Reflecting Further

For me, the line in the sand of the Arabian deserts is drawn with two sticks. One stick is the expansion… of Iran’s nuclear capability…The second stick is… in the hands of a young American soldier in the desert with a wife and child back home in the States.

Recently I posted a blog about a Bully… In it I wrote:

If there are any U.S. veterans or current military personnel out there not completely livid with the actions of this Congress to limit our military’s right to defend itself and our Commander in Chief’s right to exercise that military to protect others and America’s interests, I have got to hear from you… I look across the Middle East and I have to ask myself, who has allowed this 3^rd world upstart of a country to gain such bully status? Although it is the second largest country in the Middle East, it is barely larger in square miles than our single state of Alaska!…

Iran has permitted the likes of the Taliban, ISIS, and al Qaeda while building a nuclear capability allied with North Korea, Russia and China.

Here is where we find ourselves on 10 January 2020… Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that ballistic missile attacks targeting U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq Wednesday morning were “a slap in the face” to the United States.

IRAN – the BULLY in the neighborhood… Why? Because we are allowing it. The ruling Ayatollah and those loyal to him are killing their own people, jailing those who object and it is morally wrong for those in Congress to hamper the legitimate efforts of our military and its Commander in Chief to do everything it can to protect the lives of American soldiers who are in harm’s way, American citizens and private individuals in Iraq and those in Iran who choose to stand against the ruling regime. The Ayatollah has vowed to pursue nuclear weapons with the only goal of striking against America and Israel. At what point will our Congress wake up rather than be ‘woke’?

And I put in this plea: Remember the name of each and every Representative and Senator who has voted to keep our military from being able to defend themselves when you go next to the ballot box.

I’ve been giving a great bit of thought to things even as the circus of impeachment continues and members of Congress are so far out of touch with America and its people, it is scary. There is another side of the Iran issue I think needs to be considered. Here are my ruminations on that subject.

So far I have considered the American side of the coin. We, (the royal we including most Western nations), own a good piece of the blame for allowing Iran to be the bully, to have the military, to threaten with nuclear weaponry… Certainly, other western countries can point their finger at America and say it is our fault, and they are partially correct. We have had the most capability to put a stop to it during past administrations and we haven’t. Still, there is enough blame to go around.

HOWEVER, a very large part of the blame (for lack of a better term) lies with the Iranian people. How long are they going to put up with these bullies in black robes? There is a point that lies vaguely out in the cosmos somewhere. It is the place where people either fix what is wrong or they refuse to right the wrongs of the government over them choosing to ignore the abuses of that government. Their non-action, or ineffective action, becomes collusion. No longer can they maintain innocent bystander status, if there even is such a thing in today’s world.

The Christian who is also a patriot to his country walks a fine line. His first allegiance is to Christ, everything else is second. Some Christians take the words of Jesus, “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s” to mark the dichotomy between the two and it is an appropriate line. Others turn to Paul’s remarks in Romans, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same…” They then declare that any action taken against even an evil or oppressive government is wrong and we are to bide our time and let God deal with it.

How do we follow that thinking when faced with demonic rulers such as Adolph Hitler and the bullies we see currently in Iran? To be very open, I don’t know. Remember, when Paul wrote, Romans were killing Christians for sport. The Roman lions were the unbeatable opponent. Allow me to take a line from the United States’ Declaration of Independence.

“…all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.”

The point is made here that people are more likely to continue to permit suffering rather than get rid of the familiar as long as the suffering is tolerable, (more likely that it is on someone else’s front porch and not my own). How much stronger is the desire to not go against the authorities when the authorities claim divine position and to go against them is to assure oneself of hell? This is particularly true when the religion being so used has been inculcated into their very DNA since they were born.

I must choose how to correctly interpret what Paul’s words meant to the people of his day and how that applies to people today. After much soul-searching and prayerful consideration, I determined that if I must err, if it is an error, I choose to stand on the side of protecting those who are unable to protect themselves. When any person, organization, political body, government or military does evil against any person, particularly those most vulnerable, the weak, infirm, the widows and orphans, the children, then I must stand between them and that evil. I believe the weight of the biblical evidence supports such action. I pray and thank God that He continues to have mercy upon me when such decisions must be rendered. I encourage anyone who might read this to determine for yourself where you stand. There will be no time to contemplate it when the time comes. The following poem by Martin Niemoller says it best. It’s titled, First They Came for the Jews.

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Martin Niemöller

The Nazis imposed identification of the Jews

Will there be a time when the people of Iran have heard enough lies and seen enough abuse, felt the crush of unbridled power to that undefinable point and take a stand to demand there be revolution? In a bold move recently, rather than face a possible showdown with the IRGC, (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), Ayatollah Khamenei played a slick card trick. He has moved to declare those who were killed by Iranian forces in the street riots over the past few weeks as martyrs. What does that mean? It means the families of those killed are set financially for life. They have an honored status now in Iran. What better way to quell a rebellion than buying off those responsible for it.

Israel apparently has decided to allow the U.S. to take the lead in actions against Iran. Strategists suggest that as long as the U.S. is pushing back against Iran, Israel will be able to allow the U.S. to take the lead and perhaps ease the threat against itself for a short time. Still others believe it is only a matter of time until Tehran acts against Israel again.

