JANUARY 24, 2014

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THE TRUMPET WEEKLY THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
J A N U A R Y 2 4 , 2 0 1 4
Iran: Who said anything about dismantling 3
U.S. fooled for the hundredth time? 4
Pay attention to the pope 5
Police forces now have grenade launchers 7
Cattle herd: 61-year low! 8
BY BRENT NAGTEGAAL
S
.Uui Av.ni. has agreed to gif s, billion of military
aid to the Lebanese Army, eectively doubling the
national military budget of the small Mediterranean
country. Te deal, procured in conjunction with the French
government at the turn of the year, will be completed under
the precondition that Lebanon must use the money to buy
French weapons systems and hardware exclusively.
Te generous gif from Saudi Arabia comes at a critical
time for Lebanon, as it faces increasingly violent spillover
into its borders from the Syrian civil war to the north and
east. Te timing of the deal shows that the Saudis see Leba-
non as an important factor in the Islamic battle sweeping
through the region.
Internally, Lebanon is in tatters. Ten months afer the
resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Lebanon still
doesnt have a working government. More recently, tit-for-
tat deadly exchanges between Hezbollah (the Iran-backed,
Saudi Arabias $3 Billion
Bid for Lebanon
see LEBANON page 12
Lebanese Army soldiers patrol a street in the
northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Oct. 28, 2013.
JANUARY 24, 2014
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THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
MIDDLE EAST
severe ramications for the Lebanese
arena, and also for the fragile state of
calm that exists between Israel and
Lebanon. In Lebanon, Hezbollah is
being increasingly seen as a vulner-
able group . It is also seen as a group
whose leaders are unprotected. Tus,
from having been a national group and
the principal foundation of Lebanese
politics, Hezbollah is becoming a mi-
litia ghting against other militias and
thereby losing its status as the defender
of Lebanon, as it always described itself.
Even more important: Just as
Hezbollah waged its war against Israel
at Lebanons expense, the feeling in
Lebanon is that Hezbollah is drag-
ging Lebanon into a war for its own
interests, or those of Iran or Syria, but
denitely not Lebanons.
If this feeling grows stronger,
Hezbollah could attempt to restore
Hezbollah Is Left
Unprotected
HAARETZ | January 21
T
uvii nomn attacks in a single
month, two in Beiruts southern
suburbs and one in the Bekaa Valleys
Hermel district, plus the assassination
in December of high-ranking Hezbol-
lah operative Hassan al-Laqis, are no
random trickling of the war in Syria
into Lebanese territory.
Tese attacks were aimed precisely
at a targetHezbollahand some of
them were openly owned. A Sunni
group known as the Free Sunnis of
Baalbek Brigade, among whose de-
mands are that Lebanon be cleansed
of Hezbollah, took responsibility for
the killing of al-Laqis. Te Al-Nusra
Front, a radical Sunni group that
operates in Syria, said it was behind the
car bomb attack earlier this month.
Te ostensible reason for the attacks
was retaliation for Hezbollahs active
involvement in the ghting in Syria
alongside the Syrian Army, and for its
part in the killing of Syrian civilians.
It is likely that the Syrian rebel
groups are trying to create a deterrent
balance by which Hezbollahs strong-
holds in Lebanon will know no peace
as long as Hezbollah ghts in Syria. But
it is doubtful whether the rebel groups
will succeed in deterring Hezbollah,
which is procient at striking hard at
its political rivals, since it has its eyes
on a far more important goal: the pro-
tection of Assads regime and the pres-
ervation of the three-way axis of power
whose heads are in Tehran, Damascus
and Beiruts southern suburbs.
[T]hese terror attacks could have
O
iv u.vs before the opening of an exhibit detailing
Jewish ties to the land of Israel, the United Na-
tions Educational, Scientic and Cultural Organization
(Uisco) postponed the event. Te sudden cancellation,
and the pathetic reason for it, highlights some deeply
entrenched biases within the organization. Te exhibit,
which was set up and ready to open at Uiscos Paris
headquarters, was designed to portray ,,,oo years of Jew-
ish history. Just one day afer the invitations to the exhibit
were sent out, Uisco received a letter from the :: na-
tions of the Arab Group. Te groups president, Abdullah
Elmealmi, wrote, Te Arab group is deeply disturbed
by the exhibition, which it condemns. Te media
campaign accompanying the exhibition will inevitably
damage the peace talks, the incessant eorts of U.S. Sec-
retary of State John Kerry and Uiscos neutrality. So it
was that Director General Irina Borokova announced on
January :, that the exhibits opening would be canceled
indenitely.
In a letter to the Wiesenthal Center, Borokova wrote that
Uisco is deeply committed to the successful outcome of
the peace process in order to achieve stability in the region
and we have a responsibility in ensuring that current ef-
forts in this regard are not endangered. Uisco can hide
behind its peace process excuse, but the truth is that the
decision is a typical UN display of anti-Semitism.
To say that the reason to cancel was for the sake of
the peace process is in itself laughable. For one, there is
certainly no peace, and secondly, there is no process. Even
if Uisco is genuinely concerned with the state of the
peace process, why would it cancel the exhibit, angering
Israel, and thereby jeopardizing the peace process further:
Why stonewall the project for so long, then allow it, only
to postpone it indenitely: Te only answer is because the
UN has a history of pandering to the Arabs while ostraciz-
ing the nation of Israel. According to UN Watch, the UN
Human Rights Council has criticized Israel on :, separate
occasions, in resolutions that grant eective impunity to
Hamas, Hezbollah and their state sponsors.
The UN Shows Its Anti-Israel BiasAgain
Callum Wood | January 22
UNESCO shut down a Jewish exhibit after it
drew anger from the Arabic community.
MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
JANUARY 24, 2014
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THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
its status as a national organiza-
tion, Lebanons own esh and blood,
by taking the relatively easy path of
attacking Israel. [S]uch an attack
could restore Hezbollahs crumbling
status and power, in addition to the
important contribution that such an
Israeli attack could give Assad.
