They Came From Beneath: Part II

This story of the final act of Satan and his rebel band of countrymen set sometime in the future is not the end of the story. Nor is it the end of man, nor is it the end of Satan. It is however, the restitution of the Divine Order of things. After Christ returns and establishes his imperial throne at Jerusalem, a certain peace will return to the earth not seen since the Fall of Man nearly 6000 years ago per Genesis. Christ himself will have established the nation of Israel, not based on the imaginary 1967 borders that man wishes to impose on her but instead the borders will encompass present day Turkey stretching southward all the way to the end of the Arabian Peninsula. From the West, it will stretch from the river Nile in Egypt all the way to the river Eurphrates that now divides present day Iraq. This new nation of Israel will sit on the strategic axel of the Eurasian-African continent. All this accomplished not by the energies of man, but by the will and hand of God.

The events lightly touched upon from Revelation Chapter 9 is a broad strategic overview and will only occur during a time-period specifically set in a 7 year increment. This time-period is currently in a static mode, displaced by the current time-period we are in called the Church Age. However, once this age ends, which is the next prophetic event on the escatological calendar, then this 7 year increment will begin. It starts very subtlely but the troubles grow more and more intense as time counts down to the end of the 7 year increment. As man attempts to take advantage in light of certain catastrophes that strike the world, human wars ensue with famines and economic collapse not far behind that affects the entire earth. Then at the end of the 7 year increment we see the last "hoorah" from Satan and his demonic armies.

Jerusalem is the focal point in Revelation even though the entire earth is engulfed with war, both human and angelic, visible and invisible. The reason for the prominence of Jerusalem is due to the fact that this is the seat of the imperial throne of our Lord, Jesus Christ. His two royal families, Israel and the Church, are reconsitituted both on a national and racial framework for Israel and on a international and spiritual framework for the Church. This will not be a "One World Government" as it may appear from this writing, but there will be other nations in existence when Christ rules the Earth from Israel. Nevertheless, the nations of the earth will genuflect before the throne of Christ seated at Jerusalem.

The rule of Christ will be absolute and complete. There will be no opposition. Human armies are destroyed as they gathered around Jerusalem and the fallen angelic/earthly armies are destroyed throughout the earth. Whats left of mankind after this titanic struggle is sifted like chaff in the wind and only they which aligned themselves with the victor will be allowed to live and continue on into the next century and beyond. Just as only 8 souls lived after the flood, so only the righteous will be allowed to live after the restitution. This was brought out in Matthew 24 in regards to Christ's Second Advent as previously described above:

36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

In other words, a complete and total realignment on a global scale politically, militarily and culturally occurs at the return of Christ. This is the reason for man's attempt at Satan's behest that they try to stop this enthronement from occuring. The primary human military forces involved in this last endeaver will be Western and Asiatic armies. There are many objectives both tactical and strategic, utilizing both human and angelic forces that Satan will attempt to wheel at his command. They will fail. The return of Christ is D-Day which Christ himself, Elect Angelic and Elect Human armies will close-with, envelope and by fire and maneuver, destroy the enemy.

One other note, I mentioned that the first demonic army is unleashed by Satan to basically corral mankind into killing fields for his second army. The fallen angelic general in charge of this first demon army is known by his name: Apollyon. Also known by his title Angel of the Abyss he apparently confronts two of God's human heralds who are spreading the message of Christ's imminent return in Israel to Jews specifically and the Angel kills these heralds much to the joy of fallen man. Their bodies are left to rot in the open but after 3 days, they are resurrected by God and in their physical bodies ascend to heaven very rapidly before the full view of the world.

If it makes you feel any better, these events have not transpired, yet. We don't know how far into the future before this occurs. It could begin tomorrow or it may be another thousand years. We just don't know. This Church Age is the age of historical trends. But I must say, the trends are developing into view. Yes, many have said he is the anti-christ or this is the "end" but people who lack understanding as to these trends are the ones who typically make this mistake.

Is this too much to take in at once? I shall now return to my regularly scheduled programming. Thank you.