SUMMARY

“So, now what?” In the movie, Big Jake, (you knew it was coming, right?), John Wayne is an absentee father now reconnected with two of his sons to retrieve a kidnapped grandson. Events make the sons believe their father stole the $1M meant as ransom and when they challenge him, he towers over them, hands on his hips and defiantly says, “So, now what?” The sons had a choice to make. Do they challenge or cower?

Does the United States wait for Israel to act? Do we wait and encourage the Iranian people to act? To think that U.S. resources are not currently in place creating incentives for insurrection is to be going about with one’s head in the sand. Will government changes at the top in Moscow make a difference?

Iran has threatened just this week that if the Western countries open the Iranian nuclear file before the U.N. Security Council, they will leave the non-proliferation agreement… Whoopi! As if anyone believed they were following it anyway!

For me, the line in the sand of the Arabian deserts is drawn with two sticks. One stick is the expansion and development of Iran’s nuclear capability. If they approach weaponization, all deals are off and the Iranian people need to know they are in a time crunch for acting in their own best interests. When that line is crossed, there is no doubt there will be collateral damage. Notice, I did not say of innocent bystanders because, at some point, inaction becomes collusion. If nothing else, they should remove themselves from harm’s way for their children’s sake if not their own. The children, sadly, will be at risk because of their parents’ choices.

The second stick is best visualized in the hands of a young American soldier in the desert with a wife and child back home in the States. When he and his brothers are fired upon, the green flag is down, the gate is up and America responds for as many furlongs as it takes.

In every smallest detail, we pray. We pray for peace in the region. We pray for the safety of our troops. We pray for the salvation of every individual in Iran and beyond and we pray for divine guidance for our leaders, particularly for wisdom for our Commander in Chief.

I thank God that He has allowed me to be a citizen of this great nation which I have sworn to defend. I thank Him all the more that He sought me out to be a citizen of His heavenly kingdom and may I never do, say or write anything to tarnish His Name.

“I solemnly swear… I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States… against all enemies foreign and domestic…that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…so help me God.“

OBVIOUS: adjective So Very Clear

Our nation’s leaders and large portions of its people pretend to be blind to what is surely ahead for the nation of Israel under the shadow of a nuclear Iran. Can they also ignore the warning God gives to those who curse Israel?

Obvious: adjective So Very Clear

The famed detective, Sherlock Holmes, brought to life by the pen and from the mind of Sir Arthur Conon Doyle, is quoted as having instructed Dr. Watson that, “There is nothing more elusive than an obvious fact.” (1) The quote was effective enough that it was used in the 2009 film version of the great detective’s stories; Sherlock Holmes. What is so very clear is that the obvious facts are being ignored.

The currently cascading reams of information coming forth regarding President Obama’s “negotiations” with Iran are coming from every sector of the world community; business, finance, the military, commercial, and private sources, yet nothing has been honestly communicated from the West Wing. The Obama Administration has refused to come clean on how it has overwhelmingly allowed Iran to design its own nuclear future. Even many members of Congress have been slow to take a resolute stand on the issue. Many of them seem to be deafeningly quiet as an election year comes upon us. Democrats are beginning to line up in support, just when they need the Democratic campaign coffers the most.
A recent article stated that even if Congress disapproves the treaty that has been created in the sleazy backrooms of the White House, the palace in Tehran and side streets of Istanbul, Kabul, Islamabad, Riyadh, Moscow, Baghdad, and Damascus, there are still mechanisms in place that will permit the Conspirator in Chief to push forward the treaty as if it were U.S. law. Perhaps not since the wholesale abandonment of Sarajevo and the Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina to the slaughter of the Serbians has the west, particularly the United States government, been so egregiously guilty of abandoning an ally, Israel. Our nation’s leaders and large portions of its people pretend to be blind to what is surely ahead for the nation of Israel under the shadow of a nuclear Iran. Can they also ignore the warning God gives to those who curse Israel?
The Jerusalem Post ran a portion of a letter President Obama sent to NY Congressman Jerrold Nadler regarding Obama’s alleged support for the Israeli government in a move to garner support for the upcoming vote on the treaty. The excerpt reads, “Our governments should identify ways to accelerate the ongoing collaborative research and development for tunnel detection and mapping technologies to provide Israel new capabilities to detect and destroy tunnels because they could be used to threaten Israeli civilians” (2) I personally have never surveyed a plot of land nor measured in micro millimeters the length of an inch worm but, common sense tells me that there is a very long distance between ‘Our governments will’ and “Our governments should”

The obvious fact is that the Iranian government has done nothing in the last two plus decades to cause us to put any credence into anything they might say, Secondly, the treaty (and I despise even using that term) ends in fifteen years and then Iran is free to use industrial amounts of weapons grade whatever they choose and their break-out time to a weapon is reduced to a couple of days. But… the administration assures us that our intelligence capabilities will be so much better then, etc., etc., etc. Just as this administration’s and Congress’ fix for the economy is to punt it down the generational path and let our kids and grandkids fix the problem; they are punting a nuclear Iran down the generational yellow-brick road to let the next generation of Israelis and Americans deal with it. Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore!
The key issue is that a sinister, evil group of people are strangle holding a country and they are bullying the world into cowing down to their brazen acts of international aggravated menacing; threatening to wipe an entire nation “off of the map.” If that were not abhorrent enough, the most powerful nation in the world is aiding and abetting their criminal acts by not stopping the terrorists’ threats and eliminating the malefactors that are the cause of the issue. Had someone taken out Adolf Hitler in 1937, think of how different history would be. Instead, Obama ignores the obvious facts and sends my grandchildren to the next world war.

1) Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

2) http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Obama-unveils-compensation-package-for-Israel-after-of-Iran-deal-412914

Photo) https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes_(2009_film)#/media/File:Tower_bridge_works_1892.jpg

THREAT to AMERICA: Islamic State (ISIS) outside the Levant (al Sham)

Most counter-terrorism experts would agree that the threats or danger the nation faces when it stands against terrorism are to be expected and it is a calculated risk which is necessary to take. The risk is imposed by returning disenchanted citizens who favor jihad over the ballot box. It must be made clear that they are not welcome here and that Americans will do whatever it takes to meet the challenge.

9-11 Never Forget

The Ministry Minute: When there’s Only a Minute for Ministry

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 Dr. ROSS L. RIGGS

THREAT to AMERICA:

ISLAMIC STATE (IS – ISIS/ISIL) OUTSIDE the LEVANT (al SHAM)

And Then There Were None?

According to the ‘Proclamation,.”[iv] There is only one path that is acceptable to the Caliphate and that is that all persons within the world will either convert to Islam or die

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE?

Dr. Ross L. Riggs, Director Security Consulting Investigations, llc

On July 1, 2014 ISIL, or ISIS depending on who you read, has issued a proclamation. This proclamation is not the first of its kind in Islamic history; but, this author believes it may be modern Islam’s last. You are encouraged to read the proclamation in its entirety. You will find it at:

http://www.voltairenet.org/article184550.html

The Imam is Ibrahim Ibn ‘Awwad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Ali Ibn Muhammad al-Badri al-Hassadri al-Husayni al-Qurashi. He is from Baghdad in lineage and a Sammurai by birth. He is declared to be the Imam and Khalifah of Muslims worldwide by ISIS. It is claimed that he is the revived; a descendant of Muhammad. They declare that he is to be the supreme ruler and all true Muslims are to submit themselves to his authority. Failure to do so will be judged “at the edge of a sword” and there is no appeal. Any sect of Islam is considered Infidel if they refuse to swear allegiance to Ibrahim. The proclamation outlaws all sects and divisions within Islam. All are directed to unite under their banner. All opposition to the caliphate is worthy of death.

Khalid Imam Ibrahim claims authority over all Muslims and has declared that their military obligations to any country or ruler is voided, that unless that country declares allegiance to the caliphate that they are infidels and subject to death.

Without much imagination, the reader can see what the end game is of this: world-wide domination of all people everywhere. Over the last several years, one writer has captured the imaginations of millions of readers. That author is Joel Rosenberg. Writing from a basis of the prophecies of the last days found in the Christians’ Holy Bible, Rosenberg has explained events happening in the Middle East in ways that no other religious or geo-political writer has ever been able to do. In his book, The Twelfth Imam, Rosenberg describes where the ‘Twelvers’ say this last, world ruling Imam, descendant of Muhammad was to originate. “Like the eleven Shia religious leaders who went before him, he was an Arab male who, as a direct descendent of the founder of Islam, was thought to have been divinely chosen to be the spiritual guide and ultimate human authority of the Muslim people. His name was Muhammad Ibn Hasan Ibn Ali. It is generally believed by Shias that he was born in Samarra, Iraq, in AD 868, though few details of his brief life are certain or free from controversy.”[i]

Notice the similarities. Whether actual or artificial, here they are:

The revived descendant of Muhammad

Born in Samarra or Sammurai

From Baghdad in lineage

According to the tradition of the Shias, this Imam was born in 868 AD and was hidden by his mother in a well until the last days when he would be loosed in the ‘last days’ to rule over all Islam and that anyone who is not a true believer in him is an infidel.

Since early June of 2014 we have seen the extremist group ISIL or ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or the Islamic Society of Iraq and al Sham [Syria]) declare an open war on Sunni Muslims, declaring them to be infidels and exacting a heavy toll on them in life blood. The announcement of the Khalifah was first printed in the Voltaire Network on July 1, 2014 in a front page article titled, The Proclamation of the Caliphate.[ii]

In Rosenberg’s book, the protagonist “…begins to learn of how the Iranian regime’s obsession with the Twelfth Imam is a recipe for wars of annihilation against Israel, and then against the U.S.”[iii]

According to the ‘Proclamation,.”[iv] There is only one path that is acceptable to the Caliphate and that is that all persons within the world will either convert to Islam or die. The Koran and the writings that follow declare that all sects of Muslim will disappear in the name of Allah; all divisions will be come as naught as all unify in jihad against the infidels. Even those who convert to Islam from outside the Muslim faith will be seen as one with the faithful.

