KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
Peres to Meet Pope Francis at Vatican, Receive Medal for Peace
President
Shimon Peres is set to meet Pope Francis on a three-day visit to Italy,
where he will receive the Medal of Honor for Peace.
By Arutz Sheva staff-First Publish: 4/24/2013, 8:34 PM-Israelnationalnews
President Shimon Peres-Flash 90
Israeli
President Shimon Peres is set to meet Pope Francis on a three-day visit to Italy that will begin on Monday.Peres will also hold a series of diplomatic meetings with the President and Prime Minister
of Italy, and take part in a ceremony in the city of Assisi.At the ceremony he will receive the Medal of Honor for Peace and will be greeted by "hundreds of Franciscan monks" at the
central Basilica, according to an official statement."Peres will
raise the issue of
furthering peace and stability in the Middle East, progressing peace
talks between Israel and the Palestinians... and the deepening of
relations between Israel and the Vatican," the statement said.Peres invited Pope Francis to Israel following his election in March,
saying he "represents devotion, the love of God, the love of peace, a
holy modesty and a new continent which is now awakening."
"He'll be a welcome guest in the Holy Land, as a man of inspiration
that can add to the attempt to bring peace in a stormy area," said
Peres.Francis's predecessor Benedict XVI visited the Holy Land and met Peres in 2009.
04/25/2013 VATICAN INSIDER
Pope prepares IOR reform: “The Church is not a company”
In the Vatican
The Pope’s message to Vatican bank employees is that offices are necessary but only to a certain extent
Andrea Tornielli
VATICAN CITY
“Everything is necessary, offices are necessary, but only to a
certain extent,” Pope Francis stated yesterday in the homily he
pronounced during his customary morning mass in St. Martha’s House. In
his message he also made explicit reference to the Vatican bank (IOR),
which has had a rocky history, having often been at the centre of
controversies, scandals and investigations.
His words indicated that the Vatican bank, along with all Curia’s
various bodies, would be undergoing a review and reform in the next few
months. The IOR, however, will not be shut down.Francis’ words were centred around the profound essence of the
Church, which must never consider itself a “company” that “makes deals
to gain more partners”, neither does it measure its success in terms of
organisation. “The path Jesus chose for his Church is a different one:
he chose the difficult path, the path of the Cross, the path of
persecution.” The Church begins “in the heart of the Father.”“We, the women and men of the Church, we are in the middle of a love
story: each of us is a link in this chain of love. And if we do not
understand this, we have understood nothing of what the Church is,”
Francis said. He spoke about the risk the Church faces if it focuses too
much on organisation and becoming “a bit bureaucratic”: if it does
become so, “it loses its key substance and runs the risk of turning into
an NGO. And the Church is not an NGO. It's a love story.” The Pope then
paused, looked at the faithful, amongst which there was a group of
Vatican bank employees and said: “But there are those from the IOR ...
excuse me, eh! .. some things are necessary, offices are required ...
ok! but they are necessary up to a certain point: as an aid to this love
story. But when organization takes first place, love falls down and the
Church, poor thing, becomes an NGO. And this is not the way forward."
