Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples. m6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.
7 “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, (Saudi Arabia, see below) a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.
9 Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!”
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, Lord!
12 “Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!”
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.
16 The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.
” Sabeans” שְׁבָא (compare Æth. ሰብእ፡ man), [Sheba],—(1) Sabœans, Sabœa, a nation and region of Arabia Felix, rich in frankincense, spices, gold and gems, 1 Ki. 10:1, seq.; Isai. 60:6; Jer. 6:20; Ezek. 27:22; Ps. 72:15; carrying on a celebrated traffic, Eze. loc. cit.; Ps. 72:10; Joel 4:8; Job 6:19; but Job 1:15, carrying on depredations in the neighbourhood of Ausitis. The genealogies in Genesis mention three men of this name—(a) the grandson of Cush, and son of Raamah, Gen. 10:7;—(b) a son of Joktan, Genesis 10:28 (which accords with the Arabic traditions);—(c) a grandson of Ketura, Gen. 25:3; and in two of the places (a, c), Shebah is coupled with Dedan his brother; this I would thus account for, by supposing that there were two Arabian tribes of this name, the one descended from Joktan in southern Arabia (letter b), the other dwelling by the northern desert of Arabia, near the Persian gulf and the mouth of the Euphrates (letters a, c, and Job loc. cit. [But a and c were of different ancestry]).
= Modern day Saudi Arabia
So we are living at the time of the END and Christ will Return SOON!
United Nations’ demographers project that, by the end of this century, Turkey’s labor force will fall by half and Iran’s will fall by two-fifths while Israel’s will double.
Turkish women in 2023 were estimated to have an average of just 1.5 children over their lifetime, half of Israel’s total fertility rate of 3 children per woman. The World Bank puts Iran’s 2022 fertility rate at 1.7.
Improbable as it may seem, the core scenario according to present trends will make Israel the economic center of the Middle East sometime toward the end of the century.
The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, Damon Runyon offered, but that’s how the smart money bets. Any number of things could upend a linear projection of present trends. The exercise nonetheless leads to striking conclusions.
Chart: Asia Times
Israel’s per capita GDP is now about US$55,000, or five times Turkey’s $11,000. One might quibble about the yardstick, but there is no doubt that Israelis produce more than Turks do. If these trends continue, Israel’s GDP will exceed Turkey’s by sometime in the middle of the present century.
The largest Middle Eastern country by population, Egypt, has a GDP per capita of just $3,500. Its problems are of a different order than Turkey’s or Iran’s and its chances of becoming an economic power are minimal.
Chart: Asia Times
There is no question as to the cause of declining fertility in Muslim countries. Female literacy disrupts the norms of traditional society. Once Muslim women achieve a certain educational level, they reject the constraints of tribal society along with marriage and motherhood.
The link between female literacy and fertility is well documented by academic studies in the case of Iran, as I reported in my 2011 book “How Civilizations Die, and Why Islam is Dying, Too.”
In the case of Turkey, the evidence is overwhelming. The chart below compares the female literacy rate as reported by the World Bank (left-hand axis, inverse scale) and the total fertility rate.
Chart: Asia Times
The same pattern emerges from a comparison of female literacy rates and total fertility rates in countries where female literacy is less than 60%:
Chart: Asia Times
The poorer countries of the Global South are repeating the so-called demographic transition of the West (from agricultural traditional society to modern urban society), but in a fraction of the time.
That leaves Iran and Turkey in a dilemma. Turkey now makes more cars than France and has built its own modern fighter plane. Iran has demonstrated its prowess in missiles and drones and is close to, if not past, the point of a nuclear breakout.
Both can educate scientists and engineers at world standards in significant numbers, but they can only do so by giving their people an off-ramp from traditional society.
In different ways, the Iranian and Turkish governments seek to preserve traditional Islamic mores – Iran in a far more pervasive and oppressive way, to be sure. But their efforts to impose Islam from the top prompted many of their most talented to emigrate.
“For many, the way out is through education visas to study abroad or work permits,” the Associated Press reported last year in a study of Turkey’s brain drain. “TurkStat, the government’s statistics bureau, said 139,531 Turkish citizens left the country in 2022, compared with 103,613 in 2021. Those aged 25 to 29 formed the biggest group,” the AP report said.
Studies of Iran’s brain drain estimate the annual loss to the country’s economy at between $50 billion and $150 billion a year. Gallup’s Potential Net Migration Index, taken between 2015 and 2017, found that more than one-quarter of highly educated Iranian residents would leave the country if they could. By some estimates, 80% of graduates of Sharif University, the country’s top engineering school, have emigrated.