Marines aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) conduct maintenance on an AV-8B Harrier assigned to the "Blacksheep" of Marine Attack Squadron Two One Four (VMFA-214). Peleliu and Expeditionary Strike Group Three (ESG-3) are underway off the coast of Southern California conducting their Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) in preparation for an upcoming deployment. www.navy.mil

U.S. Marine Corps Col. Douglas P. Yurovich, left, assumes command of U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wing Nine from Capt. Michael Spence during a ceremony aboard USS Midway (CV 41) in San Diego, Calif., Jan. 19, 2006. Yurovich makes military history as the first Marine aviator to assume command of a Navy carrier air wing.
www.navy.mil

They Came From Beneath

History fascinates me more than any other subject because of its human dynamic. Its a story of life and death, judgment and redemption, peace and war, good times and bad times, freedom and tyranny. I believe one more facet of history that is often overlooked is the issue of prophecy. More specifically, prophecy as expounded in both the Old and New Testament in the Christian Bible. I refer to prophecy as "history that has not yet occured" in that the prophecy itself is not self-fulfilling as if everyone must do what the prophecy demands. On the contrary, free-will runs its course and prophecy, much like radar, allows us to see the future before it comes into full view in the present and suddenly becomes past-tense as we proceed forward.

What I am about to tell you may seem like science-fiction or just too incredible to be taken seriously, but do not be so quick to judge for all things do not appear as they would at first glance. I would like to draw your attention to the Book of Revelation, which is the prophecy of Jesus Christ given to John on the Isle of Patmos over 1900 years ago. Specifically, the 9th chapter of Revelation in which God, sometime in the future, orders his Angelic chiefs of staff to signal his commands to other Angels who act much like a "peace-keeping" force holding things back and maintaining a certain level of peace for mankind but once the signal is sounded they are to move out of the way and allow events to transpire accordingly.

The 9th chapter begins with the fifth angel sounding his trumpet and a "star" falls to the earth.

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

The "star" as indicated above is no celestial object but is a being, an Angelic-being to be precise. His time is coming to an end and he must move quickly to unleash his own military forces held in reserve to thwart God's plan on earth. Sometime in the ancient past, Lucifer attempted a palace coup of sorts and attempted to overthrow the dominion of God and make himself Ruler over all. His plan failed, but not without its reprecussions. Lucifer's name was changed by God to Satan and a place was designed and built for his eternal incarceration along with the fallen Angels that rebelled with him. We are not given the exact number of seditious Angels, but are told that it was a third of the Angelic race that rebelled. Apparently there was an appeal, for the "correctional facility" stands empty at this time. Mankind was created by God in this appeal trial and we are exhibit A, if you will. Thus, God and his elect Angels are now in conflict with Satan and his fallen Angels with mankind in the middle serving as the fulcrum that will decide the fate of billions of Angels, either elect or fallen. Mankind themselves are thus divided between an elect or fallen status determined by our alliance ultimately to God or Satan himself. We will share their fate as well either with the elect or with the fallen. The stakes are high, as you may very well imagine, and the forces involved will show no mercy.

Satan himself commands vast demonic forces that are currently being held in reserve below the ground. In fact, so deep are these caverns, that entire civilizations are able to exist without the benefit of the sun. Vast underground vaults spanning for hundreds of miles in all directions house millions of sentient beings armed and trained for war. At this time, they are not allowed to exit these caverns and in fact have only 2 exits and both of these are sealed until God, as the grand referee, allows Satan to unlock these gates. These caverns are not hades or hell as we might know them from the Bible. No, they are separate locations within the earth appart from the infamous hades or sheol.

At this time in the 9th Chapter of Revelation, Satan and his fallen Angelic forces have been waging war with God and his elect Angels throughout the universe, but are suddenly routed from the celestial battleground. Satan falls back to his "bunker" of sorts, the Earth. From here, he rallies his last remaining armies that have been carefully prepositioned within the earth to fight God. However, these forces are not going to directly counterattack God but instead their training and weaponery have been designed for one purpose: the complete and total genocide of mankind. If Satan can destroy God's creation then the trial cannot be consumated and will have reached a "hung jury" by a lack of evidence. Destroy the evidence, mankind, then the trial is thrown out and Satan wins by default.