Irans Nuclear
Stockpile May Rise
REUTERS | January 22
A
.vv.vi1 delay in Irans build-
ing of a nuclear conversion plant
suggests its stockpile of low-enriched
uranium (iiU) gas will grow for a
while longer, despite Tehrans deal
with world powers to curb its disputed
atomic activity.
It will be a problem if the facility is
not completed in the next few months,
Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the non-
proliferation program at the Interna-
tional Institute for Strategic Studies
(iiss) think tank, said.
Although the immediate attention
is focused on removing the stockpile
of :o percent enriched uranium, it
is important not to forget about the
much larger stockpile of ,-, percent
enriched uranium, Fitzpatrick said.
Experts say Iran potentially has
enough iiU for a few nuclear weapons
if rened much further. Limiting its
overall enrichment capacity is ex-
pected be one of the thorniest issues in
future negotiations.
Reecting Western concern also
about the lower-grade stockpile, the
United States says Iran has undertaken
to not increase it so that it is not larger
in half a years time than it is now.
A senior U.S. administration o-
cial said Iran would convert all of the
newly enriched uranium into oxide
and that the total remaining uranium
gas would be less than ,,o,o kilograms
[:o,8o, pounds].
It had a stockpile of ,,:, kilograms
in Novemberexperts say this would
be enough to yield to , bombsand
is estimated to produce roughly :,o
kilograms [,,: pounds] per month,
meaning the stockpile will grow by
that amount if there is no conver-
sion to oset it. Te longer it takes to
complete the plant, the more Iran will
have to process to meet the target by
the six-month deadline.
Iran Sends Warships
to Atlantic
ABC NEWS | January 21
T
wo Iv.i. warships set sail Tues-
day for the Atlantic Ocean on their
navys rst-ever mission there, state 1v
reported.
Te voyage comes amid an ongoing
push by Iran to demonstrate the abil-
ity to project power across the Middle
East and beyond.
Te report said that the destroyer
Sabalan and the logistic helicopter
carrier Khark will be dispatched on a
three-month voyage.
Te warships will have task of
securing shipping routes as well as
training new personnel, the semi-
ocial Fars news agency quoted Irans
navy chief Adm. Habibollah Sayyari
as saying.
It said the ships, carrying some
,o navy academy cadets for training
along with their regular crews, lef
the southern Iranian port of Bandar
Abbas. It did not mention any ports
of call.
Iran has regularly deployed war-
ships to the Gulf of Aden o the
I
v.i. Foviic Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif insist-
ed Wednesday that the Obama administration mischar-
acterizes concessions by his side in the six-month nuclear
deal with Iran, telling c in an exclusive interview that
we did not agree to dismantle anything.
Zarif told c Chief National Security Correspondent
Jim Sciutto that terminology used by the White House to
describe the agreement diered from the text agreed to by
Iran and the other countries in the talksthe United States,
Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.
Te White House version both underplays the conces-
sions and overplays Iranian commitments under the agree-
ment that took eect Monday, Zarif said in Davos, Switzer-
land, where he was attending the World Economic Forum.
As part of the accord, Iran was required to dilute its
stockpile of uranium that had been enriched to :o percent,
well above the , percent level needed for power generation
but still below the level for developing a nuclear weapon.
In addition, the deal mandated that Iran halt all enrich-
ment above , percent and dismantle the technical connec-
tions required to enrich above , percent, according to a
White House fact sheet issued in November afer the initial
agreement was reached.
Zarif accused the Obama administration of creating a
false impression with such language.
Te White House tries to portray it as basically a dis-
mantling of Irans nuclear program. Tat is the word they
use time and again, he said, urging Sciutto to read the
actual text of the agreement. If you nd a single, a single
word, that even closely resembles dismantling or could be
dened as dismantling in the entire text, then I would take
back my comment.
He repeated that we are not dismantling any centrifug-
es, were not dismantling any equipment, were simply not
producing, not enriching over , percent.
In an interview with cs Fareed Zakaria on Wednes-
day, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani echoed Zarif s
statement, saying the government will not destroy existing
centrifuges.
Iranian ocials have called the interim pact a victory
and said it failed to halt the nations nuclear development
program, while U.S. ocials say the agreement essen-
tially froze Irans nuclear program and rolled back some
capabilities.
Iranian Ofcial: We Did Not Agree to Dismantle Anything
CNN | January 23
JANUARY 24, 2014
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THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
eastern coast of Africa to ght piracy
and protect commercial ships.
Te recent Iranian naval surge is
also a response to U.S. naval deploy-
ment near the Islamic Republics
coasts in the Persian Gulf. Te U.S.
Navys ,th eet is based in Bahrain
across the gulf from Iran.
It has also sent its warships to Syr-
ian waters in recent years.
In :o::, Iran said it aims to put
warships in international waters o
the U.S. coast within the next few
years, and extend its reach as far as
Antarctica.
TW
I N B R I E F
n Russian trade to empower Iran
Upcoming nuclear negotiations are
being threatened by an oil-for-goods
deal between Russia and Iran. Te deal
severely undermines the current sanc-
tions on Iranian oil, granting Iran ma-
jor pressure relief and strengthening
its negotiating position. In exchange
for undisclosed goods and equipment,
Iran will sell Russia an estimated
,oo,ooo barrels of crude oil per day.