The fastest decline in fertility has occurred where fertility was highest. In the case of Turkey, the biggest drops in fertility between 2010 and 2022 were registered in the provinces that had the highest fertility rates in 2010.
Nine Turkish provinces had total fertility rates (TFRs) higher than 3.0 in 2010. In 2022, there was only one. In 2010, not a single Turkish province reported a TFR below 1.5.
By 2022, 43 provinces showed a TFR below 1.5. These are the most urbanized parts of Turkey with the highest economic growth. The Kurdish-majority southeast of the country includes all the provinces with TFRs above 2.0.
The most modern and economically buoyant provinces of Turkey, that is, show extremely low fertility rates.
Without a drastic increase in productivity, Turkey, Iran and other countries will face catastrophic retirement crises. Assuming constant fertility, Turkey and Iran will have 70 retirees for every 100 workers in 2100, compared with just 14 today.
Both countries have the potential to raise productivity, at least in principle: Iran’s labor force participation rate is estimated at just 46% by the World Bank, and Turkey’s at 56%. The female labor force participation rate in Iran is just 14% and just 36% in Turkey. The corresponding data point for the United States is 58%.
In Israel, 60% of women are in the labor force, including 80% of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) women. Haredi women on average have six children, and nonetheless find employment (the labor force participation rate for Haredi men is 55% because a large proportion of ultra-Orthodox men devote themselves to religious studies).
Computer programming is a favorite occupation; it draws on skills in language and logic that are cultivated by religious education.
Israel is unique in adjusting traditional life to the modern economy. It is the only industrial country with a fertility rate above replacement, and it has succeeded – albeit partially and with considerable friction – in integrating most of its growing ultra-Orthodox population into skilled occupations. The trade-off between female education and fertility doesn’t exist.
Among the world’s major religions, Judaism has a special affinity for science. Not by accident Jews have earned a fifth of all Nobel Prizes in physics and an even higher proportion of Fields Medals in mathematics. I summarized the religious issue here.
Regarding the two most powerful Muslim countries of the Middle East, we can only say that they are far from resolving a deep social dichotomy between pre-modern and post-modern life. Turkey and Iran may succeed, but present trends point instead toward stagnation.
It is entirely possible that Israel may emerge as the largest economy in the region, which would have been seen as an improbable outcome for a small country that began with a Jewish population of just 600,000 in 1947.
Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will form a prosporus King of the South with Israel’s economy benefitting all. This is not surprising to Bible Students as we fully expect to see this development based on Bible Prophecy that has foretold the alignment of Nations in the “latter days”. The Bible describes a King of the North and a King of the South Geo-political Alignment of Nations in the last days prior to the last battle of mankind and the intervention of Christ to established God’s Kingdom on Earth Forever. We read of this in Daniel Chapter 11:
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Israel-1.jpg598903Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2024-08-17 13:24:002024-08-17 13:25:09Israel is Projected to be the Future of the Middle East
LONDON — If there was an Olympic competition for the most boring-sounding legislation, the U.K.’s Product Safety and Metrology Bill would surely win gold.
But get past the yawn-inducing name and the proposed law — slipped into Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s legislative program without fanfare — starts to look like a major post-Brexit moment.
The new package of laws opens the door to British alignment with EU standards, a sharp break with the Conservative approach of putting as much water between London and Brussels as possible since Britain quit the bloc.
It gives the U.K. government the power to recognize EU product safety rules updated by the bloc since Britain’s departure.
That potentially makes life easier for businesses that want to trade in both markets and use EU parts in their supply chains. But it’s already got Brexiteers who prize British sovereignty spooked.
“This bill marks a step-change in EU policy,” Joël Reland from the UK in a Changing Europe think tank said. “For the first time since Brexit, a U.K. government is explicitly saying that it would actively like to maintain alignment with new EU regulations, to make life easier for businesses.”
The Brexiteer backlash
Unsurprisingly, Euroskeptics are not best pleased with the Labour government’s new approach.
The Daily Express newspaper has already branded the move a “Brexit betrayal” on its front page.
“The dishonesty and betrayal of Labour over this legislation is sadly what we must come to expect,” a spokesperson for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party said.
“If a company wants to align with EU regulations, it can. It does not need U.K. legislation to do so. The very idea of the legislation is to compel British businesses to comply with foreign legislation which we have no control over.”
The long-term effects of the plan could be far-reaching, with sectors ranging from tech to manufacturing sitting up to take notice.
BREXIT was the greatest change to UK politics ever, and Britain has left the EU as determined by Bible Prophecy over 2,500 years ago.
