LAKE TSUNAMI OCCURS

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

GET READY AMERICAN ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE WHEN HURRICANE SEASON COMES THANKS TO YESTERDAYS STORY ABOUT DIVIDING JERUSALEM IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS. DON'T SAY NOBODY WARNED YOUOF THE COMING DESTRUCTION.

One dead as tornadoes sweep US
Friday, 11 April, 2008

Double lightning strike in Texas (AAP) Powerful storms and at least one tornado have battered three states across the central US, leaving one woman dead and causing flooding and widespread power cuts. Hail and high winds have swept across Arkansas, a state already contending with three weeks of flooding and the aftermath of 10 tornadoes that hit the region last week. Most of the state is under a flash flood warning and forecasts warn a new round of storms could include further tornadoes later in the day. Roads are flooded and people have been urged not to travel unless absolutely necessary. It's just getting worse, said sheriff's dispatcher Nola Massey. We're just trying to get everybody to stay home and not get out in it.

Vehicles flipped over

In Oklahoma, state officials reported damage to more than 200 homes and businesses from strong winds. A tornado with winds of up to 112km/h moved through west Texas, tearing shingles from roofs, shattering glass and flipping vehicles. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses lost electricity in Oklahoma and the Dallas area.

Homes were damaged in Texas, and flooding in Oklahoma forced about a dozen state highways to close; some schools called off classes for the day. A woman died in Oklahoma when her car skidded off the road during downpours, and three people were treated for minor injuries in Texas. Source: AP/SBS

Multiple Tornadoes Confirmed Across N. Texas Edited: Thursday, 10 Apr 2008, 8:26 PM CDT

The National Weather Service has confirmed at least four tornadoes touched down in multiple areas of North Texas on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, and that number could rise as field crews continue to investigate the damage.In DeSoto, an EF-1 tornado damaged about a dozen homes with winds between 73 and 112 miles per hour. There was severe roof damage at a senior apartment complex and at a hotel with about 50 people in it at the time, said Kathy Jones, a spokeswoman for the city of DeSoto. DeSoto police said they don't have any major injuries.One-third of residents in DeSoto were without power and several roads were blocked off because of downed power lines. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at the Community Missionary Baptist Church in DeSoto.

More damage happened in Stephens County when an EF-0 tornado developed along F.M. 576 near Eolian, and an EF-1 struck the airport in Breckenridge. There, several planes were flipped, many hangars destroyed, and serious damage to nearby mobile homes and power poles. Investigators say the tornado's path stretched more than seven miles.In Palo Pinto County, another EF-1 tornado left a path of debris more than a mile and a half long and snapped trees in half or uprooted them altogether near the community of Oran. This supercell thunderstorm was part of one of the most active 24-hour periods in recent North Texas weather history, said the National Weather Service in a statement.

REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

1/3RD OF SHIPS DESTROYED

REVELATION 8:8-9
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

Melting causes lake in Chile to empty APR 11,08

SANTIAGO, Chile - Melting ice in southern Chile caused a glacial lake to swell and then empty suddenly, sending a tsunami rolling through a river, a scientist said Thursday. No one was injured in the remote region. Glacier scientist Gino Casassa said the melting of the Colonia glacier, which he blamed on rising world temperatures, filled the Cachet Lake and increased pressure on the ice sheet.The water bored a 5-mile tunnel through the glacier and finally emptied into the Baker River on April 6.The remarkable thing is that the mass of water moved against the current of the river, Casassa told The Associated Press by telephone from the Center for Scientific Studies in the southern city of Valdivia. It was a real river tsunami.The lake was nearly full again by late Wednesday, he said.Casassa said temperatures were unusually high during the recent Southern Hemisphere summer.This is a phenomenon that occurs periodically during the summer season, caused by the melting of large masses of ice that swell some lakes, he said. The basic cause is global warming.The Tempano lake in Chile's Bernardo O'Higgins National Park abruptly disappeared last year, and has since recovered just some of its former volume.

Noted hurricane forecaster sees above-average season in 2008Wed Apr 9, 2:09 PM By Danica Coto, The Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A noted hurricane researcher predicts rising water temperatures in the Atlantic mean a well above average storm season this year. The updated forecast by William Gray's team at Colorado State University calls for 15 named storms in the Atlantic in 2008. Gray's team says at least four of those storms will be major hurricanes, with a better than average chance that at least one major hurricane will hit the United States. Gray projected seven hurricanes with three major storms in a preliminary forecast in December. The 2007 Atlantic season saw 15 named storms, six of which became hurricanes. Two were major storms. An average of 5.9 hurricanes form in the Atlantic each year. The Atlantic is a bit warmer than in the past couple of years, said Phil Klotzbach, a member of the forecast team. That is something we would like to keep an eye on.

One of the most closely watched hurricane forecasters, Gray has been issuing hurricane predictions for more than 20 years. But he and others have been criticized in recent years for forecasts that were off the mark. Before the June-November season last year, U.S. government scientists predicted 13 to 17 named storms and six hurricanes, three to five major. Gray was further off, forecasting 17 named storms, including nine hurricanes, five of them major.

Gray's team says precise predictions are impossible, and the warnings raise awareness of hurricanes. We have not been ashamed of our forecast failures. It is the nature of seasonal forecasting to sometimes be wrong, Klotzbach said in a telephone interview from the Bahamas, where the team announced the forecast at a weather conference. U.S. government forecasters issue their seasonal outlook in late May. U.S. National Hurricane Center director Bill Read, who is in his first year on the job, has said he would prefer to characterize the season in general terms - as above average, average or below average - instead of trying to forecast a precise number of storms. It doesn't matter what the numbers are, centre spokesman Dennis Feltgen said Wednesday, repeating a centre mantra that it takes only one powerful storm to make it a bad season.

