The Week in Review

Middle East

Yemen lurches toward anarchy: At least 83 people were killed and, according to protesters, nearly 1,000 wounded in Yemen in a fresh wave of violence that hit on Sunday. A shaky ceasefire largely held on Wednesday, but Yemen remains on the brink of civil war. Demonstrators called for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is in Saudi Arabia recovering from an attack on his compound in June, to step down—something he has promised to do several times. The protesters are supported by Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a powerful general who defected to the opposition in March. The latest bloodshed pushes the two sides further apart, making anarchy more likely. Such anarchy would favor Iran. Saudi Arabia is Iran’s biggest opponent in the region, and Yemen is right on its border. Anarchy would mean a breeding ground for extremists on Saudi Arabia’s borders. And if Iran gets control of Yemen, it gives it a strategic base by the Gulf of Aden.

Israel evacuates embassy staff in Jordan: Israel cleared out almost all the staff from its embassy in Amman on September 15 after news spread that anti-Israel protests would be held there. The decision to evacuate the staff was influenced by Israel’s concerns that its Amman embassy could suffer attacks similar to those that its embassy in Cairo experienced the previous week. Cairo is the only other Arab capital besides Amman where Israel has an embassy. Jordanian activists called for a “million-man march” against the Israeli Embassy. The protesters, led by Islamists, leftists and labor unions, have a list of demands that include the embassy’s closure, removal of the ambassador from Jordan and the cancellation of Jordan’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel. Although promoters had said the event would attract 1 million people, in the end only around 300 protesters showed up. The Muslim Brotherhood, Jordan’s largest opposition group and most outspoken critic of the country’s peace treaty with Israel, accounted for around one third of the demonstrators. Despite the meager turnout, the event highlighted a wave of anti-Israel sentiment that is building momentum at a volatile time for Israel.

Head of Afghan peace council assassinated: Burhanuddin Rabbani, former Afghan president and head of the government’s High Peace Council, was killed by a Taliban suicide bomber on Tuesday in a dramatic demonstration of the Taliban’s reach. The bomb was detonated while two men posing as Taliban peace emissaries were meeting with Rabbani at his home. The attack comes as U.S.-Taliban negotiations, mediated by Pakistan, are in their initial phases, reports Stratfor, and it may be an attempt by some Taliban factions to shape the talks in their favor. Rabbani, the lead representative of the Tajiks, “posed a strategic hurdle to the Taliban,” Stratfor says (September 21). His assassination creates a power vacuum within the factions in the north, and “allows the Taliban to push their demands for political dominance in any postwar political arrangement” (ibid). If this was the Taliban’s purpose, “it leaves the United States in a highly uncomfortable position,” writes Stratfor. Marine Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force stated the obvious: that the Rabbani assassination represents “another outrageous indicator that, regardless of what Taliban leadership outside the country say, they do not want peace, but rather war.” Still, America feels it has no option but to seek a political settlement involving the Taliban so it can extract itself from Afghanistan.

Pakistani prime minister visits Iran: The Pakistani media’s strong support of a visit to Iran last week by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani demonstrates Pakistan’s increasingly anti-U.S. stance. The already strained relations between the U.S. and Pakistan came under further stress following the September 13 Taliban attacks on the U.S. Embassy and nato buildings in Kabul. Washington has blamed the Pakistan-based Haqqani network for the attacks and accused Islamabad of supporting the Taliban faction. Now, in relation to the Pakistani prime minister’s September 13-14 visit to Iran, Pakistan’s media have come out strongly in support of Pakistan-Iran relations. For example, the Daily Times, a moderate English-language daily, wrote, “Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani’s visit to Iran signals … a paradigm shift in Pakistan’s foreign policy. … The new energy in Pakistan-Iran relations is of a piece with the tectonic power shifts taking place in the region as the Afghan endgame approaches.” In addition to the growing anti-Americanism in Pakistan, Courcy’s Intelligence Brief reports that there is a “growing feeling within Pakistan policymaking circles that the U.S. can and should be prevented from remaining in Afghanistan after 2014 by the combined diplomatic efforts of Pakistan, China, Russia, and Iran” (September 21). The report says that Pakistani sources say that Islamabad is involved in intensive diplomatic efforts toward this end. Pakistan, erstwhile U.S. ally, is increasingly emerging as a dangerous foe as it allies with America’s enemies.

