Thursday, August 21, 2008

Fear of new Mid East 'Cold War' as Syria strengthens military alliance with Russia

Curt Here....

To piggy back on the post below, here is an additional story that shows that Russia is strengthening it's military alliance with Syria. Again, if you know Biblical Prophecy then you know that Damascus, the capital of Syria will be destroyed during the conflict of Isaiah 17.

This agreement with Syria will add more fuel to the already stoked fire that is beginning to rage in the Middle East and is more evidence that Russia is quickly aligning itself with many of the Islamic nations in the Middle East just as the Bible predicted it would do.

Stay Tuned.

Curt

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

From The Times

August 21, 2008

Fear of new Mid East 'Cold War' as Syria strengthens military alliance with Russia

Syria raised the prospect yesterday of having Russian missiles on its soil, sparking fears of a new Cold War in the Middle East. President Assad said as he arrived in Moscow to clinch a series of military agreements: “We are ready to co-operate with Russia in any project that can strengthen its security.”

The Syrian leader told Russian newspapers: “I think Russia really has to think of the response it will make when it finds itself closed in a circle.”

Mr Assad said that he would be discussing the deployment of Russian missiles on his territory. The Syrians are also interested in buying Russian weapons.

In return Moscow is expected to propose a revival of its Cold War era naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, which would give the Russian Navy its first foothold in the Mediterranean for two decades. Damascus and Moscow were close allies during the Cold War but the Kremlin’s influence in the region waned after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yesterday’s rapprochement raised the possibility that Moscow intends to re-create a global anti-Western alliance with former Soviet bloc allies.

Many in Israel fear that the Middle East could once again become a theatre for the two great powers to exert their spheres of influence, militarily and politically. And with Israel and the US providing military backing to Georgia, Russia appears set to respond in kind by supporting Syria.

Already, Israeli observers worry that the chaos in the Caucasus may disrupt gas supplies to Europe and Turkey from the Caspian Sea region, creating a greater energy reliance on Iran and its vast reserves. The crisis could in turn allow Tehran to exploit splits in the international community and use Russia as a backer to advance its nuclear programme. Russia has wooed Syria in recent years, as it has tried to increase its influence in the Middle East and increase arms sales.

Syria and Israel recently confirmed they had been holding indirect talks to reach a peace deal after decades of hostility. Part of Syria’s motivation was to break the international isolation it has suffered for its strategic alliance with Tehran. A closer alliance with a resurgent Russia could afford Mr Assad a way out of any binding commitment. Some Israeli analysts even fear that it could encourage Syria to try to take back the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in 1967, by force.

The Georgia conflict sparked a mocking speech with Cold War rhetoric by Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, over the performance of Israeli-trained Georgian troops. One of the Israeli military advisers there was reserve Brigadier-General Gal Hirsch, who commanded a division in Israel’s inconclusive war with Hezbollah in 2006, and who resigned his commission afterwards.

“Gal Hirsch, who was defeated in Lebanon, went to Georgia and they too lost because of him,” the Shia leader taunted. “Relying on Israeli experts and weapons, Georgia learnt why the Israeli generals failed.

“What happened in Georgia is a message to all those the Americans are seeking to entangle in dangerous adventures.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article4573599.ece

Russia Says Response to U.S. Missile Shield Deal With Poland Will Go Beyond Diplomacy

Curt Here....

If you have been following the news regarding the conflict between Russia and Georgia then you realize that things are definitely heating up in that part of the world. I am especially interested in the latest developments between Russia, Poland and the US as I believe that we could possibly be seeing the beginning stages or the opening acts of several of the military conflicts that are prophesied to occur during the end times.

As far as I can tell from my studies of scriptures there are at least three major conflicts that will occur during the end times before the battle of Armageddon. The three conflicts are detailed in Psalms 83, Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38 & 39. I personally believe that all three are somewhat tied together (or at least lay the ground work for each other). In these conflicts Russia along with several Islamic countries attack Israel in an effort to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth.

Anyways, the latest news out of Russia is very interesting. Russia has threatened Poland with a military response for it's signed missile defense agreement with the US. The interesting part of this is that the US and Poland had been negotiating unsuccessfully for over a year and half on this missile defense deal and it came together rather quickly once the Georgia and Russia conflict began. So clearly, Poland after watching how Russia dealt with Georgia, quickly came to an agreement with the US.