Forecasters see La Nina through July Thu Apr 10, 1:47 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The La Nina climate phenomenon under way in the Pacific Ocean has weakened but is expected to continue at least through midsummer, government weather forecasters said Thursday. La Nina is a periodic cooling of the tropical Pacific sea surface which reduces rainfall in the region and can affect weather around the world.Its primary effect over the United States in spring and summer is below-average rainfall over parts of the Southwest, extending from Texas to Nevada.It tends to produce above-average rains over Indonesia.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said sea surface temperatures across the central and east-central equatorial Pacific were about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1degree Celsius) below average.In December, the cool areas ranged from 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) below normal.Despite this improvement, forecasters said they expect La Nina to continue through July.La Nina is the opposite of the better known El Nino condition in which the equatorial Pacific becomes warmer than normal.On the Net:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www.noaa.gov

Apparent Tornadoes Hit Texas, Oklahoma APR 10,08

SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) — An apparent tornado with winds of up to 70 mph moved through West Texas early Thursday, tearing shingles from roofs, shattering glass and flipping vehicles.Paramedics were dispatched throughout the city, but San Angelo police didn't have a number of injured.The storm pelted the city with quarter-sized hail just after midnight with winds of up to 70 mph, said Hector Guerrero, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Angelo.The National Weather Service received reports of cars and a tractor trailer flipped over. At least one building downtown was damaged and power lines were down in some areas, Guerrero said.

Shortly after, the storm system moved out of the area, Guerrero said. San Angelo is about 110 miles southeast of Midland.Hours earlier, two apparent tornados also moved through another section of West Texas, and there were also reports of a tornado in Oklahoma, where one woman died when her car skidded off the road in heavy rain.In Breckenridge, 125 miles west of Dallas, at least five homes were destroyed and minor injuries were reported, police said.

Robbie Dewberry, an administrator at Stephens Memorial Hospital, said the hospital treated three people for storm-related injuries. He said the hospital was operating on emergency backup power.Crews with Oncor Electric Delivery were surveying the extent of the damage in Breckenridge, where about 3,500 customers were without power, Oncor spokesman Neal Blanton said.KTVT-TV of Dallas-Fort Worth showed footage of damage at the small airport in the town. A twin-engine plane sat amid the crumpled sheet metal that had been a hangar.Several outbuildings were also damaged, but officials could not immediately confirm that the damage was caused by a tornado, said Jessica Schultz, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Another possible tornado hit Palo Pinto County between Graford and Oran, meteorologist Jennifer Dunn said. Officials said roofs had been blown off a few homes and trees were down in Oran, about 80 miles west of Dallas.In Oklahoma, meteorologist Andrew Taylor said there were two reports of a tornado in Choctaw County in the southeastern part of the state, although no damage was reported. Taylor said the reports could have been about the same tornado.

Flooding caused the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to close five highways in the state, and the National Weather Service issued flood warnings for several eastern Oklahoma waterways.Heavy rain and flash flooding were also reported in Arkansas. Entergy Arkansas said it opened spillway gates at the Remmel Dam in Hot Spring County to release excess water from Lake Catherine, about 50 miles southwest of Little Rock.In Polk County, along the Oklahoma state line, U.S. 71 was covered with as much as a foot of water, while state Route 375 had 6 inches of water on it, the weather service said. Sheriff's officials said workers at the hospital in Mena were putting sandbags in place to keep water out of the emergency room.

Meanwhile, a small tornado caused scattered damage in southwest Michigan, authorities said.No injuries were reported, but authorities said several horses were trapped inside a barn damaged by the stormy weather early Wednesday.

OZONE DEPLETION

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Scientists predict more floods, droughts By PABLO GORONDI, Associated Press Writer Thu Apr 10, 8:09 PM ET

BUDAPEST, Hungary - Scientists predicted Thursday that climate change in coming decades will cause more flooding in the Northern Hemisphere and droughts in some southern and arid zones. In addition, they said that some areas around the Mediterranean, parts of southern Africa, northeastern Brazil and the western U.S. region will likely suffer water shortages.Rajendra Pachauri, the chief U.N. climate scientist, said at the end of a meeting in Budapest that the rising frequency and intensity of floods and droughts could lead to a food crisis.We may see a decline in agriculture production, said Pachauri, who is also chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared last year's Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore.An IPCC report presented at the meeting said the decline of water quantity and quality would lead to shortages of water for drinking and agriculture.Millions of Africans could be afflicted by such water problems by 2020, unless action is taken to mitigate climate change, experts said.While the proportion of heavy rainfalls will very likely increase, so will the areas simultaneously affected by extreme droughts.

One of the co-authors of the IPCC report said water issues would be one of the main problems of climate change.Everybody pretty much agrees that water is central to the way climate change is going to affect ecosystems and every human being, said Kathleen Miller, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.Miller mentioned deltas of major rivers in Asia, such as the Mekong, as one of the areas where floods were an increasing concern.Those places will be much more vulnerable, Miller said.She said that in the U.S. there's a high likelihood of the west getting drier.AP science writer Seth Borenstein contributed to this report from Washington D.C.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

WELL MAYBE THIS IS HOW AMERICA BECOMES A 2ND RATE POWER TO THE EUROPEAN UNION. I THOUGHT THE DEMOCRATES WOULD GET IN POWER AND KILL AMERICA BY TAKING TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ.

MONEYNETDAILY
Will trade deficit trigger depression?
Economists: It's de-industrializing America, leading nation toward 2nd-rate power status April 09, 2008 12:45 am Eastern 2008 WorldNetDaily

WASHINGTON – America is selling its birthright not for a mess of pottage, but for a mess of Chinese junk, and the resulting unsustainable trade deficit is leading to the collapse of the dollar, depression and conversion of the United States to a second-rate power, says a new book written by three generations of a family of economists.Not only will the United States feel the pain, but other countries will as well, write Raymond, Howard and Jesse Richman in Trading Away Our Future.Because other countries are dependent upon the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency and because they are dependent on exports to the United States to sustain their own economies, the eventual collapse of the dollar could wreak havoc on the economies of the whole world.

