The Week in Review
Middle East
The United Nations nuclear watchdog chief has said in a published interview that there is no concrete evidence that Iran has an ongoing nuclear weapons program. In an interview with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, conducted in July but released on Tuesday, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (iaea), said the threat posed by Iran’s atomic program has been exaggerated. Israel’s Foreign Ministry, however, accused the iaea Saturday of “hiding critical information on Iran’s nuclear progress.” Details leaked last week from a new iaea report on Iran’s uranium enrichment program, to be released officially September 14, support claims that Tehran has studied ways to make atomic bombs. At a meeting on Iran in Germany on Wednesday, senior diplomats from six world powers called on Tehran to enter into direct talks on its nuclear program “on the basis of mutual respect,” a senior German diplomat said. While the United States will continue to threaten and talk of imposing further sanctions against Iran, we can expect the status quo to continue as Washington seeks a diplomatic solution.
The Iranian parliament on Thursday approved 18 of 21 nominees proposed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for ministerial posts. Ahmadinejad’s choices for the critical ministries of defense, intelligence, interior and economics were all accepted. This strong support of the Iranian president indicates a subsiding of the power struggle that has been going on between political factions in Iran since the June election. It also demonstrates that the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has regained a stronger grip on Iranian politics and mended his differences with Ahmadinejad. Increased political unity in Iran will give Tehran further strength and confidence in its international dealings, particularly as the September 24 deadline approaches for Iran to negotiate with the West or else face possible gasoline sanctions or other consequences. The approval of Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi—who is wanted by Interpol for his involvement in the 1994 Buenos Aires terrorist attack—as defense minister demonstrates the position Iran will continue to take.
Yemeni forces have been fighting Shiite unrest within the country since early August as Arab countries grow increasingly concerned over Iran’s rising influence in the region. On Monday, the Yemini government summoned the Iranian ambassador over alleged media bias toward Shiite rebels in Yemen. Last week, security forces claimed to have uncovered six weapons caches belonging to the Shiite militant group al-Houthi that contained short-range missiles and light machine guns made in Iran. The Yemeni government believes the al-Houthi militants, who are believed to be trying to establish an Islamic caliphate in the region, may be developing ties with al Qaeda. Of course, Iran is right there supporting—if not instigating—this effort. Stratfor reports that “with regional tensions escalating over Iran’s growing influence, the country is developing into yet another hot proxy battleground between the Persians and Arabs” (September 1). This is further evidence of Iran’s efforts to consolidate its power in the region, and also of the division in the Islamic world today that portends a drastic split indicated in end-time prophecy between those Muslim nations that will ally with Iran and those that will ally with a European power.
Europe
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (cdu) suffered major losses in two state elections Sunday, signaling “a major shift in patterns that have governed German politics since the Allies remade the system after 1945,” according to the New York Times (August 31). The cdu and its preferred coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party, lost their absolute majority in Thuringia and Saarland. Merkel’s rivals, the Social Democrats, hope that these results show they still have a chance in the national elections scheduled for September 27. The state elections also provided an increase in power for the smaller parties, particularly the Left Party, a re-branded version of the old Communist Party in East Germany. The Left Party’s share of the vote in the western state of Saarland grew from 2.3 percent in 2004 to 21.3 percent. This rise of another left-wing party could alter German politics. The upcoming national elections could hold some surprises for Germany. As the New York Times concluded, “[O]ld patterns are being discarded, and Germans may be in for a more interesting political future” (ibid.). Watch the German elections closely. For more information, read the cover story in the latest print edition of the Trumpet, “Is Germany’s Charlemagne About to Appear?”
A German poll this week found that two thirds of voters believe that their politicians are lying when they make campaign promises. Sixty-one percent said that politicians no longer set a “moral example”—an increase of 20 percent since 2002. Fifty-two percent said that whether they voted or not was irrelevant because their vote had “no influence.” The poll shows that Germans are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their political system.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis announced on Wednesday that his country would hold early elections. They will probably take place in early October. Greece has been in an unstable state for several months. On Wednesday, terrorists exploded two bombs almost simultaneously, one in Athens and one in Thessaloniki. The violence reflects widespread discontent in Greece. For more information, see our article “Did the Holy Roman Empire Plan the Greek Crisis?”
Asia
A political tsunami has just slammed into Japan. For only the second time since World War ii, Japanese voters cast out the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party in elections on Sunday. The landslide victory for the opposition could have major ramifications for the island nation as well as for America. “We have been trying to outgrow this old one-party system ever since the collapse of the Berlin Wall,” said Takeshi Sasaki, a political expert and former president of the University of Tokyo. “It took two decades, but we finally made it.” But the election has been such a landslide that the old dominant party will simply be swapped for a new dominant party—only the new rulers appear to be much more radical. The winning Democrats have vowed to distance themselves from America and indicated they would like to reduce Japan’s reliance on the U.S. military. Most recently, they have warned that they intend to revisit certain elements of Japan’s nuclear treaty with the U.S.
Russia has welcomed the results of Japan’s elections and expects “constructive interaction” with the new Japanese government, Xinhau reported on August 31. Russia is determined to “seek constructive interaction with the new Japanese government” for the further development of Russian-Japanese relations. Yukio Hatoyama, who will be sworn in as prime minister of Japan in less than two weeks, stated that he wants to shore up Japan’s relationship with Russia. Following the recent changes in Japanese leadership closely, we have pointed out that the biggest shift will come in the geopolitical arena. Japan needs China and Russia as suppliers of fuel and natural resources. At the same time, China and Russia need Japanese technology and industrial strength to develop their resources. China has overtaken America as the top destination for Japanese exports, while the Russians are working to complete their first oil pipeline to the Far East. The bolstering of economic ties between Japan, China and Russia is a precursor to military cooperation between these nations. This prophesied shift will fracture the Japanese-American alliance and will see Japan joining with Russia and China to form an incredibly powerful military alliance. For biblical proof of this reality, request our free booklet Russia and China in Prophecy.
Latin America/Africa
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on Thursday that the U.S. would cancel $22 million of aid to Honduras. The State Department said, “Restoration of the terminated assistance will be predicated upon a return to democratic, constitutional governance in Honduras.” Yet officials have also said that Obama’s administration will not recognize the upcoming democratic elections. The U.S. does not really want democracy in Honduras. For more on what is really going on, see our July 1 article “‘Stand With Democracy’ in Honduras.”
World Bank President Robert Zoellick announced Wednesday that he is talking to the Chinese government about cooperating on investing in Africa. He stated that China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp, “expressed interest” in investing in the World Bank’s new asset management company that aims to direct money from the private sector to Third World countries in Africa and Latin America. China is not motivated by altruism though. It is after resources. By investing in these continents, it aims to gain access to more of what it needs to fuel its growing empire.
Anglo-America
In a state shell-shocked by calamities over recent years, including earthquakes, mud slides, drought and a catastrophic economy, there are now smoke clouds over Los Angeles. A gigantic wildfire broke out August 26 and has since grown to become the largest in Los Angeles County history and has taken the lives of two firefighters. The largest component fire, the Station Fire, has blackened the landscape, claimed 64 homes and three commercial buildings, and cost more than $27 million to fight. The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that the conflagration “is now 38 percent contained and has burned more than 144,000 acres.” The blaze has burned over 190 square miles and as of Thursday, Reuters reported the southeastern fringe was near the city of Pasadena.
One in three British teenage girls say their boyfriends have sexually abused them, according to a study published Tuesday. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children found that 9 in 10 girls ages 13 to 17 have been in a physically intimate relationship. One in six said they had been forced to have sex. One in 16 said they had been raped.