The Week in Review

Middle East

U.S. President Barack Obama departed late Tuesday for the Middle East, visiting Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Obama gave a speech in Cairo on Thursday aimed at improving relations between the U.S. and the Islamic world. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood were in attendance, while President Hosni Mubarak apparently was not there. The Egyptian daily Al-Masri al-Youm reported June 4 that Obama met with Brotherhood officials in Washington two months ago, according to Haaretz. The report said the Muslim Brotherhood members requested the meeting not be publicized and that they talked to Obama about their support for democracy and the war on terror. The Muslim Brotherhood is a radical Islamist group with terrorist roots and the primary—though disallowed—political opposition to Mubarak. Is Washington anticipating the fact that change is on its way in Egyptian politics? Certainly, Washington’s overtures toward the Muslim Brotherhood will not help Egypt’s president any. Bible prophecy indicates that a radical shift in Egypt’s government resulting in increased Islamist influence in the country will soon occur.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is on a mission to revive Iraq’s standing as a strong Arab state under Shiite leadership, Stratfor reported May 29. Maliki has made statements indicating a tendency toward authoritarianism, which is seen as the only way to hold together the fractious, ethnically divided country to enable it to project power externally. “Consensus was necessary for us” following the removal of Saddam Hussein from power, Maliki said recently, “but if this continues it will become a problem, a flaw, a catastrophe.” So much for bringing democracy to the Middle East. The Iraqi prime minister has also begun to stand up to Saudi Arabia. We can expect Iraq’s relationship with Iran, however, to remain close.

Pakistan’s military has made progress in its fight against the Taliban in the North-West Frontier Province’s Swat Valley, though the battle is far from over. On Sunday, the Pakistani Army announced that it had secured Mingora, the Taliban’s district headquarters. Several other towns have also been secured. This, however, does not mean the Taliban has been defeated, as the terrorist group is adept at melting into the populace only to regroup later. With some 3 million people displaced as a result of the counterinsurgency operation, this task is easy. In addition, the Taliban still largely hold the rural areas as well as the sympathy of much of the populace—who anticipate they will be under the rule of the Taliban once more when the military leaves. It will be a mammoth task for the Pakistani authorities to not only hold the captured areas, but also to rebuild and establish governance and security—in an area where there were few government structures to start with. Then there is the humanitarian crisis to deal with. Meanwhile, the Taliban has other safe havens in Pakistan, and time is on its side.

Europe

The European Commission announced May 27 that it wants to create two new European Union institutions with the power to impose binding decisions on member states. Driven by Germany, the plans would create the European Systemic Risk Council (esrc) and the European System of Financial Supervisors (esfs). Germany is leading the drive to move financial power away from London and to Brussels. This new plan has not yet been approved by the European Parliament, but it shows the EU’s bold desire to closely regulate Europe’s financial system at Britain’s expense. There is a deliberate agenda behind Europe’s financial power grab. The German-dominated EU has plans to become the world’s major financial powerhouse, and that requires wresting control of the financial system from London and New York. For more information, see our article “Financial Regulation in Prophecy!” in the July Trumpet.

Unemployment reached 9.2 percent in April within the 16-nation eurozone, according to the European Union statistics office. This figure will probably rise much higher, which could lead to increased social unrest across Europe. Fourteen million people in the eurozone are unemployed. That’s more than the population of Ireland and Austria combined. Spain has an unemployment rate of 18.1 percent, Austria 17.4 percent and Lithuania 16.8 percent. For youth, the picture is even bleaker. The unemployment rate for those under 25 is 36 percent in Spain, 26 percent in Sweden, 25 percent in Hungary, 24 percent in Ireland and 22 percent in both France and Italy. Sustained high levels of unemployment, especially among the youth, could lead to great social unrest on the Continent. As unemployment rises, watch for Europeans to grow more dissatisfied with their mainstream politicians. For more information, see our article “The Unseen Danger in Europe’s Economic Crisis” from the January edition of the Trumpet.