While some other economists have claimed there is no danger from a trade deficit that has reached nearly $60 billion, and some have even suggested they represent a blessing for Americans, the authors strongly disagree.A basic principle of economics is that there is no free lunch, they write. Those who think that the Chinese, Japanese, Saudis, et al, are giving the United States a free lunch when they sell more than they buy are engaged in short term thinking that ignores huge long term costs.The book is released at a time when more Americans are searching for answers about the stumbling state of the economy – with the dollar declining, foreclosures rising and credit tightening.The Richmans tie the growing trade deficit to the de-industrialization of America.

The financial flows that sustained these deficits did not go to expand the U.S. capital stock – they mostly financed consumption of foreign goods, they explain. Japan and China and other Pacific Rim nations stole industry after industry from the United States. America's manufacturing investment declined so much that by 2004 and 2005, net investment in American manufacturing actually went into negative territory, meaning that U.S. manufacturers were not even investing enough to replace wearing out machinery and plants. The U.S. manufacturing workforce declined steadily, so that by 2007 over a fifth of the U.S. manufacturing jobs that would have existed given balanced trade had been lost. Those losing their manufacturing jobs often took less skilled jobs in the service sector, causing media wages to stagnate. In 2007, the United States was in a much weaker position to compete in world markets and the dollar had nowhere to go but down.It's not just a lack of foresight by American policy makers that has created the problem, the authors write. It is also a conscious policy of some foreign countries to practice neo-mercantilism – with the U.S. as the target.

Beginning in the late 1990s, China copied the policy that had converted Japan from a weak and backward economy to a world powerhouse, they say. In recent years, more and more countries have been joining the bandwagon, with the United States as their primary target. They have been accumulating dollar assets in order to manipulate currency values and preserve the conditions that produce trade surpluses for them and trade deficits for us.Adding to the problem, the authors write, was the emergence of a blind ideological commitment across the American political spectrum to free trade that really wasn't free at all.As advocates of free markets, we generally approve of relying on the free play of market forces to provide the highest level of welfare for Americans," they write. But we discovered that free trade, normally beneficial, had become an ideology blinding the United States establishment from seeing key causes of the trade deficits and their disastrous consequences. The trade deficits are sustained by government policies, both U.S. government tax policies and foreign government mercantilist policies, not by the free play of market forces.The authors believe the situation can still be reversed, preserving American dominance of the world economy.If not, then resolutely non-democratic China will dominate, they say. The world's future is in the balance.

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

Chavez: Castro predicted fall of dollar FRI APR 11,08

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday that his close friend Fidel Castro predicted the fall of the U.S. dollar. Chavez said Cuba's 81-year-old former president mentioned the prediction some time ago before signs of a weakening dollar had begun to appear. Fidel told me one day, Chavez, it won't be long before the crisis of the dollar occurs,the Venezuelan leader said in a televised speech.Chavez said Castro handed him a document he had written during one of their meetings in Havana that said the United States has bought half the world with paper bills that don't have real backing. ... The world can't sustain that bubble.There it is, the crisis of the dollar, Chavez said.Chavez called the United States' economic woes a terrible economic crisis, noted that some Americans are losing their jobs and suggested that much worse is to come.I think if things continue on like this in the United States, we'll have to start preparing to receive the refugees here, Chavez said.The U.S. remains the leading buyer of Venezuelan oil, but Chavez is seeking to rally opposition to Washington's stances, from free-market economic policies to the war in Iraq.His opponents accuse him of using his perpetual conflict with the U.S. to stir up nationalistic sentiment and draw away attention from domestic problems including rampant crime, soaring inflation and sporadic shortages of some basic foods.

PM Olmert:We'll Reach an Agreement, But It Can't Be Implemented by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz APR 11,08

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday evening that he is certain Israel and the Palestinian Authority can reach an agreement by the end of this year. He just doesn't see any chance of it being implemented anytime soon, as it requires an end to PA terrorism. I don't see any chance of us being able to implement an agreement in the near term, the Prime Minister said,
Prime Minister Olmert angrily dismissed criticism that he and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are compromising on Jerusalem.
addressing a pre-Passover holiday toast at Kadima party headquarters in Petach Tikva. We will insist on all the terms of the Road Map, first and foremost among them a cessation of terrorism, as a precondition for implementation of any understanding. But the first step creating a horizon of hope for us and for the Palestinians can be taken, it must be taken, and we will make every effort in order to successfully do so this year.

Of the negotiations with the PA, Prime Minister Olmert told the assembled leaders of his party, I promise you that we will reach understandings ensuring that the State of Israel will be able to be a secure state, that knows how to defend itself, that has room to live, whose existence will not be made conditional on any circumstance or prerequisite. I believe it is possible to reach understandings that will produce a incomparable solution.Prime Minister Olmert angrily dismissed criticism that he and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are compromising on Jerusalem and other key issues: We don't need lessons from anyone - certainly not from our opponents in the opposition - about what the important issue are, that we have to insist upon and diligently defend. No one can teach me or any Kadima minister anything about the status, the importance and the symbolism of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

We Have Security
Turning to the ongoing rocket attacks from PA-controlled Gaza and IDF retaliatory raids, Prime Minister Olmert laid full responsibility at the feet of the Hamas terrorist organization. We don't care which organization each terrorist belongs to, Olmert said, the one managing what goes on in Gaza is Hamas. And that organization, and all of its members, is responsible for the ongoing terrorism and will have to suffer the unavoidable consequences of its actions in the south of the country.The Prime Minister promised that the response to Hamas will be such that it will be unable to act against the citizens of Israel as it currently is.Olmert concluded his pre-Passover remarks to his party loyalists by saying, Ahead of the 60th Independence Day, we can stand tall and tell ourselves: we have a wondrous country, we have achievements, we have power, we have security - and with them we will march forward [kadima in Hebrew - ed.].

Report: Western Wall Too Controversial For Bush Visit
by Ezra HaLevi APR 11,08

(IsraelNN.com) The Western Wall has been deemed too controversial a place for US President George W. Bush to visit. He is opting instead for Masada – where Jewish rebels committed mass suicide.