Taking a closer look at these words, pronounced off-the-cuff by Pope Francis and faithfully quoted by
Vatican Radio,
one senses that they do not express the Pope’s intention to close the
Vatican bank down, but rather, to make it more transparent. And
according to authoritative sources, this is the theory that is currently
being studied.Honduran cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Madariaga, the President of the
group of eight cardinals whom the Pope appointed as advisors in matters
of Church government and to study the much-needed reform of the Roman
Curia, last 13 April, stated: “We will address a number of issues with
the Pope, which definitely includes the IOR.”Over the past weeks, the spokesman for the archdiocese of Buenos
Aires, Federico Wals, did not exclude the possibility of the Vatican
Bank being closed down. But
La Stampa, one of Italy’s major
dailies, has learnt that to this date, the Pope and his closest
collaborators have not taken this into consideration. When he was
archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio became familiar – as did many
other bishops – with a side of the IOR that doesn’t usually make the
headlines: when the financial crisis struck, he received help in
rescuing the diocese’s finances. The future Pope had reformed said
finances, keeping meticulous accounts, controlling spending and taking a
line of austerity.This is the direction the IOR reform should take too, in the context
of streamlining and reviewing the Curia’s offices. The aim – as outlined
by cardinals during the pre-Conclave general congregations - is to
remove any ambiguities surrounding the management of the IOR’s accounts,
the transparency of its operations, the clarity of its aims and the
privileges granted to its employees and collaborators.“There is a black legend against the IOR”, writes Aldo Maria Valli, a Vatican correspondent for Italian news programme
Tg1, in his new book
Il forziere dei Papi. Storia, volti e misteri dello Ior (The
Popes’ coffers. History, faces and mysteries of the IOR) published by
Ancora and in bookstores since yesterday. “And yet, precisely because
these are the Popes’ coffers, the IOR has an even greater duty to
transparency.”
Parents say Boston suspects framed, want truth from U.S.
By Alissa de Carbonnel | Reuters – 9 hrs ago APR 25,13
By Alissa de Carbonnel
MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - The parents of the two main
suspects in the Boston bombings said on Thursday their sons had been
framed and accused U.S. authorities of killing the older brother to put
on a display.Anzor Tsarnaev, the father, banged the table in anger as he
announced plans to go from Russia to the United States to "find out the
truth" and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, the mother, said she had wanted to scream
when she heard of her elder son's death.She denied Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, had made contact with Islamist
militants during a stay in Russia last year and said she was considering
giving up her U.S. citizenship."I wanted to scream to the whole world, 'What did you do?' What
have you done with my son? He was alive. Why did you need to kill him?
Why didn't you send him to Guantanamo or whatever? Why? Why?," she
shouted at a new conference, her voice cracking."It is some kind of show, spectacle," she said, adding that she wanted her son buried in Russia, where he has roots.Wearing a black head scarf, she spoke in accented English as she
maintained her belief her sons were victims of a conspiracy."Politics is a dirty business. I don't know in whose interest
this was. I only know one thing, that my children didn't do this."She recounted that she had called Tamerlan after the bombing and he had told her not to worry.He was shot dead by police in a firefight four days after the
bombings at the Boston Marathon which killed three people and wounded
264.
His brother Dzhokhar, 19, was captured after a manhunt. He has
been charged with crimes that carry a possible death penalty and is now
in hospital being treated for his wounds.Pounding the table with his fists, Anzor Tsarnaev said: "I am
going to the United States. I want to say that I am going there to see
my son, to bury the older one. I don't have any bad intentions. I don't
plan to blow up anything.""I am not angry at anyone. I want to go find out the truth," said Anzor, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses.He said he would go as soon as possible but that he had not yet bought a plane ticket.
INFLUENCE OF ETHNIC ARMENIAN EMIGRE
Anzor and Zubeidat returned last year to Russia's restive region
of Dagestan, where they lived for a little over a year more than a
decade ago before emigrating to the United States.Although the brothers have roots in Dagestan and neighboring
Chechnya, neither had spent much time there until Tamerlan returned last
year for six months.His parents denied he had had any contact with militants fighting
to establish an Emirate in the region, saying they kept a watchful eye
on him during his stay.They said, however, that Tamerlan had frequented a mosque which
is considered by local police to be a hotbed of radical Islamist ideas.
