Oct 2
Why the Disintegration of Iraq Matters
It is becoming extremely obvious that the situation in Iraq is growing darker with each passing day. In many regions, the law of the jungle is the only governing authority. In Iraq, murder and kidnappings have become a part of daily life.
The violence in Iraq is on sich wide-scale level, it's hard to get a grasp of its magnitude. In August, 7,000 Iraqis were killed in sectarian unrest. Iraq is a nation of only 29 million people. If this type of situation were to happen in the U.S., it would translate to 75,000 people killed in a single month. In total, more than 50,000 Iraqis have died.
Most Americans are not that troubled by the conflict in Iraq. If one uses the Vietnam war as a comparison, the number of protests aren't anywhere near the same level as they were in the 1960s. The body count is probably the main reason for the subdued reaction. In
Vietnam, 58,000 American G.I.s lost their lives. The Iraqi conflict has only claimed 2,700 soldiers.
The main reason U.S. casualties have been so low is that most foreign nationals operate out of heavily fortified encampments.
The Green Zone in central Baghdad is the most well-known of these protected areas. So far, the insurgency has not been able to penetrate these havens of relative safety.
There is a growing concern over the war's negative impact on how the world views the U.S.
In Washington, a leaked memo caused a stir among politicians and the media. "The National Intelligence Estimate," a regular report from the coordinated judgments of the U.S. intelligence community, stated that Iraq has become a "cause celebre" for jihadists, who are growing in number and geographic reach. If the trend continues, the analysts believe, the risks to U.S. interests at home and abroad will grow.
A June poll by the Pew Research Center found that America's image in 15 nations dropped sharply in 2006. For example, less
than one-third of the people in Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey had a favorable view of the U.S. According to that poll,
America's continued involvement in Iraq was seen as a worse problem than Iran and its nuclear ambitions.
The view that Iraqis have of America is probably the most shocking. An Iraqi public opinion poll conducted for a program at the University of Maryland was released last week. The survey found that 61 percent of Iraqis are in favor of attacks on U.S.
forces, up from 47 percent in January. Among Sunnis, who make up virtually all of the population of the Ramadi area, more
than 90 percent expressed support for the attacks.
The survey also indicates that 78 percent of Iraqis believe the U.S. troop presence in Iraq is provoking more violence,
rather than contributing to stability, and about 60 percent believe a rapid U.S. withdrawal would reduce violence and improve
the security situation.
The willingness of Islamic fighters to die for their cause is another indication of the anti-American sentiment. More than
4,000 foreign insurgents have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Despite the high mortality rate,
Islamic terrorist groups have no trouble finding fresh volunteers.
There are no easy answers for Iraq. We've made this a stand against terrorism, but it appears to only be making matters worse. Maybe our foreign policy on Iraq could be best severed by contemplating the lyrics from an old Kenny Rogers song, "You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, Know when to walk away, and know when to run."
What makes the outcome of the Iraqi war important to prophecy is how it affects the U.S. role as the global policeman. If the
situation leads to a debacle, the U.S. may back away from the world stage. The Bible indicates that Europe will be the
peacemaker in the last days.
The upcoming November 7th election is very important to this issue. The vote has become seen as a referendum on our whole Iraq policy. If the Democrats have a strong showing, the liberal media will try to convince the public that its time to pack up and leave.
---Todd
God’s Staying Hand
The age of the atom has metamorphosed into an apocalyptic thunderstorm. The enemies of reason and true peace threaten to make the long-feared nuclear nightmare a reality. Jesus’ words echo in a forecast of things soon to come.
“And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days” (Mark 13:20).
The comfort in this passage is found in the words “except that the Lord had shortened those days…”. “Those days” Jesus referred to in His Olivet Discourse are the days of the Tribulation, a period of years that will be far worse than any in history that preceded them. Yes, there are fearful prospects in the truth that there will come an apocalyptic storm of unprecedented magnitude. But Jesus –God, himself—tells us of His absolute control even during earth’s darkest hours. He will return to the planet (Rev. 19:11) to put an end to man’s most murderous war, thus preventing the complete destruction of mankind.
Opinion writers in the secular journals of America sometime portray the situation precisely right, regarding their analysis of the dangers this nation and the world face. Thomas Sowell, one of my favorite such writers, always seems to bring to the page a concise and well-framed dissection of the state of the world. He recently wrote:
It is hard to think of a time when a nation -- and a whole civilization -- has drifted more futilely toward a bigger catastrophe than that looming over the United States and western civilization today.
Nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran and North Korea mean that it is only a matter of time before there are nuclear weapons in the hands of international terrorist organizations. North Korea needs money and Iran has brazenly stated its aim as the destruction of Israel -- and both its actions and its rhetoric suggest aims that extend even beyond a second Holocaust… Israel's very existence as a modern, prosperous western nation in their midst is a daily slap across the face. Nothing is easier for demagogues than to blame Israel, the United States, or western civilization in general for their own lagging position.
Hitler was able to rouse similar resentments and fanaticism in Germany under conditions not nearly as dire as those in most Middle East countries today… What kind of people provide a market for videotaped beheadings of innocent hostages? What kind of people would throw an old man in a wheelchair off a cruiseliner into the sea, simply because he was Jewish? What kind of people would fly planes into buildings to vent their hate at the cost of their own lives?
These are the kinds of people we are talking about getting nuclear weapons. And what of ourselves?
Do we understand that the world will never be the same after hate-filled fanatics gain the ability to wipe whole American cities off the face of the earth?…("Point of No Return" by Thomas Sowell, posted Aug 22, 2006, Human Events).
Despite many shortcomings of President George W. Bush’s administration, I am convinced that he DOES get it. His efforts, although they have enraged fanatic Islam as charged by some of his political enemies, have nonetheless done much to keep these murderous purveyors of terror from striking this nation since 9/11, 2001. However, this is not to give him or his administration the ultimate credit for preventing man-engendered cataclysm. For example: preventing the 5 to 7 nuclear suitcase devices from exploding in major U.S. cities, a fearful thing about which you and I have been warned ad nauseum over the past several years.
Though men and women of America’s clandestine and military services have diligently done their duties, more often than not unsung in their heroism by media and those seeking political advantage in some cases, these valiant patriots have been used to limited extent in the safe-keeping of this nation, and the world, for that matter.
This has been true from before, during, and since the cold war. Make no mistake, however: It is only God’s mighty, staying hand that has prevented the destruction of the world with nuclear weapons, which are possessed of unimaginable power.
The opinion writers and news journalists, not to mention the diplomats and geopoliticians, have, of course, completely left God out of the picture so far as preventing this universally feared end of mankind is concerned. Everything is and will remain under His omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent control over all of His creation. He, alone, will determine the fate of the earth.
--Terry