Bush will be visiting Israel as part of Israel’s 60th Independence Day celebrations. His visit will be 60 hours long. In addition to addressing the Knesset, Bush is reportedly searching for a symbolic location to visit, with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as his tour guide.People of all races and faiths flock to the Western Wall to pray to the G-d of Israel.Haaretz reported that Bush’s aids were leaning toward the Masada fortress. The site was where Jews held out against the Roman army, but were eventually beaten and committed suicide rather than face the humiliation and torture of captivity. Haaretz mentioned the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron, the Golan Heights and the Western Wall, explicitly, as places deemed too controversial for Bush to visit.

The Western Wall, also called the Kotel (wall in Hebrew) or Wailing Wall, is the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site. The mount itself is occupied by two Muslim structures and Jewish worship there is severely restricted. The Western Wall is highly symbolic as it has been the focal point of Jewish worship in the most recent return to Zion. It was approachable via a small alleyway prior to the War of Independence, was off-limits to Jews under Jordanian rule following the 1949 armistice and was liberated in the 1967 Six Day War. Among the most famous photos in Israel's history is that of IDF paratroopers looking up at the wall with awe following their participation in the battle for the Old City. Shortly after the victory, Israel bulldozed the area around the wall, creating a huge prayer plaza.Muslims have recently been staking a claim not only to the Temple Mount, but to the Western Wall as well. They call it Al-Burak and say the religion's founder, Mohammad, tied his horse there during a midnight journey that took him to the farthest mosque - which they say is a reference to the Jerusalem mosque later given that name.The Bushes also want to witness the Biblical prophecy of the ingathering of the exiles first-hand. White House staffers report that the Bushes are looking to meet with recent olim (Jewish immigrants to Israel) during the visit.Bush will not be visiting Palestinian Authority-controlled areas or meeting with PA officials during his visit to Israel, but will hold a meeting with Fatah chief and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt afterward.

Media analyst Dr. Aaron Lerner of Israel Media Research and Analysis says that the phenomenon of Bush steering clear of the Western Wall does not bode well and belies statements by Israeli officials’ claiming an improved relationship with the US due to Israel’s willingness to make repeated concessions to Fatah. Things are so screwed up that while the Pope can visit the Western Wall in what was clearly the Israeli portion of his visit, President Bush can't make the same photo op as part of his historic trip marking Israel's 60th anniversary, Lerner opined. And now an example of the incredible lack of thinking on the part of whoever is working on this trip: instead of visiting places associated with Israel's rebirth or ancient life - the idea is a photo op at a place remembered in history for the group of Jews who committed suicide rather than fall captive to the Romans.Dr. Lerner concluded, with tongue-in-cheek: Then again. How appropriate. PM Olmert, who critics warn is following a suicidal path with the Palestinians, will visit Masada with Bush.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)

DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.

DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.

REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)

A plan for Britain’s new model army

As military chiefs and ministers meet to slash £4.5 billion costs, Robert Fox suggests a radical plan.It is time to tear up Britain’s defence policy and start again. British forces, ill-equipped and over-stretched, are engaged in open-ended campaigns in two countries, with little idea of how either should be ended. Former ministers and commanders have talked of a train crash, and serving men and women are heading for civvy street. A radical overhaul is necessary. But the old guard, who have been sounding off a lot lately, and the present senior command are too trapped in their institutional conventions to come up with it. Ideas need to come from original thinkers lower down the order: sparky young captains and corporals who can draw on real experience - before they, too, leave. The country really does need its armed and security services. (People only ever realise why after a major emergency has come and gone.) We should accept that the numbers need to stay roughly the same - a budget of £35bn (two per cent of GDP) and around 200,000 full-time personnel.

But how to spend that money and recruit and use those men and women? Here is a ten-point plan for the 21st century:

We need flexible forces that can deal with conventional tasks and acquire new skills for humanitarian and disaster relief, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency.

Education, training, welfare and support must be improved in order to encourage recruitment. Servicemen and women should be offered something like the American GI Bill - an educational or vocational qualification, a contract of a minimum six to ten years, plus incentives including a provision for housing when they leave.

We need to be able to hire more foreigners from more countries - Commonwealth and EU and other nationals should be invited under strict contract terms. In effect, our own Foreign Legion.

The structure of the forces needs to be less fragmented and complex. There are too many HQs. The Army, in particular, is over-officered.

The RAF should be held at 40,000 personnel, and should stick to its core business of deep strike, surveillance, transport and emergency rescue.

The Royal Navy should stick to its task of keeping the sea lanes open and preserving maritime security.

The Army should be restructured as a mobile force of about 90,000 plus a permanent reserve and volunteer reserve of about 10-15,000 each. Like the Roman army, it should be built on an ascending scale of simple building blocks, the company (a few hundred), the battle group or battalion of 1,000, and the brigade of about 3,500.

The old regimental cap badges could be kept for team loyalty, but should fit the new structure rather than the other way round.

More obscure specialisations such as arctic and jungle warfare should be cut.

Extravagant equipment programmes need to be cut or cancelled. The Typhoon aircraft (£24bn), the Astute submarine programme

Hiring foreign nationals should be more flexible - in effect, our own Foreign Legion(£5 - £7bn) and the new Joint Combat Aircraft (£20bn-plus) all need reviewing. Likewise the Trident replacement due to be signed in 2012 - at a likely cost of around £75bn over 40 years. The fact is that ever since World War II, British politicians have been appeasing the defence industry - and the Brown government is no exception. We are lumbered with gargantuan programmes many of which - on purely military (if not political) grounds - could be dropped. Recently the US Army and Marines produced new training Field and Counter Insurgency Manuals to equip them for the tackling real issues in a real world. They underline the need for sustainable forces and policies. Most important, they point up the need for strategic vision.

Here's a walkthrough:The message of Fitna APR 9,08

0:25: First off, we have the dreaded bomb-in-turban drawing by Kurt Westergaard, with the fuse lit. We're in for some tough scenes of Islamic terrorism. For copyright reasons, this drawing has been replaced with a new original drawing with an identical motif.

0:45: Quran 8:60: And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war, to threaten the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides whom, you may not know but whom Allah does know.... This is a well-known Quran quote from sura 8, The Spoils of War. Translations differ, as do the comments inserted by the translator. The Noble Quraan, for one, inserts this clarification on steeds of war: (tanks, planes, missiles, artillery). Wilders uses a more moderate version.

