Get all the important news from February 13-19 by downloading the Trumpet Weekly.Click here to receive it by e-mail every week.
Highlights:
Guttenberg’s plan for conquering radical Islam
Former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg proposed an “allied military strategy” for fighting global jihad: the establishment of a powerful group of nations similar to the G-20 or G-8 that would cooperate to both destroy radical Islam then try to ensure better governance by the people.Radical Islam, wrote Guttenberg, is a multi-headed hydra; decapitating one head alone isn’t enough to degrade or destroy the jihad monster. Also, “today’s jihad transcends sectarian divisions within Islam: Powerful Iranian players are more than willing to channel clandestine aid to [the Islamic State] so long as it advances its goals of destabilizing Egypt and Israel and its own hegemonial ambitions.”“Germany will have to overcome its modern culture of leadership reticence outside of Europe,” wrote Mr. Guttenberg.It’s time to seriously ask and answer the question: Has Germany’s strongman finally arrived?
Europe convinced America can’t help
The overwhelming consensus at the Munich Security Conference is that the United States has lost both the will and the ability to solve Europe’s problems.German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier lamented on behalf of Europe: “The question of war and peace has returned to the Continent.”Historically, Europe has relied heavily on the U.S. to fight its wars and bring it peace and prosperity. But things are different now. Historian Walter Russell Mead observed: “There’s not a lot of talk about how the United States can be part of the solution. We seem to be disappearing from their calculations.”Russia in charge in Syria
The potential truce in Syria is dead, and President Bashar Assad remains fully empowered—thanks to Russia.Moscow—not Washington—is playing the deciding role in the Middle East, and it will continue doing so. But, “at a certain point,” Russian analyst Fyodor Lukyanov told Bloomberg View, “a full Turkish intervention [in Syria] is inevitable.”“Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member protected by its collective defense clause, has already shot down a Russian plane, so nothing can be ruled out. The potential for escalation to a Russia-nato conflict would be real.”China deploys missiles to South China Sea Island
In defiance of the United States and Taiwan, China sent an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of the contested islands it controls in the South China Sea.The Chinese will continue reasserting their authority on those islands, and we explained part of the reason at theTrumpet.com on Dec. 2, 2013: “The Chinese know that the people of America are sick of being at war and of being hated by the world for ‘meddling.’ Beijing is watching Washington toss its allies under the bus …. Beijing can see that to most American leaders and people, the idea of being drawn into a conflict with China is simply unbearable, beyond serious consideration. Furthermore, China views the outcome of any potential confrontation a question of will more than of military might. On this front, the war-weary Americans are at an overwhelming disadvantage against the rising Chinese.”Negative effects of negative interest rates
About $7 trillion of debt is trading at negative rates.Financial experts explain that these negative interest rates are a “dangerous experiment,” a “gigantic fiscal policy failure,” a sign of desperation, and “a creeping threat to civil liberties since the only way to enforce such a regime over time is to abolish cash, for otherwise people will move their savings beyond reach.”Other news:
There are good reasons why Europe’s Jews are so worried: the Continent is increasingly drawing parallels between society today and the Weimar Republic—Germany’s flawed experiment in democracy in the 1920s.“The world of 2016 is eerily beginning to resemble the powder keg of 1939 Europe,” wrote Victor Davis Hansen. Yet the West is repeating the same mistakes of the 1930s.There’s a Chinese exodus of journalists—because freedom of press is rapidly disappearing in China.Get more details on these stories and more by subscribing to the Trumpet Weekly!
