THE TRUMPET WEEKLY THE TRUMPET WEEKLY

A P R I L 2 7, 2 0 1 3
Will the White House intervene in Syria? 2
Germany is re-arming again 5
Merkel says Germany not domineering Europe 5
Merkel to Europe: Prepare to cede sovereignty 7
Two thirds of Americans to lose everything 11
Why Germany Is
Staying in Afghanistan
BY RON FRASER
T
he liberal German periodical Spiegel headlined an
item in its Friday edition, Germany Commits Troops
for Post-2014 Mission.
Tis should come as no surprise to our subscribers.
We have long maintained that Germany would retain a
military presence in Afghanistan as a counter to Iranian
infuence in the region.
According to Spiegel, the retention of up to 800
Bundeswehr personnel in Afghanistan, post 2014, Tough
perhaps bold and symbolic is also tactical in terms of
upcoming elections.
But its more than that. It is a tactical move by German
elites to consolidate Germanys military and intelligence
presence on Irans eastern border. Te continuing Ger-
man presence in Afghanistan is necessary to maintain the
perimeter of defense encircling Iran that Germany has
carefully built up over recent years.
If you take a look at German military deployment in
the region, you will note that the Bundeswehr, Lufwafe,
Bundesmarine and the German intelligence organization,
the bnd, have a combined deployment from the Mediter-
ranean, south to the coast of Lebanon, further south to
the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf, to the east in
Afghanistan and northeast in see AFGHANISTAN page 12
APRIL 27, 2013
2
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
MIDDLE EAST
Egypt Pushes Ahead
With Controversial Law
ASSOCIATED PRESS | April 24
E
gypts Islamist-led parliament on
Wednesday pushed ahead with a
controversial judicial law in a heated
session, despite a rising uproar among
judges and the opposition who fear
Islamists control over courts.
Te judiciary, with mostly secular-
minded professional judges, is seen by
many Egyptians as one of the only re-
maining bufers against Islamists mo-
nopoly of power following the ouster of
authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak in
2011. Since then, Islamist parties have
swept most polls and dominated legis-
lative councils and the presidency.
Te crisis over the judiciary is a
refection of the deep polarization that
split the country into proponents and
opponents of Morsi and his Muslim
Brotherhood party backers. Dispute
over the controversial law is the latest
in a power tussle between Morsi and
the judiciary since his June election.
Morsi alleges that some in the
judiciary are plotting conspiracies
against his administration. His party
says some judges want to bring back
Mubaraks regime.
[T]he legislative committee of the
upper house of parliament, which is
seated as a transitional legislature,
voted in favor of three draf laws on the
judiciary proposed by Islamist groups.
It opened the foor for further debate.
One proposed by Morsis Freedom
and Justice party, the political arm of
the Muslim Brotherhood group, drops
the retirement age for judges from 70 to
60, which would afect nearly a quarter
of Egypts 13,000 judges and prosecu-
tion ofcials. Te draf also would bar
the courts from reviewing or overturn-
ing presidential decrees issued by Morsi
late last year, including his unilateral
appointment of a new top prosecutor.
Te crisis over the judiciary also
T
he White House said Tursday
that it believes the Syrian govern-
ment has used chemical weapons in its
civil war, an assessment that could test
President Obamas repeated warnings
that such an attack could precipitate
American intervention in Syria.
Te White House, in a letter to
Congressional leaders, said the na-
tions intelligence agencies assessed
with varying degrees of confdence
that the government of President
Bashar al-Assad had used the chemi-
cal agent sarin on a small scale.
But it said more conclusive evi-
dence was needed before Mr. Obama
would take action, referring obliquely to both the Bush
administrations use of faulty intelligence in the march to
war in Iraq and the ramifcations of any decision to enter
another confict in the Middle East.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, who
is chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said
the agencies actually expressed more certainty about the
use of these weapons than the White House indicated in its
letter. She said Tursday that they voiced medium to high
confdence in their assessment, which ofcials said was
based on the testing of soil samples and blood drawn from
people who had been wounded.
American ofcials said the attacks, which occurred
last month in a village near Aleppo and in the outskirts
of Damascus, had not been defnitively connected to Mr.
Assad. Te White House said the chain of custody of the
weapons was not clear, raising questions about whether the
attacks were deliberate or accidental.
In Jerusalem last month, [President Obama] said proof
that Syria had used such weapons would be a game
changer for American involvement.
While lawmakers from both parties swifly declared that
the presidents red line had been breached, they difered on
what he should do about it.
Te political reality is that he put himself in that
position that if the red line is crossedhe made it very
clearit would change his behavior, Senator John McCain,
Republican of Arizona, said. Te intelligence is a compel-
ling argument for the president to take the measures that a
lot of us have been arguing for all along, he said.
White House Believes Syria Has Used Chemical Arms
NEW YORK TIMES | April 25
JOSEPH EID/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
Related: About Those WMD in Syria
A Syrian ag ies in the
city of Homs, where Syrian
rebels have claimed
they were attacked with
chemical weapons.
APRIL 27, 2013
3
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
has prompted the resignations of top
Morsi aides and advisers.
On Monday, Morsis top legal adviser
Mohammed Fouad Gadallah resigned.
In his three-page resignation letter, he
said he wanted to shed light on the
extent of the danger facing the country
at a time when personal interests are
overwhelming national interests.
Two days earlier, Justice Minister
Ahmed Mekki submitted his resigna-
tion, complaining that Morsis sup-
porters were trampling on the judi-
ciary. He too criticized the presidents
handling of the dispute with the judi-
ciary. He was a longtime pro-reform
judge under Mubarak before becoming
a minister in Morsis government.
TW
I N B R I E F
n U.S. arming the Middle East
A secretive arms deal between the
United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates has come
to light at a time when Iran appears
closer than ever to obtaining nuclear
weapons. Te deal, which amounts to
$10 billion worth of military sales and
is yet to be fnalized, was announced
in Congress on April 18. Te three
nations that will beneft from this
deal are all pro-Western nations,
seen as key players in counterbalanc-
ing the rise of Iran to the east. It is no
secret that the U.S. wants there to be
a tangible resistance to the increas-
ingly belligerent Iranians. But the deal,
which includes long-range weaponry,
also sheds light on U.S. weakness.