Investigators are looking into whether Tamerlan was influenced by
the local Islamist militants, who are waging an insurgency against
Russian rule of the North Caucasus.Zubeidat was questioned for almost seven hours by Russia's
security services on Wednesday on her son's movements during his time in
Dagestan.On another occasion, when the FBI came to question Tsarnaev in
the United States in 2011, Zubeidat said they had quizzed her about his
religious views."They told me, 'Don't you think that Tamerlan is being a little
extreme about religion? Do you think he would think about organizing
something, some kind of ... terrorism?," she said.Despite the visit, she said: "I really did not see any reason for worry."Anzor and Zubeidat said Tamerlan had been influenced by an ethnic
Armenian emigre from Azerbaijan whom they knew only by the name of
Misha."Tamerlan very much respected him for him knowing Islam... He was
(saying) like, 'Mom, look at him, he prays, he is fasting all the
time'," said Zubeidat, who describes herself as a devout Muslim and said
she was inspired to become more religious by the man called Misha.The family said they had met the man in the Russian-speaking diaspora in Boston in 2007.U.S. officials have said Tamerlan became more radical from around 2009."I wasn't praying until he (Misha) prayed in our house, so I just
got really ashamed that I am not praying, being a Muslim, being born a
Muslim ... while Misha, who converted, was praying," Zubeidat said."When he used to come to our house, there was nothing not to like about him. (He) was very nice, very gentle," she said.(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Writing by Elizabeth Piper and
Timothy Heritage; Editing by Alistair Lyon and Toby Chopra)
ISAIAH 34:10
10 It (AMERICA-POLITICAL BABYLON) shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
JEREMIAH 51:29-32 (CYBER ATTACK 1ST)
29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon,(AMERICA-NEW YORK) to make the land of Babylon (AMERICA) a desolation without an inhabitant.
30 The mighty men of Babylon (AMERICA) have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon (NEW YORK) that his city is taken at one end,
32 And that the passages are stopped,(THE WAR COMPUTERS HACKED OR EMP'D) and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.(DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO)
COMPLETE SILENCE AFTER AN EMP GOES OFF
REVELATION 8:1
1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north (RUSSIA) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,(AMERICA) and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK CYBER,EMP ATTACK,THEN NUKE ATTACK ON AMERICA)
REVELATION 18:3-6,19-21
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,(U.S.A) and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,(U.S.A) and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her,(AMERICA) my people,(CHRISTIANS,JEWS) that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you,(WITH FALSE FLAG TERRORISM) and double unto her double according to her works:(DOUBLE-EMP 1ST,THEN RUSSIA NUKE ATTACKS U.S.A) in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.(PROBABLY A RUSSIAN CYBER ATTACK WILL SET THE WHOLE SITUATION UP AS RUSSIA HACKS THE USA ARMY COMPUTERS.THEN THE EMP,THEN THE NUKE ATTACK)
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.
20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
Putin: Boston bombing shows West's mistake
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV | Associated Press – APR 25,13
MOSCOW (AP) — The Boston bombings should spur stronger security cooperation between Moscow and Washington, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, adding that they also show that the West was wrong in supporting militants in Chechnya.Putin
said that "this tragedy should push us closer in fending off common
threats, including terrorism, which is one of the biggest and most
dangerous of them."The two brothers accused of the Boston bombings are ethnic Chechens who had lived in the U.S. for more than a decade.Putin warned against trying to
find the roots for the Boston tragedy in the suffering endured by the
Chechen people, particularly in mass deportations of Chechens to Siberia
and Central Asia on Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's orders. "The cause isn't in their ethnicity or religion, it's in their extremist sentiments," he said.Speaking in an annual call-in show on state television, Putin criticized the West for refusing to declare Chechen militants terrorists and for offering them political and financial assistance in the past."I always felt indignation when our Western partners and Western
media were referring to terrorists who conducted brutal and bloody
crimes on the territory of Russia as rebels," Putin said.The U.S. has urged the Kremlin to seek a political settlement in
Chechnya and criticized rights abuses by Russian troops during the two
separatist wars since 1994, which spawned an Islamic insurgency that has
engulfed the entire region.It also provided humanitarian aid to the region during the high points of fighting there in the 1990s and the early 2000s.