Satan's last remaining armies are divided by two locations, one being a cavernous abyss of an unknown location and the other a cavernous abode directly identified as being located under the euphrates river in the Middle East. When he opens the gate of the "abyss", John has to describe the unimaginable and calls them "locusts". This first army I believe is a reconnaisance force that gushes out when the gate is unlocked and will attempt to corral mankind into locations for the second army to be able to kill with ease. They will not destroy or harm anything that is God-made but will harm anything that is man-made. More specifically, they will not be able to attack humans who have allied themselves with God. Like bloodhounds, they are to scare up the prey from their dens and nests so that the "hunters" may kill with ease.

These "locusts" as John identifies them do have humanoid characteristics. They are organic and are controlled by a single fallen Angelic General, himself a being of light, who goes by the name of Apollyon. These "locusts" are described thusly:

The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. 8Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. 11They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.

They resemble humans as far their face is concerned, they have long hair and teeth apparently noticable enough to be compared to the teeth of lions. They do wear body-armor of some sort that John can only describe as "breastplates of iron". They apparently are able to jump or fly short distances and can manuever very quickly. I believe their "crowns of gold" are a collar of some sort to direct these forces to attack here or defend there. Just a guess. I think of them more as dogs than anything but they do have free-will as they are well trained and well armored. We don't know the total number of this "reconassance" force but they will be able to move out and "terrorize" the human inhabitants into better killing-fields for the next army that is unleashed.

The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns[b] of the golden altar that is before God. 14It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 16The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.

17The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. 18A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. 19The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

The second demonic army is unleashed and they have been given orders to "shoot to kill". They have been created and trained for this day. They show no mercy and give no quarter and they take no prisoners. This army is known by its total strength: 200 million soldiers. They in turn are commanded by four separate fallen Angelic generals themselves, no doubt divided into army groups of 50 million troops each. They go forth to conquer and to destroy. John doesn't say where they ultimately go but apparently they do NOT move into present day Israel. No comfort for the rest of us, however. They are unable to complete their mission, nevertheless, the destruction and ruin is wide and deep. John records that the total human casualties will number 1/3 of mankind as it exists in the future. By todays standards, that would approximate the death of nearly 2 billion people.

John describes this army not in terms of "locusts" but as "mounted troops". This army too is organic in nature but led by "beings of light" in the form of fallen Angelic generals in the service of the once mighty Lucifer. The riders are only briefly touched upon but apparently have a symbiotic relationship to their "horses". What stands out for John is the color of their body-armor: Red, Blue and Yellow. He does describe, however, the "horses" themselves. The heads of these creatures resemble "lion heads" and from their mouths issues forth fire, smoke and sulfur. Perhaps the weapons themselves are reflected in the glorious colors of their armor? Just a guess. Is it literal fire? Or something else, we just don't know yet. However, by fire (kinetic or laser weapon) by smoke (for screening or suffication) and by sulfur (chemical warfare) mankind knows no defense. The tails of these "horses" are used as a clubbing device much like a mace to mame and destroy.

The return of Jesus Christ himself defeats these two demonic armies roaming the earth. Not coincedentally, Christ himself unleashes his "calvary forces" in the form of the Resurrected Church to slay these forces on the battlefields of earth. Just as inorganic fights inorganic so must organic fight organic. The elect Angelic forces under the command of Christ will defeat the fallen Angels in their own battles in the heavens. The elect Human forces under the command of Christ will defeat the fallen "creatures" that issue out of the earth and fallen mankind on the earth that wage war against Christ in both Israel and the world. Two distinct wars with two distinct types of armies commanded by a single General, Jesus Christ. A total combined arms excercise that will unfold before your eyes.

Now you know the future. Which side of history do you stand on?

The sun sets on several F-14s on the flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) as the crew prepares for the next scheduled flight event. Roosevelt and embarked Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) are currently on a regularly scheduled deployment conducting maritime security operations.
www.navy.mil

Snow Falling on Maple Leaves

The coming apparent collapse of the liberal party in Canada this Monday, if the polls bear out, would signal another post-9/11 fallout of leftwing governments that have been resoundingly rejected by their own people. The reasons for their fall in Germany and now Canada do vary from country to country, and yet the triumphant re-election of Blair of Britain, Bush of the United States, Koizumi of Japan and Howard of Australia should remind most western leftists that painting the United States as the "Evil Empire" for political trade-off's will not work. The British publication, the Economist, was quite excited when the Spanish people voted in a more socialist party that was anti-American after they were terrorized on 3/11/04 and predicted on the cover of the Economist that Blair, Bush and Howard were next in the domino effect of a leftwing revolt from countries that supported and participated in the invasion of Iraq. Obviously, the opposite is now occuring.