Te U.S., unwilling to use its military
might, is stepping away from the vola-
tile Middle East at a time when Iran is
becoming a greater threat. Te latest
U.S. strategy to create peace in the
Middle East is to arm pro-Western
nations and hope that they will solve
the problem. In one sense, Washing-
ton holds the gun, with Iran frmly
in its sights, but rather than take the
shot, it is giving the weapon to its
friends in the Middle East, hoping
they will shoot in the right direction.
Te U.S. has the ability, but not the
will, to stop Iran.
n Car bomb targets
French Embassy in Libya
Half of the French Embassy in Libya
was destroyed by a car bomb on the
morning of April 23. It was the latest
in a series of attacks that have been
carried out against diplomatic missions
in Libya since Col. Muammar Qadhaf
was ousted nearly two years ago, but
the frst major incident to occur in the
capital city. Te explosion, which in-
jured two French security guards, was
quickly labeled a terrorist attack and
early reports indicate Islamist militants
were behind it. Many Islamist mili-
tants have publicly denounced France
for its intervention in neighboring
Mali, which is currently in the throes
of an attempted Islamist takeover. Te
embassy bombing was also reminiscent
of the infamous attack against the U.S.
consulate in Benghazi last September
that resulted in the death of fve Ameri-
cans. Te Trumpet has long predicted
that a post-Qadhaf Libya would only
open the door to the expansion of
deadly terrorism. Such terrorist attacks
as these and continued unrest in Libya
only serve to confrm that fact.
Related: Why America Should
Not Have Toppled Mubarak
EUROPE
Restored Monarchy
Gains Young
Germans Support
THE LOCAL | April 25
O
ne in fve Germans would like to
see the monarchy restored, accord-
ing to a survey released on Tursday.
Young Germans were even keener on re-
placing the president with a new kaiser.
With a British jubilee, a Dutch
abdication and a Swedish royal birth,
European royals have been regularly
hitting headlines of late. More than
half of the 1,012 Germans asked by
polling company YouGov for news
agency dpa said they were interested
in other countries monarchies.
In fact, 19 percent said that they
would like to see one of their own
be reinstated. Among people aged
between 18 and 24 this fgure jumped
up to more than one in three, while
just one in six over-55s were in favor of
having a monarchy.
Te last German emperor, Kaiser
Wilhelm ii, stood down in 1918. Last
year, Prince Philip Kiril of Prussia, the
Kaisers great-great-grandson, made
headlines by suggesting the restora-
tion of the monarchy.
Despite swelling support among the
young, most Germans still oppose the
idea. 51 percent of all respondents said
that having a king or queen would cost
too much money. Sixty-nine percent said
they were completely against the idea.
Upstart Grillo
Demands German
Invasion of Italy
THE LOCAL | April 13
I
talian protest party leader Beppe
Grillo on Tuesday said he wanted a
German invasion of Italy to ensure
honest, competent politicians.
In our parliaments there are still
30 M.P.s who have been convicted of
serious ofences. Id also like honest,
competent and professional people in
the right positions, Grillo, 64, told
Bild newspaper.
In this respect, I would be glad
about a German invasion of Italy, the
ex-comedian quipped.
Grillo, who leads the anti-establish-
ment Five Star Movement party, has
shaken up Italian politics afer win-
ning a quarter of the vote in February
elections. Sparring politicians in the
recession-ravaged country have been
at loggerheads for two months since
the vote that lef no clear winner and
revealed growing social unease.
Grillo is seen as a guru-like fgure
by his supporters but has been heavily
criticized for populist rhetoric and a
brash style against dissidents within
his own movement.
APRIL 27, 2013
4
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
Spains Attempt to
Get EU to Hit Gibraltar
David Eade, PANORAMA | April 24
[T
he Minister of Finance and
Public Administration], Cristobal
Montoro, says that Spain has signed
an accord with other European coun-
tries to form a working group to force
the EU to eradicate what Spain calls
paraisos fscales [tax havens].
Montoro has Gibraltar frmly in his
sights and confrmed Spanish media
reports that the Agencia Tributaria had
formed a working group to stamp out
tax evasion; specifcally the millions of
euros Madrid insists are implanted in
ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
companies registered in Gibraltar.
Now of course our fnancial center
insists it is no longer an of-shore loca-
tion and is very much on shore. We
are compliant with all the legislation
aimed at cracking down on money
laundering and tax evasion. We have
signed tax information exchange
agreements with 20 countries but not
with Spain because it refuses to do so.
Madrid insists such agreements should
be signed by the UK on our behalf.
However there should be no doubt
the intention of Madrid is to use this
EU group of nations to infict harm on
our fnancial center. Whilst the other
nations will be looking to crack down
on genuine cases where jurisdictions
are harming other nations economies
by tax evasion Spain will want them to
concentrate their fre on us for mali-
cious reasons alone. It is not clear who
these other European countries are or
whether the UK is amongst them.
Of course apart from Madrids inten-
tion to bring Gibraltars economy down
as part of the war over sovereignty,
there is the jealousy generated by Spain
being in fnancial meltdown. Servulo
even speculates that our gdp growth
could be as high as 10 percent, a fgure
which would delight our government
but which sadly is probably some way
above what is reality. Needless to say
growth is currently a word absent from
the Spanish economic vocabulary.
C
hinas latest efort to bring on a
post-dollar reserve-currency world
took a big step forward on April 12.
Bank of France Governor Christian
Noyer announced that France and
China will set up a currency swap line
to allow French companies to bypass
the U.S. dollar for trade.
Te idea is to turn France into the
major ofshore Chinese currency trading huband to chal-
lenge London as the European center for access to Chinese
capital.
According to Reuters, France may soon become the cen-
ter of focus for yuan tradingdespite Britains reputation as
a center of global fnance. Te total value of ofshore yuan-
denominated bonds issued by French corporations is nearly
twice the value of bonds issued by their British counterparts.
Te China Daily reports that 50 percent of French com-
panies have used yuan-denominated products and services.
As important as it is for France to increase trade with
China, especially as Europe struggles through its debt
crisis, this deal may prove to be even more important to
China as it wages its currency campaign to remove the dol-
lar as the worlds reserve currency.
Over the past two years, China has announced a string
of yuan internationalization eforts that are systematically
chipping away at the dollars importance to global trade.