Russian officials have repeatedly claimed that rebels in Chechnya
have close links with al-Qaida. They say dozens of fighters from Arab
countries trickled into the region during the fighting there, while some
Chechen militants have gone to fight in Afghanistan.Putin said the West should have cooperated more actively with Russia in combatting terror."We always have said that we shouldn't limit ourselves to
declarations about terrorism being a common threat and engage in closer
cooperation," he said. "Now these two criminals have proven the
correctness of our thesis."
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:(CONFISCATED) 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(THE FALSE POPE WHO DEFECTED FROM THE CHRISTIAN FAITH) causeth all,(IN THE WORLD ) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(MICROCHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,(MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the name of the beast,(WORLD DICTATORS NAME INGRAVED ON YOUR SKIN OR TATTOOED ON YOU OR IN THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the number of his name.(THE NUMBERS OF HIS NAME INGRAVED IN THE MICROCHIP IMLPLANT)-(ALL THESE WILL TELL THE WORLD DICTATOR THAT YOUR WITH HIM AND AGAINST KING JESUS-GOD)
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:(WORLD LEADER) for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM (6006006)OR(60020202006)(SOME KIND OF NUMBER IMPLANTED IN THE MICROCHIP THAT TELLS THE WORLD DICTATOR AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER THAT YOU GIVE YOUR TOTAL ALLIGIENCE TO HIM AND NOT JESUS)(ITS AN ETERNAL DECISION YOU MAKE)(YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINY)(YOU TAKE THE DICTATORS NAME OR NUMBER UNDER YOUR SKIN,YOUR DOOMED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND TORMENTS FOREVER,NEVER ENDING MEANT ONLY FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS,NOT HUMAN BEINGS).OR YOU REFUSE THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT AND GO ON THE SIDE OF KING JESUS AND RULE FOREVER WITH HIM ON EARTH.YOU CHOOSE,ITS YOUR DECISION.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYUgVL9PdxM&list=UU4SH8rh0OjYV3zwqnIfqNbA&index=1&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PX-vW4VccY&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/indexes/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfPX59y4KxE&feature=related
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS FRI APRIL 26,2013
04:00 PM +11.75 14,712.55
S&P 500 1882.24 -2.92
NASDAQ 3279.26 -10.72
GOLD 1,456.50 -5.50
OIL 92.80 -0.80
TSE 300 12,220.20 -109.31
CDNX 965.22 +0.55
S&P/TSX/60 697.28 -6.61
MEPs divided on culture exemption from US trade talks
25.04.13 @ 16:20
By Benjamin Fox
BRUSSELS - MEPs are divided over
whether the European culture sector should be excluded from talks on an
EU-US trade agreement, following a vote on Thursday (25 April).Deputies on the Parliament's International Trade committee backed a
report by Portuguese centre-left deputy Vital Moreira by 23 votes to 5
calling for the EU's priorities to include the opening up of the public
procurement and financial services sectors.However, in a sign that MEPs are divided on the scope of trade
talks, an amendment calling for cultural and audiovisual services to be
excluded from talks was narrowly carried by 14 votes to 11.Following the vote, Moreira, who is also the committee's chairman,
commented that excluding sectors before talks had even begun was "not
helpful.""The best way to start negotiations is not to set out exceptions that
would limit room for negotiations," he added. He was optimistic that
the amendment would be reversed when MEPs take their final vote on the
report during the May Strasbourg session.Moreira claimed that a transatlantic trade deal had "huge potential
for growth and jobs" adding that the European commission's negotiating
team should focus on increasing market access of goods and services as
well as foreign investment in the US economy.Research prepared for the commission by the Centre for Economic
Policy Research (CEPR), a London-based think tank, has indicated that a
US trade deal could increase EU economic output by up to €119 billion a
year, equivalent to around 1 percent of GDP.But there are already concerns that member states want to limit the
scope of talks. Last week the French government insisted that the EU
exclude defence and culture from trade talks. France's trade minister
Nicole Bricq stated that Paris would veto any deal which did not respect
these red lines.Excluding entire sectors would limit the economic benefits of a trade
deal, according to the CEPR, which claims that failure to go beyond
agreement on conventional tariff barriers would limit economic gains to
around €23.7 billion.The EU treaties already require its institutions to protect 'cultural
diversity' across the bloc, with similar safeguards for public services
and data protection.