Europe

The Islamic wave crests in France: There are now more practicing Muslims in France than practicing Catholics, according to a study by the French Institute of Public Opinion. Although 64 percent of French people claim to be Roman Catholic, only 2.9 percent of the population are actually practicing Catholics. In comparison, 3.8 percent of the country’s population practices the Muslim faith. Another study shows that mosques are now being built at a much faster rate than Catholic churches. On Sunday, pro-Palestinian activists invaded the embarkment lobby of the Israeli airline El-Al in the Roissy Airport, north of Paris, chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to the Jews,” and prevented passengers from checking in. Witnesses on the scene said “a wild horde terrorized, threatened and intimidated passengers.” The activists were responding to a call for protests from the extremist organization EuroPalestine. The protest came just two days after 200 Muslims defied a new French ban on outdoor prayer and took to the sidewalks and streets of Paris to pray to “Allah.” Paris announced on September 15 that it was outlawing outdoor prayer, with officials saying they would begin to enforce the law the following day. Two hundred Muslims defied the law and prayed on the streets in the neighborhood of La Goutte d’Or, according to Le Parisien. As Islam’s push against France and other European nations intensifies, more Europeans will wake up to the threat of radical Islam and will demand their politicians take action.

Slovakia and Slovenia threaten eurozone bailout: Slovenia’s government collapsed September 20, making it harder for the nation to approve the new changes to the euro’s bailout mechanism. Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor lost a confidence vote 51-36 after months of coalition infighting, cabinet resignations and accusations of corruption and economic mismanagement. If President Danilo Turk fails to put together a government within 30 days the nation will have to hold new elections, probably in December. The Finance Ministry insists that the change to the European Financial Stability Facility (efsf) will be approved despite the turmoil, but the lack of a government will certainly complicate things. Barbara Raflak, foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Pahor, warned that getting a “yes” vote from parliament “could be a problem.” “An eventual delay in Slovenia would slow the whole ratification process, since Slovakia, where one of the ruling parties opposes a more powerful efsf, has already made it clear that it wants to be the last eurozone member to vote on the issue,” said an economist for bnp Paribas, Michal Dybula. Slovakia is the second-poorest nation in the eurozone, and one of the main coalition parties is adamant that it shouldn’t have to bail out Greece. Slovakia has already taken painful austerity measures. It is very unlikely that Slovakia’s parliament will approve the changes to the efsf. Until the changes to the efsf are ratified, the European Central Bank (ecb) is the only organization buying up European bonds and keeping Spain and Italy afloat. The ecb cannot keep up this role forever. Will the efsf changes be approved before it’s too late? The eurozone’s economic problems continue to build toward a crisis that will revolutionize Europe.

S&P downgrades Italy: Rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Italy’s credit rating from A+ to A on Tuesday. It gave Italy a negative outlook, meaning further downgrades could follow. The announcement may cause further investor exodus from European debt markets, and threatens to escalate the credit crisis. Moody’s is expected to downgrade Italy soon too. Stock markets, however, seemed to take the announcement in stride. Jane Foley, a currency strategist at Rabobank, said this was because “S&P were only catching up with the markets.” Italy’s borrowing costs are already high, despite the European Central Bank (ecb) buying up its bonds. Their yields are hovering around 5.6 percent. Experts say that once yields are above 6 percent, a country is in the danger zone. Without the ecb Italy would probably already be there. Sony Kapoor, the head of think tank Redefine Kapoor points out that because French and German banks have invested heavily in Italy, the downgrade affects all of Europe. Italy’s downgrade comes as Greece struggles to find a way to keep paying its bills. If Greece is unable to borrow new money to pay loans that are coming due, the nation could default on its debt. If that were to happen, many European banks that lent money to Greece would face insolvency. These banks would then be unable to lend money to governments such as Italy and Spain—thus reinforcing the debt collapse. The downgrade of Italy is a sign that the economic crisis in Europe is far from over.