Financial blog Zero Hedge reports that China has already
cut deals with Australia, Japan, Russia, Iran, and Brazil to
conduct trade in yuan as opposed to dollars.
Tis latest deal holds the prospect of 317 million mem-
bers of the eurozone eventually conducting trade in yuans
instead of dollars. It is a huge boost for China. In turn,
France has positioned itself as Chinas doorway to Europe
and the largest economic market in the world.
France may also unintentionally open the door for the
dollars destruction.
What will happen to the dollar when over time, all
those European countries realize dollars are no longer
needed to conduct what amounts to around 30 percent
of global trade? Te need to keep as many U.S. dollars in
reserve will evaporate.
Te simple economic laws of supply and demand will
then kick in. Tose unneeded dollars will come fooding
back on the market. Dollars not sold will be spent snapping
up American corporations and income-producing assets.
And the dollars value will tank.
More importantly, Americas ability to print dollars out
of thin air to fnance unsustainable spending and other
stimulus measures will be drastically curtailed because a
huge chunk of the world will no longer be locked into using
and storing dollars.
A massive shif in the global economic order is on the way.
New alliances are being formed, and America is about to be
blindsided when many of its economic allies abandon it.
For information on why China and Europe are destined to
join together in an anti-dollar alliance, read Te Great Mart.
Follow Robert Morley: Twitter
Frances Historic Currency Deal With China
French central bank
(Banque de France)
Governor Christian Noyer
ROBERT MORLEY
APRIL 27, 2013
5
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
TW
I N B R I E F
n Serbia surrenders to Germany
On April 19, Serbia fnally stopped
fghting, and surrendered to Germany.
Attacked by its historical allies and de-
monized in the public press the world
over, Serbia had no hope of winning.
Now Serbia is on its way to joining the
European Union and being welcomed
back into the fold of Western democra-
cy. Te negotiations centered on north-
ern Kosovo, which is mostly inhabited
by Serbs who refused to submit to the
breakaway government of Kosovo.
Tese areas are currently under Serbias
control, but the agreement reached on
Friday turned control of these Serbian
regions over to Kosovo. In return, the
areas will be given a large degree of self-
government. For example, their police
and judiciary would be made up mostly
of ethnic Serbs, although they must still
come under Kosovar structures. Te
G
ermanys rapid increase in arms sales to Arab states in
the Persian Gulf is a sign of its eforts to protect defense
jobs and diversify its customer base. But it also portends a
changing military culture in Germany. Chancellor Angela
Merkel is betting that the electorate is more accepting of
a Germany that is able to wield military might instead of
relying solely on peaceful confict resolution. Is she right? Is
Germany ready to re-arm?
Public opinion and opposition parties are opposed to
arms exports to the Middle East, but Chancellor Merkel
does not seem to mind. She may be focusing on legacy
building in the realm of national security and foreign pol-
icy by building her own Merkel Doctrine that supports a
balance of power against Iran by sending arms to Israel and
Sunni Arab states. A more robust use of the military and
additional force modernization and other army reforms are
also part of this doctrine.
Germany is the worlds third-largest weapons dealer .
Most German governments over the years have fol-
lowed a policy of not selling weapons to countries that are
suspected of human rights abuses. Technically, Germany
is forbidden from executing arms deals with countries that
are located in confict zones. Every arms deal must be
approved beforehand by a committee called the Federal
Security Council that is made up of Chancellor Angela
Merkel and eight of her cabinet members. Te Federal
Security Council meets in secret and usually keeps contro-
versial arms deals under wraps until they are announced
to the publicofen afer the negotiations have already
concluded and the deal has been closed.
lignet believes there are two main reasons for the
German defense export growth in the Middle East. First,
Chancellor Angela Merkel needs to protect the German de-
fense industry by adding Middle East countries as custom-
ers. Second, Merkel is pursuing a defense strategy that
the German media is calling the Merkel Doctrine. Tis
entails Germanys support of Sunni Arab governments bal-
anced against a potentially nuclear Iran. Te doctrine also
steadfastly supports Israel in the region, especially afer the
Arab Spring disruption placed newly unstable countries
such as Syria and Egypt at Israels doorstep.
Merkels approval ratings are high68 percent at last
count in a poll by German broadcaster ard this month.
She faces election this year and is running against a rela-
tively weak opponent from the Social Democrats. So she
has some political capital to burn.
Merkel may be sensing a change in the mood of the
electorate and adopting a new German national security
strategy in an efort to be seen as a modern Bismarck. Te
idealistic peace at all costs orthodoxy in German politics
is slowly giving way to something more pragmatic. Ger-
mans are generally beginning to accept that their govern-
ment needs to take a more muscular role in foreign policy.
Te change in attitudes has surely come about in part
because of Germanys higher profle as a global leader
during the European debt crisis. But it does seem that the
public is giving in to the idea of Germany using its military
for certain types of confict that go beyond the armys efort
in Afghanistan, which was a very limited and mostly non-
combat operation.
Is Germany Getting Ready to Re-arm?
LIGNET | April 24
Associated Press wrote, In what would
be an extraordinary change, the deal
appeared to recognize the authority of
the Kosovo government over the north
of the country, which is inhabited
predominantly by ethnic Serbs. Serbia
has done a deal with Kosovoor rather,
with its backers in Germany and else-
wherethat ofers some recognition of
Kosovos independence. Serbian leaders
are no longer refusing to ofer any kind
of recognition of Kosovos indepen-
dence as a point of principle. Tey will
no longer stand in the way of German
dominance of the region.
n Chancellor Merkels
dangerous doubletalk
In a startling example of doublespeak,
on April 22 Germanys Chancellor
Angela Merkel denied the obvious
German hegemony extant in Europe
today while at the same time calling
for European Union nations to yield up
more of their precious national sover-
eignty to the German-dominated EU
imperialist regime. To me, this hege-
monial [concept] is completely foreign,
she said during a debate with Polish
Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Yet at the
same time she said that nations must
give the EU more power and be ready
to accept that Europe has the last say in
certain areas. If ever there was an un-
democratic stance, denying nations the
right for their own elected representa-
tives to make parliamentary decisions
to meet the desire of their constituents,
it surely is embodied in that statement.
