From Tunisia in North Africa to Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, an arc of popular protest has suddenly hit.

Though the unrest sparked in Tunisia by the recent removal of its former strongman, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, may have been the catalyst, it does not explain the domino effect of insurrection that has spread like a wildfire from Tunis to Cairo and on through Lebanon clear on down to the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen.

Reuters reported yesterday that ratings agency Standard and Poor’s observed that “Egypt, Algeria, Jordan and Morocco all share the same risk factors that contributed to the events in Tunisia: young populations, high unemployment, weak economies, rising food prices, and a lack of political and civil liberties” (January 27).

Add to this list Yemen’s situation, where 10,000 have demonstrated in support of the removal of the country’s long-serving president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the picture of a crescent of unrest spreading from North Africa to the Persian Gulf that is beginning to cause concern in foreign-policy circles emerges.

Then there are the continuing challenges in Sudan and the Horn of Africa, added to ongoing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. When this is all viewed in the light of the continuing efforts of Iran to take advantage of these situations in an effort to pressure the United States and allies to pack up and leave the region ripe for Iranian takeover, it reveals a scenario deeply worrying to those nations economically dependent on the continuing, uninterrupted supply of North African and Middle Eastern oil and gas, especially China and the European Union.

With President Barack Obama having dwelt upon the impending drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in his recent State of the Union speech, it’s no wonder that secessionist movements in this region would suddenly seek to take advantage of an American administration weak on foreign policy and lacking demonstrable will to be up for the fight to protect the flow of oil through the Gulf. In fact, Washington’s stance of indicating support for the protest movements across greater Arabia is only adding fuel to the protest fire.

The U.S. has a history of backing the wrong horse in such situations in the past, then getting kicked in the teeth by the new regime. Thus America ought not expect any kudos from those who might gain office in North Africa and the Middle East in the wake of the current unrest.

Obviously, this current situation presents an open invitation to those nations with a stronger political will to engage any nation fomenting unrest that risks their access to, and timely supply from, either their main, or, as in the case of Europe, their planned alternative sources of energy.

In this respect it is worth watching the upcoming Munich Security Conference slated to begin February 4, when top brass from leading nations will gather in Bavaria to consider the world’s main security threats and how to deal with them.

Expect some sort of firm direction from the most assertive nations at that conference—one being the host country, Germany—to emerge in relation to a strengthened nato (EU) presence in the Mediterranean and off the Horn of Africa in reaction to the present unrest spreading throughout the region.

In the immediate term, the current unrest in North Africa and the Mideast is going to accelerate efforts by EU elites to form an alliance with certain Middle Eastern states of a nature that will surprise most observers. That alliance is prophesied in Psalm 83. Our editor in chief has stated that Iran, Iraq and Egypt will not be in that alliance.

Which nations will be in that alliance? They are all listed in verses 6 to 8 of Psalm 83. This is an alliance of Middle Eastern nations formed against what the Psalm refers to as God’s people. Verse 8 shows these nations in alliance with a powerful people named Assur. This is the ancient Assyria of biblical history, the actual prophetic identity of which is revealed—along with that of those referred to as “thy people” in verse 3—in our book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.

What is intriguing about this prophecy is that it relates to the not-too-distant future. And it has deeply concerning relevance to the Anglo-Saxon and Jewish peoples of our day.

Our editor in chief has noted that “There has never been such an alliance to attack or totally destroy Israel in history. Concerning this Psalm, the Anchor Bible reads, ‘History transmits no record of the national crisis when the nations enumerated in this Psalm formed a league to wipe out Israel ….’ Lange’s Commentary points out, ‘The 10 nations who are here enumerated as being combined against Israel, are never mentioned elsewhere as enemies allied at the same time and for the purpose of annihilating Israel.’ Other commentaries make the same point. This must be an end-time prophecy!” (The King of the South).

To understand more about the current turmoil in North Africa and where it is leading, read our booklet The King of the South. It will give you the vital knowledge to fully comprehend events in this region, where they are leading and what type of world we will face following the outcome of the Psalm 83 alliance.