The Week in Review

The King David administration, Yemen’s global terrorist cleric, and a terrorist plot-in-progress against the United States.
 

Middle East

A pottery shard from the remains of a town dating from the 10th century b.c. has been proven to be written in ancient Hebrew—making it the oldest known Hebrew inscription. Prof. Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa translated the text, concluding that it is indeed Hebrew as it uses verbs found only in the Hebrew language and material only relevant to an Israelite culture. “It can now be maintained that it was highly reasonable that during the 10th century bce, during the reign of King David, there were scribes in Israel who were able to write literary texts and complex historiographies such as the books of Judges and Samuel,” said Galil. The shard was discovered a year and a half ago in an excavation led by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel inside a fortified town near the valley of Elah, where David battled Goliath. Galil said that the impressive fortifications as well as the complexity of the text refute theories that the kingdom of Israel did not exist at that time. This is yet another piece of evidence showing the Bible’s history of Israel is true and modern revisionists’ histories false.

In Yemen, Sheikh Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, with the support of a council of 150 clerics, on Thursday delivered a fatwa, or religious decree, against any foreign political or military intervention in the country. In his pronouncement, the sheikh stated, “If any party insists on aggression, or invading the country, then according to Islam, jihad becomes obligatory.” Stratfor asserts that the decree is a warning by Yemen for the United States to back off from taking any overt military action there. Although al-Zindani has been labeled a specially designated global terrorist by the U.S. and is also one of Osama bin Laden’s spiritual mentors, in Yemen he is a well-known and respected religious and political figure and maintains close ties with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. For this reason, Stratfor believes the fatwa was most likely at least tacitly approved by Yemen’s president. “Ultimately, the fatwa delivered by al-Zindani sends a direct message to the United States, and perhaps Saudi Arabia, that any increase in foreign military presence in the country is ultimately forbidden and could be met with religiously sanctioned violence” (January 14).

Iran is making headway in securing political influence in Iraq ahead of March parliamentary elections. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition has announced it will enter into an alliance with the Iraqi National Coalition (inc), which was formed last August by Iran’s allies in Baghdad in order to cement Iranian political influence in the country. When the inc was first formed, Maliki refused to join the Iranian-backed political alliance. When Iranian troops occupied an Iraqi oil well in December, we reported that, in part, it appeared to be an attempt by Tehran to put pressure on Maliki to align with the inc. “He could either use the incursion to play the nationalist card and paint his political rivals in isci [Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, the main party in the inc] as Iranian stooges, or he could avoid any Iranian backlash and simply fall in line with Tehran’s wishes” (Stratfor, January 12). It appears that Maliki has now caved to Iran. The announcement that his State of the Law will ally with the inc after the elections came shortly after Iran’s foreign minister visited Iraq and met with Maliki and Iraq’s highest-ranking Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Europe

A joint Israeli-German cabinet meeting will take place on January 18 in Berlin, according to an Israeli government official. It is the second meeting of this kind, the first having been held in Israel in March 2008. The session between the two governments is to be chaired by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who are expected to focus on the Iranian nuclear threat, and bolstering political, economic and security relations between Jerusalem and Berlin. Ten senior ministers from each country’s government will attend the meeting. The upcoming joint Israeli-German cabinet meeting further indicates that the Jewish people will continue to place their hope and trust in Germany. History and Bible prophecy agree that it will lead to a disastrous result. To understand where this German-Israeli relationship is leading, read our August 2008 Trumpet article “Can Israel Trust Germany?

Italy is experiencing some of its worst racial violence since World War ii. Over 1,000 African immigrants were evacuated from the southern Italian town of Rosarno on January 9, after three days of clashes that left 53 people injured—18 of whom were policemen. The clashes began after some local residents attacked immigrants, causing the immigrants to run riot. An anti-government newspaper called the removal of the immigrants “ethnic cleansing.” As the economy gets worse, and Europe shifts to the right, watch for racial violence to increase.

Asia

China successfully tested its first land-based missile-defense system on Monday with the goal, in part, of deterring the U.S. from its defense of Taiwan. By destroying one in-flight missile with another, Beijing flexed its growing military muscle, and also displayed its disapproval for the recent sale of 200 U.S. Patriot interceptor missiles to Taiwan. Beijing has threatened military action in the event of Taiwan’s pursuing formal independence, and Taipei would use the weapons to thwart any attack by Chinese missiles positioned just across the Taiwan Strait. Although the test of itself will not persuade the U.S. to withdraw its support of Taiwan’s self-defense, it highlights the growing tensions between Beijing and Washington. The rift is expected to widen in coming weeks as President Obama meets with Beijing’s Tibetan enemy, the Dalai Lama, and when Washington hosts a visit from Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou.

Latin America/Africa

Hundreds of thousands of people may have been killed by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12. Within a few days, law and order appeared to break down. Thousands are left homeless, and disease seems ready to rampage through the nation’s capital of Port-au-Prince.

Militants attacked a bus transporting Togo’s soccer team African Cup of Nations on January 8. Six or seven people were injured. The attack raised questions of whether similar attacks could take place in South Africa when it hosts the World Cup in summer 2010. Sports teams are increasingly becoming a target for militants, and the World Cup could be a way for them to push at Western nations.

Anglo-America

The White House announced late this week that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (aqap) was conducting an ongoing terror plot against the United States. aqap was responsible for sending Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to suicide-bomb Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit December 25. Abdulmutallab said that many more like him were headed to the U.S. from Yemen. Stratfor sources also said that two suspected of plotting terrorist attacks are currently being pursued.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he wants to recover about $90 billion by 2010 from 50 large financial firms that were bailed out by taxpayers. Obama said he wanted to recover “every single dime” through a new tax. “My determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people.” The display of massive, irresponsible spending by banks, the government and everyday citizens shows that the state of the American economy and its ever expanding government is beyond repair.

The U.S. will face a dollar crisis if it does not either raise more taxes or cut spending, a panel of financial experts said Wednesday. “It has got to be done. It will be done some day. It may be done with enormous pain. Or it may be done more rationally,” said Rudolph Penner, chairman of the Committee on the Fiscal Future of the United States. Penner formerly headed the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office; his comments came at the conclusion of a two-year study.