1:12: Scenes from the WTC terror attack on September 11th. Really nasty stuff, panicky dialog, people jumping from the windows to their death. Clearly a reference to the encouragement to use all means of war against infidels. The emotional impact of this is undeniable.

1:44: Scenes from the terror attack against Spanish commuter trains, including surveillance cameras showing one of the actual explosions. Grim.

2:00: Dead bodies, presumably from the Spanish terror attack, or a different one. A radical imam preaches that killing of infidels causes Allah to be happy. This, in a way, is weird, for it is also taught in Islam that nothing can influence Allah. Yet, few if any Muslims seem to challenge radical views like this one.

2:56: Quran 4:56: Surely, those who disbelieved in our evidence, we shall burn them in Fire. As often as their skins are roasted through, we shall change them for other skins that they may taste the punishment. Truly, Allah is ever most powerful, all-wise.
This rather graphic description of the fate of infidels is puzzling. Is this really holy? What kind of god would threat the humans he allegedly created himself in such a Hellish manner? Then, apart from the theological speculations, this is an obvious threat against infidels. Intimidation at its worst.

3:54: Bashmallah, a girl of 3½, expresses her hatred against Jews. A reference to the institutionalized antisemitism in the Palestinian areas. That some raise children to hate before they can read comes across as a crime against humanity. Or at least against the next generation.

4:40: More antisemitism, more justification of killing Jews.

4:55: Poster from an Islamic demonstration with the telling text God Bless Hitler.

5:10: Quran 47:4: So when you meet those who disbelieve, smite their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind them firmly. The Noble Quraan translator inserts: (in fight - Jihad in Allah's cause), to make the intention clear. A religion of peace must have trouble including a passage like this.

5:30: Theo van Gogh expresses his lack of fear to be killed after creating Submission. As we all know, his audacity and fearlessness was unjustified, van Gogh was shot and stabbed by an Islamic extremist shortly thereafter.

5:50: And here we meet the killer. He's unrelenting, which has the obvious implication that this could happen to anyone who has the guts to be critical against Islam.

6:00: The quote See what happened to van Gogh is another to Islam-critic individuals.

6:25: A clip from Iqra TV (Saudi) showing the moments before a decapitation of an infidel. One wonders why Islamic leaders haven't condemned this in unison. Stuff like this should be buried deep under unholy, not just be tolerated.

6:50: Quran 4:89: But if they turn back from Islam, take them and kill them wherever you find them, and take neither helpers nor friends from them. This famous verse instigates the death penalty for leaving Islam. One may wonder what makes Islam so terrible that something this drastic is needed to keep the adherents in line. Other religions do not have clauses like this, or have at least rendered them outdated and useless. But there's another point to this quote, namely that befriending 'infidels' is not permitted. This anti-integration attitude is obviously problematic.

7:30: The inherent supremacy of Arabs and Muslims is preached. This is an aside in Islam that is not frequently heard of or addressed, even though undercover recordings in mosques, like in Channel 4, keeps turning up this attitude. It's racism, pure and simple.

7:55: Quran 8:39: And fight them until there is no more Fitnah, and the religion will be all for Allah alone. An unpleasant message for adherents of other religions. Most people prefer tolerance, not fighting.

8:22: Iranian president Ahmadinejad preaches that the message of Islam is universal, implying of course that everybody on the planet should and will at some point submit to Islam. This is followed by

9:00: preaching that Islam is destined to rule the world,

9:15: and that freedom can go to hell. A sinister message indeed.

9:35: Netherlands under the spell of Islam. The mosque will be part of the system of government of Holland. This is an interesting statement that points to an underexposed issue, namely that the mosque is not merely a place of worship, it is also part of the government of Islamic countries, to the point where some imams are tolerating the use of mosques for the storage of weapons and explosives. The point is not elaborated, though, as it would take an entire documentary to itself to investigate this issue.

10:20: It is quoted that one millions Muslims now live in the Netherlands. The setting up of a satellite receiver disc has the unspoken implication that many of these take their news and opinions from the Arab world, not from the society they live in.

10:42: Here we meet one of the weirdest customs in Islam, killing people for illegal love. The mere concept that the state / society / tribe of Islam has a say in who is permitted to love who is quite alien to a Western mind, but in the Middle East, arranged and even forced marriages are still the norm in many areas. Also the notion of killing for love is patently weird. If capital punishment is to be used at all, why not target pedophilia instead of relations between consenting adults? Family executions still take place in many places, though some are now being disguised as suicides.

11:00: An Islamic leader preaches homophobia. While rare, such statements usually go unchallenged, which is a problem.

11:20: More preaching, this time against democracy and secularism. It looks like imams are always against something...

11:30: Stoning for the crime of illegal love. This is just barbaric. Even supposedly moderate leaders like Tariq Ramadan refuses to call this unholy. but instead calls for a moratorium on the punishment. The attitude to stoning is, BTW, a quite effective way to distinguish a moderate Muslim from a fundamentalist (Salafist - one who takes the scripture literally). Salafists will not make unconditional, public condemnations of the use of stoning.

11:40: Will homosexuals be executed if Europe turns Islamic, like they are in Iran today? Images of children and women carrying knives, smeared with blood. Disturbing - but the context is lacking, which makes these images come across as manipulative. For the first time in the movie.

12:30: A collection of Dutch newspaper headlines about Islam-related crimes and atrocities.

13:50: The Quran is quoted as being a License to kill.

14:20: Tearing out a page from the Quran? Not quite, but close. We are hearing, yet not seeing, a page being torn, and are told that the tearing is not from the Quran, it is from a phone book. For the reason that non-Muslims cannot tear out the violent passages of the Quran with any effect. Only Muslims will be able to effectively remove the violent elements of their religion, and they are encouraged to do so.

15:00: Finally, the Westergaard bomb goes off, and the message Stop the Islamisation is displayed.

