EU Pressures Syria, Combats Islam in Mali

The European Union is seeking to intervene in ongoing conflicts taking place in Syria and Mali. EU President Herman Van Rompuy visited Egypt on Monday to meet with the Arab League and discuss possible solutions to the unrest.

A recent United Nations report found that Syria’s civil war has already claimed the lives of 60,000 people. Van Rompuy described the death toll as “appalling” and “unacceptable.”

The European Union is also concerned about developments in Mali, located in northwest Africa. Nine months ago, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb seized control of large sections of northern Mali. France responded last week with aerial bombardments against the insurgents. It has deployed 800 troops on the ground, including special forces, and plans to dispatch approximately 900 more.

However, Mali’s well-armed Islamist rebels managed to gain more territory on Monday. Rebel forces are now within 250 miles of the capital, Bamako.

France’s intervention and Van Rompuy’s visit with the Arab League show that Europe is serious about combating radical Islam—serious enough to go into battle.

The United States, on the other hand, is not. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta offered nothing more than his encouragement.

More and more, America is shying away from the fight against radical Islam. This has created a power vacuum. Bible prophecy shows that a European superpower will step in to fill the void. For more about where these global trends are leading, read The United States and Britain in Prophecy by Herbert W. Armstrong.