The Week in Review
Middle East
#26 Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has elected a new leader, ultra-conservative Muhammed Badie, who removes “the possibility of any real moderation from that group,” reports Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center. While the Egyptian government is currently keeping a lid on the banned Islamist group, if a successor to Hosni Mubarak “stumbles and the regime runs into an internal crisis, the Brotherhood could take advantage of it to become more militant,” says Rubin. He notes that “the three most successful revolutionary Islamist movements—Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iraqi insurgents—have been radicalized and heavily terrorist in a situation where the government was too weak to keep them in check. A key characteristic of the contemporary Brotherhood is that while moderate statements are often made in English to reporters and on the group’s English-language website, this has nothing to do with the fire-breathing extremism of its Arabic-language proclamations and positions.” Watch for radical Islam to increase in popularity in Egypt, and for that trend to be reflected in Egyptian politics—a development the Trumpet has long anticipated, based on Bible prophecy.
U.S. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was in Iraq last weekend discussing the upcoming March 7 elections with Iraqi leaders. The head of the obscure Iraqi commission that banned more than 500 Sunni candidates from running in the election, allegedly because of their ties to Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, subsequently rejected a proposal he attributed to Biden that would allow the purged politicians to run for office. In an interview with the Washington Times, Ali al-Lami, the executive director of the Accountability and Justice Commission, said, “There is no compromise. This is a matter of the Iraqi Constitution. It is not a political issue.” While Iraq’s Shiite leadership essentially told the United States to keep its nose out of Iraq’s business, the U.S. denied any interference. Iraq is becoming more belligerent toward America the closer it gets to Iran.
Iran has fully withdrawn from the disputed oil well area in Iraq that it seized last month, Iraqi official television reported Wednesday. “The Iranian troops have withdrew from the al-Fakkah-4 oil well to its original positions before their first border cross,” the state-run channel of Iraqia quoted government spokesman Ali al- Dabbagh as saying. Though the Iranian troops withdrew soon after the December 18 incursion, they remained stationed nearby, inside Iraqi territory, instead of returning to their original positions. It appears Tehran has now gained the political and other concessions it was seeking by putting pressure on Baghdad.
In what is being described as one of the harshest statements in years about Israel by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday predicted the destruction of the Jewish state, saying the timeline for the country’s demise depends on how Muslim nations “approach the issue.” The comments, made in a meeting with the Mauritanian president in Tehran, were posted on Khamenei’s office website the following day. His comments “mark the first time in years Khamenei has publicly predicted Israel’s downfall,” Associated Press reports. The remarks also coincided with the Jews’ commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Europe
A parliamentary committee in France this week recommended that the country ban women from wearing a full veil in public buildings—including schools and hospitals. This recommendation shows France’s growing intolerance of extreme Islamic religious practices. Six months ago, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that the burka and niqab were “not welcome” in France. The cross-party commission asked parliament to pass a resolution declaring that the full veil is “contrary to the values of the republic,” and that “all of France is saying ‘no’ to the full veil.” The Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium are considering similar bans, and politicians in Italy and Germany have spoken out in favor of them. Watch for European countries to become less tolerant of their Islamic immigrants, as a clash builds between Catholicism and Islam.
The number-two download application on the Italian version of iTunes is an app containing over 100 speeches by the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. The application, released on January 21, is now downloaded over 1,000 times a day. “This is really a flabbergasting phenomenon,” wrote a commentator in the online version of the daily La Reppublica, “especially when you consider the fact that the iPhone has gained cult status for the Facebook and Web 2.0 generation. These aren’t nostalgic old people and historians of the fascist era but kids and young adults that spend time and money on the Internet and get their information from it.” The application’s creator, Luigi Marino, says he wrote the program to preserve Italian history, rather than celebrate fascism. However, despite his intentions, it is a hit among Italy’s tech-savvy fascists. Comments on iTunes-related websites show many adore Italy’s former dictator. This is disturbing evidence of how mainstream fascism is in Italy. For more information on this disturbing trend, see our article “Is Fascism Returning to Italy?”
Asia
In efforts to diversify its base of gas buyers, Russia is casting its gaze toward China. Analysts say Moscow’s strides toward economic cooperation with Beijing are a response to payment disputes between Russia and countries like Ukraine, and the competition posed by the growing U.S. liquefied natural gas market. Meanwhile, after years of geopolitical uncertainty, Europe is aiming to lessen its dependence on Russian gas. “Diversifying Russia’s client base makes economic and geopolitical sense, as the center of the global economy shifts steadily away from Europe and the U.S., and towards non-G-7 economies,” says Kit Juckes, investment strategy chief at investment manager ecu Group. Over the past few years, Chinese energy consumption has climbed sharply, prompting Beijing to import more energy; this winter’s record low temperatures have further stoked the demand. In December, Gazprom, producer of 85 percent of Russia’s gas output, signed an agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation stipulating that Gazprom would supply gas to China. The two companies plan to meet again in the coming weeks to finalize the agreement.
Africa/Latin America
The European Union agreed January 25 to help train Somali government forces in Uganda. Spain will lead the mission that will help Somalia fight its Islamic insurgency and involve around 100 troops, EU foreign ministers agreed at a meeting in Brussels. Spain and France have already committed troops, and other nations are expected to join them. Europe often sends small numbers of troops on training missions in Africa. For more information on its agenda, see our article “The Treasure Tankers of Africa.”
The Supreme Court of Honduras cleared six high-ranking officers in the Honduran Army on Tuesday of wrongdoing in the alleged coup last summer. The six—including Gen. Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, the armed forces chief of staff—were accused of abuse of power by illegally expelling President Manuel Zelaya. Nations less democratic than Honduras—including Venezuela—accused the army of launching a coup. However, the court found that the men acted legally and without malice. Zelaya’s term as president ended on Wednesday, and he subsequently left the country. For more information on what the U.S.’s position on Zelaya’s exile says about the current administration, see our July 1, 2009, article “‘Stand With Democracy’ in Honduras.”
Anglo-America
U.S. President Barack Obama delivered his first State of the Union address on Wednesday. His speech reflected a fact theTrumpet.com has highlighted recently: The United States is consumed by its own domestic affairs. Stratfor reports that President Obama’s speech revealed that America is “wholly engrossed in domestic politics and economic concerns,” adding that only about one sixteenth of the speech addressed international affairs. In contrast to Chancellor Merkel’s bold statement about sanctions the previous day, President Obama barely mentioned Iran in his message. He cited only “growing consequences” for the regime in a passing reference.
A new Pew Research study found that terrorism was a concern for the American public, but it ranked third on the priority list after the economy and jobs. Social security, education, Medicare, and other domestic issues rounded out the top 13 categories of concern for Americans.
President Obama also pushed to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law barring admitted homosexuals from joining the military. The Pentagon has begun implementing the directive, with the defense secretary and joint chiefs of staff chairman testifying on “progress” toward open homosexuality in the U.S. military.
The AP reported from Oklahoma City that heavy snow and ice hit the southern plains Thursday and moved into the South early on Friday. Tens of thousands of people were left without power after heavy ice downed tree limbs and electrical lines, cancelled flights and closed parts of the interstate system.