Yet, from its very beginnings, the EU
was designed as a most undemocratic
enterprise. Its just that its real iron
teeth are fnally being bared now that
German elites have Europe economi-
cally on the ropes, just where they want
it, ripe for the plucking.
APRIL 27, 2013
6
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
n France legalizes homosexual
marriage amid protests
Te lower house of Frances parlia-
ment passed a law on April 23 allow-
ing homosexuals to marry. Te law
carried 331 votes to 225 dissenting. It is
expected to be approved by the Con-
stitutional Court and French President
Franois Hollande over the next few
months. Te law will also allow homo-
sexuals to adopt and receive medical
treatment to have children. Hun-
dreds of thousands have protested its
introduction over the past few months.
Nearly 15,000 mayors said they would
not perform the marriage and some
said they would resign if it is adopted.
Te Catholic Church still has a strong
infuence in France. Watch for it to
push back against the law.
n Frustration builds in Italy
Deputy leader of the Social Democratic
party Enrico Letta was asked to form
a government on April 24, with the
support of Silvio Berlusconis People
of Freedom party and the supporters
of former Prime Minister Mario Monti.
Tough only 46, Letta is very much part
of Italys old guard. He has served in the
European Parliament and is the nephew
of close associates of Berlusconi. But the
single biggest political party in Italy, the
Five Star Movement, with comedian
Beppe Grillo as its fgurehead, has been
lef out. Many in Italy are growing frus-
trated with politics as usual. Handing
the premiership to a career politician
will only make this anger grow.
CDRIC HSLER
T
he European Union (EU) is pouring millions of pounds
into organizations that advocate state control of the press.
For many, the fundinguncovered recently by Telegraph
journalist Andrew Gilliganis yet further evidence of the
EUs increasingly Orwellian, authoritarian nature. Te
Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky has for years referred
to the organization as the eussr.
One recipient of European taxpayers money, Mediadem,
for example, has been given 2.3 million [us$3.56 million]
. Mediadems representative, Dr Craufurd Smith, has
written, Liberal conceptions of media freedom focus on
editorial freedom for government interference [how-
ever] states may also be required to take positive measures
to curtail the infuence of powerful economic or political
groups this entails that neither the media, nor those
individuals who own or work for the media, enjoy an abso-
lute right to freedom of expression.
Tis is not the frst time the EU has sought to control
freedom of expression. In 2001, the European Court of
Justice ruled that the EU was allowed to suppress political
criticism of its institutions and of leading fgures. Te court
ruled that the EU was lawfully allowed to punish individu-
als who damaged the institutions image and reputation.
Te European Court of Justice is the EUs highest court.
Its advocate general, Damaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, had
previously argued that a book criticizing EU fnancial pol-
icy was akin to extreme blasphemy, and thus not protected
by free speech laws.
Te attack against freedom of expression has extended
to economic information. In 2011, an EU ofcial proposed a
ban on the issuing of sovereign credit ratings for countries
in bailout talks.
In the wake of the Leveson
Report, a British parliamentary in-
quiry into the ethics of the Press,
an EU report called for tighter
press regulation and demanded
that the EU should be given new
powers to enforce fnes or the sack-
ing of journalists against errant
media outlets.
Much of the EUs keenness to
intervene comes from its concern at
the negative coverage it receives in
the British press. When the EU is
not proposing to regulate the press,
it is spending vast sums on pro-
EU advertising. In 2012, the EU spent 682 million [$1.05
billion] of British taxpayers money on its enormous public
relations department.
Tere is a joke in Brussels that if the European Union
were a country applying to join itself, it would be rejected on
the grounds of being undemocratic. But it is not much of a
joke. Te EU is run by a body that combines legislative and
executive power, with an unelected president at the very top.
According to a recent parliamentary report, widespread
fraud has led to more than 4 billion [$6.2 billion]of tax-
payers money disappearing from the EU budget each
year. Auditors have refused to sign of EU accounts for 18
years in a row and EU ofcials have been sacked for expos-
ing corruption and fraud within the vast bureaucracy.
Unable to counteract criticism of its failings through
meaningful reform, the European Union is resorting to un-
disguised propaganda and proposed regulation of its critics.
European Union Spending Millions to Silence Critics
GATESTONE INSTITUTE | April 25
The European Court of Human
Rights has made rulings restricting
freedom of the press that national
governments must enforce.
APRIL 27, 2013
7
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
A
s always happens, once the crisis talk is back, so is
discussion of a fscal union. Sure enough, earlier today
Germanys Angela Merkel once again reminded everyone
just what the stakes are in order to achieve a truly stable,
and sustainable European union: nothing short of ceding
sovereignty to Germany.
And with that we are back to square one, because that has
always been the trade-ofwant a unifed, fscally and mon-
etarily, Europe? You can get it: Just bow down to Merkel.
From Reuters: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said
on Monday that eurozone members must be prepared to
cede control over certain policy domains to European
institutions if the bloc is truly to overcome its debt cri-
sis and win back foreign investors. Speaking at an event
hosted by Deutsche Bank in Berlin alongside Polish Prime
Minister Donald Tusk, Merkel also defended her approach
to the crisis against critics who argue she has put too much
emphasis on austerity, saying Europe must fnd a way to
deliver both growth and solid fnances.
So just what is Germanys vision for Europe:
We dont always need to give up national practices, but we
need to be compatible, Merkel said. It is chaos right now.
We need to be prepared to break with the past in order
to leap forward. Im ready to do this, she said.
So just give up national practices sometimes. And yes,
Merkel is of course ready to head the asset-strip-mined con-
tinent. Te question is, who else in Europe is willing to hand
over their liberties to the next iteration of the German Reich?
J
apans prime minister appears to be stepping up his cam-
paign to reinterpret Japans wartime history, aggravating
China and South Korea at a time when the region should
be uniting to deal with North Korea.
Since becoming Japans prime minister for a second
time last December, Shinzo Abe has done a decent job of
keeping his nationalistic instincts in check, choosing to
focus instead on reviving the worlds third-largest economy.
But this week, with his administration buoyant in the
polls amid positive signs for the economy, the other
Shinzo Abe has stepped into the spotlight in dramatic style,
angering Japans neighbors and possibly fomenting another
round of regional tension.