Despite what the Labour Government might have in their plans, Bible Prophecy does not have Britain aligned with the EU at the time of Christ’s Return.
What’s more, Bible Students fully expect to see the UK and the USA come close together with the UK leading the Commonwealth Nations as the KING OF THE SOUTH against the EU and RUSSIA. We will see this develop following BREXIT. Bible Prophecy is very clear on the fact that Britain will be a major global politically leader at the time with Russia and the EU invade the Middle East. Britain will assume this role following BREXIT along with the Commonwealth Countries (and America who is also of British origin) make up the King of the South (along with Israel, Eqypt and the Gulf Arab Nations) at the time of the end that will move to stop Russia and Europe from invading the Middle East.
God has declared the End from the Beginning and the Bible (God’s Word) revealed that Britain would not be part of the EU when Christ Returns to Earth, and World Events have conspired to ensure that has now happened. But we need to keep watching this development as there is much to see yet as Britain takes her place once more on the World Political Stage.
So yet again we see the hand of God at work in the nations to ensure that His purpose unfolds on the earth. Britain has now voted to leave the EU and will rebuild her ties with the Commonwealth Block. Together they will challenge the rise of Russia and the EU and their influence in the Middle East.
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UK-Labour-and-Brexit.jpg401602Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2024-08-14 09:18:142024-08-14 09:23:49Brexit Britain creeps back into Brussels orbit
Putin said that Russia has no plans to attack any Nato country and, as such, too many Western leaders rest easy in the belief that Russia’s war is strictly confined to Ukraine because Nato’s Article 5 is “watertight”. But if Moscow is allowed to prevail in Ukraine, other countries – including Nato members – will be at far greater risk. Conversely, Western support for Ukraine demonstrates to Putin that he will pay an “even greater” price for an attack against Nato, and is preparing accordingly.
This fact is not lost on the countries closest to Russia. The Baltic nations, first of all, have warned that Russia could “pivot quickly” from Ukraine to invade their territory. Moldova, too, which hopes to break free of Russia’s influence and join the West, fears it would be next if Putin emerges victorious in Ukraine.
Crucially, Russia does not need to send tanks and jets to such places. A victorious, emboldened Russia, engorged on Ukraine and with spare capacity, could rely on hybrid warfare tools, utilising “little green men” both on the ground and in the information space to convince the West that a conflict in there is internal and, therefore, in the case of the Baltics, does not trigger Article 5. This is what German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius meant when warning that Russia could attack a Nato member state within “five to eight years”. It need not be as obvious as tanks rolling across a Nato border.
CREDIT: Andrey Rudakov
In fact, Russia is already working to destabilise Europe. In May, Nato warned that Russia is waging an “intensifying campaign” of cyberattacks and other “hybrid” operations against its members. British intelligence has cautioned that Moscow is even planning “physical attacks” on the West.
We know Russia is recruiting far-Right extremists to carry out attacks on individuals, and European intelligence agencies say that Moscow, seeking to weaken us, has staged violent acts of sabotage across Europe and is planning more. The Russians are already attempting to interfere in this month’s European Parliament elections, and the U.S. elections in November are no doubt on Putin’s menu, too.
Meanwhile, Russia is using its hybrid warfare machine to foment chaos in Nato’s soft underbelly: the Western Balkans. Using information operations and corrupt influence, Moscow aims to stoke ethnic tensions between Serbia and Kosovo and within Bosnia and Herzegovina. As Georgia faces massive protests triggered by a proposed law that targets civil society and its aspirations to join the EU, Russia is calculating security assistance. With the elections in Moldova and its vote on EU membership this year, Russia will likely not miss an opportunity to sow further discord in the country.
A Russian victory over Kyiv would also carry serious implications in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. If Moscow is able to outlast the West in Ukraine, Beijing may conclude it would face feeble resistance to Chinese military aggression against Taiwan.
Furthermore, Moscow’s aims to strengthen its military footprint in Africa, which it has already worked to do with the assistance of the remnants of its Wagner mercenary group. Fundamentally, Russia and China believe the decline of US global power is essential and have been advocating for a multipolar international system not led by Washington.
CREDIT: Andrey Rudakov
The West can only win this war if leaders understand Putin’s game. Since Putin first came to power, he has conducted an offensive aimed at gaining “reflexive control” of the West. “Reflexive control” is an old Soviet concept, foreign to most Western nations. It encompasses interfering in another country’s decision-making until the government is compelled to take actions in the Kremlin’s interest. In the words of Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Russia’s war game works through “massive psychological manipulation of the population to destabilise the state and society”.