This incredible turn of events in Canada was clearly not seen by the Old Media. Once again, they are on the outside looking in and its getting very cold by the minute. The fall of the liberals is a direct result of the blogosphere. I can remember a report on the American blog, Captain's Quarters, just last year that he personally received email from a Canadian government worker that knew of a rather damaging scandal that the liberals were trying to cover up. Naturally, the Old Media was not covering this story in any depth or width and now, the Canadian election is hitting us like a ton of bricks! Wow! Good move by Edward Morrisey of Captain's Quarters for covering this from the beginning.

I believe this is directly related to the War on Terror. I know that with both Germany and Canada they had issues that varied as to the reason for government turnover and with Canada the scandal was a mudpit that the liberals could not extricate themselves from, nevertheless, both governments took a decidedly anti-American tone in their relationship with us and are now reaping the whirlwind of their ignorance and if I may be so bold, arrogance.

There is pause for reflection, however, in that the Republicans also are being tainted with scandals as well here in the United States. Time will tell if they are found lacking by the American people come time for the November elections in 2006. If fortunes can change so quickly as it apparently has in Ottawa then Washington had better batten down the hatches as Republicans may suffer the same fate as the liberals in Canada. I wonder if France is next?

A RQ-8A Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV) System prepares for the first autonomous landing aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Nashville (LPD 13). With an on-station endurance of over four hours, the Fire Scout system is capable of continuous operations, providing coverage at 110 nautical miles from the launch site. Utilizing a baseline payload that includes electro-optical/infrared sensors and a laser rangefinder /designator, Fire Scout can find and identify tactical targets, track and designate targets, accurately provide targeting data to strike platforms, employ precision weapons, and perform battle damage assessment. www.navy.mil

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) underway at sunset in the Persian Gulf. www.navy.mil

A Distant Roar

Since the advent of International Islamic Terrorism in the late 1960's, western countries have attempted to ingratiate their Moslem neighbors with lucrative trade contracts and military programs that would enhance their qualitative edge against their estrwhile enemy, Israel and yet, it appears that it was not enough to stave off Moslem terror attacks. Europe and America including Israel, have been the primary targets of International Islamic Terrorism during the 1980's and 1990's. The attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in September of 2001 was the last straw. America with or without Europe will wage war with Islamic nations who utilize "assemetric warfare" as a means of political discourse. Even now, France has maintained "neutrality" throughout the War on Terror as a way of "protecting" themselves from Islamic retaliation. Today, however, this has changed.

From Reuters:

France said on Thursday it would be ready to use nuclear weapons against any state that carried out a terrorist attack against it, reaffirming the need for its nuclear deterrent.

He said there was no change in France's overall policy, which rules out the use of nuclear weapons in a military conflict. But his speech pointed to a change of emphasis to underline the growing threat France perceives from terrorism.

"The leaders of states who would use terrorist means against us, as well as those who would consider using in one way or another weapons of mass destruction, must understand that they would lay themselves open to a firm and adapted response on our part," Chirac said during a visit to a nuclear submarine base in northwestern France.

"This response could be a conventional one. It could also be of a different kind."

Well, well, well. It appears things have changed. Perhaps a nuclear Iran is in fact a reality that Paris must publically reiteriate to those less than enthusiastic about European culture and influence that she is herself willing to use a nuclear option in dealing with "rogue" states.

Reuters continues:

Chirac, who is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, said all of France's nuclear forces had been configured with the new strategy in mind and the number of nuclear warheads on French nuclear submarines had been reduced to allow targeted strikes.

It was the first time he had so clearly linked the threat of a nuclear response to a terrorist attack.

Chirac, 73, did not say whether France would be prepared to use pre-emptive strikes against a country it saw as a threat.

Somehow I don't think that really matters in this day and age. What one says may not be what one means.

the article continues:

France has had nuclear weapons since the 1960s and experts believe it has some 300 nuclear warheads.

"Against a regional power, our choice would not be between inaction or annihilation," Chirac said in his first major speech on France's nuclear arms strategy since 2001.

"The flexibility and reactivity of our strategic forces would enable us to exercise our response directly against its centers of power and its capacity to act."

