Depending what way you look at it, Iraq is either appeasing Iran or looking out for its friend. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki today “sought to ease Iranian fears over a proposed security deal with the U.S.,” reports Associated Press, by saying his government “will not allow Iraq to become a launching pad for an attack on its neighbor.”

The red carpet was rolled out Sunday for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as he became the first Iranian president to visit Iraq. On the first day of a two-day visit, Ahmadinejad promised the Iraqi Shiite prime minister that Iran would help its neighbor in stabilizing the country. The irony is that it is Iran which is actually in the best position to stabilize Iraq—for it is Iran which has been a primary instigator of the violence in that country. But the more closely Iran works with Iraq, the less influence the United States will have. Talks between Baghdad and Washington over a security pact between the two countries have already hit snags over issues relating to Iraq’s sovereignty.

In talks on Sunday between Al-Maliki and Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoodi, AP reports that the Iranian vice president “said the Iranian nation will always stand by Iraq, and al-Maliki said Iraq hopes for Iranian help in various areas, including ‘political, cultural, economic and defense.’” The two countries’ defense ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on military cooperation.

As relations between these two countries progress, Iran will increase its control over Iraq—and its power in the region. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry pointed to the possibility of such developments as early as 1994, as outlined in his article “Is Iraq About to Fall to Iran?” Read also “Prophecy Comes Alive in Iraq!”

Italy Submits to the Vatican

In the wake of former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s untimely political demise due to his opposition of the Vatican hierarchy, the new Italian prime minister has met with the pope and pledged that he is “on the side of the church.”

Back in January, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi was forced to resign after a Catholic member of parliament, on the prompting of the Vatican, withdrew his party’s support from the ruling coalition. At the time, we wrote, “It is possible that Berlusconi agreed to toughen the laws on abortion if the Vatican would clear his path to power.” Silvio Berlusconi was elected prime minister on April 14, and he is now reiterating his support for the Vatican. Catholic World News reports:

Pope Benedict XVI met on June 6 with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was making his first formal visit to the Vatican since his return to the helm of the Italian government.The Pope’s private conversation with Berlusconi lasted 40 minutes—10 minutes more than the Vatican had scheduled. After the meeting, the Vatican press conference issued a mild statement indicating that the discussion had touched on both bilateral relations between the Holy See and Italy and international concerns including “the situation in the Middle East and the prospects for the spiritual, ethical and social development of the European continent.” …Berlusconi said that he had fully agreed with the Pope regarding “the sanctity of the human person and of the family.” He predicted that the Vatican would be happy with the policies of his new government. “We are on the side of the Church,” he said; “we believe in the values of our Christian tradition.”

The Catholic Church is becoming increasingly active in European politics. In doing so, it is seeking to unite Europe under the power of religion—the Catholic religion, and Catholic laws. Italy truly has bowed to Rome, and Bible prophecy reveals that soon the rest of Europe will do the same.

Obama Clarifies Support for Jerusalem

Presidential candidate Barack Obama said last Wednesday to an Israeli-American group that Jerusalem “must remain undivided.” Take one:

Let me be clear Israel’s security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable. The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive and that allows them to prosper. But any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel’s identity as a Jewish State, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided.

But after enraging the Palestinian leadership, he changed his mind:

Well, obviously it’s going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations… As a practical matter, it would be very difficult to execute [a policy of the capital remaining undivided.]

Obama, however, wants not only to get votes from those who sympathize with the Jews at the same time as those who sympathize with the Palestinians, he also wants not to be thought of as speaking out of both sides of his mouth. A spokesman for the Obama campaign said his comment should not be seen as backtracking or even an amendment to his previous statement.

Though America has been Israel’s staunchest ally for many years, there are already signs that support is waning. That trend is likely to intensify under a new U.S. administration. As America abandons Israel, watch for this little nation surrounded by enemies to instead turn to Europe for help, as the Bible prophesies.

Bad News for the Economy

Economic news for the U.S. isn’t getting any better. Data released Friday doused any hopes of the U.S. economy strengthening in the near future. WashingtonPost.com reports,

The nation’s unemployment rate shot skyward last month to 5.5 percent, the biggest leap in more than two decades, and crude oil prices rocketed up $10.75 a barrel, sending U.S. stock markets tumbling and shaking the economic and political landscape just as the general election season begins.It was one of the worst days of economic news in a year already well-stocked with disappointment.

Chief U.S. economist at Global Insight Inc. told Bloomberg: “The story is, we’re still on the verge of a recession.”