Predictions that his Liberal Democratic Party (ldp) would
tread carefully on the diplomatic front were dashed over
the weekend when the fnance minister, Taro Aso, visited
Yasukuni, a controversial shrine to 2.5 million Japanese war
dead, including 14 former leaders convicted of war crimes
at the U.S.-led Tokyo military tribunal. To leaders in Beijing
and Seoul, where symbolic acts carry a particular potency,
Yasukuni is an unwanted reminder of Japanese militarism,
and pilgrimages to Yasukuni by senior politicians are proof
that Tokyo has yet to atone for its wartime conduct.
Almost 70 years since Japans defeat in the Pacifc war,
China and South Korea harbor bitter memories of Japans
occupation of the Korean Peninsula and parts of China in
the frst half of the 20th century.
On Tuesday, 168 other lawmakers, most of them from
the ldp, paid homage at Yasukunithe largest group visit
by politicians since records were frst kept in 1989.
Abe, though, was unapologetic. It is only natural to
honor the spirits of the war dead who gave their lives for the
country, he told a parliamentary panel on Wednesday. Our
ministers will not cave in to any threats. It is also my job to
protect our pride, which rests on history and tradition.
He has made no secret of his desire to reinterpret Japans
wartime past, distance himself from apologies issued by
his predecessors and, critically, rewrite the constitution
imposed by the U.S.-led postwar occupation forces.
During questions in parliament on Tuesday, Abe gave
his clearest indication yet that the sensitive subject of Ja-
pans wartime legacy is back on the agenda.
Its been over 60 years since its enactment, and its con-
tents have become obsolete, Abe said in a recent interview
with the Yomiuri Shimbun. Te spirit of writing our own
constitution is what will take us to the next era.
Tis has always been the real Abe, says Robert Dujarric,
director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at
Temple University in Tokyo. He really believes this stuf,
and when he is not under the control of his bureaucrats,
like during this weeks parliamentary session, he says what
he thinks. And he doesnt seem to realize how much he is
hurting Japan.
It has never been a secret that he doesnt like the post-
war [constitutional] regime. He believes it encourages the
Japanese to hate their past.
Merkel to Europe: Prepare to Cede Sovereignty
ZERO HEDGE | April 22
Shinzo Abe Finally Showing His True colors
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR | April 25
ASIA
APRIL 27, 2013
8
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Russia and China Strenghten Ties
CALLUM WOOD | April 26
TW
I N B R I E F
n Asia surpasses rest of the
world in consumption of materials
Te Asia-Pacifc region has overtaken
all other regions of the world in terms
of material consumption, and is
expected to keep dominating world
material fows, according to a United
Nations Environment Program report
published Wednesday. Te evidence
also shows that Asias current rates
of resource exploitation are no longer
sufcient to support its fast-growing
economies and increasingly afuent
lifestyles, and that the region will be-
come increasingly reliant on imports.
Te report, Recent Trends in Mate-
rial Flows and Resource Productivity
in Asia and the Pacifc, shows that
from 1970 to 2008, Asias consump-
tion of construction minerals swelled
13.4 times, industrial minerals and
metal ores consumption increased 8.6
times, fossil fuels rose 5.4, and biomass
increased 2.7 times. Material intensity
for Asia and the Pacifc is now around
three times that of the rest of the world.
As populous countries such as China
and India continue the transition from
agrarian to industrialized economies,
the Asiatic drive for resources will in-
tensify. And as Asias global footprint
grows, European leaders will assume
a more combative stance in securing
resources for themselves.
n China deploys potent game-
changer missile near Taiwan
Te Chinese military on Monday de-
ployed a powerful missile near Taiwan
built to destroy U.S. aircraf carriers,
in a move to hinder Americas ability
to help Taiwan, which China consid-
ers its lost province. Te land-based
missiles range is over 930 miles. It
connects with satellites, unmanned
aerial vehicles and radar to target and
track aircraf carriers. Te missile is
launched into space and then re-enters
Earths atmosphere travelling toward
its target at 10 times the speed of sound.
It is one of a growing number of new
conventionally armed weapons that
Beijing is deploying to the area, taking
their place alongside 1,200 short-range
missiles opposite Taiwan. Tey are
designed to give China the capabil-
ity to attack large ships, particularly
aircraf carriers, in the western Pacifc,
according to the Pentagons 2012
China report. As Chinas economy and
ambition grow, its assertiveness about
controlling the Yellow Sea, the South
China Sea, and the larger East China
Sea are rapidly growing, too. Defense
analysts call the new missile a game-
changer because it could force U.S.
carrier battle groups away from areas
of Chinese interest in these seas.
O
nly days afer assuming power last month, Chinese
President Xi Jinping few to Russia to meet with Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin. It was the frst country Mr. Xi visited
afer taking ofce. While bilateral trade and international
security may seem like routine diplomacy, they are in fact
the building blocks for a powerful military and economic
alliance.
Te geopolitical
landscape of East
Asia is now rapidly
pushing Russia and
China toward closer
ties. Te United
States has been
retreating from the
Middle East, and has
openly declared that
it is pivoting toward
Asia. Te move is
undoubtedly an at-
tempt to counter the
infuence of China.
In the wake of
the U.S. pivot, tensions spiked in the region as Japan and
China locked heads over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands. With
the U.S. backing Japan, and seizing the opportunity to at-
tempt to unite the smaller Asian nations against China, the
Chinese risk being isolated. Enter Russia.
Te deals worked out during Mr. Xis visit provide
evidence that mistrust between the two is dissipating and a
strong alliance is developing.
Te Chinese press has reported the possibility of a deal
where China would purchase 24 Su-35 fghter jets and a
number of submarines.
Tere is also the issue of energy ties. Te needs of the
Russians and Chinese mesh perfectly. Te Russians want to
sell, and the Chinese
want to buy.
In the past year,
there have been
considerable advance-
ments on the eco-
nomic front between
the two nations. Trade
jumped 11 percent in
2012. It is expected to
reach $100 billion by
2015, and $200 billion
by 2020.
Te meeting be-
tween Xi Jinping and
Vladimir Putin was
more than just bilater-
al trade and international security. Te meeting represented a
major step in enhancing relations between the two nations.
Te Trumpet has forecast this alliance for years. We
can take hope in the fact that, as Russia and China unite,
we are also moving closer to the return of Christ in power
and glory. He will ensure that all nations unite, not for the
beneft of one or two nations, but for the good of all.