Europe may be slower to react to terrorism than America but they will react. How and in what way apparently has now been made clear. I wonder if Tehran is listening?

C-130 Hercules aircraft taxi out for a mission during a six-ship sortie from Japan. The 36th Airlift Squadron is the only forward-based tactical airlift squadron in the Pacific region. www.af.mil

U.S. Army Soldiers fire a rocket from inside a Multiple Launch Rocket System during a tactical mission at Forward Operations Base Q-West, Qayyarah, Iraq, Jan. 5, 2006. www.army.mil

The heavy lift vessel MV Blue Marlin enters Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Jan. 9, 2006, with the Sea Based X-Band Radar (SBX) aboard after completing a 15,000-mile journey from Corpus Christi, Texas. SBX is the world's largest phased-array X-band radar to be carried aboard a mobile, ocean-going, semi-submersible oil platform.
www.navy.mil

America the Great

As America continues the War on Terror two nations stand out as potential foreign policy disasters for the United States. Both Iran and North Korea pose almost insurrmountable odds that most who are risk-averse would shy away from. However, this particular war we find ourselves immersed does not allow a place to retreat to in as much as our own home and hearth were clearly attacked without provocation. We cannot allow this murderous conspiracy to continue unabated. We must go forward and engage the enemy on the battlefield both in the realm of a military clash of arms and in the realm of ideas. Are the risks too great that we cannot allow a military option to be entertained?

I know some might consider my comments/analysis to be indicative of a war-monger or perhaps even of an imperialist, but foreign policy allows both diplomacy and war to be conducted side-by-side and in fact diplomacy is always on-going during both times of peace and times of war. Both diplomacy and war, therefore, are not mutually exclusive. You can and do have both avenues of approach available as options when dealing in the affairs of nations. Some think that if they want "peace" to prevail then they must vote for the "Democrat Party". Conversely, others believe if you want "war" you must vote for the "Republican Party". But for the parties in question this is not a zero-sum game when it comes to foreign policy. However, it's quite possible that the Democrat Party has indeed painted themselves into a corner by relying solely on diplomacy to engage with our enemies in foreign policy and rejecting war as a policy position even when one has been attacked. The Republican Party has not cut themselves off in this fashion thus allowing themselves more room to maneuver in both spheres of international relations which in turn has made them the more desirable party to hold the reigns of power in Washington.

If diplomacy fails to persuade our adversaries to repentance then judgement by war in turn becomes operational. Both Iran and North Korea therefore are not as strong as one might think if we consider these points:

1) Geography - Iran is a large nation but it is subject to many points of entry by land, sea and air. It is mountainous but our military has been thoroughly trained in all terrain types from desert-warfare to mountain-warfare. Iran is geographically larger than Iraq or Afghanistan and this may prove to be troublesome if one thinks just in linear terms. This war however has forced the Pentagon to think in more unorthodox terms due to the extreme geographic nature of this conflict. North Korea is literally the polar opposite of Iran. With a large southern front exposed to both American and Republic of Korea forces and bounded by coastal areas subject to amphibious assault, Pongyang has no option but to slug it out, if they survive long enough, or conduct a full-fledged retreat to the Yalu River in order to remain a "viable" military force.

2) Experience - Neither Iran nor Korea have as highly trained and experienced troops as the United States. Both nations in fact have a poor history of waging war. Iran was barely able to contain the Iraqi invasion in 1980 and North Korea was entirely destroyed when MacArther landed at Inchon in September of 1950. Both Iran and North Korea rely solely on Russian and Chinese communist doctrines of warfare. This indeed is their great weakness as no nation that has employed their communist inspired doctrines, tactics and training has survived a Western or Western-trained adversary. The main reason for this glaring discrepancy is the fact that communist dictatorships despise innovation and initiative for these twin-virtues are considered a threat to their own political rulership and are thus squashed in a gulag of intimidation, torture and death for themselves, their families and acqaintances. Command and Control is therefore top-heavy and all authority is vested near the top which makes them subject to being paralyzed during the heat of battle as no one will take responsiblity or initiative at the lower echelons of command that is always demanded when engaged in war.