Meanwhile, in a nod to the collapse of the controversial
anti-counterfeit treaty Acta, Moreira called on the commission to "learn
lessons".MEPs rejected Acta in May 2012, accusing trade commissioner Karel de
Gucht of negotiating in secret without parliamentary scrutiny or access
to documents.Moreira said that the EU executive had "given assurances" that the
committee would be briefed both before and after each round of
negotiations, expected to take between one and two years.Although parliament will not be involved in the negotiations, its
support will be required for any agreement to enter into force.Ministers are expected to then agree on a negotiating mandate for the EU executive in June.
JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37 For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)
EZEKIEL 35:3-6,11-15
3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir,(ARABS) I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred,(AGAINST ISRAEL) and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:
6 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
12 And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.
14 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.(ARAB,MUSLIMS)
15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir,(ARABS) and all Idumea,(ARAB,MUSLIMS) even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
ISAIAH 17:1,12-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
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)
U.S. suspects Syria used chemical weapons, wants proof
By Phil Stewart and David Alexander | Reuters – 5 hrs ago APR 26,13
By Phil Stewart and David Alexander
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
White House said on Thursday that the Syrian government of
President Bashar al-Assad has probably used
chemical weapons on a small scale in the country's civil war, but insisted that President
Barack Obama needed definitive proof before he would take action.The disclosure created a quandary for Obama, who has
set the use of chemical weapons as a "red line" that Assad must not
cross, and triggered calls from some hawkish Washington lawmakers for a
U.S. military response, which the president has resisted.In a shift from a White House assessment just days
earlier, U.S. officials said the intelligence community believed with
"varying degrees of confidence" that the chemical nerve agent sarin was
used by Assad's forces against rebel fighters. However, it noted that
"the chain of custody is not clear."
While Obama has declared that the deployment of
chemical weapons would be a game-changer and has threatened unspecified
consequences if it happened, his administration will move carefully -
mindful of the lessons of the start of the Iraq war more than a decade
ago.Then, President George W. Bush's administration used
inaccurate U.S. intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq in pursuit
of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons that turned out not to
exist.On top of that, polls show most Americans, weary and
disillusioned by the wars just ended in Iraq and now winding down in
Afghanistan, have little appetite for another U.S. military engagement
in the Muslim world."Given the stakes involved and what we have learned
from our own recent experiences, intelligence assessments alone are not
sufficient - only credible and corroborated facts that provide us with
some degree of certainty will guide our decision-making," Miguel
Rodriguez, White House director of the office of legislative affairs,
said in a letter to lawmakers.One senior U.S. defense official told reporters: "We
have seen very bad movies before," where intelligence was perceived to
have driven policy decisions that later, in the cold light of day, were
proven wrong.The term "varying degrees of confidence" used to describe the assessment of possible chemical weapons use in
Syria usually suggests debate within the U.S. intelligence community about the conclusion, the defense official noted.The White House said the evaluation that
Syria
probably used chemical weapons was based in part on physiological
samples, but a U.S. official declined to say what kind of evidence it
had, like soil samples or blood or hair from victims.The scale of the use of sarin appeared limited, with
one U.S. intelligence official noting that nobody was "seeing any mass
casualties" from the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria.The United States has resisted being dragged militarily
into Syria's conflict and is providing only non-lethal aid to rebels
trying to overthrow Assad. Washington is worried that weapons supplied
to the rebels could end up the hands of al Qaeda-linked fighters.However, acknowledgement of the U.S. intelligence
assessment appeared to move the United States closer to some sort of
action in Syria, military or otherwise.A White House official told reporters "all options are
on the table in terms of our response" and said the United States, which
has been criticized for not doing enough to halt the bloodshed, would
consult with its allies.The official said the U.S. military was preparing for a
range of "different contingencies" but declined to give specifics.