Te deal emphasizes Russias foreign
policy of constant opposition to West-
ern policies, particularly in the Middle
East. It also shows that while sanctions
did have Iran in a tight position, the
notion of now threatening Iran with
more sanctions may be futile. Te
West has repeatedly employed sanc-
tions when dealing with Iran, but more
and more ofen, Iran is nding its way
around them. Russian purchases of
,oo,ooo barrels of Iranian crude oil per
day would increase Irans oil exports by
,o percent and provide a major boost
to its struggling economy. It would ne-
gate many of the sanctions the U.S. and
Europe have been using to keep Iran in
check. Te diplomatic implications are
immense. If Iran is earning an extra
s:., billion per month by selling oil to
Russia, it has much less to fear from
U.S. and European sanctions. Sud-
denly Iran isnt being forced into any
decisions at the negotiating table, and
can more readily aord to simply walk
away and accept the consequences
from the West. Te benets of the deal
are obvious for Iran. But what does the
deal give Moscow: Strategically, Iran is
Russias key ally in the Middle East and
serves as the main counter to Ameri-
can inuence. Iran exports terrorists,
funds coups, incites sectarian conicts
and zealously undermines the interests
of America and its allies. Tis all plays
into Russias broader goals, which it
has held since the days of the Cold
War. Russias deal with Iran is designed
to strengthen Tehrans negotiating
position, which in turn weakens its op-
ponents, the United States and Europe.
If the deal goes ahead, Iran will be far
less concerned with the threat of loom-
ing sanctions at the end of the current
six-month deal. Te U.S. and Europe
may soon nd Iran more willing to
walk away from the negotiating table,
or face more pointless and frustrating
delay tactics.
R
imimniv uow everyone laughed when U.S. President
George W. Bush appeared unable to remember the end-
ing of that saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me
twice, shame on me. Well nobody seems to be laughing, or
even noticing, that President Bushs successor is allowing
Americas enemies to fool him repeatedlyand that he is
showing no apparent shame at all.
Take just two recent events: First, Iran. Over the ever-
extending holiday period, while parts of Americas foreign
policy bureaucracy were still congratulating themselves
over the success of the Geneva talks process, Iran showed
not only what it thinks of that process but what it has been
showing in plain sight for years.
For instance, since the signing of the Geneva agreement
Tehran has pushed ahead with its creation of a nuclear
bomb as if the agreement had never happened and this
was all just business as usual. Te Geneva deal included a
promise from the Iranians not to bring any new cen-
trifuges into operation for six months. Yet in the period
since the historic signing of that agreement, Iran has
continued to build second and third generation centrifuges
to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels. Indeed while
most people in the West were still nishing up their dessert,
the head of Irans Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar
Salehi, was boasting as much on Iranian state television.
At the end of December he said, We have two types of
second-generation centrifuges . We also have future
generations [of centrifuges] which are going through their
tests.
Te U.S. Department of State seemed to have no particu-
lar response at all. But then to be fair to U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry, it is possible that he was too busy being
fooled for the hundredth time over his other great foreign
policy mission to notice he had been fooled for the ump-
teenth time in a year by the Iranians, too.
During the same period that the Iranians were ex-
pressing their own particular intentions, it transpired
again that the Palestinians were doing exactly the same
thing. In the last days of December, Fatah central commit-
tee member Abbas Zaki had posted an interview on his
Facebook page which he had given to Syrian 1v. In that
interview, he makes the usual noises about the Palestin-
ian Authority agreeing to a treaty with Israel ifand only
ifa Palestinian state can be established on the :o, lines.
Mr.Zaki goes on to stress very clearly that the :o, lines
are not the nal borders which he is looking to.
Both the Iranian and Palestinian statements occurred
within only a few days over the holiday period. Yet the U.S.
administration and its vast bureaucracy of wishful think-
ers continue to be fooled. Afer being fooled a thousand
or so times perhaps, there is no shame lef to be felt. But
for the rest of us there is only the remaining feeling that if
there were any laughter to be had in all this, it ran out some
time ago.
Middle East Peace Process: Americas Wishful Thinkers
GATESTONE INSTITUTE | January 22
JANUARY 24, 2014
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THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
T
ui sUviv-vicu dont really need to listen to anybodys
advice. But it might be in their interest to give an audi-
ence to Pope Francis, even if theyre not Catholic, dont
believe in God or dont give two shekels about the poor.
Pope Francis, of course, is an advocate for the underdog
who has weighed in before on economic matters, including
the vast gap between the worlds rich and poor. And now,
with bankers, cios and other : percenters gathering in Da-
vos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forums annual
glitzfest, Francis has issued another message meant to draw
attention to the economic crisis aecting the world these
past few years, as he describes it.
Te worlds wealthy, Francis says, have a precise respon-
sibility toward others, particularly those who are most frail,
weak and vulnerable.
Francis is hardly the rst to highlight the growing prob-
lem of income inequality that grips the United States and
many other developed nations. But hes making shrewd use
of his bully pulpit to highlight the issue as its becoming a
casus belli for social activists.
Te popes appeal, for instance, came right on the heels
of a report by the anti-poverty group Oxfam that contained
this catchy statistic: Te 8, richest people in the world con-
trol more wealth than the bottom half of the worlds entire
population, or roughly ,., billion people.
Te glitterati gathered at Davos may wonder what all the
fuss is about, since theres certainly no economic crisis on
their doorstep. But they could ultimately suer, in the way
the rich suer, if the wealth gap continues to grow with no
redress for the worlds needy.
Tere have been popular backlashes before against the
excesses of the wealthy, even when there was a plausible
case that the pursuit of wealth itself improved the lot of
the unwealthyas many capitalists argue today. Te rise
of robber baron industrialists in the late :th century ac-
companied terric new innovations that helped everybody,
such as long-distance railroads, household electricity, and
many time- and labor-saving inventions. But greed and
excess, whether real or perceived, also led to the institution
of the income tax, tougher federal regulation on businesses
and perhaps the greatest scourge free-market capitalists
could ever imaginelabor unions.
Te wealthy have crony capitalism on their side. By some
measures, American democracy these days is more captive
to the vested interests of a privileged few than it has been in
decades, thanks to increasingly porous campaign-nance
laws and a lobbying climate in Washington that some crit-
ics equate with legalized corruption.
Why Billionaires Should Listen to Pope Francis
THE EXCHANGE | January 21
EUROPE
TW
I N B R I E F
n EU to launch military mission to
Central African Republic
Te EU agreed to deploy a ,oo-strong
force to defend the main airport in
the Central African Republic, Janu-
ary :o. Te deployment at Bangui
Airport will allow the French troops
currently stationed there to under-
take other missions in the country.