3) Freedom - The peoples of Iran and North Korea are being oppressed by religious and political tyranny. There is no way around this fact. This tyranny has alienated the people from their loyalty to their nation that is critical to defeating an invading force. The Iranians and North Koreans are indeed yearning for freedom but cannot escape the clutches of totalitarian government without the help of an outside force. We are that outside force that can be the catalyst for "regime-change" especially with the fact that we will destroy their mechanism of control over their peoples, namely their military. Without the military to enforce the center's political directives, the political authorities are exposed to the wrath of their own people that no doubt they deserve.

4) Allies - Both Iran and North Korea are obstinant because they have insurance to "protect" themselves in crisis or so they think in the political aegius of Russia for Iran and China for North Korea. Both Iran and North Korea have everything riding on the assurance that Russia and China respectively will come to their "rescue" if things blow up into a shooting war with the United States. It therefore will be an indication of things to come if China and Russia can be convinced that it would not be in their best interest to sacrifice their present relationship with the United States over a pitiful country like North Korea or Iran. I see greater success in this regard with China on the Korean Peninsula than I do with Russia in Iran. China is far more invested in the United States in the economic realm and could be given additional incentives to continue their trade advantage to allow us a free-hand over Pyongyang. Not so, with Tehran. Russia, however, knows that the United States still needs to be avenged for the destruction of the World Trade Center complex and the hit on the Pentagon and therefore treads carefully in Persia. Western arms have always prevented Russia from expanding in this theatre throughout history and the 21st century is no exception. If Russia somehow and someway gives in to America either at the United Nations or on a bilateral exchange, then we could see a decisive turn of events that will result in a victory of enormous consequences that favors the United States.

The United States has allowed diplomacy to maintain a considerable influence over military affairs, however time is coming to a close for both Iran and North Korea where political discourse will give way to a clash of arms. How much nuclear bluffing is going on is anyone's guess and will not be fully revealed until the Alpha Signal is sounded for an engagement of military force against the remaining Axis of Evil.

A scout with 2nd Platoon, 1st LAR, prepares to cross an open area with the rest of his section while on patrol during Operation Steel Curtain on the Marine Corps' 230th birthday.
www.usmc.mil

An F-14D Tomcat prepares for an arrested landing aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) as the guided- missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56) conduct plane guard duties. Roosevelt and embarked Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) are underway on a regularly scheduled deployment conducting maritime security operations. www.navy.mil

Personnel make final preparations for the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) while getting the ship underway from her homeport at Naval Station Everett. Lincoln is getting underway to conduct work-up training operations in the Pacific Northwest in preparation for deployment later this year. www.navy.mil

Loyal Opposition

When the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked out of a clear blue sky on that other day of infamy, September 11th, 2001 what did the Left think was going on? An act of crime or an act of war? Or was it something to be forgotten, much like a dream if only we get to the next party and just live it up like nothing ever happened. I'm still astounded by the lack of courage from the Democrat Party in their response to the greatest terrorist attack on American soil ever in the history of this Republic. Their rather slow zombie-lack reaction to defending America has been a stain upon their political soul that will ever be their "badge of honor" if that can be considered a virtue.

Democrat Jack Murtha continues to drain the morale of the American people with his demand for retreat in Iraq. To hell with the consequences as he sees it, so long as we get the frick out of dodge then things can only get better, so he thinks. There's something about politics that dulls the blade of a fighting man when he comes to Washington D.C., especially when he decides to don the uniform of a politician. Most unfortunate. And yet, life goes on both in peace and in war. If one chooses to only accept life in peace then how does one deal with life when war comes? A great dilema for the loyal opposition in these dark days.

It is important for the opposition to understand that their position is indeed read by the enemy. They too watch closely our political discourse and they are eager to divine the mood and vigor of our people to waging war. Hitler was well aware of French reluctance to defend themselves after WWI. German intelligence had properly read the tea-leaves of this once great and mighty nation and found the French people in a sorry state of affairs. Beaten down by the First World War and sapped of virtue and vigor by the siren call of "safety" under the rubric of socialism during the 1920's and '30's, France couldn't hardly muster a single successful division to defend themselves when war did come. Even though they had superiority in quantity and at times quality, their military was incapabable of fighting the enemy effectively enough to stop the numerically weaker Wehrmacht. The people themselves were already defeated before the first shots were fired. France fell in a few short six weeks. Pathetic.