REVELATION 12:7-10
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.(SPACE WARS COMING)
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

2 PETER 3:10-11
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

China's Space Ambitions
By Christopher Griffin, Joseph E. Lin
Posted: Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Armed Forces Journal
Publication Date: April 7, 2008

Research Fellow Christopher Griffin
Nearly a decade after the U.S. clamped down on the transfer of dual-use American space technology to China, commercial aerospace cooperation between the two countries has all but died. Yet in this period, China's space and military capabilities, including those designed to defeat U.S. forces in East Asia, have advanced exponentially.In 2007, the Chinese government conducted its 100th space launch with a Long March rocket, carried out a successful anti-satellite (ASAT) test, commenced operations of the Beidou satellite navigation and positioning system, and launched its Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter. A busy year for Beijing, and one punctuated by the now-regular annual deployment of an additional 100short-range ballistic missiles on China's coast.After a decade of fighting the tide, it appears that American attempts to frustrate China's growing military space capabilities have reached a critical point of failure.While these developments reflect China's rapidly growing defense spending, ongoing transfers of dual-use technology--this time from West European aerospace companies--have played a crucial role in allowing the Chinese defense industry to leapfrog research and development barriers. Indeed, this explosion of China's military space technology has been aided by rapidly expanding access to European suppliers since the rupture of civilian space relations with the U.S.

The Final Frontier

The impetus behind China's drive toward developing military space capabilities lies within the Chinese military's view of future warfare, with the U.S. as its most likely adversary. The Chinese military, known as the People's Liberation Army (PLA), has been obsessed with information-age warfare ever since the U.S. leveraged its space-based C4ISR systems to eradicate Saddam Hussein's military during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. One Chinese military commentator noted with awe afterward: The United States deployed three defense communications satellites, established 128 defense satellite communications terminals and built an ultra-high frequency network before the assembling of allied troops.Indeed, the American advantage in the area of military satellites presents the Chinese government with what it recognizes as an asymmetric disadvantage. The U.S. is so dominant in this sphere of military competition that it seems impossible to win a head-to-head competition. Faced with this dilemma, the People's Liberation Army has developed a two-pronged response that invests in both its own space assets and in anti-satellite capabilities with which to disrupt American space dominance.Even if the PLA believes it cannot compete directly with American space power, the necessity to invest in space assets is by no means wasted in Beijing. The Chinese military is developing aerospace networks in pursuit of the technological advantages that the U.S. has come to expect during wartime. A 2004 article printed in the People's Liberation Army Daily stated: Information dominance cannot be separated from space dominance. We can say that seizing space dominance is the root for winning the informationalized war. Indeed, the U.S. Defense Department reports that China plans to launch some 17 satellites in 2008 in an ambitious bid to have a fully indigenous satellite fleet by 2010.

But even as China deepens its own reliance on space-based assets in support of military operations, policymakers in Beijing are fixated on the deficit they face in a conflict with the U.S. and the concomitant requirement to challenge American space power. One PLA analyst recently argued that in modern wars, seizing space dominance has already become a vital part of seizing information dominance, from which one can then retain the active position in the war. In a less-subtle argument for the use of offensive capabilities in space, another PLA officer recently proclaimed that China requires ASAT capabilities for destroying, damaging and interfering with the enemy's observation and communications satellites.The same official concluded that the ultimate purpose of such efforts is to blind and deafen the enemy, making their command and control retarded. The U.S. takes this threat seriously. A 1994 war game conducted by the U.S. Navy found that if the PLA opened a war with a sophisticated ASAT campaign, American aircraft carriers would be left vulnerable without having any significant counteroffensive capabilities. In this scenario, U.S. forces were routed.Of course, jumping from a limited survey of open-source publications by PLA colonels to conclusions about China's intentions is a leap in the dark. Fortunately, the Chinese government has provided a combination of indicators that should relieve American uncertainty, if not anxiety, about China's space warfare ambitions. The PLA is testing its ASAT capabilities and preparing legal justifications for offensive space capabilities.

Beijing already has invested in significant space-denial capabilities that will allow it to destroy or disable American satellites in the event of a future conflict. The January 2007 ASAT test--when a direct-assent kill vehicle made a direct hit against a satellite that was traveling at 7.42 meters per second--was the most potent demonstration of this emerging capability. While the PLA was preparing for the ASAT test, then-U.S. National Reconnaissance Office Director Donald Kerr revealed that Beijing had used lasers to paint a U.S. military reconnaissance satellite, indicating that the government is investing in technology to either blind the electro-optical sensors of some American satellites or disable satellites with even stronger energy beams. The wartime operational capability of these systems is unknown, but the Chinese government has given no indication that it intends to halt their development of that or other, unpublicized, systems.In its relationship with China, the U.S. must recognize that the militarization of space inspires the most revisionist elements of Chinese strategy.An additional indication that space warfare has received serious official attention in the PLA is provided by Larry Wortzel's recent study on the topic. Wortzel, a former U.S. Army attache in Beijing, concluded in a survey of open-source materials that the PLA General Political Department has prepared numerous legal briefs and articles providing what it calls the political preparation of the battlefield for space warfare. These writings argue that China is within its legal rights to defend the inseparable and integrated area above ground, airspace and outer space, a clear assertion of China's legal right to attack foreign satellites in the future.A final indicator that China is dedicated to developing its military space capabilities is the basic structure of its space complex, which does not include a proper civilian sector as Americans may think of it.

China's largest developer of launch vehicles, including the Long March series that are used for civilian satellites, is the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). Employing some 20,000 people, CALT is also the largest developer of Chinese ballistic missiles, such as the East Wind series that includes China's intercontinental ballistic missiles. Moreover, CALT is a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., a company that is itself managed by the China's military defense research and development agency, the Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. Finishing this incestuous network of relations among military and nominally civilian institutions, the general manager of the aerospace corporation was appointed last fall to be the minister of the commission.The intersection of military and civilian interests in China's space program was captured in a study last year by Defense Department analyst Michael Pillsbury in which he quoted a PLA colonel: We should combine military and civilian technology and integrate peacetime and wartime facilities. Space equipment is costly to develop and maintain, so it is important to have civil-use technology that can also be used in military applications.

One Door Closes, Another Opens

Even as China pours considerable political and financial resources into developing its military space technology, it continues to depend heavily on infusions of foreign know-how as a means of innovation. This practice of integrating and modifying foreign technology to meet Chinese needs is evident throughout the history of the Chinese space program. Qian Xuesen, considered to be China's Father of Rocketry, was a leading American scientist who was deported to China as a victim of McCarthyism in 1955. Qian transformed his U.S. experience and education into the foundation of China's space and missile programs. The Soviet Union also supported China's early ballistic missile program, which, coupled with Qian's guidance, allowed China to launch its first satellite in 1970.By 1988, China's space launch capability had matured to the point that U.S. companies began launching their commercial satellites on Long March rockets, and Beijing continued to benefit from international technology transfers. For example, after Long March 2E rockets failed to take off in 1992 and 1995, Hughes Space and Communications International informed CALT that the crashes were caused by the flawed design of the rocket's fairing, or nose cone. Unfortunately, and illegally for Hughes, this transfer of information not only corrected a crucial design flaw in the Long March rocket, but would have been essential for equipping China's intercontinental ballistic missiles with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles. An ensuing series of similar scandals raised the specter of a wholesale transfer of vital military space technology to a potential adversary.In response to these transfers, the 1998 Strom Thurmond Defense Authorization Act mandated that the export of commercial satellites be governed by the U.S. State Department's Munitions List and made subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). This transfer of bureaucratic jurisdiction meant that satellites, along with their components and software, would be treated as weapons systems that were prohibited from being exported to Beijing under the terms of a post-Tiananmen Massacre arms embargo. A silent monument to these restrictions is Chinasat 8, a Space Systems/Loral satellite that has been shelved in a warehouse since its completion in December 1998.

U.S. export restrictions effectively closed the Chinese market to all Western launches for several years. The international nature of the satellite business in the West meant that no major producer had a model that did not included components affected by U.S. ITAR restrictions. But even as the Chinese civilian launch market stagnated, Europe and China were embarking on a bold new relationship. Bilateral trade relations boomed in the late 1990s, with China emerging as Europe's second-largest trading partner. The blossoming of Sino-European trade accompanied a desire for an emergent strategic partnership that could serve mutual goals. From the perspective of the European Commission in Brussels, East Asia was a convenient playground for exercising a unified European diplomacy. For China, Europe was the perfect partner in its effort to build a multilateral international system in which political power is more equally distributed among Beijing, Brussels and Washington.

The final manifestation of growing ties between China and Europe came in the form of security relations between the two sides, including military sales. This was a tricky subject--the arms embargo barred the sale of lethal equipment to the Chinese government. But this prohibition was nonbinding, and the annual value of new arms sale licenses from EU countries to China increased nearly ninefold from $51 million in 2001 to more than $430 million in 2004. Moreover, Chinese purchases focused on electronic equipment, military imaging equipment and software for the design and use of weapons systems, crucial capabilities that the Chinese industrial base is deficient in and that can multiply the effectiveness of PLA forces.The 2004-2005 period also marked a watershed in Sino-European relations as the European Union committed to lifting its arms embargo on China. When the media reported this effort along with other ambitious moves, such as Franco-Chinese negotiations on the sale of Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft for the PLA Air Force, American politicians took the warpath against perceived European perfidy. Knowing how to land a hard punch, the House of Representatives promptly adopted a resolution threatening limitations and constraints on transatlantic defense-industrial ties if the EU lifted the embargo.Although the EU reluctantly backed off of lifting the arms embargo, it is unclear how much difference this has made. European arms manufacturers continue to sell to China, leveling off at about $438 million in 2006, with the largest sales made in military command and control, imaging, and electronics equipment. Moreover, in the past five years, China and the European Union have launched a space technology partnership far more expansive than that which Beijing enjoyed with Washington during the 1990s. It is also one that conveys far greater access to European technical expertise.

A Sino-European Space Partnership?

As Europe and China develop their space relationship, the pace with which sensitive technology is transferred to Beijing has only increased. In fact, two recent cases show just how rapidly the transfer of military space technology is undermining the objectives of the post-Tiananmen arms embargo.If it was American policy to use the ITAR system to prevent China from acquiring sensitive satellite technology from the West, the policy effectively failed in April 2005. That month, commercial satellite launches on Chinese Long March rockets resumed with the launch of the APSTAR VI communications satellite, based on the Thales Alenia Space (then Alcatel Alenia Space) Spacebus 4000 platform.The Spacebus 4000 is one of a kind. Intentionally developed without any U.S. components, the satellite may be launched on China's Long March rockets without running into American ITAR restrictions, a cost-saving advantage that Thales Alenia has emphasized in its marketing. According to one of the company's vice presidents, the compatibility between Thales Alenia's ITAR-free satellites and the Long March launch vehicle has been a crucial factor behind several recent satellite sales. In all, five Thales Alenia Space satellites, all ITAR-free, have been slotted for Long March launches.

Thales Alenia's satellite exports are commercial in nature, but they indirectly have provided the Chinese with Western technological know-how, principally concerning kick motors. In civilian satellite launches, these propulsion systems are used to position a satellite in its orbit, using a permanently attached booster to modify trajectory. But kick-motor technology is highly sensitive and dual-use in nature. For example, kick motors are a crucial component of ground-based ASAT weapons that utilize kinetic kill vehicles to strike their target. A kick motor was almost certainly used to propel and maneuver the kill vehicle for the final stage of its flight during China's January 2007 ASAT test. The U.S. State Department is also concerned that kick-motor technology can be used to refine guidance systems on nuclear missiles with multiple re-entry vehicles.Moreover, the transfer of technology concerning kick motors raises questions regarding Chinese ambitions to develop an anti-satellite satellite that could be placed in orbit and then maneuvered, at a later time, to intercept a U.S. satellite. Given reports that the same KT-1 mobile rocket launcher that was used in January 2007 could be used to place such a microsatellite in orbit, this is a risk that the U.S. should treat seriously.While these significant military applications of satellite kick motors are recognized, it is not clear what degree of technology transfer has occurred during Long March rocket launches of Thales Alenia's ITAR-free satellites. However, every such launch requires that Thales Alenia engineers work with their Chinese counterparts in interfacing the satellite's kick motor with the rest of the launch vehicle; during this process, technical specifications of the kick motor are exchanged, providing the Chinese government access to a sensitive Western technology with grave military potential.