EU to Hit a Snag in Ireland?

According to a poll in the Irish Times, 35 percent of Ireland’s population plan to vote “No” to the EU constitution/Lisbon Treaty. Only 30 percent plan to vote “Yes.” Twenty-eight percent are still undecided and 7 percent don’t want to vote. “It will take an unprecedented swing in the last week of the campaign for the treaty to be carried,” wrote the Times.

A “no” vote would be a problem for the whole European Union—which is why Ireland is the only nation to hold a referendum on the issue in the first place.

It is unclear where the EU would go from here if Ireland votes against the treaty. Regardless, don’t expect Europe to give up on the whole constitution idea. What is more likely is that it will leave the slower nations behind—nations reluctant to become more federalised, such as Ireland and the UK, will be left out, while a core group of nations move ahead. For more on such a possibility, read our article “EU Needs Fewer Cooks in the Kitchen.”

Bush Didn’t Skew Iraqi Intel

Congress released the final two sections of its Phase ii report on prewar Iraqi intelligence on Thursday. What you may not have seen in the headlines declaring flawed intelligence in the lead-up to the Iraqi war are the following statements from the report:

Statements by the President, Vice President, Secretary of State and the National Security Adviser regarding a possible Iraqi nuclear weapons programs were generally substantiated by intelligence community estimates (p.15);Statements in the major speeches analyzed regarding Iraqi ballistic missiles were generally supported by available intelligence (p. 57);Intelligence reporting highlights more than a decade of contacts between the Iraqi Government and al-Qa’ida based on shared anti-US goals and Bin laden’s interest in unconventional weapons … (p. 63);Statements…regarding Iraq’s support for terrorist groups…were substantiated by intelligence information (p.71);Statements that Iraq provided safe haven for …al-Zarqawi and other al-Qa’ida-related terrorists…and regarding Iraq’s contacts with al-Qa’ida…were substantiated by intelligence estimates (p.71).

In other words, the Bush administration did not skew the intelligence for its own purposes as is widely portrayed by the liberal media.

Still, the new Senate Intelligence Committee report has a lot to say denouncing the idea that Saddam Hussein had any connection to al Qaeda or other terrorist groups and says Saddam never “considered using terrorist groups to attack the United States.” A Pentagon review of about 600,000 documents captured in the Iraq war, however, released in March, reveals just the opposite.

Truth certainly has become a casualty of war when it comes to Iraq.

Elsewhere on the Web

China is prepared to discuss a broad range of sensitive military, economic and diplomatic issues with Taiwan if the island’s new government accepts Beijing’s terms on national sovereignty, China’s U.S. Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong said last Thursday. “We have made clear that as long as they agree to the one-China principle, everything can be discussed,” Zhou said. Everything’s coming up roses for Taiwan, it seems, as long as it gives up its sovereignty to military-flexing Communist China.

One issue has dominated Mark Steyn’s web page this week—the Macleans show trial. A cabal of irate Muslims took Macleans to Canada’s human rights tribunal over a chapter it published from Mark Steyn’s book America Alone in its magazine. They accuse Steyn and Macleans of exposing Muslims to hate speech. The details of the tribunal hearing make for truly frightening reading. Truth and public interest are no defense, and rules of evidence do not exist in Canada’s kangaroo court. America, Britain and Canada are all in trouble, but if anyone tries to put out some kind of warning, the fifth column within attempts to shut them down. For more information, check out Steyn’s web page.

Earlier today, two bombs exploded at a train station in a town about 30 miles from Algeria’s capital, killing 13. The second bomb was activated minutes after the first, killing Algerian firefighters and soldiers who had arrived on the scene after the first explosion. Security forces have blamed al Qaeda for the attack. Last week we wrote about how North Africa could become an Afghanistan-like terrorist command center for al Qaeda and the danger that would pose to Europe, seeing as it is within striking distance. Continue watching the growing Islamist threat in northern Africa and how it will affect Europe.

And Finally …

As the global food crisis causes starvation and rioting around the world, a mother in Kenya says her family is “just living at God’s mercy.” Time magazine jests that it will take “more than divine intervention” to stop this international catastrophe.

Such a statement illustrates the ignorance of man of the only real solution to this world’s problems. How hard is mankind when they steadfastly reject the only one who can control the weather and the very one who can—and will—save mankind from tragedies like starvation. Sadly, such calamities are prophesied to get worse before we admit that we do need divine intervention to solve our problems.