Are we experiencing in America a kind of french-disease of escapism and pessimism that marked France's fall after World War I? Perhaps it's not so much a cause but a symptom of the larger disease of narcisism that so infects the Democrat Party and is slowly inching into the Republican Party that our enemies find so energizing that they continue to fight to the bitter end in the Middle East and beyond. We know they are planning another large-scale strategic attack on the United States in the near future. How will the Left respond? Will they fight? Who will they fight against?

From Reuters:

Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in a video aired on Friday that U.S. President George W. Bush's plans to withdraw troops from Iraq meant Washington had been defeated by the Muslims.

He also criticised Islamist groups, including Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood, for believing in Western-style democracy and taking part in elections.

"Bush, you must confess that you have been defeated in Iraq and in Afghanistan and you will be in Palestine soon," he said in the video broadcast by Al Jazeera television.

How long will it go on for the Democrat Party to supply the enemy with the will to fight against our troops in Iraq and beyond ? Do they care about our young men and woman serving in harm's way or will they cloak themselves in the illusion of "peace" by demanding withdrawal from the front-lines of war to further their nativist and short-sighted agenda at seizing the throne in the United States?

Reuters continues:

I congratulate the Muslims on Islam's victory in Iraq. I said more than a year ago that the Americans' departure from Iraq is only a matter of time," said the bespectacled Zawahri, who wore a white turban and sat next to an assault rifle.

"But they are justifying their withdrawal by saying that the Iraqi forces have reached a satisfactory level."...

The Democrat Party will answer for their cowardice and I assure you, they will pay dearly come election time. This war transcends the boundries of political parties and neither party should play with the American people and dangle the lives of her fighting men over the bonfires of their vanities for political gain.

Reuters continues:

Egyptian-born Zawahri said elections in his home country were a "U.S. game ... designed to mislead the Muslim public".

"America tells Islamists: every time your behaviour improves, we'll give you more (seats), until you become secularists with only a false affiliation to Islam."

In the elections late last year, candidates linked to the Muslim Brotherhood increased their seats more than five-fold to 88 of the 444 elected seats, confirming the group as Egypt's strongest opposition.

"My Muslim nation, you will never enjoy free elections ... and governments answerable to their people ... unless you are liberated from the Crusader-Zionist occupation and corrupt governments, and that can only be achieved through jihad (holy war)."...

Which side of history will you stand on?

An F/A-18 Hornet attached to the "Golden Warriors" of Strike Fighter Squadron Eight Seven (VFA-87) takes off during flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). www.navy.mil

U.S. Army Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division brace themselves from flying debris after being dropped off by helicopter to conduct search and sweep operations in Shakaria, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2005. www.army.mil

In the Shadows

What are we to make of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction throughout the Third-World? Has the West finally met its match in the political arena after nearly 500 years of expansion from Africa to Asia and the Northern Hemisphere? Have Westerners foolishly believed that the knowledge of nuclear fire was to be used for "peaceful" purposes by those whom they themselves considered to be sub-par or perhaps too backward to pose a threat to their existence? Have we reached a point of no-return?

From the Guardian Unlimited:

It is intended as an alarm bell sounding in the boardrooms of western Europe's leading engineering companies as well as the common rooms of campuses and cutting-edge science labs.

It is also a wake-up call to EU governments, spy agencies and customs officials struggling to keep the ingredients for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) out of the hands of some of the most unsavoury regimes in the Middle East and the far east.

But if the 55-page confidential "early warning" intelligence assessment is impressive in the sheer mass of detail on the names and locations of suspect players in the global WMD game, the information may be seen as deeply troubling. It emphasises that west European engineering firms, germ laboratories, scientific thinktanks and university campuses are successfully preyed on by multitudes of middlemen, front companies, scholars with hidden agendas and bureaucrats working for the Iranian, Syrian or Pakistani regimes.

Let us not forget Iraq in this equation as well. Many a left-wing pundit has damned this Bush Administration for not locating the imagined Holy Grail of Operation Iraqi Freedom: Nuclear and Chemical WMD's. However, considering the sensitive nature of such a program as creating a nuclear bomb and a potential military counter-strike such as on Iraq's nuclear facility at Osirak 25 years ago by the Israelis, should we be surprised that these things are conducted with such secrecy and non-transparency? Of course not.

the article continues:

The report from a leading EU intelligence service obtained by the Guardian represent, it seems, the pooled knowledge of at least four major EU member-states on how countries such as Iran, Syria, and North Korea orchestrate a vast network of traders, phoney companies, state institutions and diplomatic missions internationally to procure the means to develop chemical, biological, nuclear and conventional weapons.