Te iUvov mission will wait until it
has received a mandate from the UN
Security Council, but the EU hopes
to deploy it by the end of February.
While Germany agreed to allow the
mission to go ahead, it has ruled out
sending its own troops. Rather than
support French action in the Central
African Republic, it is focusing on
broadening its own presence in the
region, and is planning to increase
its force in Mali. Despite the compe-
tition between Germany and France,
this new mission shows that Europe
continues to be
wary of radical
Islams pres-
ence in North
Africa. Watch
for Europe to
continue to
confront that
presence. For
more about
what is go-
ing on here,
see Trumpet
editor in chief Gerald Flurrys article
Watch Algeria!
n Serbia begins EU membership
negotiations
Serbian ocials began negotiating
over its entry into the European
Union on January ::. Serbian Prime
Minister Ivica Dacic said that the
day marked the most important
moment for Serbia since the end of
World War ii. He said that Serbia
aims to nish the negotiations by
:o:o. Dacic is right to herald the
importance of the moment. Germany
pushed the Western world to go to
war in order to breakup Yugoslavia
so that Europe could bring the stra-
tegically important Balkans under
its control. With Serbian ocials
beginning negotiations to join the
EU, that process is almost complete.
For more information read our free
booklet Germanys Conquest of the
Balkans.
EU soldiers deployed to Chad
JANUARY 24, 2014
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THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
Russia and Norway
Compete
STRATFOR | January 20
A
s 1ui geopolitical importance
of the Barents Sea region grows
over time, so too will the potential
for economic disputes between the
primary players in the region, Norway
and Russia. Te stakes are high
given the areas natural resources and
potential growth in maritime trac,
and tensions will likely grow as Russia
tries to strengthen its inuence in the
region.
European countries are heavily
dependent on hydrocarbon imports
to fuel their economics. Resources in
the North Sea are being depleted, and
thus access to the vast natural resourc-
es farther north is gaining importance.
U.S. Geological Survey estimates
from :oo8 suggest that :, percent of
the worlds undiscovered oil and ,o
percent of its natural gas reserves are
located in the Arctic Circle. A signi-
cant percentage of those estimates is
believed to be in the Barents region.
Aside from oil and natural gas, iron
ore, diamond, bauxite, nickel, gold
and coal deposits are located in the
region.
Japan-China War of
Words Goes Ballistic
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard,
TELEGRAPH | January 24
A
vnouv wuo thinks Chinas
dispute with Japan is subject to
rational calculation should have heard
the astonishing outburst a few min-
utes ago by Chinas foreign minister,
Wang Yi.
We will never allow past aggressors
to overturn the verdict of history, he
began. It went downhill from there.
When asked what he thought
about the latest warning by Japans
leader Shinzo Abe that the two coun-
tries are like England and Germany
in ::, he exploded with barely
contained rage:
Why would he make such a state-
ment: Japanese leaders like to rewrite
their history, but the Chinese people
cannot forget episodes of history. Te
invasion of Manchuria in :,o was an
infamous chapter in Japans history. In
:,,, they instigated the Marco Polo
bridge incident before launching an
all-out onslaught on China.
Tirty-ve million Chinese sol-
diers and civilians were killed. Who
was the instigator: Who was the
troublemaker: It is all too clear.
He turned visceral over Mr. Abes
recent visit to the Yasukuni shrine in
Tokyo: Even to this day the shrine
ASIA
R
Ussi. Foviic Minister Sergei Lavrov used a press
conference in Moscow on Tuesday to call on Euro-
pean Union countries to refrain from getting directly
involved in a stando between pro-European protest-
ers and the government of Ukrainian President Viktor
Yanukovych.
We would prefer that some of our European col-
leagues refrained from acting unceremoniously over the
Ukrainian crisis, when, without any kind of invitation,
members of certain Euro-
pean governments rush to the
Maidan (independence square),
take part in anti-government
demonstrations in a country
with which they have diplomat-
ic relations, Lavrov said. It is
just distasteful.
Afer a second consecutive
night of clashes between protest-
ers and police, who had moved in to try to pull down bar-
ricades, Lavrov also expressed the fear that the situation in
Kiev was threatening to escalate.
I personally believe that those calls for prudence that
the opposition leadersVitali Klitschko in particular
are making, they show that the situation is getting out of
control, he said.
Klitschko, a former world heavyweight boxing cham-
pion turned politician, as well as other opposition leaders,
have appeared unable to stop the violence. He has accused
the government of paying thugs [to] engage in violence in
an eort to delegitimize the protests.
Mondays clashes turned downtown Kyiv into what
witnesses have described as a being akin to a war zone,
with reworks and stun grenades lighting up the night
sky as both demonstrators and
police braved temperatures of
-:o degrees Celsius (: degrees
Fahrenheit).
Demonstrators held their
ground afer police attempted
to disperse a camp set up weeks
ago in the city center early on
Tuesday, as a new law banning
almost all forms [of] protest
came into force. Some demonstrators tossed re bombs
and rocks at the police, who responded with stun grenades,
tear gas and rubber bullets.
Tis came just hours afer President Yanukovych warned
that the ongoing violence in the capital could engulf the
entire country.
Russia Tells Europeans Not to Interfere in Ukraine
DEUTSCHE WELLE | January 21
A more dictatorial Russian government is coming fast .
That power will be able to challenge Europe when
nobody else can, including the U.S. The Europeans still
remember how violent Russia was in World War II, and
Russia is a close neighbor with massive piles of nuclear
weapons. The Russian election is triggering a fear that
will hasten the uniting of the European Union.
Gerald Flurry, Trumpet, January 2004
JANUARY 24, 2014
7
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
still advocates that past aggression
was justied, that the Pacic War was
in self defense. It calls war criminals
heroes, even today.