This is what Moscow did with some success in Ukraine before its Maidan Revolution in 2014 when the people fought back.
President Zelensky said “we can and should think only about how to win”. Alas, this sentiment is not shared by many in the West, leaving ambiguous what victory means and promising to stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes.” This is a dream come true for Putin giving him the ability for a protracted war.
Make no mistake: the West has the power to ensure Russia’s defeat. Collectively, Western countries dwarf Russia economically and outclass it militarily. But they must translate that potential into reality. This requires patience and determination to stand by Ukraine and provide it with the weapons and training its forces need to win on the battlefield. Otherwise, Ukraine will just be the first domino to fall.
A somewhat startling headline, it will be interesting to see this thought continue to develop within the EU as the EU is challenged to deal with its future security post the Ukraine war and a second term for TRUMP. President Emmanual Macron wants to bring Russia back to the negotiating table and begin dialogue on some form of a Security Pact with Russia, NATO’s existence in its current form will be an issue even more so now.
The Bible has long revealed that Russia and an EU Army will enter into a final conflict with Israel and the Middle East. Germany is the key country in what Bible Prophecy refers to as the land of “Magog”. They are spoken of militarily as the “King of the North”. Together the Bible says that Russia and the EU will invade the Middle East in the Last Days. So Bible Students expect to see Germany and France taking a greater role in leading Europe. It is also interesting to see Germany taking greater control of a continent they tried to take by war and failed.
Yet again we see in Todays News Headlines words that show how the Nations are fulfilling the latter day alignment of Nations as Prophesied by the Bible.
See this article to learn more about this and the latter day prophecies of the Bible.
https://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Russia-could-attached-NATO-countries1.jpg376602Stevehttps://truebibleteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TBT-logo-with-tag-line-300x66.pngSteve2024-06-10 13:17:552024-06-10 13:21:07Putin’s Next Conquests Are Already In His Sights
Six months ago the Netherlands was the latest European country to see a major breakthrough for the populist Right. In the general election the anti-immigration Party for Freedom (PVV) became the largest party in the Dutch Parliament, with a quarter of the seats. (Dutch politics is notoriously fragmented).
Two days ago a new government, at last, was formed. The leader of the PVV, Geert Wilders, will not be Prime Minister, but he and his party will be the senior party in a coalition with another populist party, the Farmer-Citizens (BBB) and two parties of the centre-Right, the New Social Contract (NSC) and the Dutch Liberal party the VVD. They are promising the toughest immigration system anywhere.
This shows not just a shift to the Right overall in Dutch politics, but an even more significant movement within the broader European Right. It is the national populists who are now the dominant force, replacing Christian Democrats and Right Liberals.
The Netherlands is just the most recent example of this kind of movement. The size of the populist upsurge and its spread across most of the EU will almost certainly be confirmed in the European Parliament elections in June. According to polls, Right populist parties will make gains in every country, at the expense of Greens and the Left. They are projected to come first in nine countries (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, and Slovakia) and come second or third in another nine (Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden).
This rise in populism is leading to electoral breakthroughs or gains in one country after another (Poland is the major exception where the centre-Left has recently regained power). In the next few years it will almost certainly reach the two core countries, with victory for the National Rally (RN) in France and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) joining a government coalition there.
Given this, what impact if any will this tectonic political shift in Europe have on British politics? I have already argued that the evolution of European politics will produce a sudden shift in sentiment and attitudes within UK politics. Simply, the centre-Left will stop having support for the EU and the European project as one of its defining features. Instead the UK left will, I believe, become Eurosceptic and hostile to the direction of EU politics.
The EU its challenges to deal with in regard to its future both politically and militarially post the Ukraine war and a second term for TRUMP. President Emmanual Macron wants to bring Russia back to the negotiating table and begin dialogue on some form of a Security Pact with Russia, NATO’s existence in its current form will be an issue even more so now.
With a changing Political landscape who know where this might lead the EU in the Future, however we do know from Bible Prophecy that the EU will form an alliance with Russia.
The Bible has long revealed that Russia and an EU Army will enter into a final conflict with Israel and the Middle East. Germany is the key country in what Bible Prophecy refers to as the land of “Magog”. They are spoken of militarily as the “King of the North”. Together the Bible says that Russia and the EU will invade the Middle East in the Last Days. So Bible Students expect to see Germany and France taking a greater role in leading Europe. It is also interesting to see Germany taking greater control of a continent they tried to take by war and failed.
Yet again we see in Todays News Headlines words that show how the Nations are fulfilling the latter day alignment of Nations as Prophesied by the Bible.
See this article to learn more about this and the latter day prophecies of the Bible.