Options available to Obama could include everything from air strikes to
commando raids to setting up a Libya-style "no-fly" zone, either
unilaterally or in cooperation with allies.
SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT
Still, Washington appeared intent on deflecting
pressure for swift action by stressing the need for a comprehensive
United Nations investigation on the ground in Syria - something Assad
has blocked from going forward.Syria's deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, in an
interview with Reuters, dismissed Western and Israeli claims that
government forces had used chemical weapons and said it was a "big lie"
that Syria was preventing the U.N. probe.Assad has clung to power despite repeated U.S. calls
for him to step down. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the
revolt against his family's decades-long autocratic rule. A military
stalemate has set in but Assad has still been able to rely on support
from Russia and Iran.
"The reality is that as a country we can't declare red
lines and then do nothing when they are crossed. Eventually we have to
do something," said Ariel Ratner, a former Middle East adviser in the
State Department and now a fellow at the Truman National Security
Project.The Obama administration's sudden disclosure caught
many off guard. It came just two days after Defense Secretary Chuck
Hagel and other U.S. officials appeared to play down an Israeli
assessment that there had been repeated use of chemical weapons in
Syria.France and Britain have also concluded that evidence suggests chemical arms have been used in Syria's conflict."The intelligence community has been assessing
information for some time on this issue and the decision to reach this
conclusion was made within the past 24 hours," Hagel said.The White House said it wanted to provide a "prompt
response" to an April 24 query from lawmakers about whether Syria had
used chemical weapons. The legislators' letter to Obama cited the
assessments by Israel, France and Britain.Republican Senator
John McCain of Arizona, one of the leading advocates of deeper U.S.
involvement in the Syrian conflict, said the
intelligence assessment demanded a response."The president of the United States said that if
Bashar Assad
used chemical weapons, it would be a game changer, that it would cross a
red line," he said. "I think it's pretty obvious that red line has been
crossed."Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, voiced concern that the public acknowledgement
of the U.S. intelligence assessment could embolden Assad and may prompt
him to calculate "he has nothing more to lose.""Syria has the ability to kill tens of thousands with its
chemical weapons. The world must come together to prevent this by unified action," she said.In Brussels, the NATO alliance was "concerned by
reports of the possible use of chemical weapons," an official said."As NATO has said in the past, any use of these weapons
would be completely unacceptable and a clear breach of international
law, and if any side uses these weapons we would expect a reaction from
the international community," the official said.Patriot missile interceptors that NATO has sent to
Turkey, a member of the alliance which borders Syria, would "help ensure
the protection of Turkey against any missile attack, whether the
missiles carry chemical weapons or not," the official added.(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Roberta
Rampton, Patricia Zengerle and Tabassum Zakaria. Writing by Phil Stewart
and Matt Spetalnick. Editing by Alistair Bell and Christopher Wilson)
Syrian troops capture key town near Damascus
By ZEINA KARAM | Associated Press – 6 hrs ago APR 26,13
BEIRUT (AP) — After five weeks of battle, Syrian government troops captured a strategic town near Damascus, cutting an arms route for rebels trying to topple President Bashar Assad's regime, state media and activists said Thursday.By taking the town of Otaybah, east of the capital, the army dealt a
major setback to opposition forces that in recent months have made gains
near the city they eventually hope to storm.Also Thursday, the White House and other top Obama administration
officials said that U.S. intelligence has concluded with "varying
degrees of confidence" that the Syrian government has twice used
chemical weapons in the civil war, which has dragged on for two years.However, officials also said more definitive proof was needed and the U.S. was not ready to escalate its involvement in Syria beyond non-lethal aid despite President Barack Obama's repeated public assertions that Syria's use of chemical weapons, or the transfer of its stockpiles to a terrorist group, would cross a "red line."Syria's main Western-backed opposition promptly called on the