According to the Breitbart Report, however, “…the question of whether, under Islamic law as understood, Al-Baghdadi may be legitimately recognized as Caliph rests on whether or not the ISIS “people of authority” meet the legitimate definition for that position.”[v] It is not clear that ISIS has the authority, by the nature of the scholars that have found credence within their claims to be of high enough standing to undergird their claim of a Caliphate. This is particularly true of the International Union of Muslim Scholars let by Yusuf Al Qaradawi who has denounced the proclamation of a Caliphate. These objections come from within the Sharia sect and do not even mention the amount of disdain for ISIS and their Twelver theology from the Sunni Muslims that are 90% of the Muslims worldwide making them the second largest world religion, second only to Christianity.[vi] With only approximately 10% of Muslims followers of Sharia sects and those ten percent sharply divided; it is crucial that we understand well the sharply divided political nature of the proclamation. Is the 12^th Imam present in Iraq in 2014 or is he still hidden in the well into which he was placed in A.D. 872?

ENDNOTES:

[i] http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/23/8-questions-with-twelfth-imam-author-joel-rosenberg/#ixzz36qEbyahr

[ii] http://www.voltairenet.org/article184550.html

[iii] http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/23/8-questions-with-twelfth-imam-author-joel-rosenberg/2/#ixzz36qLLv7Nd

[iv] http://www.voltairenet.org/article184550.html

[v] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/07/01/Don-t-Call-it-a-Caliphate-Yet-ISIS-May-Run-Afoul-of-Islamic-Law

[vi] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni_Islam

SYRIA BURNING: Fighting Continues to Escalate as Outside Forces Continue to Use Events to Political Advantage

Denigrated by the inaction and sanctimonious attitudes of the Clinton State Department, the bureaucrats under Kerry appear to be less representative of the United States citizenry and seen more as lifetime bureaucrats destined for a legacy of ineptitude due primarily to their wholesale inaction in the face of world crises.

Why the Syrian Civil War is Important to the United States

The ineptitude of the U.S. President’s foreign policy as it deals with: Iran’s nuclear threat, Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people in the Syrian Civil War and failing to stand behind Israel, our country’s only democratic ally in the region; has caused a dangerous imbalance of power in the Middle East. Not only have a multiplicity of countries in the Middle East declared that if Iran is permitted to have nuclear weapons, then they will do whatever it takes to obtain their own nuclear or WMD arsenal at any cost; and for some of those oil rich nations, cost is not an issue. There has perhaps been no time in the history of the United States when our State Department has had less respect among the nations of the world. Denigrated by the inaction and sanctimonious attitudes of the Clinton State Department, the bureaucrats under Kerry appear to be less representative of the United States citizenry and seen more as lifetime bureaucrats destined for a legacy of ineptitude due primarily to their wholesale inaction in the face of world crises.

Syria Burning photo

Such is their role in Syria which has brought about the intervention of Saudi Arabia in its own interests. The Sunni population of Saudi Arabia cannot bear to have the minority Shias of Iran dictating policy across the Middle East by way of an ICBM or nuclear bomb bearing aircraft. Strategically, Iran is feeding the Syrian rebels through its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. Without this on-going supply line, the rebels of Syria would have no hope of out-lasting Assad’s army. By interrupting the supply lines and requiring the Hezbollah fighters to remain focused on the crises within Lebanon, they detract from its ability to make any difference in Syria.

Sunni jihadists have attacked Shia militants within Lebanon five times since last summer (2013); the most recent just January 2^nd in a Beirut suburb. (See photo) According to intelligence sources, “Hezbollah maintains a heavy presence in the Dahiyeh area; its security headquarters, media offices and political council are near the location of the blast. Most of the damage from the attack was absorbed by nearby cars and a nearby building that houses a restaurant.”[i] The attack, using between 65 and 70 pounds of explosives, killed at least four and injured dozens. In early December, a “Hezbollah commander Hassan al-Laqis was gunned down in the parking garage of his Beirut apartment complex…”[ii] The Iranian Embassy and two other suburbs have been targets of attacks in the last 6 months.

The U.S. response has been unnoticeable. There is the maxim that ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend. Some have attempted to trace this adage to an Arabic proverb but it is most commonly remembered as a portion of the U.S. State Department policy following the Spanish-American War and has our own Theodore Roosevelt to credit for the declaration. Many of his antagonists believed, incorrectly, that Teddy Roosevelt was incapable of deep thinking.

Israel, the United States and Their Future Together or Apart

In the case of Sunni jihadists from Saudi Arabia, it is not wise to claim that adage too quickly. When the enemy of your enemy would just as soon slice your throat as well, that does not make him a friend. Perhaps the adage most appropriate is to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. (Many attribute that line to Sun-Tzu but there is no proof that he said it.) There is an additional line that has been added so that it reads, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Then, push your enemy off a cliff when he has gotten close enough.’ Since that last line is likely impractical in the world of international relations, it is important to note that the Saudi jihadists have been responsible for the weapons that have been run into Israel to support the Palestinians.