Given the hi-tech nature of the coveted parts and materials, the west European marketplace is the principal shopping mall, while Russia and the former Soviet Union are targeted for talented if impoverished brainpower. The Iranians, for example, are using middlemen in the neighbouring and post-Soviet countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia to tap the post-Soviet market, the document states.

With American troops still operating in Iraq and with her arms stocks fully replenished, has the time arrived for decisive action? Many arm-chair generals have disparaged the fact that we have an all-volunteer army and have complained that we don't have enough troops in Mesopotamia however the cry for "more troops" has been as American as applie pie since the days of George Washington. Every general wants more troops but ultimately it will be Washington DC that will decide if the army will receive their desired troop levels before offensive operations begin. However, there is still time for the President of the United States to activate the dreaded and infamous "draft" to induct more men and now women into the American Armed Forces. With events apparently heading for a collision course over Persia, it would be a mistake for Tehran to underestimate our resolve.

The Guardian continues:

While the Pakistani bomb project has long been realised, Iran's nuclear ambitions are not as advanced and have the makings of an international crisis. So it is not surprising that much of the document focuses on Iranian activities - not only in the nuclear field, but in bio-chemical and conventional weapons, notably its "very ambitious" missile programmes. The document lists more than 200 Iranian companies, institutes, government offices and academic outfits said to be engaged in weapons research, development and procurement, and mostly subordinate to the defence ministry in Tehran's armed forces logistics department.

Russia, which has just clinched a billion-dollar missile deal with Iran, is identified as crucial to Iran's military programmes, especially the missile development; 16 Russian companies and academic institutes are named as helping and profiting from the Iranian military effort. They range from the Glavkosmos space agency to St Petersburg's Technical University.

How much "evidence" is needed to declare war? Will the left continue to placate anti-western sentiment throughout the world, playing into the hands of our erstwhile enemies? If they have judged Operation Iraqi Freedom to be null and void because of supposed lapses in intel and a lack of weapons of mass destruction, what side will they take in regards to Iranian subterfuge? Then there is the third nation mentioned by President Bush in the Axis of Evil, North Korea. How do they figure in all of this?

the article goes on:

The Iranians, as well as the Pakistanis and the Syrians, are also benefiting from North Korean military prowess and exports, the document says, noting that "the export of arms equipment is currently reckoned to be North Korea's most important source of income."

To maintain this performance, the document says, the North Koreans increasingly depend on being able to import western goods and equipment. To this end they use a dense web of firms and offices, their roots going back to the 1970s.

More than 30 of the named companies and institutions said to be involved in the North Korean arms procurement endeavour are in China and most of those are Chinese state firms or bodies.

Last week the US State Department slapped sanctions on six Chinese companies for their alleged supplies to Iran's military industries.

The main market for the North Korean exports is the Middle East. "The most important buyers are Egypt, Iran, Pakistan and Syria."

Damascus, the document says, has been striving for self-sufficiency in its WMD efforts for years through substantial supplies of material and knowhow from Russia and through purchases in western Europe. Most surprisingly perhaps, the report says that Syria "has recently strengthened cooperation in the [arms] sector, particularly with Iran".

If the Persian theatre becomes a shooting war, I'm quite confident that the Left will still demand "proof" before we make our moves. The Left is still debating the efficacy of our enterprise, but the rest of the nation is quite confident in the veracity of the information provided by this administration since the War on Terror began. Time is slowly running out and Iran plunges ahead knowing that time is short for them as well. Throughout it all, Russia has their hands fully immersed into the Moslem dream of nuclear parity on a strategic scale stretching from Cairo and Damascus to Tehran and Islamabad. We have only begun to fight and the shadows run far and wide.

An F-14D Tomcat assigned to the "Tomcatters" of Fighter Squadron Three One (VF-31) performs a high-speed fly-by past USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). The nuclear powered aircraft carrier and embarked Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) are underway on a regularly scheduled deployment conducting maritime security operations (MSO) and close-air-support missions under Operation Iraqi Freedom. www.navy.mil