international community to act "urgently and decisively." The
opposition's statement said: "Failure to act will be seen by the regime
as encouragement to use chemical weapons on a larger scale in the
future."Ahmad Ramadan, a member of the Syrian National Coalition opposition
group's executive body, called the U.S. assertion an "important step"
that should be followed by actual measures. "The U.S. has a moral duty
to act ... we are waiting for the next steps," he told The Associated
Press by phone from Istanbul.The Syrian conflict began with largely peaceful protests against the
Assad regime in March 2011, but eventually turned into a full-scale
civil war. The fighting has exacted a huge toll on the country, killing
an estimated 70,000 people and laying waste to cities, towns and
villages.With fresh supplies of weapons
from foreign backers, the rebels have recently seized military bases and
towns south of the capital in the strategically important region
between Damascus and the border with Jordan, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) away.The regime has largely kept the
rebels at bay in Damascus, although opposition fighters control several
suburbs of the capital from which they have threatened the heart of the
city, the seat of Assad's power. Last month, government troops
launched a campaign to repel the opposition's advances near the
capital, deploying elite army units to the rebellious suburbs and
pounding rebel positions with airstrikes.The director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami
Abdul-Rahman, said government troops regained control of Otaybah late
Wednesday.State-run SANA news agency said Thursday that the army has "restored
complete control" over Otaybah. The official news services also said
Assad's troops "discovered a number of tunnels which were used by
terrorists to move and transfer weapons and ammunitions."The regime and state media refer to rebels as terrorists and accuse
them of being part of a foreign plot seeking to destroy Syria."It's a huge victory for the regime, and a big blow to the opposition
that is now in danger of losing other towns and villages around
Damascus," Abdul-Rahman said of the army's campaign.On Thursday, the army was already capitalizing on the territorial
gains, pounding southern suburbs of Damascus, including the
long-contested Daraya with artillery barrages and airstrikes, according
to the Observatory. The group, which relies on a network of activists on
the ground, also reported fierce clashes between rebels and army troops
to the east of the capital.The army's offensive to dislodge rebel fighters from neighborhoods
ringing Damascus is part of the government's broader campaign to secure
central provinces of Hama and Homs, and areas along the Lebanese border.
The region is of strategic value to Assad's regime because it links
Damascus with the coastal enclave that is the heartland of Syria's
Alawites and also home to the country's two main seaports, Latakia and
Tartus.Syria's regime is dominated by the president's minority Alawite sect —
an offshoot of Shiite Islam — while the rebels are mostly from the
country's Sunni majority. Assad's major allies, the Lebanese militant
Hezbollah group and Iran, are both Shiite.Otaybah is located on a road linking Damascus with the eastern
suburbs of Damascus known as Eastern Ghouta. Rebels have been using the
road to transport weapons and other supplies to the capital. Many of the
capital's surrounding towns and neighborhoods have been opposition
strongholds during the 2-year-old conflict.Losing control of the town will make the defense of rebel enclaves in
northeastern suburbs such as Douma, Harasta and others more difficult,
Abdul-Rahman said.In Hama, rebels ambushed and destroyed an army vehicle after a
six-hour battle with troops. Amateur videos uploaded by activists online
showed an army vehicle in flames amid sounds of intense gunbattles.Another video showed rebels raising black Islamic flags over the
Nasseh Alwani school after "liberating it" from troops who had
transformed it into a military base, and what appeared to be the bodies
of soldiers burning inside.The videos appeared consistent with AP reporting from the area.Fighting in Hama is rare because the government keeps it under tight
control. The city was the site of a notorious massacre in 1982, when
Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez, ordered the military to quell a
Sunni rebellion. Amnesty International has estimated that between 10,000
and 25,000 people were killed in the siege, though conflicting figures
exist and the Syrian government has never made an official estimate.The fighting across the country has forced more than 1 million people
to flee their homes and seek refuge abroad. Millions have also been
displaced inside Syria.