As long as the Saudi jihadists are tied up with the Hezbollah militants; Israel can keep the Palestinians on a short leash while they develop any response plans for Iran in the wake of the U.S. failure to stop the nuclear proliferation in that country. Reports indicate that because of Iran’s refusal to comply with even the most basic of the Iranian responsibilities within the ‘negotiated’ give away to the Iranians on their nuclear program, the entire ‘treaty’ is destined to complete failure. All it has done, (which is probably what it was expected to do) was to buy Iran even more time to complete its weapons’ delivery systems.

We should be clear on one aspect: neither side, including the intervening Russians, are very much concerned about the final outcome of the Syrian civil war. All sides expect that whoever ends up running what has been, for millennia, a Syria in chaos; those outside with a long enough reach and deep enough pockets will be the ones running the show and calling the shots. It should be expected that whoever that will be, they will not be friendly toward the U.S. or Israel. The Nation of Israel will continue to be surrounded by those who wish her ill.

Israel’s leadership has made it clear that they have stood their ground for decades, often on their own and they will continue to do so, with or without international assistance. (Often, they forget God’s promises to never leave nor forsake them.) It would be in the United States’ best interest to elect an administration that remembers the biblical quote, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you.”[iii] The future of the United States, of the imbalanced Middle East, and of Israel can be influenced in the coming two years more by the voters of the United States than perhaps ever in our history. With the high likelihood that the average American voter has very little clue as to the intricacies of such an arena; we can be thankful to God that He has the ultimate control.

[i] In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s Challenge Grows | Stratfor

[ii]In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s Challenge Grows | Stratfor

[iii] Genesis 12:3 (NKJV)

BOSTON BOMBERS’ PLAN INTERCEPTED BY MOSCOW

FSB logo

TODAY Reuters and Voice of Russia Reported that Tapes Including the Boston Bombers and their Mother Talking Plans of JIHAD!

News source, that spoke on the condition of anonymity, announced today that intercepted telephone conversations between the Boston Bombers and their mother as they spoke of planning jihad action against Boston and against New York’s Times Square were turned over to the FBI. The first conversation was recorded between one of the brothers and their mother as early as 2011. It was reported by sources earlier this week that the boys’ mother, Zubeydat Tsarnaev, had pushed at least the eldest son toward Islamic Jihad. With three dead and over 200 gravely wounded, it is not certain the veracity of reports that they were planning on completing their bombing campaign with attacks in Times Square. Authorities have not responded to direct inquiries regarding the further plans of the two that could have included suicide by cop as an attempt at martyrdom. The elder brother, Tamerlan, did just that on April 19th succombing to his multiple gunshot wounds at a Boston hospital shortly after a shoot-out with police.. The second brother, Dzhokhar, was arrested on April 20th after a storied chase and search for him by police. The way in which he fought to get away and hide even when cornered indicates he must not have been quite ready for martyrdom.

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, proud mother of Boston bombers Photo: Reuters – Will she receive a lifetime financial benefit from AQAP as reward for pushing her sons to commit mass murder? At what point does a mothers’ heart do such a thing? How much money does it take? Could it really be such a devotion for a religion that practices barbaric forced sterilization on women, binds them in centuries of oppressive tradition and allows children to set a bomb at the feet of an 8 year old boy? This is all from the Allah they worship, the same who will arbitrarily decide whether to send a believer to his hell regardless of how pious a life has been led… color us confused, and saddened, very saddened.

In a related post on the network between Chechnyan Muslims and AQAP (Al Qaeda on the Arabian Penninsula), Dr. Ross Riggs of Security Consulting Investigations, wrote that “It is within this context that Americans must now understand their risk matrix is expanded by the probability of further attacks against the U.S. by members of these Chechnyan groups that may well be underwritten by some faction of Al Qaeda. A likely scenario is that the AQAP (Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula) is the state sponsor of this recent series of events in Massachusetts. An official situation report states that the Boston attacks had “…unmistakable parallels with the smaller scale terrorist attacks that radical Islamist groups based in Yemen and Pakistan have attempted in the United States since 2001.” The situation report quoted here agrees with the analysis of the GCIS and its Executive Council that groups such as AQAP and others have moved toward smaller attacks that can be perpetrated by small cells operating virtually independent of the team.”

As difficult as it may be for many Americans to understand the mindset that allows a mother to push her two children to commit mass murder and suicide for the sake of a “religion of peace,” even more daunting questions must be brought forward. If in fact, Russia has had these tapes of the conversations for two years, why do they just show up now? Why, if the FBI was notified by the FSB (former KGB) three years ago of intelligence on the two brothers and perhaps the parents, why were they not located then by the FBI and fully investigated and deported or charged? Reports to the media suggest they were never truly investigated. How is that possible? There is talk that at least one of the family, perhaps the mother, was on a no-fly list? And the father, returned to Chechnya; but the family continues here? The sons are here attending prestigious prep and high schools and then the extremely expensive universities that most American teens could never dream of getting a scholarship to or even be considered in the first place. Were the Tsarnaeva brothers really that smart? Their escape “planning” doesn’t seem to verify that…. or were they backed by money from elsewhere and a complicit university system perhaps closes its eyes when funding comes from a person, place, entitiy or government that is known to be on the US Terrorist Watch List? When dad left to go back to Chechnya, was that a connection for furthering training, obtaining weapons and explosives or was he getting out of the country in preparation for the attacks? So many questions.