The German government decided last Saturday to accept a joint Russian-Canadian offer to bail out the beleaguered Opel auto manufacturer. The deal is supposed to save Opel, a European subsidiary of General Motors, from bankruptcy. The fall of Opel would have badly damaged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s image just months before an election. General Motors will retain a 35 percent stake in Opel, while the state-owned Russian bank, Sberbank, will take another 35 percent. Canadian automaker Magna International will take an additional 20 percent stake of the restructured subsidiary. America’s economic ties to the German auto industry have been cut and replaced by a new relationship between Germany and Russia. “For the Kremlin,” writes Stratfor, “the Opel deal is a way to drive a wedge between the United States and Germany, which have shared a key industrial relationship [since World War ii], and also a way to put the German government in its debt, which may be repaid in political favors in the future” (June 1). Watch for Russia and Germany to move toward a deal over areas of mutual interest.

Asia

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Chinese government officials on Monday that their money was safe and that America wants a strong dollar. His Chinese audience broke out in laughter. Geithner was visiting China to allay fears that Washington’s bulging budget deficit and ultra-loose monetary policy are a veiled attempt to repudiate its debts by fueling inflation. The U.S. government directly owes China over $760 billion, but including other agency debt, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac liabilities, estimates place total debt to China in excess of $1.5 trillion. Without Chinese money, America would have little chance of financing current expenditures short of having the Federal Reserve simply create the needed dollars. The Chinese are worried that even with their money, America may be forced to create untold billions to pay for the record expenditures outlined by the U.S. administration. “Chinese assets are very safe,” Geithner said in response to a question after a speech at Peking University. His response drew loud laughter from the student audience, which according to Reuters was a reflection of growing Chinese sentiment that China should be spending its vast reserves at home as opposed to taking the risk of lending the money to America. The dangers of foreign debt could be about to be brought home to America. The borrower truly is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7). America’s recent actions bear this out.

Latin America/Africa

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez cancelled his planned trip to El Salvador on June 1, citing fears that his opposition would assassinate him. He also cancelled the last two days of a four-day talkathon on his tv show, Alo Presidente. It is not unusual for the president to claim that his enemies are plotting against him. This time, however, the threats may be credible, and he is taking them seriously. Stratfor suggested that the military may pose a threat, and could even make a move against Chavez’s regime if the relationship deteriorates further.

In Zimbabwe, the Red Cross estimates the 100,000th case of cholera will be reported this week, with more than 4,200 dead. The United Nations has appealed for $718 million to provide immediate aid to the country. For information on how the once-thriving nation of Zimbabwe has become so sick—health-wise, economically and politically—read our March 12, 2008, article “Winds of Change.”

Anglo-America

Barack Obama has proclaimed June “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month” to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots, which marked the beginning of the lgbt rights movement in America. In his proclamation on June 1, President Obama declared, “My administration has partnered with the lgbt community to advance a wide range of initiatives.” He then listed the radical reforms that he pledges his support for: “These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and federal rights for lgbt couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy in a way that strengthens our armed forces and our national security.” This is the highest-level, strongest endorsement the radical homosexual agenda has ever received in America.

“Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a state than that all persons employed in places of power and trust be men of unexceptionable character.” That quote is from Samuel Adams, a Founding Father of America. If he was right, then the nation he broke away from is in serious trouble. A recent scandal in the British Parliament shows that, as a whole, an entire generation of British leaders lack integrity and character. The basic salary of a British member of Parliament (MP) is ₤63,291 (us$104,000). Yet in 2007, each MP, on average, claimed more than twice this amount in expenses: £135,600 (us$223,900). Many did this by fiddling their expenses claims. Some stretched the rules. Many lied outright. The Daily Mail reported that to receive the same benefits as the average MP, an ordinary taxpayer would have to earn a salary of £319,165 (us$524,500). Some claim that a fraud of a few thousand pounds—when billions of pounds are being spent on the economy—is no big deal. They are wrong. This type of behavior reveals the moral fiber of the nation is being ripped apart. It is a big reason why other parts of the system are breaking down.

Yet another study has been published in Britain detailing the disturbing state of the British family. According to a poll of 3,000 families, taken as part of Britain’s first National Families Week, the average British family spends only 45 minutes a day together. Most families spend much of that time watching television or eating, according to the online poll conducted by YoungPoll and OnePoll. The Mail Online said the findings “signal a worrying deterioration of the family unit thanks to what campaigners call a ‘family-unfriendly culture’” (May 28). The study found that parents were twice as likely to describe their families as “tv and digital families” than “caring families.” Just 1 in 10 considered themselves part of a “caring family” where the priority is to look after each other’s well-being.