How can a leader put owers on
a shrine that violates international
principles in this way: Japans Class
A criminals were likes the Nazis. Can
you imagine a European leader laying
a wreath at a Nazi memorial:
On the Diaoyu-Senkaku islands
the Sarajevo hot spot in the East
China Seahe claimed that Tokyo ig-
nored warnings from Beijing that any
move to nationalize the islands would
be a grave escalation: Tey broke the
status quo. We had no choice but to
move.
I dont wish to take sides in this
dispute but it is a sobering to listen to
this from Chinas leading diplomat, an
ocial who might normally try to play
things down.
As readers know, I have been writ-
ing about this parallel for a long time.
China is exploiting incidents to test
the willingness of the United States
to stand behind its treaty alliance
with Japan, just as Kaiser Wilhelm
provoked spats to test Englands
willingness to stand behind its entente
with France. It was a self-reinforcing
process before ::, and it is self-rein-
forcing now. All it takes to produce a
catalyst is some damn fool thing in
the Balkans to borrow a term.
Yet it is not just a calculated policy
by Chinas Communist Party, a stir-
ring up of revanchiste nationalism to
replace the dead ideology of Mao-
ism. Emotions are also running out
of control, and Mr. Abe is of course a
red-ag for a bull.
Listening to the raw passion in the
voices of Shinzo Abe and Wang Yi
over the last : hours, I think there is
an astonishing level [of] complacency
about the worlds most dangerous
fault line.
TW
I N B R I E F
n Bangkok under state of
emergency
Te Tai government has declared a
two-month state of emergency in the
capital city of Bangkok afer protests
resulted in nine deaths and hundreds
of injuries, reports on January :: said.
Te protesters, who are calling for the
government to resign, have besieged
state facilities and forced the prime
minister to relocate outside the capi-
tal city. Te governments emergency
decree has allowed authorities to cen-
sor media, detain suspects without
charge, impose curfews, close o
portions of Bangkok and breakup
political groupings of ve people or
more. U.S. policymakers are watch-
ing the unrest anxiouslyTailand
is Americas oldest ally in the region,
and Bangkoks surge of revolt comes
at the very moment when Washing-
ton is striving to boost its inuence
in Asia to counter Chinas rise. If the
unrest continues to swell, it could
lead to a coup that pushes Tailand
away from the U.S. camp. Such an
outcome would equate to a victory for
Beijing.
n China gearing up to begin patrols
in South China Sea
Beijing announced on January ::
that it would begin regular civilian
patrols of the disputed South China
Sea, reports by the Voice of America
said. A patrol vessel based in the
Parcel Islands will start patrolling the
waters, which are claimed by China
and four other nations in the region.
Chinas increasing belligerence over
its claims to the South China Sea
is exacerbating regional tensions
throughout Asia.
ANGLO-AMERICA
Militarization Worries
in Civil Libertarians
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE | January 19
U
1.u Hicuw.v Patrol Lt. Alex
Lepley imagines a scenario where
a man has barricaded himself, red
a gun at police ocers and placed
bystanders in peril.
Enter Uuvs new mine-resistant
ambush protected vehicle, mv.v for
short. Or at least thats what the U.S.
Army called it.
Te U.S. Department of Defense
recently gave a surplus mv.v to the
highway patrol. Te law enforce-
ment agency plans to use it to carry
troopers to dangerous crime scenes
and to keep those troopers safe while
protecting civilians.
Te mv.v is not the only gif
Utah law enforcement agencies have
received from the military. In the
two-year period beginning in October
:o::, Utah police received :,:,o ries,
according to records the Defense De-
partment provided to Te Tribune.
Utah police also received four
grenade launchers, :, .,-caliber pis-
tols and a handful of magazines and
weapon accessories.
Te Defense Department has pro-
vided the weaponry and equipment
through what it calls the :o,, Program.
As of an April :o:, audit, Utah police
possessed s:.8 million of weapons and
other military gear received through
the program.
While theres no available
documentation that anyone in Utah
has been shot or killed with weapons
from the :o,, Program, civil libertar-
ians have taken note and are voicing
concern over what they call the mili-
tarization of local police.
Connor Boyack, president of the
Libertas Institute of Utah, said hes
concerned the program gives Utah po-
lice a nancial incentive to use more
violent tactics than they otherwise
might in an era when crime and police
ocer deaths are declining.
Te data Ive seen is that the risk
is decreasing, and yet the tools of de-
fense are gearing up, Boyack said.
Te sheris and police chiefs who
subscribe to the program say they are
trying to protect the public and their
ocers.
JANUARY 24, 2014
8
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
RICHARD TINKER/CPC/NOAA/NWS/NCEP
I
v 1ui extreme drought in the western half of the country
keeps going, the food supply problems that we are experi-
encing right now are only going to be the tip of the iceberg.
Te size of the U.S. cattle herd has dropped to a o:-year
low, and organic food shortages are being reported all over
the nation.
[T]he biggest threat to the U.S. food supply is the extraor-
dinary drought which has had a relentless grip on the west-
ern half of the country. If you check out the U.S. Drought
Monitor [see below], you can see that drought conditions
currently stretch from California all the way to the heart of
Texas.In fact, the worst drought in the history of the state of
California is happening right now. And considering the fact
that the rest of the nation is extremely dependent on pro-
duce grown in California and cattle raised in the western
half of the U.S., this should be of great concern to all of us.
A local Fox News report titled Organic Food Short-
age Hits U.S. has gotten quite a bit of attention. Ex-
perts say the primary reasons for the shortages are weather
and demand.
And without a doubt, demand for organic food has
grown sharply in recent years. More Americans than ever
have become aware of how the modern American diet is
slowly killing all of us, and they are seeking out alternatives.
Due to the tightness in supply and the increasing de-
mand, prices for organic produce just continue to go up.
Just consider thefollowing example . Personally, I went
to a local supermarket the other day and I started to reach
for a package of organic strawberries but I stopped when I
saw that they were priced at so.. I couldnt justify paying
, bucks for one package. I still remember getting them on
sale for s:. last year.
Unfortunately, this may only be just the beginning of
the price increases. California Gov. Jerry Brown has just
declared a water emergency, and reservoirs throughout the
state have dropped to dangerously low levels.