Pope’s visit brilliantly timed: Pope Benedict xvi began his four-day visit to Germany, September 22. He will face crowds of protesters, but as Trumpet columnist Ron Fraser pointed out at theTrumpet.com, he’s come to preach to the converted. “What Benedict is doing with his priestly troops is akin to the process that Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg began with Germany’s military forces when he was minister for defense. He’s simply preparing for war—in his terms, a ‘new evangelization’—a crusading war, by stripping out the dead wood and scaling down to a leaner, meaner hard core of loyalists willing and prepared for the sacrificial effort of crusading for Europe to return to its Catholic, its ‘holy Roman,’ roots,” he wrote. He writes that Benedict is here to “head off the liberal secularists by strengthening the Catholic right and appeal to the masses in a time of national and international crisis, traditionally the time when religion has its greatest appeal. For Benedict, there could hardly be a better moment than now, with Germany caught in the midst of political confusion, the masses lacking any clear vision of their future.”

New committee to approve bailouts for Germany: A small group of senior members of Germany’s Parliamentary Budget Committee will approve bailouts on behalf of the German parliament, under legislation that will be voted on by parliament on September 29. This group would decide on “cases requiring particular speed or confidentiality.” The legislation would give a small group of politicians the power, in certain conditions, to veto bailouts even if German Chancellor Angela Merkel has approved them. This could prove an interesting development in the euro crisis.

Ukraine holds military exercises with Russia and Belarus: Ukraine joined Russia and Belarus in military exercises for the first time from September 16 to 22. The Union Shield 2011 exercises revolved mainly around defending against nato. Ukraine is trying to stay in the middle between the West and Russia, but the military exercises show it is probably in Russia’s camp. On September 15, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko warned that his country could fall into Russia’s orbit. “If you see yourself in a single economic space with Russia and Belarus and the customs union,” he said, “you build an iron curtain and choose different freedoms, or rather non-freedoms, different values.” Russia is trying to bring Ukraine into its orbit.

Asia

China announces plans to put “Heavenly Palace” in space: China will launch an experimental spacecraft next week to clear the way for the country’s first space station, an official said on Tuesday. The Tiangong 1, or “Heavenly Palace,” is slated for launch around September 27-30, which would coat China’s National Day celebrations with a high-tech varnish. “Space flight is the concrete reflection of the overall strength of a great power,” said Jiao Weixin, a professor at Peking University. Beijing hopes to place a successful Tiangong mission atop the mountain of indications of its mushrooming technological prowess, including the launch of its first aircraft carrier last month, and its becoming one of the few nations with submersibles capable of diving deeper than 5,000 meters in July. Besides the prestige its space program will give to Beijing, it also boosts China’s military potential. Despite China’s claims that its space program is strictly peaceful, it is largely controlled by the nation’s military, and U.S. experts say it grants China advanced sensor, satellite and propulsion capabilities that will bolster the ability of its missile systems.

Japan targeted by Chinese cyberattacks: Last weekend, cyberattackers in China targeted websites operated by Japan’s largest defense contractor and the Japanese government, according to Japan’s National Police Agency. The attacks occurred on the 80th anniversary of the Manchurian Incident, which led to Japan’s invasion of China. The agency reported that 90 percent of the attacks had originated from China, where online messages had previously been calling for attacks on Japanese websites to mark the anniversary of the Manchurian Incident. The attackers successfully hacked into submarine technology, missile guidance information and propulsion data on the servers of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Hackers also managed to infiltrate the Nagasaki shipyard, where destroyer ships are built, and tap into information on the design of guidance and propulsion systems for rockets and missiles.

Africa/Latin America

Bodies abandoned in Mexico’s streets: Gunmen wearing military-style uniforms in the Mexican state of Veracruz blocked a busy road on Tuesday before abandoning two truckloads of dead hostages. According to the bbc, terrified witnesses sent messages on Twitter as they saw the bodies being abandoned at an underpass in Boca del Rio. Some of the victims had their hands tied and showed signs of having been tortured, reports said. Veracruz Attorney General Reynaldo Escobar confirmed that the corpses—23 men and 12 women—were found in two vehicles. Veracruz has seen a spike in drug-related violence in recent months and years. America’s increasingly unstable southern neighbor is in the middle of a war for its survival, and the situation could melt down quickly.

Officials concerned that charismatic Islamist leader will emerge in the Horn of Africa: The U.S. military has reopened a base for armed drones on the island nation of Seychelles in an effort to intensify attacks on al Qaeda affiliates in the Horn of Africa, defense officials told news media this week. These drones will launch from Seychelles and fly overland, supplementing strikes from another drone base in Djibouti. U.S. officials have also said that they are concerned that al Qaeda—under pressure from U.S. operations in Pakistan—is moving to expand operations through its affiliates in East Africa. They fear that a new charismatic militant leader—a new Osama bin Laden—could emerge in this area of the world. These armed drones, however, are likely to further destabilize an already volatile region of Africa, unless the United States has the willpower to see the operation through to the end. Recent history and Bible prophecy indicate that America does not have this willpower. With Egypt and Libya falling into the hands of Islamic extremists, watch for Somalia and Ethiopia to be next.

Anglo-America

Britain to legalize homosexual “marriage”: The British government plans to introduce homosexual “marriages” before the next election in 2015, Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone announced at the Liberal Democratic Party annual conference September 17. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron personally intervened to promote the new proposals. “‘He was very keen to press ahead on this,” said an anonymous source from 10 Downing Street. “This is something that the prime minister has taken a strong personal interest in.” The government will begin consultations over the issue next March. The government also plans to allow homosexuals to hold civil partnership ceremonies in churches. The fact that a Conservative prime minister is pushing for homosexual “marriage” shows how radically left wing Britain has become. Cameron has often supported homosexuals, and even apologized for legislation introduced by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that banned homosexual propaganda from schools. Cameron says he supports marriage and family, but believes that strong families make a strong society because they involve responsibility and commitment. He argues that homosexual “marriages” would also require the same virtues and therefore are good for society. He misses the fact that God created marriage and family as the only stable way to build a society and to teach man about his relationship with his spiritual Father.

Catholics reintroduce meat-free Friday: Catholics in England and Wales are being asked to abstain from meat (not including fish) on Fridays, to pay penance on the day of the week they say Christ died, from September 16 onward. This is despite the fact that the Bible is clear that Christ didn’t die on a Friday, and Christians should not do penance. “Reemphasizing the importance of penitence is but one of the responses the bishops wish to make to the growing desire of people to deepen and give identity to the spiritual aspects of their lives,” said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The bishops hope this will be a tool to draw others to Catholicism. Expect the Catholic Church to try to expand its role in people’s lives across Europe.

California couple fined $300 for holding home Bible study: A married couple in Southern California was fined for holding regular Bible studies in their home, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. The city of San Juan Capistrano, in Orange County, fined Charles and Stephanie Fromm $300 for having just 50 people assemble at their home twice a week, because this behavior apparently violates a city zoning code. City officials have warned the Fromms that future fines could be even larger if they continued to host the Bible studies without a permit. A city spokeswoman has tried to stress that local authorities were not trying to prohibit Bible study, but are fining the couple for transforming a residential area into a place where people regularly assemble. Still, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law impeding the free exercise of religion or interfering with the right to peaceably assemble. It seems, however, that bureaucrats are sidelining the Constitution and undermining America’s religious freedom.

Marine Corp actively searches for homosexual recruits: A top Marine recruiting trainer arrived at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s biggest homosexual community center, on Tuesday to set up a recruiting booth. This day marked the official ending of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The Marine Corps had been the service most opposed to ending the policy, according to the New York Times. Despite their initial reluctance, however, the Marines were the only one of five invited branches of the military to turn up with their recruiting table. Apparently, the Corps is determined to prove that it will be better than the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard in recruiting homosexual, lesbian and bisexual service members. The Prophet Isaiah foretold of a time when the “man of war” would be taken from Israel. The modern-day Israelite nation of America is turning its back on the biblical standards of morality it was founded on, and its combat readiness will suffer because of it.