Xi Jinping shakes
hands with Vladimir Putin
during a document signing
ceremony in Moscow on March 22.
APRIL 27, 2013
9
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
Lawmakers, Aids
May Get Obamacare
Exemption
POLITICO | April 24
C
ongressional leaders in both
parties are engaged in high-level,
confdential talks about exempting
lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides
from the insurance exchanges they are
mandated to join as part of President
Barack Obamas health care overhaul,
sources in both parties said.
Te talkswhich involve Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.),
House Speaker John Boehner (R-
Ohio), the Obama administration and
other top lawmakersare extraor-
dinarily sensitive, with both sides
acutely aware of the potential for po-
litical fallout from giving carve-outs
from the hugely controversial law to
535 lawmakers and thousands of their
aides. Discussions have stretched out
for months, sources said.
A source close to the talks says:
O
f all the unanswered questions since the Boston Mara-
thon bombing, the biggest is this: Why has al Qaeda
not carried out more attacks like the one in Boston?
In the past 12 years, al Qaeda has repeatedly attempted
attacks intended to match or exceed 9/11 in scope and scale.
Tankfully, none of these attacks were successful.
So why does al Qaeda keep trying? Why does it remain
so intently focused on spectacular, mass-casualty attacks,
instead of smaller scale attacks like Bostonattacks that
are much easier to pull of, and much harder for us to
detect and prevent?
Smaller-scale attacks could be equally efective in para-
lyzing the country. Tink about how a man and a teenage
boy terrorized the Washington area with a series of sniper
attacks in October 2002. It would be easy for al Qaeda to
carry out similar attacks in Washington, New York and
other cities in the United Statesassassinating members
of Congress or innocent civilians, or setting of improvised
explosive devices in major metropolitan areas.
Imagine the impact on our country if simultaneous
bombs went of one Saturday afernoon at Tysons Corner
Center and the Mall of America? Or if suicide bombers
blew themselves up at several nfl games on live television?
Or if backpack bombs like the one in Boston started going
of again and again over the course of several days or weeks
in diferent U.S. cities? Al Qaeda could turn Washington,
New York and Boston into Baghdad.
Yet for the past decade, al Qaeda has not taken this route.
Why?
We still do not know if the two Chechen terrorists alleg-
edly behind the Boston Marathon bombing were trained
or deployed by al Qaeda. But if al Qaeda or its afliates do
turn out to be responsible for the Boston Marathon bomb-
ing, the question will become: Is Boston a turning point?
Has al Qaeda internally made a decision to focus less on
replicating 9/11 and more on carrying out more frequent,
lower-level attacks? Could Boston be the frst of many?
Even if Boston does not turn out to be an al Qaeda plot,
the demonstration efect could spark a shif in strategy.
Watching the massive news coverage of the Boston bomb-
ing, seeing how two kids with backpack bombs seem to
have succeeded in putting a major U.S. city on lockdown, it
may now dawn on al Qaeda leaders that a series of small-
scale attacks like this can have the same impact as one
spectacular mass casualty attack.
If it does, that would be very bad news for America. Be-
cause it is impossible to defend in every place, at all times,
against every possible form of attack. If Boston turns out
to be not an outlier but a tipping point in the war on terror,
the intelligence challenges will be enormous. We may no
longer have the luxury of blowing up every high-value ter-
rorist we fnd with drones and vaporizing all the intelli-
gence in their brains in the process. We might discover we
need to interrogate live terrorists to learn what they know
if we want to keep our country safe.
Tough a combination of skill and luck, weve done well
at preventing the next 9/11. Preventing the next Boston
massacre might not be as easy.
Boston: The Beginning of
New Kind of Terror?
WASHINGTON POST | April 22
ANGLO-AMERICA
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
People visit
a make-shift
memorial on
Boylston Street
on April 20, near
the scene of Boston
Marathon explosions.
APRIL 27, 2013
10
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
Everyone has to hold hands on this and
jump, or nothing is going to get done.
Yet if Capitol Hill leaders move
forward with the plan, they risk being
dubbed hypocrites by their political
rivals and the American public. By re-
moving themselves from a key Obam-
acare component, lawmakers and aides
would be held to a diferent standard
than the people who put them in ofce.
Democrats, in particular, would
take a public hammering as the tradi-
tional boosters of Obamacare.
Tere is concern in some quarters
that the provision requiring lawmak-
ers and stafers to join the exchanges,
if it isnt revised, could lead to a brain
drain on Capitol Hill, as several
sources close to the talks put it.
Te problem stems from whether
members and aides set to enter the
exchanges would have their health
insurance premiums subsidized by
their employerin this case, the
federal government. If not, aides and
lawmakers in both parties fear that
stafersespecially low-paid junior
aidescould be hit with thousands
of dollars in new health-care costs,
prompting them to seek jobs else-
where. Plus, lawmakersespecially
those with long careers in public ser-
vice and smaller bank accountsare
also concerned about the hit to their
own wallets.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.)
said I have no problems with
Congress being under the same guide-
lines I think if this is going to be a
disasterwhich I think its going to
bewe ought to enjoy it together with
our constituents.
Te developing narrative is potential-
ly brutal for congressional Democrats
and the White House. Te health-care
law, controversial since it was passed
in 2010, has been a target of the right
and, increasingly, the lef. Tere are
concerns about its cost, implementation
and impact on small businesses.
Obama Witholds
Gun-Smuggling
Operation Documents
REUTERS | April 24
A
U.S. Justice Department lawyer
said on Wednesday that if a judge
agreed to consider a Republican bid to
get administration documents related
to a botched operation against gun-
trafcking it would prompt a food of
requests for courts to referee Wash-
ington political disputes.
President Barack Obama is resist-
ing a congressional subpoena for
documents related to how the admin-
istration responded to the revelation
of the failed operation known as Fast
and Furious on the U.S.-Mexican
border. It has already turned over
thousands of pages of documents
about the operation itself.
[House of Representatives lawyer
Kerry Kircher] told [U.S. District
Judge Amy Berman Jackson] that if
she did not intervene, presidents could
withhold documents from Congress at
will with no consequence and thwart
oversight of government agencies.
Both sides agree that the question
of whether Jackson will step in goes
to the heart of how the U.S. president
and Congress interact with each other.