An additional opportunity for Chinese acquisition of sensitive dual-use technology has arisen from Beijing's participation in the European Union's global navigation satellite system project, Galileo. In September 2003, Beijing invested $259 million in the European navigation system in return for a stake in the project and access to the technological architecture of the navigation system. Under the agreement, Beijing is responsible for building Galileo's ground stations in China, a role that will give Chinese engineers access to Galileo's technical codes.Although there are commercial incentives for Chinese participation in the Galileo project, the effort to participate overlaps with Chinese ambitions to develop its own global navigation satellite system, known as Beidou. Indeed, according to some reports, one of the pressing reasons the European Commission ultimately sought Chinese participation in the project was because Beijing was already siphoning off so much technology through industrial espionage that Europe sought to recoup some of its losses in the form of a Chinese investment.

Beijing likely hopes that access to the Galileo architecture will help it resolve the principal weakness in the Beidou system, a lack of accurate positioning. The Beidou system has been dogged by weaknesses in its timing technology, a crucial failing that limits its positioning accuracy to approximately 10 meters. In contrast, Galileo's target of 1-meter accuracy will involve developing the precise technologies that China seeks.The difference in such degrees of accuracy could be significant for the military applications of a highly accurate global navigation satellite system. For example, as China ponders the likelihood of conflict in East Asia, one of its primary challenges will be to use its massive conventional missile force to engage relatively precise targets, such as American military bases that are forward located in allied countries. Striking such targets directly could make the difference between disabling U.S. forces and intimidating American allies, or incurring civilian casualties and additional foes in an escalating regional conflict.Beidou's potential for use as a force-tracking mechanism for logistics and friend-or-foe identification could also be vital in a future conflict. The benefits of such a force-tracking mechanism were demonstrated during the opening stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom, when coalition soldiers wore uniforms containing integrated GPS technology. Indicating the potential for such a military use, a recent report by Xinhua, the official Chinese state-run news agency, boasted that Beidou already was capable of tracking and monitoring vehicles transporting dangerous chemicals throughout the country.Even though Beidou's military applications are readily recognized by the Europeans, they insist China's participation in Galileo will not result in the transfer of sensitive dual-use technologies.

Acknowledging this divergence between Chinese and European interests, Pedro Pedreira, the European Commission's director for the Galileo program, recently admitted that technology transfer is an important consideration behind China's continued participation in Galileo and that European officials knew when we started with China that they wanted to build their own military system. He is nonetheless confident that a strict technology control regime and the encryption of the Galileo system's most accurate signals will prevent either outcome from occurring. Both historical experience and the vulnerabilities that necessarily accrue from placing ground stations in China caution otherwise.

Untying the Knot

After a decade of fighting the tide, it appears that American attempts to frustrate China's growing military space capabilities have reached a critical point of failure. This dilemma has no easy solution. A combination of European arms manufacturers and aerospace firms appear to have decided to provide China with arms and dual-use technology so long as they can avoid providing Beijing with the lethal tip of its military hardware. Faced with this defeat, the U.S. must retake the initiative in its dealings with both the Chinese and the Europeans in this critical matter.In its relationship with China, the U.S. must recognize that the militarization of space inspires the most revisionist elements of Chinese strategy. Beijing appears to have made the long-term decision that it is in a struggle with the U.S. over a variety of security issues in East Asia and that preparing for potential military conflict will require the ability to cripple the U.S. military satellite system.There should be opportunities to engage China on military space issues, even if it has already made this fundamental calculation. It would be worthwhile to develop a Sino-American strategic dialogue on space in which the U.S. could explain its self-imposed restrictions on the militarization of space, and how more provocative steps by China may result in the erosion of those restrictions. Such a dialogue would also provide the U.S. with the opportunity to present nonsensitive areas for cooperation, such as the standardization of spacecraft docking hatches, a move that helped to decrease tensions during the Cold War. Likewise, as China's military lawyers analyze the terms under which the PLA could conduct ASAT and other space operations against the U.S., Washington should demarcate some red lines for Chinese behavior.

Further, recognizing the potential for long-term competition with China over the future control of space, the U.S. must take steps to mitigate its potential losses and guarantee that it retains escalation superiority in any future conflict. Investing in a hardened, robust satellite system is the obvious first step in any such effort. Developing redundancy through additional layers or C4ISR capabilities is another necessary step in this regard. Rapid improvements in unmanned aerial vehicles promise to facilitate such an effort, and would push the Sino-American competition to a cutting-edge field in which the U.S. retains a clear technological lead.The relationship with Europe presents no less thorny a problem. After more than a half-century of allied transatlantic relations, the tools of engagement and compromise should be readily available. The State and Defense departments already have launched enhanced dialogues with European allies to discuss concerns with regard to China's military modernization and the concerns it raises for the U.S. This dialogue should be expanded to include space issues.Also, it seems that the European Union ultimately will have to address the question of its arms embargo and code of conduct with regards to China. The code of conduct should be made mandatory and its contents devised in consultation with the U.S. Particular issues that should be discussed include such components as military electronics and software that now flow freely between Europe and China. Although nonlethal items in the strictest terms, they may greatly enhance the lethality of Chinese weapons systems deployed against the U.S or its Asian allies in the future.

If European arms manufacturers and aerospace companies continue to sell weapons systems and permit the transfer of sensitive space technology to China, the day may come when Washington recognizes that the shared strategic vision underlying U.S.-European defense-industrial cooperation has passed. The only rational consequence to such a development will be for the U.S. to reassess its defense-industrial relationship with Europe, accept that we can no longer afford to subsidize the arming of an adversary, and accept that the transatlantic partnership has reached the end of its natural life.
Christopher Griffin is a research fellow at AEI.