Monday, March 21, 2011

EU LED COALITION STRIKES LIBYA

JAN & JACK KINSELLA-TALK PROPHECY
http://olivetreeradio.com/OTM2011_03_19A.mp3
http://olivetreeradio.com/OTM2011_03_19B.mp3

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,(WORLD SOCIALISM) 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

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/
CNBC VIDEOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15839263/?tabid=15839796&tabheader=false

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS MON MAR 21,2011

09:30 AM +2.43
10:00 AM +197.97
10:30 AM +202.38
11:00 AM +188.03
11:30 AM +190.90
12:00 PM +183.91
12:30 PM +195.30
01:00 PM +187.55
01:30 PM +178.42
02:00 PM +172.48
02:30 PM +176.34
03:00 PM +169.60
03:30 PM +153.22
04:00 PM +178.01 12,036.53

S&P 500 1298.38 +19.18

NASDAQ 2692.09 +48.42

GOLD 1,427.60 +11.50

OIL 102.80 +0.95

TSE 300 14,013.70 +224.10

CDNX 2285.24 +41.37

S&P/TSX/60 807.86 +12.81

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +158 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +1 points at low today.
Dow +218 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,428.60.OIL opens at $102.35 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow +1 points at low today so far.
Dow +218 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow +1 points at low today.
Dow +218 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,444.00 (NOT AT CLOSE)

THIS MARKET OF DECEPTION SHOULD BE DOWN 300 POINTS NOT UP 200 WITH THE JAPAN DISASTERS AND THE LIBIAN WAR GOING ON.

DISEASES

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

PESTILENCES (CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS)

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(CHEMICAL,BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

POISONED WATERS

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.

NUCLEAR LEVEL METER
7-MAJOR ACCIDENT
6-SERIOUS ACCIDENT - JAPAN AT THIS LEVEL CURRENTLY
5-ACCIDENT WITH WIDER CONSEQUENCES
4-ACCIDENT WITH LOCAL CONSEQUENCES
3-SERIOUS INCEDENT
2-INCIDENT
1-ANOMALY

RADIATION NETWORK
http://www.radiationnetwork.com/
LOW LEVEL RADIATION CAMPAIGN-Christopher Busby
http://llrc.org/
WEATHER MODEL-WINDSTREAM
http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display_alt.cgi?a=npac_250

Workers flee Japan nuclear plant as smoke rises By ERIC TALMADGE and MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press -MAR 21,11 10:00AM

FUKUSHIMA, Japan – Gray smoke rose from two reactor units Monday, temporarily stalling critical work to reconnect power lines and restore cooling systems to stabilize Japan's radiation-leaking nuclear complex.Workers are racing to bring the nuclear plant under control, but the process is proceeding in fits and starts, stalled by incidents like the smoke and by the need to work methodically to make sure wiring, pumps and other machinery can be safely switched on.Our crisis is still going on. Our crisis is with the nuclear plants. We are doing everything we can to bring this to an end, Gov. Yuhei Sato of Fukushima prefecture, where the plant is located, told the more than 1,000 people moved away from the plant into a gymnasium. Don't give up. We know you are suffering.Please get us out of here, yelled Harunobu Suzuki, a 63-year-old truck driver.What caused the smoke to billow first from Unit 3 at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and later from Unit 2 is under investigation, nuclear safety agency officials said. Still, in the days since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami wrecked the plant's cooling systems, both reactors have overheated and seen explosions. Workers were evacuated from the area to buildings nearby, though radiation levels remained steady, the officials said.

Problems set off by the disasters have ranged far beyond the devastated northeast coast and the wrecked nuclear plant, handing the government what it has called Japan's worst crisis since World War II. Rebuilding the ruined northeast coast may cost as much as $235 billion. Police estimate the death toll will surpass 18,000.
Traces of radiation are tainting vegetables and some water supplies, although in amounts the government and health experts say do not pose a risk to human health in the short-term. China, Japan's biggest trading partner, ordered testing of Japanese food imports for radiation contamination.Please do not overreact, and act calmly, said Chief Cabinet spokesman Yukio Edano in the government's latest appeal to ease public concerns. Even if you eat contaminated vegetables several times, it will not harm your health at all.Edano said Fukushima's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., would compensate farmers affected by bans on the sale of raw milk, spinach and canola.The troubles at Fukushima have in some ways overshadowed the natural catastrophe, threatening a wider disaster if the plant spews more concentrated forms of radiation than it has so far.The nuclear safety agency and Tokyo Electric reported significant progress over the weekend and Monday. Electrical teams, having finished connecting three of the plant's six units, worked to connect the rest by Tuesday, the utility said.Once done, however, pumps and other equipment have to be checked — and the reactors cleared of dangerous gas — before the power can be restored. For instance, a motorized pump to inject water into Unit 2's overheated reactor and spent fuel storage pool needs to be replaced, said Hidehiko Nishiyama, an official at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, or NISA.

The crisis has brought renewed scrutiny to Tokyo Electric, a wealthy, politically influential utility that has been accused in the past of safety violations. Days before the disaster, a NISA report criticized Tokyo Electric for failing to inspect crucial equipment related to cooling systems at Fukushima, though agency officials refused Monday to draw a link between the inspection lapses and the breakdown of cooling systems after the tsunami.Radioactive iodine, which breaks down after a week, has been the most widespread contaminant found, but so have traces of cesium, which lasts decades and may cause cancer.That cesium was likely generated when nuclear fuel rods partially melted last week, NISA's Nishiyama said, and is an indication of potential harm to the environment and how badly damaged some of the reactors are.Early Monday, the Health Ministry advised Iitate, a village of 6,000 people about 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of the plant, not to drink tap water due to elevated levels of iodine. Ministry spokesman Takayuki Matsuda said iodine three times the normal level was detected there — about one twenty-sixth of the level of a chest X-ray in one liter of water.The World Bank said in a report Monday that Japan may need five years to rebuild from the disasters, which caused up to $235 billion in damage, saying the cost to private insurers will be up to $33 billion and that the government will spend $12 billion on reconstruction in the current national budget and much more later.Growing concerns about radiation add to the chain of disasters Japan has struggled with since the 9.0-magnitude quake. The resulting tsunami ravaged the northeastern coast. All told, police estimates show more than about 18,400 died. More than 15,000 deaths are likely in Miyagi, the prefecture that took the full impact of the wave, said a police spokesman.

It is very distressing as we recover more bodies day by day, said Hitoshi Sugawara, the spokesman.Police in other parts of the disaster area declined to provide estimates, but confirmed about 3,400 deaths. Nationwide, official figures show the disasters killed more than 8,600 people, and leaving more than 13,200 missing, but those two lists may have some overlap. The disasters have displaced another 452,000, who are in shelters.In an example of the tsunami's force, the wave swept a collapsed house out of a devastated neighborhood in the city of Ishinomaki and deposited it near a river about 100 meters (yards) away. A 16-year-old boy and his grandmother who were trapped inside survived and were rescued Sunday when the boy, Jin Abe, was finally able to crawl out of the smashed home and get the attention of a police patrol. Abe told Japanese broadcaster NHK on Monday from his hospital bed: I'm so relieved to be rescued.He and his 80-year-old grandmother, Sumi Abe, were wedged under debris in the kitchen of their smashed two-story home and ate snacks and drank water from the nearby refrigerator as they lay trapped in the debris. Yamaguchi and Associated Press writers Shino Yuasa, Mayami Saito and Elaine Kurtenbach reported from Tokyo.

Police: Japan disaster death toll to top 18,000
- MAR 21,11


TOKYO – Police officials estimate that the toll from Japan's massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami will exceed 18,000 deaths.One of the of the hardest-hit prefectures, Miyagi, estimates that the deaths will top 15,000 in that region alone, police spokesman Hitoshi Sugawara said. Police in other devastated areas declined to estimate eventual tolls, but said the confirmed deaths in their areas already number nearly 3,400.The National Police Agency said the overall number of bodies collected so far stood at 8,649, while 13,262 people have been listed as missing. It is possible those two lists have overlap, and that some unidentified bodies in the tally of deaths may match names on the missing list once their identities are confirmed.An eventual death toll also is complicated by the fact that the tsunami likely swept many bodies out to sea, as it did in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, when many of the dead were never found. Also, some missing people may have been out of the region at the time of the disasters but did not yet contact relatives or authorities.In addition to Miyagi's estimate of more than 15,000 dead, police confirmed nearly 3,400 deaths in Iwate, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Aomori and Chiba provinces, as well as seven dead in Tokyo.

Some progress at Japan reactors as disaster toll rises
By Shinichi Saoshiro and Chikako Mogi – Sun Mar 20, 9:42 pm ET


TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan hoped power lines restored to its stricken nuclear plant will help solve the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami that also left more than 21,000 people dead or missing.Japan is still in shock at both the battle to avert deadly radiation at the six-reactor Fukushima plant and a rising death toll from the March 11 natural disaster.The world's third-largest economy has suffered an estimated $250 billion of damage, with entire towns in the northeast obliterated in Japan's darkest moment since World War Two.Tokyo's markets are closed for a holiday on Monday.Energy Secretary Steven Chu, asked by CNN whether the worst of Japan's nuclear crisis was over, said, Well, we believe so, but I don't want to make a blanket statement.Radiation levels at the plant appear to be declining, added U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko.Elsewhere, investors will be weighing risks to the global economy from Japan's multiple crises, along with conflict in Libya and other unrest in the Arab world.Easing Japan's gloom briefly, local TV showed one moving survival tale: an 80-year-old woman and her 16-year-old grandson rescued from their damaged home after nine days.At Fukushima, around 300 engineers were working round-the-clock inside an evacuation zone to contain the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986.

They have been spraying the coastal complex with sea water so fuel rods will not overheat and emit radiation. Hopes for a more permanent solution depend on connecting electricity cables to reactivate on-site water pumps at each of the reactors.There have been some positive developments in the last 24 hours but overall the situation remains very serious, said Graham Andrew, a senior official of Vienna-based U.N. watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).Working in suits sealed by duct tape, engineers have managed to re-establish power cables to the No. 1, 2, 5 and 6 reactors and plan to start testing systems soon, officials say.If the pumps cannot restart, drastic and lengthy measures may be needed like burying the plant in sand and concrete.Even if the situation is contained, cases of contaminated vegetables, dust, milk and water are already stoking anxiety despite Japanese officials' assurances the levels are not dangerous.The government prohibited the sale of raw milk from Fukushima prefecture and spinach from another nearby area. It said more restrictions on food may be announced later on Monday.The health ministry asked residents of one village about 40 km (25 miles) from the plant to stop drinking tap water after levels of radioactive iodine three times above the regulated limit were found, Kyodo news agency said.Much smaller traces of radioactive iodine have also been found in Tokyo, 240 km (150 miles) south of the plant.The contamination of food and water is a concern, said another IAEA official, Gerhard Proehl.Some expatriates, tourists and local residents have left the capital which is normally home to 13 million people, about a tenth of the population. Those who remain are subdued but not panicked.There's no way I can check if those radioactive particles are in my tap water or the food I eat, so there isn't much I can really do about it, said Setsuko Kuroi, an 87-year-old woman shopping in a supermarket with a white gauze mask over her face.

AID TRICKLE

Official tolls of dead and missing are rising steadily -- to 8,450 and 12,931 respectively on Monday.They could jump dramatically since police said they believed more than 15,000 people had been killed in Miyagi prefecture, one of four that took the brunt of the tsunami.Scores of nations have pledged aid to victims, but little is visible in many devastated towns and villages.All we have had is the clothes on our backs. But they are good enough. They've kept us warm through all of this, said Machiko Kawahata as she, her daughter and granddaughter looked for clothes at a drop-off point in Kamaishi, a coastal town.We will make do and we will make it through this.The 9.0-magnitude quake and ensuing 10-meter (32-ft) tsunami made more than 350,000 people homeless.Food, water, medicine and fuel are short in some parts, and near-freezing temperatures during Japan's winter are not helping.While Japanese have been focused on the rescue operation rather than recriminations, media and others have raised questions over the government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) performance.There have been some suggestions the nuclear drama was taking priority over the human suffering, and that parts of officials' early response was slow and opaque.TEPCO head Masataka Shimizu apologised at the weekend for causing such trouble at the plant but has not visited the site or made a public appearance in a week.

COST

Economics Minster Kaoru Yosano put the overall economic damage at above 20 trillion yen ($248 billion).Japan's crisis spooked markets last week, prompted rare intervention by the G7 group of rich nations to stabilize the yen, and fueled concerns the world economy may suffer because of disrupted supplies to the auto and technology industries.The Fukushima accident has also prompted an international reassessment of nuclear power.Physicians for Social Responsibility, a U.S. advocacy group, called for a halt to new nuclear reactors in America, and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Japan's crisis may influence future locations for siting reactors.Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who has kept a low profile during the crisis except for one shouting outburst at TEPCO, had intended to visit the affected region on Monday, but his trip was canceled due to bad weather.(Additional reporting by Paul Eckert in Tokyo, Yoko Kubota and Chang-ran Kim in Rikuzentakata, Jon Herskovitz and Chisa Fujioka in Kamaisha, Michael Shields and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and Jason Szep)

BIBLES WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS

CHINA MILITARY PARADE(KING OF THE EAST)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9164005727480680563#docid=-8916004936135366443
RUSSIA ARMY PARADE(KING OF THE NORTH)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReGqS3TDYRM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWn3T5XIbNk&feature=related
EGYPT ARMY PARADE(KING OF THE SOUTH)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt_KT4irRTM&feature=related
EUROPEAN UNION MILITARY PARADE(KING OF THE WEST)(NOT THE USA)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3NEyheTDyo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzLjhsRrZYw&feature=fvw
ISRAEL MILITARY-GUARENTEED BY EU TO SECURE THEM THE BIBLE SAYS(2 MAIN ENDTIME PLAYERS)(NEXT TO GOD HIMSELF FUULFILLING THE PROPHECIES ON EARTH)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04TDlvIRIMY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhdalQdtzfY&feature=related

FALSE FLAGS (SET UP OR STAGED BY SOMEONE)
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=3409375633223151728#docid=-6703838290529161821
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=3409375633223151728#docid=8697248641166616573
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=3409375633223151728#
JESSE VENTURA POLICE STATE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aAxb8vzWiY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJWRrdqdAy0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PuVjaMB5xM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DrEkyDzwA0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvQNNG5mgMw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feiBx7tJKOQ&feature=related

False flag-From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one's own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations, and can be used in peace-time.(NOTICE EVERY TIME THERES A REAL TERRORIST ATTACK,THE GOVERNMENT ALWAYS IS DOING A FAKE DRILL WHICH MEANS THEY CAN SAY IT WAS ONLY A DRILL IF THE ATTACK DOES NOT GO OVER WITH THE PUBLIC OR IF THE GOVERNMENT MUFFED UP THEIR OWN FALSE FLAG CONTROL FREAK,GET MORE CONTROL OF PEOPLES RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS.)

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE 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.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) 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 KINGS OR NATIONS).

EU-led coalition strikes first Gaddafi target-ANDREW RETTMAN
19.03.2011 @ 20:52 CET


EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - A French jet opened fire on one of Colonel Gaddafi's tanks at 18.45 Libyan time on Saturday (19 March) in the first strike of Operation Odyssey Dawn, a military campaign by a new EU-US-Arab coalition to protect Libyan civilians.
Reports indicate the French mission destroyed four tanks in total at a position near Benghazi after Gaddafi forces attacked the rebel stronghold earlier in the day.
British and US submarines and warships also fired dozens of cruise missiles at radars and anti-aircraft defences around Tripoli and along Libya's Mediterranean Sea coast. The armed forces of Canada, Denmark, Italy and Norway are shortly to join in.

Speaking before the strikes at an emergency summit of Arabic and Western countries in Paris on Saturday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said: If we intervene in Arab countries, it is not in the name of an objective that we want to impose on the Libyan people. It is in the name of a universal conscience that cannot tolerate these kinds of crimes.The summit saw 18 states plus UN chief Ban Ki Moon, EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy, EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and Arab League head Amr Moussa sign a formal communique on last week's UN resolution, which authorised the use of all necessary measures to protect civilians except a foreign occupation force.The Paris communique said: While contributing in differentiated ways to the implementation of UNSCR 1973, we are determined to act collectively and resolutely to give full effect to these decisions ... We assure the Libyan people of our determination to be at their side to help them realise their aspirations.The new alliance includes 10 EU members (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK), Canada, Norway and the US, as well as Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).The involvement of Italy comes despite Rome's earlier objections to military intervention against its former ally. The participation of Germany also indicates that the division inside the EU is not as significant as on the Iraq war in 2003. Germany last week abstained from the UN vote and said it would not contribute military resources.Libya's closest EU neighbour, Malta, which lies just 350km from the Libyan coast, has said it will play no part in the military effort.

UK leader David Cameron in a statement on Saturday evening said: Tonight, British forces are in action over Libya ... What we are doing is necessary, it is legal, and it is right.US President Barack Obama underlined the importance of the Arab contingent in the anti-Gaddafi coalition. He added: Our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected. In the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians, our coalition is prepared to act.The events in Libya come at the same time as a crisis in the Arabian Gulf.A committee in Iran's parliament, the Majilis, on Saturday called on Saudi Arabian and UAE soldiers to immediately leave Bahrain. The two Sunni Muslim states have sent troops to protect Bahrain's ruling Sunni clan following anti-government protests by the country's Shia Muslim majority. Iran, a Shia state, has in the past made territorial claims on Bahrain. Speaking in Paris, US secretary of state Hilary Clinton sided against Iran despite the fact Bahraini police last week shot and killed peaceful demonstrators.With Sheikh Abdullah [of the UAE] and prime minister Hamad bin Jassem [of Qatar], I reiterated our strong and enduring partnership ... We share the view that Iran's activities in the gulf, including its efforts to advance its agenda in neighbouring continues undermines peace and stability,she said.The story was updated at 11pm on 19 March to add information on US and UK missile strikes.

Europe, not US, pushed for military force in Libya
By ANGELA CHARLTON, Associated Press – Sun Mar 20, 7:27 pm ET


PARIS – America unleashed the heavier firepower, but Europe — to the surprise of some — was the driving force behind the assault on Libya's Moammar Gadhafi.France, perhaps hoping to purge memories of a dictator-coddling past, fired the first strikes Saturday. Britain, still stinging from its release of the Libyan agent behind the Lockerbie plane bombing, cajoled other nations into joining.And all 27 countries in the European Union insisted nine days ago that Gadhafi must relinquish power immediately — unexpected, from a bloc often accused of being too slow and too soft. President Barack Obama, initially reticent, joined in the call and seemed happy to let Europe take the lead publicly.The contrast with 2003 — when France led global opposition to the war on Iraq — shows how much has changed since then, and also how different things can be when the problem is on Europe's doorstep.Europeans fear a flood of refugees, making them particularly sensitive to the possibility of a humanitarian disaster in North Africa.But the reasons for Europe's anti-Gadhafi push are more complex than that, and may have as much to do with personalities as politics: The frenetic French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, eager for attention on the world stage and suffering in the polls at home; Britain's youthful prime minister, David Cameron, eager to deflect attention from tough austerity measures and score some foreign policy points.

It doesn't hurt that there is a grand ideological imperative that Europe can embrace: Alongside the oil interests in Libya, the Arab world is undergoing a massive convulsion fed by a desire for freedom — a value modern Europe has always claimed to uphold.Speaking Saturday as he announced the wide-reaching international agreement on military action, Sarkozy framed it as a decisive measure to support pro-democracy protesters.We have the duty to respond to this anguished appeal, he said.The Arab people have chosen to liberate themselves from the servitude they have found themselves locked in for too long. These revolutions have made a huge hope grow in the heart of all those who share the values of democracy and human rights.
Sarkozy said the allies want to protect Libyans from the murderous insanity of a regime that, in assassinating its own people, has lost all legitimacy.The operation has its critics. The Arab League, which backed calls for a no-fly zone, said the day-old military operation has already gone too far. Russia, China and Venezuela are opposed. Germany supports it but won't join in.Sarkozy's aggressive stance may be an effort to compensate for past mistakes. France has a history of cozy relations with autocrats in former colonies, and Sarkozy underestimated the power of protests in Tunisia that toppled the ruling regime in January.This time, he was the first world leader to recognize the Libyan opposition governing council. He pushed hard and repeatedly for a no-fly zone, and helped get other EU and Arab countries to agree.

And in a trademark Sarkozy move, he summoned world leaders on less than 24 hours notice to Paris for a summit Saturday to announce the intervention.France has decided to assume its role, its role before history, he proclaimed, as French warplanes staged their first sorties.France broke a half-century tradition when it fired the first airstrike on Libyan tanks Saturday. Francois Heisbourg, of the International Institute of Security Studies, said it was the first time since the Suez expedition in 1956 that the initiative has come from the French.France fired the opening shot of a war, that's the strategic significance. We now know we have crossed the line, he said.Britain has its own reasons to take the lead on punishing Gadhafi, whose regime has a history of anti-British hostility. Gadhafi has accepted Libya's responsibility for the worst act of terrorism to have taken place on British soil: the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people, most of them Americans. And links between Libya and the Irish Republican Army go back to the 1970s, when Gadhafi first praised the group as allies in a struggle against Western imperialism. Britain came under heavy criticism from American politicans after Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted in the Lockerbie bombing, was released in 2009 from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds. The government has strongly denied claims that al-Megrahi was freed to smooth an oil exploration deal with Libya.Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, meanwhile, has been criticized for helping to rehabilitate Gadhafi's international status in exchange for lucrative deals.

Cameron, a relatively inexperienced politician, was championing no-fly zones two weeks ago, but he initially looked diplomatically isolated and naive as the U.S. and other allies rejected his muscular talk.After Gadhafi's attacks on rebels worsened, international opinion turned, and Cameron's stance became a golden opportunity to boost his international profile and domestic popularity. This weekend he was lauded as a driving force in the international operation by the oft-critical British press and many lawmakers, including those in the opposition.He's riding on a wave, his image has been enormously enhanced. I'm not suggesting it's a piece of shameless self-promotion, but the cards just happened to haven fallen this way, said Oliver Miles, a former ambassador to Libya.Public opinion is less hostile to European action here than it was in Iraq, and geography clearly plays a clear role. Unlike Iraq, Libya is just a short boat ride away, just across the Mediterranean. The fear of refugees fleeing Gadhafi's offensives and landing on European shores is an immediate concern — at a time when many Europeans are already fretting about growing numbers of Muslim immigrants.But despite broad agreement among Western nations that military intervention was necessary, the allies — who don't yet have a coordinated command post — may differ on the goals of the operation.U.S. officials have suggested that the goal is not necessarily to dislodge Gadhafi. Perhaps an end to the fighting would be enough, leaving Libya effectively divided between a rebel east and a Gadhafi-ruled west.But Cameron and Sarkozy have repeatedly said Gadhafi's time is up. And given their rhetoric, his ouster may be the only way the assault's initiators can save face at a time when Europe wants to prove it can still walk tall on the global stage.Sylvia Hui in London and Greg Keller in Paris contributed to this report.

Western powers strike Libya; Arab League has doubts By Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy – Sun Mar 20, 7:09 pm ET

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Western powers pressed ahead on Sunday with a campaign of air attacks in Libya, promising more strikes despite criticism by the Arab League.U.S. military officials said Saturday's strikes had halted an advance by Muammar Gaddafi's forces on the eastern rebel stronghold Benghazi and hit his air defenses, allowing western powers to send in planes to impose a no-fly zone.But the day-old U.N.-mandated military intervention to force Gaddafi's troops to end attacks on civilians hit a diplomatic setback when the Arab League chief questioned the bombardment.What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians, Egypt's state news agency quoted Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa as saying.Gaddafi himself said the air strikes amounted to terrorism and vowed to fight to the death, although at 9 p.m. (3 p.m. EDT) on Sunday an armed forces spokesman said the army was ordering all troops to cease fire immediately.

The United States and Britain, who along with France, Italy and Canada have joined operation Odyssey Dawn, dismissed the ceasefire announcement, arguing that Gaddafi's government had promised and then broken a ceasefire on Friday.In central Benghazi, sporadic explosions and heavy firing could be heard in the streets late in the evening. A Reuters witness said the firing lasted about 40 minutes.Residents had said they feared some of Gaddafi's troops could try to force their way into the city, where they would be surrounded by civilians and protected from attacks from the air.Outside Benghazi, the advance by Gaddafi's troops was stopped in its tracks, with smoldering, shattered tanks and troop carriers littering the main road. The charred bodies of at least 14 government soldiers lay scattered in the desert.However, government tanks did move into Misrata, the last rebel-held city in western Libya, seeking the shelter of built-up areas after a base used by Gaddafi's forces outside was hit by Western air strikes, residents said.Abdelbasset, a spokesman for the rebels in Misrata, told Reuters: There is fighting between the rebels and Gaddafi's forces. Their tanks are in the center of Misrata ... There are so many casualties we cannot count them.

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES

A Libyan government health official said 64 people had been killed in the Western bombardment overnight from Saturday to Sunday, but it was impossible to verify the report.The Arab League's Moussa called for an emergency meeting of the group of 22 states to discuss Libya. He requested a report into the bombardment, which he said had led to the deaths and injuries of many Libyan civilians.Arab backing for a no-fly zone provided crucial underpinning for the passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution last week that paved the way for Western action to stop Gaddafi killing civilians as he fights an uprising against his rule.The intervention is the biggest against an Arab country since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Withdrawal of Arab support would make it much harder to pursue what some defense analysts say could in any case be a difficult, open-ended campaign with an uncertain outcome.

Britain and the United States rebuffed Moussa's comments.A senior U.S. official said a U.N. resolution endorsed by Arab states covered all necessary measures to protect civilians, which we made very clear includes, but goes beyond, a no-fly zone.The safe enforcement of the no-fly zone required the targeting of Libya's air defense capabilities, a British Foreign Ministry spokesman said. A spokesman for the rebel movement criticized Moussa's comments, telling Al Jazeera that more than 8,000 Libyans aligned with the rebel movement had been killed. Today, when the secretary-general spoke, I was surprised, Abdel Hafiz Ghoga said.What is the mechanism that stops the extermination of the people in Libya, what is the mechanism, Mr Secretary-General? If the protection of civilians is not a humanitarian obligation, what is the mechanism that you propose to us?

COLONIAL ENEMY

The U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said the no-fly zone was now in place. But he told CBS television the endgame of military action was very uncertain and acknowledged it could end in a stalemate with Gaddafi. Mullen said he had seen no reports of civilian casualties from the Western strikes. But Russia said there had been such casualties and called on Britain, France and the United States to halt the non-selective use of force.Libyan state television showed footage from an unidentified hospital of what it called victims of the colonial enemy. Ten bodies were wrapped up in white and blue bed sheets, and several people were wounded, one of them badly, the television said. The Libyan government has denied breaking a ceasefire that it announced on Friday, blaming rebels who it says are members of al Qaeda.The armed forces spokesman announced a new ceasefire on Sunday, saying that the Libyan armed forces ... have issued a command to all military units to safeguard an immediate ceasefire from 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) this evening.Both before and after he spoke, heavy anti-aircraft gunfire boomed above central Tripoli.A senior military official said the United States expected to conduct more strikes on Libya. This is an ongoing military operation. I fully expect more strikes,he said.Britain said it was taking part in a second night of coordinated strikes and had once more launched Tomahawk cruise missiles from a submarine in the Mediterranean. Italy said it also had planes in the air.

QATAR SENDING PLANES

The United States, after embarking on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has been reluctant to take the lead in the military operation, keen to leave this to France and Britain while also assembling a large coalition to support it.French planes fired the first shots of the intervention on Saturday, destroying tanks and armoured vehicles near Benghazi.France sent an aircraft carrier toward Libya and its planes were over the country again on Sunday, defense officials said. Britain said its planes had targeted Libya's air defenses, mainly around the capital Tripoli.U.S. and British warships and submarines launched 110 Tomahawk missiles on Saturday night and Sunday morning against air defenses around Tripoli and Misrata, U.S. officials said.

Aircraft from other countries, including Qatar, were also moving toward Libya to participate in the operation, Mullen said.(Reporting by Mohammed Abbes and Angus MacSwan in Benghazi, Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy in Tripoli, Hamid Ould Ahmed and Christian Lowe in Algiers; Tom Perry in Cairo, John Irish and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris, Missy Ryan in Washington, Matt Spetalnick in Rio de Janeiro; Writing by Myra Macdonald; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Former French air chief envisages symbolic Libya strike
ANDREW RETTMAN 18.03.2011 @ 13:45 CET


EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The former chief of the French air force, General Jean Rannou, has said UN powers should quickly strike a Gaddafi military base to deter his advance. Speaking to EUobserver by phone on Friday (18 March) following a UN Security Council resolution authorising military action, General Rannou said: We could do as we did in Bosnia in the beginning, to carry out one strike and to say: If you don't stop, we will continue. I think it would be a good solution.He said two jets, such as British Tornados or French Mirage 2000s, would be enough for the mission. The planes could take off from bases in the UK or France and discharge weapons in Libya within one or two hours of the go-order.He noted that British Awacs planes are most-likely already in the air over the Mediterranean Sea tracking the Libyan air force in real time and that France has probably identified fixed targets on the ground using spy satellites.Libya is very close. If the preparations have been made, between giving the order and take-off is less than one hour ... We could strike a [Gaddafi] base within two hours, he said. If you have an Awacs over London, it covers a distance from Scotland in the north to Paris in the south, he added, noting that there is no need to put Awacs into Libyan airspace. General Rannou, who commanded the French air force from 1995 to 2000 at the height of the Yugoslav wars, said the second step would be to impose a no-fly zone.An effective force would require a small squadron of 12 fighter jets such as Tornados, Mirage 2000s, Rafales, Eurofighters or US F18 and F16s with six planes in the air at any given time, supported by three Awacs and three re-fuelling planes.

In terms of the UN mandate to protect civilians and civilian populated areas the no-fly squadron should be supported by drones to monitor movements by Gaddafi tanks, and attack helicopters, such as the Franco-German-built Tigre.The general warned that things will get a lot messier if Gaddafi soldiers attack rebel forces or civilians on the ground and UN powers decide to give close air support.Then you need people on the ground to identify targets. We did this in Bosnia - the strikes are only effective if the targets are visible and clearly identified ... otherwise there is a high risk of collateral damage, he said.Asked if he believes that Germany's objection to the UN resolution could signal a deep split in the EU as on the 2003 Iraq war, he answered: No. I don't think so. At least, I hope not.He noted that when the West bombed Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s, an avant garde launched small-scale strikes despite ongoing divergence of opinion while a broader political consensus emerged in the following weeks.We hit four Milosevic targets in the first night. Each time we hit him, he retreated, then he went forward again. In the end, we had to strike hundreds of targets, General Rannou recalled.The former French airman concurred with recent remarks by British counterpart Lord Stirrup that UN powers must have a clear plan what to do with Gaddafi after the war ends.I think the British, the French and the Americans already know what their objective is even if they have not shared it more widely, he said.

Libya bombing called successful; endgame unclear
By ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer – Sun Mar 20, 9:25 pm ET


WASHINGTON – The U.S. on Sunday claimed initial success two days into an assault on Libya that included some of the heaviest firepower in the American arsenal — long-range bombers designed for the Cold War — but American officials said Sunday it was too early to define the international military campaign's endgame.The top U.S. military officer suggested that Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi might stay in power in spite of the military assault aimed at protecting civilians, calling into question the larger objective of an end to Gadhafi's erratic 42-year rule. Other top U.S. officials have suggested that a weakened and isolated Gadhafi could be ripe for a coup.A second wave of attacks, mainly from American fighters and bombers, targeted Libyan ground forces and air defenses, following an opening barrage Saturday of sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles.Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. expects to turn control of the mission over to a coalition — probably headed either by the French and British or by NATO — in a matter of days.Late Sunday, however, NATO's top decision-making body failed to agree on a plan to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya, although it did approve a military plan to implement a U.N. arms embargo.

At the Pentagon, Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, staff director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference that the back-to-back assaults Saturday and Sunday had inflicted heavy damage. They largely silenced Gadhafi's air defenses, blunted his army's drive on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and confused his forces.
We judge these strikes to have been very effective in significantly degrading the regime's air defense capability, Gortney said. We believe his forces are under significant stress and suffering from both isolation and a good deal of confusion.

Gortney's assessment suggested that further strikes on the scale of Saturday's heavy assault with sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles may not be needed, although he did not rule out further attacks.Gortney said Gadhafi himself is not a target, but he could not guarantee the strongman's safety.Inside Gadhafi's huge Tripoli compound, an administration building was hit and badly damaged late Sunday. An Associated Press photographer at the scene said half of the round, three-story building was knocked down, smoke was rising from it and pieces of a cruise missile were scattered around the scene.The systems targeted most closely were Libya's SA-5 surface-to-air missiles, Russian-made weaponry that could pose a threat to allied aircraft many miles off the Libyan coastline. Libya has a range of other air defense weaponry, including portable surface-to-air missiles that are more difficult to eliminate by bombing.Sunday's attacks, carried out by a range of U.S. aircraft — including Air Force B-2 stealth bombers as well as Marine Harrier jets flying from an amphibious assault ship in the Mediterranean — demonstrated the predominance of U.S. firepower in the international coalition. By striking Libyan ground forces, coalition forces also showed that they are going beyond the most frequently discussed goal of establishing a no-fly zone over the country.A military official said the B-2s flew 25 hours in a round trip from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and dropped 45 2,000-pound bombs.U.S. missiles and warplanes were clearly in the lead Saturday and Sunday, but Gates said the plan remains for the U.S. to step back once the threat from the Libyan military is reduced.We agreed to use our unique capabilities and the breadth of those capabilities at the front of this process, and then we expected in a matter of days to be able to turn over the primary responsibility to others, Gates told reporters traveling with him to Russia. We will continue to support the coalition, we will be a member of the coalition, we will have a military role in the coalition, but we will not have the preeminent role.

President Barack Obama, traveling in Brazil, held a conference call Sunday with top national security officials, including Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Army Gen. Carter Ham, the U.S. general running the air campaign.Obama also called King Abdullah of Jordan on Sunday to emphasize the importance of a broad international effort in the Libyan campaign and to discuss the unrest in Bahrain, said national security adviser Tom Donilon.Obama referred to Libya but did not discuss the unfolding operation during remarks in Brazil. We've seen the people of Libya take a courageous stand against a regime determined to brutalize its own citizens, Obama said.No one can say for certain how this change will end, but I do know that change is not something that we should fear. When young people insist that the currents of history are on the move, the burdens of the past can be washed away.
House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement Sunday that while the U.S. has an obligation to support the Libyan people, the Obama administration must do a better job of communicating to Americans and to Congress what the U.S. mission in Libya is and how it will be achieved before further military commitments are made. Donilon, responding from Brazil, said, I think that's a fair request of the administration, frankly, and we are doing that.Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was pressed repeatedly during a round of Sunday television interviews to explain the mission's objectives. He said the main goal is to protect civilians from further violence by pro-Gadhafi forces, while enabling the flow of humanitarian relief supplies. He said the first step — imposing a no-fly zone — had been achieved, with little worry of Gadhafi shooting down allied patrols. But it was unclear how long the military effort would go on, or on what scale.

I think circumstances will drive where this goes in the future, the admiral said on ABC's This Week.I wouldn't speculate in terms of length at this particular point in time. He said early results were highly encouraging, with no known U.S. or allied losses and no reported civilian casualties.We're very focused on the limited objectives that the president has given us and actually the international coalition has given us, Mullen added. Asked whether it was possible that the military goals might be met without Gadhafi being ousted, Mullen replied, That's certainly potentially one outcome. He described the Libyan strongman as more isolated than ever, adding that Gadhafi is going to have to make some choices about his own future at some point.The prospect of Gadhafi remaining in control of at least a portion of the country raises questions about how far the Obama administration and its European and other partners are willing to go with military force. Clinton said Saturday that although ousting Gadhafi is not an explicit goal of the campaign, his departure might be hastened as the conflict continues. Gadhafi has ruled Libya for more than 40years.Clinton said enforcement of the U.N. Security Council resolution that called on Gadhafi to cease firing on his own people will make a new environment in which people close to Gadhafi might turn against him.The opposition is largely led by those who defected from the Gadhafi regime or who formerly served it, and it is certainly to be wished for that there will be even more such defections, that people will put the future of Libya and the interests of the Libyan people above their service to Col. Gadhafi, she said.If the ultimate outcome of the military campaign is cloudy, so is the command arrangement. The Pentagon said Saturday that it is led by Ham, who as head of U.S. African Command is responsible for U.S. military operations in Libya and much of the rest of the continent. Beyond Gates' remarks Sunday, officials have not said much about the plan to hand off responsibility for the military operation, dubbed Odyssey Dawn.Libya's claims of civilians among the dead from the strikes appeared to make Arab countries nervous, after the Arab League took the unprecedented step of calling for a no-fly zone. On Sunday, Arab League chief Amr Moussa criticized the missile strikes, saying they went beyond what the Arab body had supported.What happened differs from the no-fly zone objectives, Moussa told reporters in Cairo. What we want is civilians' protection, not shelling more civilians.One of the more vocal skeptics in Congress, Sen. Richard Lugar, said he worries that the U.S. may have entered a conflict with unclear goals.

We really have not discovered who it is in Libya that we are trying to support,the Indiana Republican said on CBS' Face the Nation.Obviously the people that are against Gadhafi, but who? In eastern Libya, for example, a huge number of people went off to help the Iraqis against the United States in a war that still is winding down.Asked about working with the rebels, and whether the coalition knows enough about them to forge a partnership, Gates said Libyans must ultimately resolve matters themselves.Still, he added, We certainly know a lot about Gadhafi, and that's good enough for me.Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Netanyahu: We Can't Have Another Iran in the Middle East
by Elad Benari MAR 21,11


In an exclusive interview to CNN’s Piers Morgan last Thursday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke of his decision to reconsider Israel’s nuclear power plants, of the recent events in the Middle East and how they may affect Israel, and of the chances for peace with the Palestinian Authority.Some of Netanyahu’s comments on his decision to reconsider the nuclear plants were released by CNN prior to the interview being aired.[The situation in Japan] certainly caused me to reconsider the projects of building civil nuclear power plants, said Netanyahu.I have to tell you I was a lot more enthusiastic about it than I am now. In fact, you'd have to give me a very good argument to do it. And fortunately we found natural gas… So, I think we'll go for the gas. I think we'll skip the nuclear.Netanyahu also addressed the uprisings in the Middle East, and when asked by Morgan “what does this mean for Israel? he replied: You are looking at this and two places cheered what was happening in Cairo. One was Washington, and its allies. The other one was Tehran, and its allies. You know they weren't seeking the same outcome. You know there is a fundamentally different outcome that each was seeking. We had all hoped, and we still hope, that you will have a democratic transformation. That the, you know, the Google kids, the Facebook kids, you will create a Google heaven and a Facebook paradise, and all these people will come to power. That is obviously what people in the West, and people in free societies would like to see. It is not clear that that would happen.

He admitted that the nightmare scenario for him would be That you get another Iran. Five years ago in Lebanon a million Lebanese, that is the equivalent to 20 million Egyptians, walked in the streets of Beirut, chanting for freedom, chanting for secular reformist, a liberal Lebanese state. Five years later Lebanon is controlled by Hizbullah, which is controlled by Iran. That is what we don't want to see. We don't want to see this stark medievalism that represses women, that crushes the rights of people, that holds us back a millennia. That fosters violence. That does everything that we abhor. That it would take over.When asked about whether he was sad to see former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak leave office, Netanyahu said that Egypt under Sadat, and then under Mubarak, kept the peace and I think that is something extraordinary valuable. And I think the first order of the day is to make sure that any future government in Egypt maintains the peace. The fact that we had these 30 years with Egypt, 20 years with Jordan, of a real peace, is something that I can appreciate.Netanyahu also spoke of the situation in Libya, and said that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is no friend of Israel. He's not friend of the Jewish people. And I think his people can see now, he's no friend of the Libyan people. This is a man who helped explode civilian airlines in the skies. He's fostered terrorism. He's done a lot of terrible things. So I don't think anybody would be sorry to see him go. I wouldn't.Regarding the situation in Iran, Netanyahu said: I was elected the first time about 15 years ago. And I went to speak before the joint session of the U.S. Congress. And I said that the single greatest threat facing the world, and my own country, was the arming of Iran with nuclear weapons. And since then what I have been trying to do is alert the world and the leaders of the world that it is not merely our problem, that it is their problem. Because Iran today is in Afghanistan, it is in Iraq, it has gotten control of Lebanon.

He added that Iran is working to acquire nuclear weapons and that it is getting a lot closer to a situation where it indeed possesses such weapons. He noted that the situation is not like it was with Iraq, where it was unclear whether Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and explained that with Iran it is well-known. Ahmadinejad is taking people on guided tours of these centrifuge halls, said Netanyahu.Morgan then asked Netanyahu what should be the answer to the Iranian problem, and Netanyahu replied: One of the things that we are telling people is that sanctions by themselves are not going to be enough. That the only thing that will work is if Iran knew that if sanctions fail there will be a credible military option…I'm talking about a credible military action, lead preferably by the United States. It is not that complicated. It could be done. It is not easy, but it is not impossible.When asked if Israel possesses nuclear weapons, Netanyahu noted that we have a long-standing policy that we won't be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East and that hasn't changed, and added that we don't pose a threat to anyone. We don't call for anyone's annihilation. We don't foster terrorism. We don't threaten to obliterate countries with nuclear weapons but we are threatened with all these threats.Netanyahu also addressed the decision to build 500 new housing units in Judea and Samaria, which as announced following the brutal murder of the Fogel family in Itamar, and explained the reasoning behind the decision.

I wanted to send three messages, said Netanyahu.The first one I told you about, that is a message of restraint to the settlers. The second is a message to the terrorists. I was telling them, I know you think you're going to uproot us with this savagery, with the violence, with terror. You're not going to uproot us. So you kill us, you want to drive us into the sea, that's not going to happen. You only way we'll have a settlement is through peaceful negotiations. So you kill, we'll build. But coincidentally I chose to build in the large populated areas that are going to stay in Israel anyway. And not 500 new settlements but 500 apartments, which is very different.And third, I wanted to send a message to the international community. I said to the international community that rushes to condemn Israel for every building that is built. You know, a Jew builds an apartment in the Jewish homeland. What a terrible crime. But they seldom go and condemn this kind of savagery without any ands, ifs and buts and I wanted that condemnation.In regards to the larger question of peace with the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu said that peace requires two to tango. I said to Abu Mazen who was flying around in the world – the Palestinian president - I said, don't fly around the world. You want to make peace? Ramallah, where you sit, is 10 minutes away from Jerusalem where we're sitting right now. I'm willing to come to you. You can come here. Let's sit down, shut the room, you know, basically sit down until smoke comes out. That's the way you make peace. That's how we made peace with Egypt. That's how we made peace with Jordan.He noted that the reason this is not happing is that the Palestinian society is split into two –those who are openly calling for Israel's destruction like Hamas, and those who are not calling openly for Israel's destruction but refuse to confront those who do. And that's the Palestinian Authority. I think they're timid, I think they're afraid to actually stand up to these killers. And I think that they're afraid, maybe for their own sake, for their own political hides, sometimes for their own physical safety. And they don't take that necessary plunge.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Latest developments in Arab world's unrest
By The Associated Press – Sun Mar 20, 5:10 pm ET


LIBYA The U.S. claims success in the first two days of an assault against Moammar Gadhafi's forces, hitting air defenses and at least two major air bases and shaking the Libyan capital with explosions, but a defiant Gadhafi vows a long war.

EGYPT Egypt announces overwhelming approval for constitutional changes in a referendum. A massive 80 percent turnout generates 77 percent in favor of changes like limiting the president two four-year terms, eliminating restrictions on political rights and civil liberties. Opponents fear this the highly organized Muslim Brotherhood to dominate Egypt's dozens of new political parties in upcoming presidential and parliamentary votes.

YEMEN:Tens of thousands of people join a funeral procession for protesters killed by government forces, and the Yemeni president's own tribe calls on him to step down, robbing the embattled U.S.-backed leader of vital support.

SYRIA:Syrian police open fire on thousands of protesters in a tense southern city, killing one, and protesters set fire to government buildings, a sign that a pro-democracy movement is taking root in yet another closely ruled Arab nation.

IRAN Ailing Iranian dissident Ebrahim Yazdi resigns as the leader of a liberal political party, the Freedom Movement of Iran, hours after being released from prison.

Attack on Libya Extends to Tripoli
by Elad Benari MAR 21,11


The international airstrike on Libya expanded on Sunday and according to reports, has also hit the capital Tripoli.The BBC reported on Sunday that witnesses in Tripoli had said they heard loud blasts and anti-aircraft fire in the capital.The network’s reporter in Tripoli said that a heavy barrage of anti-aircraft fire was heard in the city center on Sunday night. He added that a column of smoke could be seen in the area of Bab al-Aziziya, where Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has his military base and compound.He noted, however, that it is believed there are anti-aircraft weapons close to Qaddafi’s compound, which may have been targeted rather than the compound itself.Meanwhile, CNN reporter Nic Robertson reported that a four-story building in the Tripoli compound has been heavily damaged. He added that two circular holes are visible in the building.CNN added that Qaddafi’s whereabouts were not known.Earlier on Sunday, a Libyan military spokesman said during a news conference that the armed forces had ordered a ceasefire across the entire country, beginning at 9:00pm local time. However, heavy gunfire and sporadic explosions were still heard in the streets of Benghazi, the rebel stronghold, on Sunday night, according to a witness who spoke with the Reuters news agency. Other unconfirmed reports spoke of pro-Qaddafi fighters opening fire from cars in the city.U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said the ceasefire isn't true or it was immediately violated.

Qatar Joins Offensive
Meanwhile, the U.S. and France said on Sunday that Qatar is planning to send four planes to join the coalition enforcing the no-fly zone in Libya, making it the first Arab country to play an active part in the campaign against Qaddafi.According to U.S. Vice Admiral William Gortney, other Arab countries are also preparing to join the campaign. Gortney added that those governments would make their own announcements on the issue in due course.Libyan media announced on Sunday that Qaddafi plans to arm at least one million citizens in response to the offensive on his country to allow them to fight rebel forces. He also vowed to exterminate any Libyan who fought alongside foreign forces.Also on Sunday, the Arab League, which previously supported an international proposal to close Libya's skies, condemned the operation. What we want is civilians' protection, not shelling more civilians, an Egyptian daily quoted Arab League head Amr Moussa as saying.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Gazans fire 2 rockets; 2 militants killed in clash
By DANIEL ESTRIN, Associated Press – Sun Mar 20, 4:52 pm ET


JERUSALEM – Palestinian militants fired two rockets into southern Israel on Sunday and Israeli troops killed two Palestinians in a new outburst along the volatile border with Gaza.The violence came a day after Palestinian militants fired more than 50 mortar shells into Israel — the heaviest Palestinian barrage since a bruising Israeli military offensive in Gaza two years ago.Both sides have largely honored an informal cease-fire since the 2009 war, in which about 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including militants and civilians. Israel says Hamas has rebuilt its arsenal, and a pattern of rocket attacks and Israeli reprisals has escalated in recent weeks.The Hamas-allied Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for Sunday morning's rocket attack, which caused no injuries or damage.Militants in Gaza fired another rocket into southern Israel in the evening, exploding near the city of Ashkelon. No one was hurt.Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Adham Abu Salmia said rescue teams recovered the bodies of two Palestinian men who were killed overnight along the border. The Israeli military said soldiers spotted two Palestinians crawling toward the border with what appeared to be a bomb. Soldiers called on them to stop, and opened fire after they continued moving toward the border. Such clashes are common.

Most rocket attacks from Gaza since the invasion have been carried out by small militant groups, but the Islamic group claimed responsibility for some of Saturday's mortar fire, which slightly wounded two Israelis.Israel's U.N. ambassador, Meron Reuben, sent a letter of complaint to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council, demanding that they condemn rocket and mortar barrages on Israel. Such attacks constitute a clear violation of international law and must be addressed with the utmost seriousness, Reuben wrote.Hamas has ruled Gaza since seizing power in a five-day civil war against the rival Fatah in 2007. As a wave of pro-democracy unrest reverberates through the region, both sides have faced growing calls to reconcile. Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, controls only the West Bank.On Saturday, Hamas police assaulted protesters and journalists at a demonstration calling for reconciliation. New York-based Human Rights Watch criticized Hamas for Saturday's crackdown,and a similar one at a demonstration last Tuesday.It is a dismal reflection on Hamas that it is violently cracking down on peaceful demonstrators calling for political reconciliation, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director of Human Rights Watch. This is just the latest instance of Hamas assaulting Palestinians' fundamental freedoms.

LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Parliament security firm also provides services to Israeli settlements
LEIGH PHILLIPS 18.03.2011 @ 10:20 CET


EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The security company that services the European Parliament also provides security to Israeli checkpoints and settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, it can be revealed.Anglo-Danish outfit G4S, the world's largest security firm, has for days now been at the centre of a storm of criticism from politicians in Denmark, including the interior minister, after the company's activities in the Middle East became widely known. The firm has provided equipment for Israel in the West Bank and Gaza, including scanning machines at the Bethelehem and Qalandiya checkpoints, and also delivered a security system to settlement police near the colony of Ma'ale Adumim.The company also offers safety equipment at the checkpoints on the Separation Wall, a barrier Israel says is necessary to prevent terrorist attacks but which is also being built on occupied land in violation of international law. Critics charge Israel of using the fence to annex Palestinian land.The company has also been sharply criticised for the provision of security services for private operations, including banks and supermarkets in settlements on occupied land, as well as security systems to Ofer Prison, also in Palestinian territory, an Israeli jail used to house political prisoners.As a result of the controversy in Denmark, which included a decision by the city of Copenhagen to review its investments in the company, on 11 March, the firm announced it would end some of its operations in the area.The controversy has now spread to the European Parliament after Danish Green MEP Margrete Auken noticed that the firm also provides security to the chamber.She wrote to the parliament's president, Jerzy Buzek, on Thursday evening, asking him to verify the links with the firm and that if true, that the chamber end its contract with G4S.

The MEP is currently awaiting the chamber's response on the matter.Speaking to EUobserver, G4S general counsel Soren Lundsberg-Nielsen, said: We don't deliver services to the settlements per se, but to companies and individuals such as banks and supermarkets.As a result of the debate in Denmark and a review of our ethical policy, we found that some contracts [with the prisons and checkpoints] are sufficiently within an ethical grey area.The company has since begun to end contracts involving the checkpoints and prisons and police stations in the West Bank.
G4S however will continue to provide security services to private companies and homes in settlements however.This is not in the grey area, Lundsberg-Nielsen continued. This is providing security to the public, rather than groups in the West Bank.In a statement announcing the pull-out from contracts with Israeli authorities, the company said: The issue of providing services in the West Bank is a complex one. On the one hand measures are said to restrict the free movement of Palestinians and therefore are considered to be a breach of their human rights and on the other, lives have been saved as the trend of suicide bombings has been curtailed.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/142995
Purim in Homesh, at Joshua's Tomb
by Maayana Miskin MAR 20,11


Hundreds of Jews used the holiday of Purim as a chance to connect to the land of Israel, visiting places that are often off-limits to Jews. Readings of the Book of Esther were held at Joshua's Tomb in Samaria, and in the destroyed northern Samaria town of Homesh.The reading at Joshua's Tomb, which lies in the Palestinian Authority-controlled village of Kefel Hares, took place early on Sunday morning. IDF soldiers were present to protect worshipers.Gershon Mesika of the Samaria Regional Council took part in the reading. It was particularly moving to read the Book of Esther, a book about the bravery of the people of Israel, at the gravesite of the first Chief of Staff, and settler of the land, Joshua son of Nun, he said.During these days in particular – these days that are hard both for Samaria and for all of Israel – on Purim, we draw strength and joy from Joshua son of Nun and his immortal words, Let us ascent to the Land and inherit it, for we will surely succeed,he added.At the same time, former residents of the northern Samaria towns of Sa-Nur and Homesh returned for the site of the towns, along with activists from the Homesh First group. They read the Book of Esther in Homesh.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

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.

Spring storm dumps snow in mountains, rain in LA
By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press - MAR 21,11


LOS ANGELES – A storm bearing rain for the Los Angeles area and heavy snow for the mountains marked the first day of spring with a bang Sunday, illuminating the sky along the California coast with frequent lightning and forcing the evacuations of 12 homes under threat of mud slides.Rain caused rock slides in Malibu and closed parts of the Pacific Coast Highway, while mud and debris threatened a retaining wall and forced the evacuation of 30 people in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Diana Igawa said.The National Weather Service said Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley received at least 3 inches of rain — its average rainfall for the month of March — which led to closure of several streets. More than 1.5 inches pelted coastal cities and more than 2 inches fell on Hollywood, the service said.

Strong wind downed trees that damaged homes and broke windows in the valley, downtown Los Angeles and throughout the region.The mountains were expected to get as much as 3 feet of snow at the higher elevations, making this an unusually strong storm for this time of year, said Stuart Seto of the weather service.Usually later in the year they kind of taper off, he said. Old Man Winter, I guess, wanted to take one more bite out of us before leaving.Thousands of runners in the Los Angeles Marathon faced pouring rain and lightning strikes, one of which illuminated the downtown skyline just as the race started. It didn't seem to bother them, as Markos Geneti finished first among men with a record time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 35 seconds.
When it first started raining, it was freezing cold and I got a little sick, Amy Hastings, who finished second among the women, told KTLA-TV. As the weather warmed, she said, the rainfall made for a pleasant experience.Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics had treated about 100 runners — most for hypothermia — by mid-afternoon, Igawa said. Sixty people were taken to hospitals, including one who suffered a broken arm.At the finish line in Santa Monica, paramedics wrapped hundreds of runners in blankets and brought them to a warming room at a hotel, said Santa Monica fire Capt. Judah Mitchell.In Ventura County and Santa Barbara County, torrential rain brought flash-flood warnings. Rain on a flooded street in Oxnard stranded several cars and swept away another, the weather service said. No injuries were reported.More than 10 inches of rain fell in the Lake Cachuma area, forcing the release of water from Bradbury Dam, Santa Barbara County spokesman David Flamm said. The release was helping the lake level off, but heavy flow in the Santa Ynez River had officials warning Lompoc Valley residents that they might need to evacuate, he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol rescued a family of four — including a 6-month-old baby and a dog — whose sailboat broke loose from its moorings amid high surf and strong wind. No one was injured.Flood warnings also were issued for Los Angeles-area hillside communities burned by wildfires in recent years. But in the foothill community of La Canada Flintridge, where more than 40 homes were destroyed by a mudslide last year, resident Lien Yang said the streets were clear of mud and debris.About 2 inches of rain had fallen by noon, said Yang, who measures rainfall totals in his backyard. At least 2 more inches were expected to fall before the storm moves out on Monday.Yang said the surrounding hillsides, burned by a devastating wildfire in 2009, showed substantial signs of regrowth, which helped hold back the mud.I think we'll be OK this year,he said.This looks like it's the last significant storm of the year.

Brent up 1.5 percent near $116 on Libya military action
By Alejandro Barbajosa - MAR 21,11


SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent climbed 1.5 percent on Monday toward $116 after western forces launched a military campaign against Libya, stoking fears that violence will intensify in North Africa and the Middle East, source of more than a third of the world's oil.Unrest over the weekend also flared in Syria and Yemen in the wake of popular uprisings that toppled long-time leaders in Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year and a crackdown on protests in Bahrain last week.U.N.-backed strikes led by the U.S., the U.K. and France raised the stakes in a civil war that has cut Libya's oil output to less than a quarter of the previous 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), nearly paralyzing shipments abroad from what used to be the world's 12-the largest crude exporter.Brent crude for May rose as much as $2.29 to $116.22 a barrel and was up 1.5 percent at $115.69 by 0343 GMT, about $4 from last month's 2-1/2-year high near $120.U.S. crude for April advanced $1.79 to $102.86 after western powers launched a second wave of air strikes on Libya early on Monday, dismissing a ceasefire announced by the country's military late on Sunday.With involvement from the West, the uncertainty that has surrounded the region and the fear of upheaval and unrest spreading to countries like Saudi Arabia, where we could lose a lot more crude that what we did Libya, is definitely going to be the main price driver, said Matthew Lewis, an analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.

President Barack Obama ordered U.S. forces into the biggest military intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, while Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi vowed to fight to the death.At this stage, it looks like Libya has further to play. Gaddafi still seems very defiant. We'll see further spikes and shocks in the oil market this week, Lewis said.Military action on Libyan air defenses over the past two days, sanctioned by the United Nations in a Security Council resolution on Thursday, has crippled Gaddafi's capability to launch airstrikes and detect foreign aircraft, a senior U.S. military official said on Sunday.But Gaddafi's control of oil infrastructure in the long term would probably mean reshaping deals with foreign oil companies in favor of countries not participating in the attacks.Libya is considering offering oil block contracts directly to China, India and other nations it sees as friends, Libya's top oil official said on Saturday, instead of opening bidding processes.China, India, Russia, Brazil and Germany were the five nations that abstained in last week's U.N. vote to authorize the use of force against Gaddafi. The other ten members of the Security Council voted in favor.The weekend's military intervention hit a diplomatic setback as the Arab League chief condemned the bombardment of civilians.The strikes began on Saturday, as a coalition of western nations vowed to prevent Gaddafi from launching attacks on civilians as he seeks to crush a rebellion against his four-decade rule.

MIDEAST PREMIUM

Crowds set fire to a headquarters of the ruling Baath Party in the Syrian city of Deraa on Sunday, while Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh fired his government after a string of allies broke ranks with him as he faces increasing pressure from street protests to step down.Saudi Arabia and other countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) last week sent troops into Bahrain to help quell Shi'ite protests there against the Sunni monarchy. That angered Iran, which denounced the foreign intervention in the island state that lies less than 100 kilometers from the hub of the Saudi oil industry.The key is really how Saudi (Arabia) and Iran play out. Cool heads need to prevail. It's contained at the moment but if things worsen, you see a Mideast premium very quickly, said Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services. Iran's oil minister said on Saturday said any output increase by individual OPEC members aimed at reducing oil price pressures caused by the Libyan crisis would not have the desired effect.Some OPEC countries, including Saudi Arabia, have already increased production partly to compensate for the drop in Libyan output and to prevent prices from reaching levels that could derail the global economic recovery. But that has also eroded the group's spare capacity to offset further disruptions.None of the OPEC countries have considered it (the current oil price) damaging to the world economy, Nigerian oil minister Allison-Madueke said on Sunday.

Oil prices have now recovered completely from a slump triggered by Japan's strongest earthquake on record on March 11.Japan hoped power lines restored to its stricken nuclear plant may help solve the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years, triggered by the earthquake and a tsunami that also left more than 21,000 people dead or missing.Likely to limit oil's gains was Friday's increase in China's rate reserve requirements as the nation stays focused on stifling inflation, traders and analysts said.(With additional reporting by Cho Mee-Young in SEOUL and Nick Trevethan in SINGAPORE; Editing by Manash Goswami)

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