Lawyers cited court precedents from
the Watergate era and from a more
recent document fght in which Demo-
cratic lawmakers sent a subpoena to
aides of President George W. Bush.
In a decision that now helps Repub-
licans, U.S. District Judge John Bates
ruled in 2008 that he did have the au-
thority to enforce a subpoena by con-
gressional Democrats in connection
with the fring of nine U.S. attorneys.
In the Fast and Furious operation
federal agents trying to build a case
against big gun trafckers supplying
frearms to Mexican drug cartels did
not immediately prosecute low-level
trafckers even as they bought 2,000
potentially illegal guns.
Te operation came to light afer
two of the frearms were found in Ari-
zona at the scene of a shooting where a
U.S. Border Patrol agent died.
Gun rights activists denounced the
operation as part of a broader gun
control agenda by the Obama admin-
istration and urged Republicans to
investigate.
A report by the Justice Depart-
ment inspector general faulted the
operations tactics but dismissed ac-
cusations of wrongdoing against U.S.
Attorney General Eric Holder.
A
n al Qaeda-inspired plot was foiled by Canadian
authorities on April 22. Following a year-long investiga-
tion, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (csis) and
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (rcmp) arrested two
men, in Toronto and Montreal, for conspiring to derail a
passenger train in the Toronto area.
James Malizia, an assistant commissioner with the rcmp,
reported that the arrests disrupted a plot that was an im-
minent threat.
Both accused men, Chiheb Esseghaier, from Montreal,
and Raed Jaser, from Toronto, are charged with conspiracy
to perform an attack and commit murder in association
with or at the direction of a terrorist organization. Police are
not releasing the nationality of the suspected terrorists, but
have said neither are Canadian citizens. Two Muslim lead-
ers briefed by the rcmp reported that one of the suspects is
Tunisian and the other is from the United Arab Emirates.
Todays arrests demonstrate that terrorism continues to
be a real threat to Canada, said Public Safety Minister Vic
Toews. Canada will not tolerate terrorist activity, and we
will not be used as a safe haven for terrorists or those who
support terrorist activity.
In January, two other Canadian Muslims were killed in
Algeria afer attacking and killing hostages in a gas plant.
How many more terrorists are hiding in Canada? Bibli-
cal prophecy reveals exactly where these trends in terror-
ism are leading and how they will afect Canada. For more
on what the Bible says about terrorism, read Why We
Cannot Win the War Against Terrorism.
Terrorism Threat
Very Real in Canada
April 24
APRIL 27, 2013
11
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES
A
record breaking stock market is distorting a fright-
ening reality: Te U.S. is being eaten alive by a hor-
rifc cancer that will ultimately destroy the economy and
impoverish the vast majority of its citizens.
Tats according to Peter Schif, the best-selling author
and ceo of Euro Pacifc Capital, who delivered his harsh
warning to investors in a recent interview on Fox Business.
I think we are heading for a worse economic crisis than we
had in 2007, Schif said. Youre going to have a collapse in
the dollar a huge spike in interest rates and our whole
economy, which is built on the foundation of cheap money, is
going to topple when you pull the rug out from under it.
Schif says that, despite phony signs of an economic
recovery, the cancer destroying America stems from a
lethal concoction of our $16 trillion federal debt and the
Feds never-ending money printing.
Currently, Bernanke and company is buying $1 trillion of
Treasury and mortgage bonds a year. Tats about $85 billion
per month against a budget defcit that is about the same level.
According to Schif, these numbers are unsustainable.
And the Fed has no credible exit strategy.
Eventually interest rates will rise and when they
do, Schif says, stocks will tank and bonds dip to nothing.
Massive new tax hikes will be imposed and programs and
entitlements will be cut to the bone. Te crisis is immi-
nent, Schif said. I dont think Obama is going to fnish
his second term without the bottom dropping out. And
stock market investors are oblivious to the problems.
Were broke, Schif added. We owe trillions. Look at our
budget defcit; look at the debt to gdp ratio, the unfunded
liabilities. If we were in the eurozone, they would kick us out.
Schif points out that the market gains experienced re-
cently, with the Dow frst topping 14,000 on its way to setting
record highs, are giving investors a false sense of security.
Its not that the stock market is gaining value its that
our money is losing value. And so if you have a debased
currency a devalued currency, the price of everything
goes up. Stocks are no exception, he said.
Te Fed knows that the U.S. economy is not recovering,
he noted. It simply is being kept from collapse by artif-
cially low interest rates and quantitative easing. As that
support goes, the economy will implode.
Two Thirds of America to Lose Everything
MONEY MORNING | April 2013
Toddlers So
Addicted to iPads
They Require Therapy
TELEGRAPH | April 21
C
hildren as young as 4 are becom-
ing so addicted to smartphones and
iPads that they require psychological
treatment.
Experts have warned that parents
who allow babies and toddlers to ac-
cess tablet computers for several hours
a day are in danger of causing dan-
gerous long-term efects.
Te youngest known patient being
treated in the UK is a 4-year-old girl
from the Southeast.
Her parents enrolled her for com-
pulsive behavior therapy afer she
became increasingly distressed and
inconsolable when the iPad was taken
away from her.
Her use of the device had escalated
over the course of a year and she had
become addicted to using it for up to
four hours a day.
Dr. Richard Graham, who launched
the UKs frst technology addiction
program three years ago, said he be-
lieved there were many more addicts
of her age.
Te childs mother called me and
described her symptoms, he said.
She told me she had developed an ob-
session with the device and would ask
for it constantly. She was using it three
to four hours every day and showed
increased agitation if it was removed.
Dr. Graham said that young tech-
nology addicts experienced the same
withdrawal symptoms as alcoholics
or heroin addicts, when the devices
were taken away. He warned that the
condition prevented young people
from forming normal social relation-
ships, leaving them drained by the
constant interaction.
Children have access to the Internet
almost from birth now, he told the
Sunday Mirror. Tey see their parents
playing on their mobile devices and
they want to play too. Its difcult, be-
cause having a device can also be very
useful in terms of having a reward, hav-
ing a pacifer. But if you dont get the
balance right it can be very dangerous.
Tey cant cope, and become ad-
dicted, reacting with tantrums and
uncontrollable behavior when they
are taken away. Ten as they grow
older, the problem only gets worse.