There are certainly, it seems, more questions than answers at this point. As additional revelations come out regarding the information that should have been known by authorities in the U.S. under this Administration’s watch, where is the public outcry, so incredibly silent since Benghazi? How many more little fellas need to lose their lives? How many more U.S. Ambassadors must be killed and shamefully dragged through the streets? Counterterrorism officers, federal agents, U.S. military and law enforcement officers work night and day trying to hold back the flood gates but their are too many holes in the dyke to be plugged, too few fingers to do the plugging. When will the American people get angry?Americans should be angry at the enemies of this nation who attack us and then take our “humanitarian aide” and angry at our President and Congress for sitting on their hands. When will Americans agree to STAND UP WITH our friends, such as Israel and tell our enemies, like Iran and North Korea to SIT DOWN!… if they will not sit, then we shall knock them down?!

PC should be an electronic marvel that sits on my desk in my study – it should NOT be what drives our country’s foreign affiars, our military planning, our police officers’ responses, our immigration policy, and our safety as Americans.

In the iconic movie of the 1960’s,Green Beret, John Wayne plays Col. Kirby a strong leader in a tough war. At one point he tells his troops, “Remember, the word is alert!” It should not be necessary for SCI and others under our flag to remind the citizens that we are at war, but sometimes in the push of life, that happens. Our cops, firefighters, first responders, federal agents and military are all acutely aware of it. Maybe its time that someone tells the folks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and those at Capitol Hill the news.

He… Shall Laugh

However, there is a concern that Kim has backed himself into a fool’s corner by his determination for arbitrament by the sword and may be required to, as the colloquial saying explains it, ‘put up or shut up.’

Psalm 2:1-5 “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. He that sits in the heavens shall laugh and shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak to them in His wrath and vex them in His sore displeasure.”

Kim Un Jong declares State of War March 2013

(http://news.msn.com/world/n-korea-says-it-has-entered-state-of-war-against-s-korea?ocid=ansnews11)

The passage from Psalm 2 is perhaps the most appropriate caption for this picture of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un who ordered his country’s missiles to be aimed at Hawaii, Los Angeles, Austin Texas and Washington D.C. and in the next instance on March 29th declared that North Korea was in a State of War with South Korea. In part, the statement itself is redundant since North and South Korea have been only on a ‘cease fire’ or armistice since July 29, 1953. There never was a ‘winner’ in the Korean War however, Kim’s statement yesterday indicates his willingness to reconmmence hostilities. During the war in the 1950’s United Nations troops from across the world battled not only North Korean forces but Communist Chinese as well. Millions of Chinese troops did what the North Koreans could not and that was to hold the advance of the U.N. troops, led by the United States from entering and controlling North Korea. One must wonder whether China, although belligerent and at war with the U.S. already in a ‘cyber-warfare’ that is costing billions of dollars in losses; would be willing to enter into a shooting war with the U.S. and South Korea along with othe U.N. forces that may be required to fulfill their obligation under the armistice to protect South Korea from renewed military offensives.

The United States has maintained troops in South Korea specifically at the Demilitarized Zone since the armistice began. The 38th parallel has been the enforced ‘no-man’s land’ for 60 years as of July 27th of this year. The bellicose Kim appears once again to be ‘blowing smoke’ as far as his declaration that the missiles aimed at the U.S. would be “merciless” in their attack against the American people and his threats to reinvade South Korea. However, there is a concern that Kim has backed himself into a fool’s corner by his determination for arbitrament by the sword and may be required to, as the colloquial saying explains it, ‘put up or shut up.’ To save face, he may very well act foolishly.

A large concern will be whether the Chinese once again come to the aid of their Communist neighbor and secondly, will Kim flex his nuclear muscle and bring with him his minion from Iran, Ahmadinejad?

Yesterday, B2 bombers based in Missouri flexed a little of the U.S. might as “the strategic stealth bombers flew from Whiteman Air Force Base in the U.S. state of Missouri to drop inert munitions on an island off the southwestern coast of the Korean peninsula before heading back to their home base – a 20,000 kilometer non-stop trip.”1

One can be certain that as tensions mount around Israel, as Syria continues to implode with all of the consequences that will bring for Israel; the fact that Christ is coming again soon is more obvious than ever. An exciting time to be about the Lord’s work as no doubt He will be calling many to Himself in these last days and Satan will be battling strong for every single soul. May we all geared up as Paul admonishes in Ephesians chapter 6 and best we all be ‘prayed up’ ready for battle. “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Isaiah 6:8 – Let us answer with Isaiah, “Here I am Lord, Send Me!”

1 http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2013/03/mil-130328-voa01.htm?_m=3n%2e002a%2e765%2exb0ao042ml%2ep3p

Found Guilty

Abedini…sentenced earlier this year to eight years in the nortorious Evin prison…

What if… you were arrested by the government on charges related to the way you live your Christian life? We have heard before the comment, “If you were charged with being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” In the United States the evidence might only require that you were seen in a church somewhere that suffices. But what if you were charged with how intensely you live your Christian life? The level of evidence required has shifted!

Could these charges be proven against you and your Christian faith: Disturbing Public Order, Evangelizing, Threatening National Security, and Engaging in Internet Activity that Threatens the Government? You may recall how the Jews, in an oratory against Paul and his ministry team, stirred up the crowd that they had “turned the world upside down!” What a great compliment!

Five Christians in Iran are now on trial for their lives and those are the charges against them. Likely, they will be convicted. Likely, they will get, at the minimum, very lengthy prison sentences. Personally, any length of a sentence in any jail would be difficult, but a long one in an Iranian jail, as a Christian? No thanks. I’ll pass. It’s almost as if I just heard some reader say, ‘Shame on you! You should be honored to go to jail for Christ!’ I believe I would go to jail for Him and I would count it an honor, but even Christ, Himself, said to His Father, ‘if possible, may this cup pass from me…’ Just because it’s an honor, we don’t have to enjoy the prospect of it!

The five have already been in jail since October without a trial. They had been in a prayer meeting in a house church when it was raided by authorities.[i] Those who understand the workings of the Iranian government report that the arrests of those seen as dissidents are increasing as the time for elections draw closer. They also report that Christians and others who choose any religion other than orthodox Shia Islam are being targeted by the government. Early this year American (from Idaho) Pastor Saeed Abedini, after being held in Iran for months before being sentenced earlier this year to eight years in the ‘notorious Evin prison that is an extremely violent place. Abedini had been arrested and released in 2005 upon promising to not evangelize in Iran again. This past summer he traveled to Iran to help build a secular orphanage. Obviously made aware of his travel, upon arriving in Iran, he was immediately taken off a bus and incarcerated. According to resources, anyone who converts from Islam to Christianity is seen as ‘waging war against Islam’[ii] which is punishable by death.

[i] Joel Rosenberg, joelcrosenberg.com

[ii] Lisa Daftari, FoxNews.com

Failed Safe

dmz DE-MILITARIZED ZONE: JULY 27, 1953 – the ceasefire began…

Battling since June 25, 1950 soldiers from both North Korea and China had relentlessly sought to over power the armies of the democratically free South Korea and their international allies including the United States. That CEASEFIRE may be cancelled – March 2013 – four months shy of 60 years that it has held. The Korean War never ended. There was no victor. There was no treaty. Only a cease-fire brought relative normalcy back to the peninsula. Now… it could all erupt into war. This time a threat of nuclear war looms large. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, has threatened to begin hostilities anew after international action has been taken in the form of sanctions following the nation’s third nuclear test in February. According to ‘The Blaze’ “Without elaborating, the Korean People’s Army Supreme Command warned of “surgical strikes” meant to unify the divided Korean Peninsula and of an indigenous, “precision nuclear striking tool.” The threats fall upon those guarding the De-militarized Zone (DMZ) particularly U.S. forces there with a heavy hand. Reports have indicated that present at the last North Korean nuclear test was Iran’s nuclear scientists, validating a suspicion that the two countries have been working together to build some form of immediate nuclear strikes capability against both South Korea and Israel. It is not certain what might take place over the next several days. The 1963 film, Fail Safe, showed a calm and collected President (Henry Fonda) sitting in a nuclear bunker far underground beneath the White House negotiating with a calm and strikingly rational Russian leader analyzing the options with Fonda as the clock ticks down to when the nuclear bombs would fall on Moscow. Fonda, to prevent a massive counter strike by Moscow sends his own U.S. planes to drop a nuclear bomb directly on New York City as a show of good faith that the bombing of Moscow was unintentional. It was part of the drama that the President’s wife happened to be where the bomb would go off when he dropped it. The key difference between the film and today’s drama is that both sides in the movie were acting calmly and wisely. That is not something we can expect out of either Kim or Ahmadinejad. Maybe it is time someone with some better sense picked up the phone.

1964 Movie - Nuclear War -last chance dmz fonda

A Battle for the Soul of America

Rev. Ross L. Riggs, D. Min. www.docriggs.com

Maintain the peace, settle disputes between nations in a ‘civilized way’ and prevent war from ever happening again, on such broad a scale and so horrifically – these were clear cut directives for an organization that was to have broad sweeping powers to make it happen. There was only one small problem – they had a little tribunal and no one came. Just like the old adage, ‘locks are only good for keeping out honest people’; the same was true for stopping war… the only ones that want to play by the rules were going to play by the rules even without this new organization. Those who were not so inclined to play by the rest of the world’s standards didn’t.

This new instrument of peace could call offending nations into their headquarters and tell them to make nice. If that did not work, there could be economic sanctions, which would require the member nations to agree to not send money, food, etc. to pressure the citizens to oust their unrepentant leaders. Failing that, military force could be used, except there was no military. The two nations that might be able to send military to police the sanctions had neither the money nor the manpower to do it.

