Germany Forges Links Across the Middle East
A lot of news coverage in Germany this week revolves around the aftermath of the violence in Chemnitz. There’s a lot of discussion about the role of the far right in Germany and how migrants are affecting the country. It’s an important story to keep watching, and one we covered in last week’s video.
Today I want to bring you some news out of Germany that has received even less attention. The German foreign minister made his first official visit to Turkey this week, holding a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart on Wednesday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will soon be visiting Berlin on a state visit. Meanwhile, over the last month German Chancellor Angela Merkel has traveled to the Caucasus, where she opened up the possibility of weapons sales to Azerbaijan, despite an embargo from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Rheinmetall revealed it was making preparations for those arms sales. Ms. Merkel has also visited nations in West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.
Perhaps most interestingly, on August 11 the German Army began training the Iraqi Army—an event only recently reported in the German press. Germany has sent just over 400 soldiers to Baghdad to do the training, with parliamentary approval for up to 800. In the past, they trained Kurds in order to push back the Islamic State. Now that the Islamic State threat is over, Germany is training Iraqi forces. Why?
A clue comes from the fact that Germany does not want to train any Shiite militia soldiers, which have links to Iran. It also does not want to join the nato training mission already taking place in Iraq—it wants to go it alone.
It seems Germany wants to work against Iran’s growing influence in Iraq and its armies. German trainers will be able to, at the very least, keep a close eye on what Iran is doing, especially in the Iraqi Army.
All of these moves from Germany over the last month are toward that same goal. Germany is talking to Turkey and Russia about getting more involved in Syria—a place that threatens to be a major stronghold for Iran. Germany wants to make sure that doesn’t happen. Azerbaijan is just to the north of Iran. Germany has long-standing arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. German soldiers are still in Afghanistan. Meanwhile Germany is opposing radical Islam throughout North Africa. All of these moves are part of a clear strategy.
This strategy is foretold in the Bible. Daniel 11 tells us that a German-led “king of the north” will attack the “king of the south,” or radical Islam led by Iran. And it says Germany will surround it like a whirlwind. The Hebrew word used here implies that it surrounds the king of the south. We can see Germany taking steps toward that position by forging links and alliances with key countries around Iran. To learn more about this prophecy, read our free booklet The King of the South.