Even the most shy kids, when they hit
their teens, suddenly want to become
sociable and popular.
Psychiatrists estimate that the
number of people who have become
digitally dependent has risen by 30
percent over the past three years.
A survey last week revealed that
more than half of parents allowed their
babies to play with their phone or tablet
device. One in seven of more than 1,000
parents questioned by babies.co.uk web-
site admitted that they let them use the
gadgets for four or more hours a day.
James Macfarlane, managing direc-
tor of the website, said: Given that
babies between 3-12 months are awake
for only around 10 hours per day this is a
huge proportion of their waking day.
APRIL 27, 2013
12
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
Uzbekistan. Add to this an increas-
ing detachment of German troops to
North Africa, and it is easy to see that,
through these toeholds in the region,
the German military literally has Iran
surrounded.
Realizing this, the Trumpet has
notwithstanding publicity from Germany maintaining the
contrary view up to nowalways maintained that Ger-
many, having established a presence in Afghanistan, will
not leave.
Fridays announcement confrms this view.
If we step back to gain the broader view, we see that U.S.
withdrawal from Iraq has lef that benighted nation at the
mercy of Iran. To all intents and purposes, Iraq is speedily
becoming a vassal state to Iran. Tis leaves Afghanistan as
the only outpost remaining between Irans eastward expan-
sion and its linkage with Islamic states even further to its
east and south. It is thus crucial for those nations depen-
dent on Middle Eastern and Caucasus oil supplies to arrest
Irans expansionist goals at its eastern fank.
Americas progressive withdrawal from Afghanistan
risks a repeat of the Iraqi episode, with that Eurasian na-
tion falling under Iranian imperialist dominance.
Germany is determined not to let this occur.
Supplying the third-largest contingent of troops in the
Afghan war, Germany has a most vital interest in restraining
Iranian moves to secure vital oil supplies on which the EU
nations are dependent in order to diversify supply away from
the singular risky source of Russia. It is for this reason that
we have consistently maintained that Germany cannot aford
to leave Afghanistan in the wake of American drawdown.
A quick review of Germanys strategic commitments in
the region reveals that it has become increasingly situ-
ated to fll the gap created by U.S. withdrawal from this
region. In fact, the militarily strategic deployment of the
Bundeswehr to the Middle East and the Eurasian periphery
is an indication of just how vital such a move is to Germa-
nys imperialist goals.
Via its quiet engagement in encircling the oil golden
triangle in the Middle Eastthe German Navy being
deployed in the Mediterranean, thus securing Suez, and
patrolling of the coast of Lebanon securing the Levant,
the German military in Sudan, the navy of the Somalian
and Yemeni coastlines securing the Persian Gulf, and the
military active in AfghanistanGermany is in a prime po-
sition to present itself in the role of an in-area peacekeeper
within this hottest spot on the planet.
Germany also, via strategic deployment in these locali-
ties, retains a prime bargaining position for access to Mid-
east oil as an ofset to dependence on Russia. At the same
time, it maintains an actively deployed strategic readiness
to secure future Middle East oil assets and guarantee safe
passage to the black gold via Suez and the Adriatic Seathe
one protected by German naval deployment securing the
Mediterranean, the other by virtue of implicit alliances with
Croatia and Albania, both being Germanys Balkan proxies.
Tirdlyand soon to be most important of allGerma-
nys extension of its deployment in Afghanistan guarantees
it a prime strategic location from which to press the inevi-
table forthcoming attack on the one nation that threatens
the overall stability of the Middle East and, through its
terror-sponsoring activities, the rest of the worldIran!
Germanys ambivalence to any moral standard in the
conduct of theaters vital to its national interest is readily
shown in the strategy it has adopted in the Hindu Kush. In
this situation, as in the Balkan Peninsula wars of the 1990s,
it is not the moral argument so much as the strategic impe-
rialist/military reason that dominates.
To vanquish its enemy, Germany has regularly cooper-
ated with forces which were powerful enough to win wars,
but whose social qualities are diametrically opposed to a hu-
mane development in the region targeted by German inter-
ventions. Tis had been the case in Afghanistan in the 1980s
when, within the framework of the Western alliance, the
Federal Republic of Germany helped support the Afghan
Mujahedeen fghting pro-Soviet forces in Kabul and the So-
viet Army. Te consequences are well known. A similar
outcome can be expected from Berlins current cooperation
with Afghan warlords to maintain control at the Hindu
Kush. Tis brutalization of social relations corresponds to
the logic of warfare, in as much as not the most humane, but
the most barbaric forces are the more promising allies, who,
in the long run, become the most infuential forces shaping
the future (German-Foreign-Policy.com, Nov. 1, 2012).
Tis all having been said, there is one other vital aspect
to Germanys decision to not leave Afghanistan.
Germany has increasingly felt Islamic extremism, of
which Iran is chief sponsor, pushing at its borders. Sooner
or later it will have to react to counter this threat to its
culture. Bible prophecy predicts that Germany will soon
descend on Iran like a whirlwind in a powerful blitzkrieg
that will destroy Iranian power (Daniel 11:40). Germanys
positioning of itself in northern Afghanistan provides it
with an ideal staging point for such an attack.
Yet there is an even more pertinent reason, prophetical-
ly, for Germanys encirclement of the Middle East. It has to
do with the imminent fulfllment of a landmark prophecy
in your Bible.
Turn to Luke 21. Tere in verse 20 you read that the
major sign of the imminence of the fulfllment of Bible
prophecies that lead to the grand smash climax of Jesus
Christs return to this Earth is the sign of Jerusalem being
surrounded by armies.
Its a small jump from surrounding the Middle East with
armies, such as Germany has carefully achieved, to squeez-
ing the perimeter to encircle Jerusalem. Germanys military
deployment surrounding the Middle East is but one signif-
cant move toward this coming reality.
Keep watching for Germany to strengthen its encircle-
ment of Iran, the biblical king of the south, and to close in
on Jerusalem, surrounding it with armies (Luke 21:20). Tis
is a most powerful sign of the imminence of Jesus Christs
return, the best news that one could ever hope for.
Follow Ron Fraser: Twitter
COVER: MICHAEL HANSCHKE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
RON FRASER
AFGHANISTAN from page 1