In response to this agreement Russia not only threatened Poland with military action, but they promptly and surprisingly cut ties with NATO.

So what does this all mean? I believe Russia is beginning to cut it's ties to the western allies and will continue in their quest to be fully aligned with the Islamic nations that are bent on the destruction of Israel. It is all coming together rather quickly and IMHO we could see a major war break out in the Middle East in the very near future. Will it be one of the major conflicts that are prophesied to occur during the end times?

Stay Tuned.

Curt

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Russia Threatens Military Response if U.S., Poland Follow Through With Missile Defense Deal

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

MOSCOW — The United States and Poland signed a deal Wednesday to place a U.S. missile defense base just 115 miles from Russia — a move followed swiftly by a new warning from Moscow of a possible military response.

For many Poles — whose country has been a staunch U.S. ally in Iraq and Afghanistan — the accord represented what they believed would be a guarantee of safety for themselves in the face of a newly assertive Russia.

Negotiators sealed the deal last week against a backdrop of Russian military action in Georgia, a former Soviet republic turned U.S. ally, that has worried former Soviet satellites across eastern Europe. It prompted Moscow's sharpest rhetoric yet over the system, which it contends is aimed at Russia despite Washington's insistence the site is purely defensive.

After Wednesday's signing, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed any suggestion the 10 missile defense interceptors — which Washington says are intended to defend Europe and the U.S. from the possible threat of long-distance missiles from Iran — represent a threat to Russia.

"Missile defense, of course, is aimed at no one," Rice said. "It is in our defense that we do this."
She denounced an earlier threat from a Russian general to target NATO member Poland, possibly even with nuclear weapons, for accepting the facility.

Such comments "border on the bizarre, frankly," Rice told reporters in Warsaw. "The Russians are losing their credibility," she said, adding that Moscow would pay a price for its actions in Georgia, though she did not specify how.

"It's also the case that when you threaten Poland, you perhaps forget that it is not 1988," Rice said. "It's 2008 and the United States has a ... firm treaty guarantee to defend Poland's territory as if it was the territory of the United States. So it's probably not wise to throw these threats around."

Hours after the signing, Russia's Foreign Ministry warned that Moscow's response would go beyond diplomacy. The system to be based in Poland lacks "any target other than Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles," it said in a statement, contending the U.S. system "will be broadened and modernized."

"In this case Russia will be forced to react, and not only through diplomatic" channels, it said without elaborating.

The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington criticized the deal, saying the U.S. missile interceptors are technologically unproven and will only confirm Russian suspicions the system is directed against Moscow and not at Iran.

The deal follows an earlier agreement to place the second component of the missile defense shield — a radar tracking system — in the neighboring Czech Republic, another formerly communist country now in NATO.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,407262,00.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NATO Says Russia Has Cut All Military Ties With Western Alliance


Thursday , August 21, 2008


BRUSSELS, Belgium — Russia has halted all military cooperation with NATO, the Western alliance said Thursday, in the latest sign of East-West tension over the invasion of Georgia.

NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero said the alliance had received notification through military channels that Russia's Defense Ministry had taken a decision "to halt international military cooperation events between Russia and NATO countries until further instructions."

She said NATO "takes note" of the decision, but had no further reaction.

On Tuesday, NATO foreign ministers said they would make further ties with Russia dependent on Moscow making good on a pledge to pull its troops back to pre-conflict positions in Georgia. However, they stopped short of calling an immediate halt to all cooperation.

Under a 2002 agreement that set up the NATO-Russia Council, the former Cold War foes began several cooperation projects. They include sharing expertise to combat heroin trafficking out of Afghanistan, developing battlefield anti-missile technology, joint exercises and help with rescue at sea.

Romero said she was unaware of any specific events under the cooperation agreement scheduled before early September.

NATO itself decided last week to suspend plans for a Russian warship to join NATO counterterrorism patrols in the Mediterranean Sea, deciding it was inappropriate in the wake of the eruption of fighting in Georgia.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,408083,00.html