Perhaps the saddest of all was the founder and president of this new body designed to respectfully work out the problems of the world lead the only major country in the world that refused to join. I refer, of course, to the League of Nations founded by none other than American President Woodrow Wilson who held a little conference and his own countrymen said, “No.” Western Europe and the Communist regimes that came to power in the first decades of the 20^th century on the tails of violent and bloody WWI and revolutions were to grow stronger and more ruthless as time went on and America became more an isolationist. America’s farm boys had come home and that is where their families wanted them to stay. They were hoping to leave the rest of the world, (at least that on the far side of the globe), to their own machinations.

With such a shabby foundation from which to grow, it is no wonder that today’s United Nations is anything other than what is. Now we have sanctions against human atrocities handed out by a Human Rights Commission headed by the worst offenders, most demonically influenced in the world. They continually seek the sanctioning, isolation and the eventual destruction of Israel and Jerusalem. At a time when the world needs leadership that knows what is right, adheres to the prescripts of fundamental Christian theology, utilizes the Bible as the only rule of faith and practice; instead, America has perhaps the single worst president in two full centuries not excepting Woodrow Wilson.

It is no longer an issue of Democrat versus Republican philosophies. It has become Marxist Socialism versus the entire American way of life. Failure to stop the current path America is on with this next election is certainly to draw the U.S. to the precipice of the Fall of the American Empire. What it took patriotic Americans over two hundred years to build by the grace of God and with His blessing; this atheistic socialism is at the heart of a movement that is lead by a calculating group of people who could dismantle America in less than a quarter century, turning her back on God.

The League of Nations was an experiment in finding ways for civilized society to discuss their issues without resorting to full scale war. That particular experiment failed, though many who guided its institution were eager to do good for humanity. The U.N. on the other hand, however, has always been a tool of the power hungry to grab more power, to eliminate any who stand in their way and under the guise of food to the poor and policing the world’s war zones, has turned to feeding the armies of their oppressive regimes and attempting the wholesale obliteration of groups of people who stand in their way. (Bosnia Herzegovina mid-1990’s)

If America and the world ever needed godly men to step into positions of leadership it is now. If America ever needed to be humble before the God of creation, it is now. If individual families ever needed God-fearing fathers and mothers, it is now. If America ever needed to stand with Israel, it is now.

Just these last two weeks have seen movement by the newly, ‘re-elected’ (probably Czar for Life), Vladimir Putin begin to put additional pressure on the nation of Israel and show Russia’s support for Iran and its involvement in Syria. Putin will be traveling to Tel Aviv to most likely send a message of, ‘don’t you dare strike Iran’ while at the same time telling Syria to get its house in order. Already he has hosted Ahmadinejad in Moscow. He is up to something sinister and as the enemies of Israel begin to circle like vultures, just as in the days of Habakkuk, Christians can rest assured that God is on His throne and He will do something in our day that we would not believe it, even if it were told to us!

I propose, as I believe the biblical principles would support the following:

We must be aware of all that is going on around us.

As Americans we should consider what good would become of us removing a seat of Satan from our land as it even now, I believe, sits in Manhattan. I believe that God would honor us evicting the U.N. from our shores.

We must resist the dealings of our current Secretary of State to seek the disarming of U.S. citizens of even basic firearms as assured us in our Constitution by her use of U.N. legislation to outlaw and supersede our own Bill of Rights.

We must be wary of case law in places like Michigan federal courts that are allowing Sharia law to be considered in the adjudication of cases, subverting our own Constitution’s ban on other sources of law being utilized against American citizens.

We must be alert to legislation as recently considered in Indiana that would allow a homeowner to shoot a police officer the homeowner ‘believes’ is breaking the law by entering his home. Current law already provides remedies for the unauthorized use of search and seizure authority. A false scare about ‘rogue cops’ is a false front used to cover another agenda behind this legislation.

We, as Americans, must stand with Israel.

We must stand in support of our military and not permit un-American agendas and unwise decisions to pull our troops out of current military actions because it is politically expedient; knowing it could cause both future casualties to increase and cause those who have fallen to have fallen in vain.

As Christians and Americans, we must call our families back to the altar of worship of the One True God.

Fathers, as Christians and Americans, we must lead our families as Christ would have us do.

Mothers, as Christians and Americans, we must teach our children what it means to be both.

Students, as Christians and Americans, we must seek to be the best educated, most competitive workforce in the world to bring our economy back to where it can be, for today and tomorrow.

As churches, we must follow biblical principles to care for the true widows and orphans; to seek to employ men and women of the household of faith; to care for one another, giving preference to one another, for this is of God and in so doing we can end the welfare state in the United States.

As Christians and Americans, we must speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. We must stand up for those who cannot stand for themselves. We must put an end to abortion and begin to call on all Americans to honor God by caring for His children from conception to old age.

There rages around us a battle for the soul of America. As Christians and Americans we must exercise our vote.

There rages around us a battle for the souls of our families, we must put on the full armor of God and be prepared for spiritual warfare.

Americans who are Christians and Christians who happen to be Americans, the time for sleep and slumber is over, it is time to rise up and be heard, be counted. Now and forever may His Name be always on our lips in prayer and in praise.

May we bless God and humbly beseech Him that He might again, bless America.

Rev. Ross L. Riggs

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The Ministry Minute: When there’s Only a Minute for Ministry

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 Dr. ROSS L. RIGGS

THREAT to AMERICA:

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