Unless a miracle happens, there is simply not going to
be enough water to go around for the entire agriculture in-
dustry.Te following is an excerpt from an e-mail from an
industry insider that researcher Ray Gano recently shared
on his website: Harris farms has released a statement
saying they will leave about o,ooo acres fallow this year
because the vius have decided to only deliver :o percent of
the water allocation for :o:. Lettuce is predicted to reach
around s, a head (if you can nd it).
[California] produces percent of the artichokes
grown in the U.S., percent of asparagus, a fh of cab-
bage, two-thirds of carrots, half of bell peppers, 8 percent
of cauliower, percent of broccoli, and , percent of
celery. Leafy greens: Californias got the market cornered:
o percent of the leaf lettuce we consume, along with 8,per-
cent of Romaine lettuce and 8, percent of fresh spinach,
come from the big state on the lef side of the map. Cali
also cranks a third of total fresh tomatoes consumed in the
U.S.and , percent of ones destined for cans and other
processing purposes. As for fruit 8o percent of lemons
and a quarter of oranges come from there; its sunny climate
makes it perfect for citrus, and lemons store relatively well.
Ninety percent of avocados 8 percent of peaches, 88 per-
cent of fresh strawberries, and , percent of fresh plums .
Are you starting to understand how much trouble we
could be in if this drought does not end:
U.S. Cattle Herd Is at a 61-Year Low
Michael Snyder, THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE | January 22
JANUARY 24, 2014
9
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
What It Means to
Be Born Again
THE TRUMPET DAILY | January 23
STEPHEN FLURRY
Why is human life so undervalued: At what point does
life really begin: Tere is a specic purpose both physi-
cally and spiritually behind human reproduction.
ALSO SEE:
n God Is a Family!
n Give Yourself Wholly to God
Click to Play
Te ocial National Drug Control
Strategy from drug czar R. Gil Ker-
likowske lists marijuana as one of the
four major drugs (cocaine, heroin,
marijuana and methamphetamine).
Dont expect him to resign in anger
about how Obama is undercutting
his work, however. Hes a short-timer
because Mr. Obama nominated him
last fall to become the new Commis-
sioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection.
So for now, perhaps until Ker-
likowske is at his new job, anti-mari-
juana messages remain on the White
House website. As one page describes
things, confusing messages being
presented by popular culture, media,
proponents of medical marijuana
and political campaigns to legalize all
marijuana perpetuate the false notion
that marijuana is harmless.
Tey should add Mr. Obamas name
to the list of confusing messengers
who perpetuate false notions. Except
confusing messenger is too polite a
term. Outright hypocrite ts better.
Be on the lookout for the White
House to remove warnings of mari-
juana use from its website, such
as this gem: Te administration
steadfastly opposes legalization of
marijuana and other drugs because
legalization would increase the avail-
ability and use of illicit drugs, and
pose signicant health and safety
risks to all Americans, particularly
young people.
It is impossible to reconcile that
post with Mr. Obamas failure to
enforce federal drug laws against
marijuana, and with his statement to
Te New Yorker about Colorados and
Washingtons open violation of those
laws, namely, its important for it to
go forward.
Everyone in Colorado and Wash-
ington who pus up is breaking the
lawfederal law. And no law has a
perfect rate of arrest and prosecution.
Mr. Obama, however, tried to at-
tribute it to class warfare and racial
biasand in so doing voiced a myth
that his own anti-drug people are
shooting down.
As Mr. Obama stated: Middle-class
kids dont get locked up for smoking
pot and poor kids do.
Drug Czar Contradicts
Obama on Marijuana
WASHINGTON POST | January 21
P
visiui1 On.m.s latest claims
about marijuana are contradicted
by research and ocial positions of
the Oce of National Drug Control
Policy, which is part of the White
House. And Mr. Obamas words have
anti-drug leaders worried about nega-
tive repercussions among youth.
Mr. Obama claimed to Te New
Yorker magazine that marijuana is no
worse than cigarettes or alcohol and
he promoted state eorts by Colorado
and Washington to legalize marijuana,
which remains illegal under federal
law.
Te National Drug Control Policys
ocial stance, posted on the white-
house.gov website, says the opposite of
Mr. Obama on all counts.
For example, as documented in
agency reports, marijuana smoke has
signicantly more carcinogens than
tobacco smoke.
And as reported by the govern-
ments National Institute on Drug
Abuse, adolescent use of marijuana
does something that alcohol does not;
it causes permanent brain damage,
including lowering of IQ.
Taxpayers have spent billions of
dollars warning about drugs, ofen
about marijuana, but these eorts
were dramatically undercut by the
presidents comments.
Mr. Obama might as well have
rolled that money into a joint and
smoked it on national television.
Te Drug-Free America Foundation
responded on its blog: His laissez-
faire attitude about legalization has
drug policy and prevention experts
scratching their heads in confusion
as to why the president will not give
clear guidance either he is seri-
ously ill-informed about the issue or
is completely ignoring warnings from
his highly-esteemed advisers.
Te foundation called it an irre-
sponsible move for such a person in
the most highly-regarded position in
this country.
JANUARY 24, 2014
10
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
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T
vUs1 i government is at an all-
time low, according to the Pew
Research Centers most recent survey.
Only : percent of Americans trust
the government to do what is right,
according to its October report. With
distrust so widespread there could be
big implications for social stability.
But Pew found an even more foreboding, and less report-
ed on, indicator.
America has undergone a radical shif since the :,os.
Back then, when Pew rst began asking the question, trust
in government was high and improving. In :o, an as-
tounding 8o percent of Americans trusted the government.
Since then it has plummeted, and bounced, and plum-
meted further.
Today, more than four out of every ve Americans dont
trust the government. But as bad as mistrust for govern-
ment is, Pew highlighted an even more disturbing trend.
Tirty percent of people polled said they are angry at the
federal government. Tis too is a new record and is sharply
up from the previous record high of :o percent in September.
Take a look around. Mistrust and anger are increasingly
evident.