International aid agencies have been pleading for funds to help refugees in neighboring countries such as Jordan
and Lebanon. They have also been asking the Syrian government to allow
aid convoys into the country and facilitate access to the area inside
cities and towns that have been affected by fighting.Jordan's U.N. Ambassador Prince Zeid al Hussein sent a letter to the
U.N. Security Council on Thursday, saying the increasing influx of
Syrian refugees had sparked "a grave humanitarian situation" that
threatens his country's security and stability. More than 500,000
Syrians have fled to Jordan since the conflict began.The letter asks members to make a determination that the refugee
influx, "if left unchecked and in the absence of the financial
assistance required to enable Jordan to cope," constitutes a threat to
international peace and security, a statement obtained by AP said. The
letter asked the Security Council to invite Jordan to a private meeting
on the issue and to visit Jordan as soon as possible.___AP journalist Mohammad Hannon reported from Zaatari. AP writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.
Canada train plot suspect traveled to Iran: U.S. officials
By Mark Hosenball | Reuters – 6 hrs ago APR 26,13
By Mark Hosenball
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investigators believe one of two suspects charged in Canada with plotting to blow up a railroad track carrying passenger trains traveled to Iran within the past two years, U.S. law enforcement and national security officials said on Thursday.Chiheb Esseghaier, a Tunisian-born doctoral student, traveled to Iran on a trip that was directly relevant to the investigation of the alleged plot, the officials said.They declined to say precisely when Esseghaier,
who appeared in court on Wednesday in Toronto, had traveled to Iran,
whether he had gone there more than once, or whom he was in contact with
while there.
When they announced the arrest of Esseghaier and his alleged co-conspirator,
Raed Jaser,
this week, Canadian police said the two men had received "direction and
guidance" in the plot from "al Qaeda elements in Iran."U.S. national security sources close to the
investigation said that was a reference to a network of low- to
middle-level al Qaeda fixers and "facilitators" based in the town of
Zahedan, close to Iran's borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan, that
moves money and fighters through Iran to support its activities in South
Asia.
Canadian police say there is no sign of Iranian government involvement with the suspects.Neither Canadian nor U.S. officials have said precisely
what interactions they believe Esseghaier or his co-defendant engaged
in with the alleged al Qaeda network in Iran. Canadian officials have
disclosed only minimal details of the alleged Iran connection in public
statements.Esseghaier and Jaser were arrested on Monday after a
joint Canada-U.S. investigation that started last year, based on a tip
from a member of the Muslim community.The pair are charged with plotting to derail a
passenger train. U.S. officials said the suspects discussed blowing up a
trestle on the railway line carrying daily Amtrak trains between
Toronto and New York City shortly before the train was scheduled to pass
over the track, thus derailing it.Esseghaier, 30, has been a doctoral student since 2010
at the INRS institute near Montreal where he is researching the use of
nanotechnology to detect cancer and other diseases. In his court
appearance, he disputed the authority of Canadian law to judge him,
saying the criminal code was not a holy book.The lawyer for Jaser, 35, said he denied the charges against him and would fight them vigorously.U.S. law
enforcement and national security officials said U.S. and Canadian
agencies were investigating whether the suspects had accomplices in the
United States or
Canada.One official said there was "another shoe to drop" in
the case. Canada's National Post newspaper reported on Thursday that the
FBI was holding a third man in New York.A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said
his service was not granting interviews about the case. The FBI did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.(Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Alistair Bell and Peter Cooney)
Over
a week ago I began my interview and analyses series on hidden
connections and intended objectives in the Boston Terror Case. In our Boiling Frogs Post EyeOpener Report
with James Corbett I offered two connected likely outcomes as a result
of Washington-Scripted and CIA-Connected Boston Terror Case:
During my April 22 interview for Boiling Frogs Post EyeOpener Report (See here)
I provided three possible US objectives associated with the Boston
Terror incident. I emphasized the first possible scenario as the most
likely: Removing Russia as the obstacle in invading Syria. I pointed out
that to achieve this objective a back-door deal could have been struck
with Russia. What sort of a deal? Here is what I hypothesized:
