The Week in Review
Middle East
More than 450 people have now been killed in Syria since the wave of protests began about six weeks ago, with 120 dead last weekend. The protests seem to be reaching a tipping point, with demonstrators taking on a much more anti-regime tone despite concessions made by President Bashar al-Assad. Also, more than 200 members of the ruling Baath party have resigned in Deraa, the southern province where the unrest is centered, and surrounding regions. Rights groups said the members resigned on Wednesday after the government sent in tanks to crush resistance in the city of Deraa. Diplomats said there were also signs of discontent within the army. “The largest funerals in Syria so far have been for soldiers who have refused to obey orders to shoot protesters and were summarily executed on the spot,” a senior diplomat said. The great fear for the regime is that protests will break out in central Damascus. However, unlike in Egypt and to a lesser extent Libya, there is no organized opposition in Syria. Most of the protests are uncoordinated, which has allowed Assad to better hold on to power, despite the fact that his Alawite tribe makes up only a small minority within the nation. Another factor working against the protesters is regional power broker Iran, which is investing heavily to support the ruling regime. With the Iranians backing Assad, any revolution in Syria won’t be quick and won’t be clean. However, the Bible says that a political revolution is coming there. For more information, read Gerald Flurry’s May/June Trumpet article “A Mysterious Prophecy.”
Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah have agreed to form an interim unity government and hold general elections in eight months. Officials said the deal was brokered by Egypt following secret negotiations between the two sides. A senior Hamas leader who took part in the talks told Al Jazeera television that the agreement covered five areas, including forming a government made up of “nationalist” figures, combining security forces, and releasing prisoners held by each side. An official signing ceremony is expected to be held in Cairo in early May. While relations between Fatah and Hamas have been tense since Hamas violently took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, both groups recognize that together they can achieve more in pursuing their common goals. As Hamas’s political chief, Khaled Meshaal, said back in September 2009, spelling out Hamas’s motive for Palestinian reconciliation, “We extend our hands to our brothers in Fatah movement and the rest of Palestinian factions to counter the Israeli enemy.” While the accord is yet to be implemented, this new unity between Hamas and Fatah will undoubtedly help the Palestinians’ push for a state and compound the threat to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to reports of the deal by calling on Abbas to “choose between peace with Israel or peace with Hamas.” Events are building toward a clash between Palestinians and Jews.
The new military government in Egypt is pushing for a range of foreign-policy changes. On Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi said in an interview with al-Jazeera that Cairo was working to permanently open the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Al-Arabi said that in the coming seven to ten days, moves would be made to end the “blockade and suffering of the Palestinian nation.” This is a radical change in policy for Egypt, which has cooperated with Israel in keeping the border closed, apart from occasional openings, since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. The aim has been to weaken the popularity of Hamas among Gaza residents. Stratfor reports, “The reality is that this is just the latest of a whole host of some radical foreign-policy moves on the part of the new provisional military authority which includes a push towards reviving diplomatic ties with Iran, [and] brokering a rapprochement between Hamas and its arch secular rival, Fatah, towards the creation of a new Palestinian coalition government. There is also talk of allowing Hamas to open up an office in Cairo” (April 29). Stratfor reports that Israel has been surprised that this change in foreign policy is happening despite there not yet being any actual regime change in Egypt. Though the Mubarak clan is no longer in power, the military that supported him is simply now ruling directly. Clearly, Israel has underestimated the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the popular support in the country for anti-Israel policies. Watch for further radicalization of Egypt once multi-party elections are held and the Muslim Brotherhood undoubtedly gains a more direct role in Egyptian politics.
In Iraq, the United States is pursuing measures aimed at keeping troops in the country past the deadline of the end of this year. With much of the region roiling with political instability and a confident Iran on the rise, Washington sees staying in Iraq longer as a means of maintaining some influence in the situation. The U.S. told the Iraqi government last week that if it wanted U.S. troops to stay in Iraq after the December 31 deadline that had been agreed between the two countries, it must make its request known soon. It appears, however, that Iraq—more concerned about Iran than America—doesn’t want this. “While some quietly want the United States to remain, the general response has ranged from dismissal to threats if the United States did not leave,” reports Stratfor (April 26). In another attempt toward the same end, Iraqi media is reporting that the U.S. is seeking to broker a deal between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite State of Law coalition and former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s al-Iraqiya List to form a new unity government—a realignment that would, Washington hopes, make it likelier Iraq would soften its demand that all U.S. troops leave Iraq at the end of the year. It seems U.S. policymakers are beginning to understand what was clear all along: If U.S. troops leave Iraq, Iran will take over.
Europe
Germany’s unemployment rate is around its lowest point in 20 years, according to statistics published April 28. The seasonally adjusted rate of 7.1 percent unemployment could fall even further, says an analyst at Capital Economics, Ben May. “Germany’s robust recovery is likely to continue for a little while yet,” he said. “After suffering its worst recession in more than 60 years in 2009, the German economy has bounced back strongly, registering a record growth rate of 3.6 percent in 2010,” notes the Local. “… Berlin expects the economy to grow by 2.6 percent this year, ahead of European rivals Britain and France.”
The European Commission has released plans to build three high-powered lasers in Eastern Europe. It hopes the first laser will have a power of around an exawatt, or 1 quintillion watts (1,000,000,000,000,000,000)—around a hundred times more powerful than today’s most powerful laser. It will be built near Prague, in the Czech Republic, and is scheduled to be completed in 2015. This is just another example of Europe’s determination to become a leading scientific power.
Asia
For Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, it has been a busy week. He arrived in Malaysia on Wednesday to meet with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. The two forged a four-point agreement to bolster China-Malaysia ties. Wen said the two nations are moving to enhance high-level exchanges, while increasing cooperation in law enforcement, finance, trade, investment, maritime, cultural exchanges and other areas. On Thursday evening, Wen flew to Jakarta for a two-day visit designed to boost China’s ties with Indonesia. Wen met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other Indonesian leaders about increasing cooperation in defense, economics, and maritime, cultural, international and regional affairs. Wen also worked to boost Beijing’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (asean), since Indonesia now serves as the association’s rotating chair. Earlier in the week, trade ministers from China, Japan and South Korea met in Tokyo to work toward a trilateral investment agreement. Officials from all three sides called for accelerating a joint study on establishing a free-trade agreement among the three countries. The ministers agreed that an open and free trade system would support Japan’s recovery from the March 11 disasters and hasten growth of all three economies. Wen’s visits and the trilateral meetings will give momentum to the congealing of the Asian nations.
On Monday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with Russia’s deputy foreign minister to discuss economic and cultural ties. Dung expressed Vietnam’s desire to accelerate negotiations on a free-trade agreement with the post-Soviet Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The meeting was held in advance of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s trip to Vietnam in July.
On Wednesday, Russia and China blocked the U.S. and its European allies from obtaining a United Nations Security Council condemnation of the Syrian government’s attacks on demonstrators. The Security Council requires consent from all 15 members of the UN’s main policymaking body to take a position on a given issue, and it failed to agree on a statement circulated by Germany, Portugal, France and Britain because of disapproval from Beijing and Moscow. Russia’s deputy ambassador explained Moscow’s stance, saying the situation in Syria “does not present a threat to international peace and security.” China’s ambassador explained Beijing’s position, saying the UN could upset broader stability and “‘have a major active impact on the recovery of the world economy.” Last month, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin famously said the UN resolutions on Libya were a “medieval call to crusade,” and this week he lashed out at the West over its action in Africa again. In the months and years ahead, we can expect the trend of Russia and China collaborating to work against the West to grow stronger.
Africa/Latin America
Zimbabwe’s Affirmative Action Group—aligned with Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF—announced this week that it is sending a delegation to South Africa to support African National Congress (anc) Youth League leader Julius Malema, who is currently facing legal charges due to his insistence on singing a racially charged anc song glorifying the murder of white farmers. The song, with the words “shoot the boer, kill the farmer,” dates back to the anti-apartheid struggle and was sung on several occasions last year by Malema. The anc Youth League has called for citizens “to show support for struggle songs of the anc” such as this one. Opposition groups draw a direct connection between the song and the growing number of white farmers being murdered across South Africa. With such hate speech being supported by both South Africa’s anc and Zimbabwe’s Affirmative Action Group, it seems sure that race violence will continue to escalate in this region of the world.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro stressed the importance both nations place on the expansion of mutual ties at a meeting in Tehran held Friday of last week. The Venezuelan minister supported Salehi’s claim that the current violence in Libya and Bahrain were part of the West’s strategy to control Middle East oil wealth. The Bible speaks of a time when America will be besieged by its enemies. It looks as if Iran now has an anti-American partner located just below the U.S.’s southern coast.
Anglo-America
At least 281 people were killed on Wednesday as some of the largest and most powerful tornadoes ever recorded ripped across the southern United States. “There’s a pretty good chance some of these were a mile wide, on the ground for tens of miles and had wind speeds over 200 miles per hour,” said Harold Brooks of the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma. It was the deadliest day for tornadoes since a series of twisters killed more than 300 people in 11 states in 1974, Brooks added. As if this tragedy was not enough, historic flooding is also threatening the Mississippi River, below St. Louis, as well as the lower part of the Ohio River. The rising waters are expected to top records set all the way back in February 1937. The incidence of natural disasters has risen dramatically over the past 20 years. To close observers of current events in relation to both history and Bible prophecy, this is no mere coincidence.
The U.S. would never deliberately promote a weak-dollar policy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner vowed Tuesday. “Our policy has been and will always be … that a strong dollar is in the interest of the country,” Geithner said at a New York conference. “We will never embrace a strategy to weaken the dollar.” It was the first time this year that Geithner has publicly defended a position that everyone knows is a lie. A U.S. strong-dollar policy has been the mantra of treasury secretaries for decades. However, over that time period the dollar has continually devalued. Members of Congress also frequently call on the Federal Reserve to devalue the dollar to temporarily aid exporters. Conversely, if a strong dollar really is in the interest of America, the government has done a horrible job. The dollar hit a new all-time low against the Swiss Franc Tuesday. Earlier this month the dollar hit all-time lows against gold. On Tuesday it also hit a 35-year low against coffee. In fact, the dollar has been cascading against virtually all commodities over the past decade and has even been plunging against other paper currencies—down 6.5 percent against a basket of currencies so far this year. The dollar’s plunge in value is an indicator of the relative poor health of the U.S. economy. It is a sign of a lack of confidence in the economy and presages more difficult economic conditions in the future.
Around 900 Anglicans, including 61 clergy, entered the Catholic Church during special services this Easter in protest of the Church of England’s decision to ordain female bishops. The converts took the first step toward conversion two weeks previous, participating in a rite of election service. They now join a rung of the Catholic Church called the Ordinariate, which Pope Benedict xvi created specifically for them in 2009. Thanks to the pope’s creation, Anglican traditionalists who feel embattled by excessive liberalization in the Anglican Church now have an easy path of escape into the more traditional and conservative Catholic Church. The Ordinariate permits Anglican communities to retain their distinct traditions while being in full communion with the Catholic Church. The number of defectors seems set to swell, as many are still waiting to see more details about how the Ordinariate will function. This wave of converts into the Catholic Church is part of a movement that will eventually see the Church of England engulfed entirely by Rome. For more information on where this is heading, see our article “The Church That Swallowed a Church.”
Thirty-five of the terrorists in Guantanamo Bay were indoctrinated in Britain, according to files released by WikiLeaks. The documents were written by senior U.S. military commanders at Guantanamo Bay. They wrote that Finsbury Park mosque in north London was “an attack planning and propaganda production base.” Britain’s Telegraph writes: “The top-secret documents show how Muslim men traveled to European countries such as France, from where they obtained fake EU passports. They then crossed the Channel to take advantage of Britain’s generous asylum system.” These terrorists “were drawn like bees to a honeypot by Britain’s uniquely self-destructive combination of a generous welfare state, a long tradition of turning a blind eye to foreign political dissidents, and a judiciary and political class which had effectively decided to tear up Britain’s border controls in the cause of ‘universal human rights,’” wrote Melanie Phillips, author of Londinistan.