You can see it in the rise of Bitcoin. People see the dollar
plummeting in value and their savings being destroyed.
People are turning to precious metals instead. Other virtu-
al currencies besides Bitcoin are gaining in popularity too.
You can hear it in the voices of those trying to explain
to their families why they can no longer aord to do the
things they used to: their healthcare premiums have gone
up; college tuition is skyrocketing; their homes are worth a
fraction of what they paid for them; food prices keep rising;
credit cards are maxed out; ination-adjusted wages are
less than what they were a decade ago.
And you can see it in the record gun sales. And the
rise of Doomsday Preppers and militias. People are
afraid of each other. But worse, many are afraid of an
intrusive government that taps their phones, monitors
their conversations, peeps on their Internet usage, reads
their email, tracks their nancial transactions, spies on
them in their own homesand threatens to take away
constitutionally-encoded rights. Meanwhile they see
police forces bulking up with armored vehicles, gre-
nade launchers, unmanned drones and other military
equipment. Tey see the president allowing the ci. and
military to drop bombs from drones, killing Americans
in foreign countries without due processor any civilian
or judicial oversight at all.
Tis country is about to tear itself apart. And the one in-
stitution that could prevent it is sadly the biggest cause for it.
Something is wrong with Americas government. But
do you know what to do about it: Read our free booklet
America Under Attack. It reveals the hidden cause of soci-
etys deadly decline and exposes the attack from within.
Follow Robert Morley: Twitter
Trust in Government Hits All-Time Low
ROBERT MORLEY
Obama Seeks to
Bypass Congress
WASHINGTON FREE BEACON | January 21
T
ui Wui1i House has been explor-
ing ways to circumvent Congress
and unilaterally lif sanctions on
Iran once a nal nuclear agreement
is reached, according to sources with
knowledge of White House conver-
sations and congressional insiders
familiar with its strategy.
Te issue of sanctions relief has be-
come one of the key sticking points in
the Iran debate, with lawmakers push-
ing for increased economic penalties
and the White House ghting to roll
back regulations.
While many in Congress insist that
only the legislative branch can legally
repeal sanctions, senior White House
ocials have been examining strategies
to skirt Congress, according to those
familiar with internal conversations.
Congressional insiders say that
the White House is worried Congress
will exert oversight of the deal and
demand tougher nuclear restrictions
on Tehran in exchange for sanctions
relief.
Top White House aides have been
talking about ways to do that [lif sanc-
tions] without Congress and we have
no idea yet what that means, said one
senior congres-
sional aide who
works on sanc-
tions. Teyre
looking for a way
to lif them by
at, overrule U.S.
law, drive over the
sanctions, and
declare that they
are lifed.
President
Barack Obama
could unilaterally
unravel sanctions
through sev-
eral executive
channels, according to former govern-
ment ocials and legal experts.
Executive orders grant the presi-
dent signicant leverage in how sanc-
tions are implemented, meaning that
Obama could choose to stop enforcing
many of the laws on the books, ac-
cording to government insiders.
Tose familiar with the ins and
JANUARY 24, 2014
11
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
W
ui i1 comes to classical music and American culture,
the fat lady hasnt just sung. Brnnhilde has packed
her bags and moved to Boca Raton.
Classical music has been circling the drain for years, of
course. Teres little doubt as to the causes: the ngernail
grip of old music in a culture that venerates the new ; for-
mats like opera that are extraordinarily expensive to stage;
and an audience that remains overwhelmingly old and
white in an America thats increasingly neither. Dont
forget the attacks on arts education, the Internet-driven
democratization of cultural opinion, and the classical trap-
pingsfancy clothes, incomprehensible program notes,
an omerta-caliber code of audience silencethat never sit
quite right in the homeland of popular culture.
Even if every seat were lled, the vast majority of U.S.
symphony orchestras still would face signicant perfor-
mance decits.
Te holiday season typically provides a much-needed
transfusion. But the most recent holidays came afer an
autumn that Te New Yorker called the art forms most
signicant crisis since the Great Recession. Looking at the
trend lines, its hard to hear anything other than a Requiem.
Lets start by following the money. In :o:,, total clas-
sical album sales actually rose by , percent, according to
Nielsen. But thats hardly a robust recovery from the ::
percent decline the previous year.
What about the airwaves: Tere are only a handful of
commercial classical music stations lef in America. One of
the last, xun in Santa Barbara, Calif., was put up for sale in
October afer years of six-gure losses. Even public classi-
cal radio is in trouble.
And some public classical stations have ditched the mu-
sic. As [one] stations manager put it, [C]lassical radio is
one of those things thats slowly going away.
Live orchestral music is essentially a charity case. A
Bloomberg story on the recent wave of orchestra bankrupt-
cies (an unheard-of phenomenon outside of the U.S., says
Flanagan) notes that by :oo,, orchestras got more money
from donations than from ticket sales. Te New York City
Opera, once hailed as the peoples opera, led for bank-
ruptcy in October. If the people want opera, theyve got a
funny way of showing it.
What about making music: In ::, .: percent of
American adults reported performing or practicing classi-
cal music at least once in the previous year.
By :o::, the number had dropped to : percent (com-
pared with, say, the , percent of Americans who reported
they created pottery, ceramics or jewelry.)
What about music education: [D]espite all the stud-
ies that show the broad benets of music education, many
school systems will now have no music specialists serving
elementary schools .
Classical Music in America Is Dead
Mark Vanhoenacker, SLATE | January 21
OTHER NEWS
How Jeremiah Endured
to the End
The Prophet Jeremiah suffered much persecution. Yet even in his
hardest trial, his love of Gods Word pushed him to endure. Is Gods
Word a re in your bones?
GERALD FLURRY
Click to Play
outs of sanctions enforcement say
that the White House has long been
lax with its enforcement of sanctions
regulations already on the books.
Te nancial pressure has always
been about closing loopholes and
identifying new ones to close, Schan-
zer added. If you stop that process of
constant gardening, you leave a back-
door open. Te president has a lot
of leverage when it comes to sanctions
and could eectively turn a blind eye
to Iranian infractions.
In the case of Iran, such an ap-
proach could allow Washington
to reach a nuclear accord without
Congress having to vote on rescind-
ing, even temporarily or conditionally,
certain sanctions, Clawson wrote.
No matter how sti and far-reaching
sanctions may be as embodied in U.S.
law, they would have less bite if the
administration stopped enforcing
them.
JANUARY 24, 2014
12
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
Shiite terrorist group and dominant military force in Leba-
non) and the numerous Sunni factions of northern Lebanon
(aligned with al Qaeda and Saudi Arabia) have destabilized
the already fractured country. As Waleed Aly wrote recently
in the Sydney Morning Herald, Lebanon has become not so
much a country as a theater for regional politics.
On the surface, bolstering the Lebanese armed forces
with s, billion of military aid could be seen as having a
stabilizing eect on the country. However, in reality, this
Saudi gif is a clear sign further upheaval is on the way for
Lebanon.
Tree geopolitical realities can be distilled from this
move by Saudi Arabia.
Firstly, the deal reveals that Saudi Arabia views Lebanon
as an important strategic asset in its proxy war against
Iran.
Historically, Lebanon is Irans baby. As a staging ground
for wars with Israel, Iran rmly entrenched its terrorist
proxy Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Under the reins
of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iran has used Syrian
territory as a conduit to send arms into southern Lebanon,
creating an armed force that rivals most small countries.
However, since the outbreak of the war in Syria, and
increasingly over the past year, Iran has sent Hezbollah
ghters across the border to bolster Assads forces within
Syria. Hezbollah has tried to walk the tightrope by accept-
ing the orders of its paymaster in Iran while not compro-
mising its image back home. In the past, many Lebanese
accepted Hezbollahs pseudo military dominance as it
claimed to be necessary to counter Israels massive mili-
tary might to the south. However, the longer Hezbollah
ghts in Syria, the more it is viewed by the Lebanese
public as Irans lapdog rather than a protector of Lebanese
interests at home.
Te fact that Hezbollah continues to ght in Syria, even
afer huge losses (some estimate more than a thousand
ghters), shows how powerful Irans hold is over the group.
For Iran, it is a higher priority to protect Syrias proxy
status under President Assad than to worry about Hezbol-
lahs image in Lebanon. Without the Syrian land bridge for
Iranian arms shipments, it is likely that Hezbollah could
not maintain its dominance anyhow.
As noted by Matthew Levitt, author of Hezbollah:
Te Global Footprint of Lebanons Party of God, Today,
Hezbollah is bogged down in Syria, where it has taken
signicant losses, but it has also gone all-in on the side of
the Assad regime, to the extent that it sees its own survival
wrapped up in the survival of the Assad regime.
With Hezbollah heavily distracted in Syria for the
distant future, the Saudis are attempting to bolster the
Lebanese military to not only counter Hezbollah from
within, but also to remove Hezbollahs legitimacy as the
only protector of Lebanon from Israel.
No doubt Iran recognizes what Saudi Arabia is doing,
but there is not much it can do about it. Certainly, the fact
that Saudi Arabia is giving this money indicates that, in its
opinion, those armaments will not fall into the hands of
Hezbollah, but rather will give the Lebanese Army the abil-
ity to disarm Hezbollah.
Secondly, Saudi Arabia no longer views the United States
as a worthwhile partner in its Middle East policy.
While this point has already been thoroughly made by
the Trumpetand conrmed most recently by the United
Statess weak approach to Irans nuclear ambitions evi-
denced by the outcome of the Geneva conferencethe
Saudis are no longer looking to include the unreliable U.S.
in any Middle East deals.
According to Benny Avni writing for the New York Post,
For decades, the Saudis have furnished their own military
almost exclusively with U.S. arms. But the French are much
more proactive than America these days in the Mideast
and African theaters, so the Saudis trust them to assure
that the weapons will go to the right cause.
On Friday, January :o, the United States went into
damage control by sending Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Middle East Policy Mathew Spense to reas-
sure Lebanese President Michel Suleiman that the U.S. will
continue aiding the army of Lebanon to fulll its national
role in preserving the countrys civil peace and stability.
He did not, however, show up with a s, billion check in his
back pocket.
Tirdly, Saudi Arabia is looking, instead, to Europe as a
reliable partner.
Reporting on the deal, Sami Nader of Al Monitor wrote,
Te amount is the highest ever to the army, but the most
alluring aspect of the initiative is not limited to the allo-
cated sum. In fact, rarely has the Lebanese state received
any donations. Rather, the bigger surprise is the emerging
Saudi-French partnership, which constitutes a turning point
in the Middle East (emphasis added).
With the United States no longer guaranteeing the
protection of moderate Arab states against Irans reach
for power, Middle East nations are scrambling to shore up
allies. Saudi Arabias choice to limit the arms supplier to
France shows the Saudis are looking to Europe as a viable
partner.
Sta at the Trumpet, guided by biblical prophecy, have
watched for years for this change of direction. A prophecy
in Psalm 8, describes how a conglomerate of Middle East
nations, including Saudi Arabia and Lebanon (biblical Ge-
bal), form an alliance with a German-led Europe to stand
up to Irans aggression. Until now, it was dicult to see
how Lebanon would break away from Irans hold, given the
supremacy of Hezbollah within the country.
However, with the announcement of the s, billion deal
between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, which uses European
arms, the Psalm 8, alliance is forming before our eyes.
While it may take time for the s, billion to eect change
within Lebanons military, the fact that Saudi Arabia is
willing to invest in Lebanon as the next battlefront in
its proxy war against Iran illustrates its belief that it can
weaken and possibly turn Lebanon into an ally.
Read A Mysterious Prophecy by Trumpet editor in
chief Gerald Flurry to guide you in watching the complete
fulllment of Psalm 8,.
LEBANON from page 1
COVER: JOSEPH EID/AFP/GETTY IMAGES