The Russian “Anschluss”

IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER... 
 

• Featured Article: The Russian “Anschluss” 
• 4-3-2-1: Is the Countdown to Our “Point of No Return” About to Come to An End? 
• Nearing Midnight: A Most Intriguing Pair… 
• Israel Reveals it has the Ability to ‘Completely Destroy’ Iran’s Nuclear Plan 
• Daily Jot: The “Post” election “Post” truth
• Daily Devotion: Above All Else 

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The Russian “Anschluss” - By Matt Ward - https://www.raptureready.com/2021/04/06/the-russian-anschluss-by-matt-ward/
 
On March 12th, 1938, German troops marched into Austria, annexing the German-speaking Austrian nation into the Third Reich.
 
This annexation was not an instinctive act from Adolf Hitler. It was something that he had envisaged and planned for quite a considerable amount of time beforehand. In 1938, Austrian Nazis conspiring with Germany attempted to seize the Austrian government by force and unite the nation with Germany.
 
Austrian Chancellor Kurt Von Schuschnigg, learning of the conspiracy, met with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to try to resolve the crisis peacefully and avert a disaster for Austria.
 
But Adolf Hitler was not for turning. Hitler had already decided that he was going to use the pretext of protecting the “German-speaking” people of Austria to justify his invasion.
 
So Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Germany, mercilessly bullied Schuschnigg when they met in 1938, not giving a single inch, and overtly threatened him. The end result of the meeting was that several top Austrian Nazis were forced the next day into the Austrian cabinet, very much against the government’s will.
 
On March 11th Schuschnigg resigned. The very next day, on March 12th, Germany invaded Austria, an event known in history as the “Anschluss,” the uniting of Germany with Austria.
 
German troops, met by enthusiastic crowds, marched into Austria, and a once independent nation became merely an additional state province of greater Germany, a situation that lasted until the very end of the Second World War.
 
At the end of the war, the Allies declared the Anschluss null and void, restoring Austria to full, independent nation statehood, and releasing Schuschnigg from the prison cell in which he had been confined for almost seven years.
 
Today, in 2021, Russia is attempting to do the very same thing with Ukraine. At the point of writing, 25,000 Russian troops have amassed on the Ukraine border. This is something that cannot be ignored. Yet like so many other things today, it is being ignored and is almost completely unreported by mainstream media outlets.
 
To all impartial observers, it looks exactly like it potentially is, a prelude to an invasion.
 
US Central Command has escalated its military posture to its highest level, “potential imminent crisis,” with the United States Air Force now flying constant observation missions over and along the Russian border, tracking Russian troop movements.
 
US President Joe Biden called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to express his support and his solidarity. It seems to have offered little succour.
 
Dominic Raab, U.K. Defense Secretary, has issued a similar statement of support for Ukraine and its territorial integrity, stating, “We are gravely concerned about Russian military activity which threatens Ukraine.”
 
On Thursday, NATO ambassadors held a nonscheduled crisis meeting to discuss this fast-developing situation, tweeting as a group of the “grave concerns” they share over Russian actions.
 
Russia’s response is a belligerent one. Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, rebuffed all concerns, essentially openly threatening NATO should they attempt any future aid of Ukraine.
 
Peskov continued,
 
“There is no doubt such a scenario would lead to a further increase in tensions close to Russian borders. Of course, this would lead to additional measures from the Russian side to ensure its security.”
 
This all sounds ominously familiar. Not just because there is historical precedent between Germany and Austria, but because Vladimir Putin has used these old German tactics before, extremely successfully.
 
It was these same tactics that Putin used to invade Georgia in August 2008. At that time, Russia accused Georgia of aggression against South Ossetia and launched a large-scale land, air and sea invasion of Georgia on August 8 with the pretext of a “peace enforcement “operation.
 
Currently, 20% of Georgia’s internationally recognized territory is under Russian military occupation. Additionally, Russia does not even allow EU monitors to enter South Ossetia and Abkhazia at all now, in direct violation of the Six Point Ceasefire Agreement signed by all participants.
 
Russia has annexed this territory into greater Russia, and just like the original German Anschluss in 1938, the world stood by and did nothing.
 
Russia’s actions today regarding Ukraine are merely a rehashing of an old Putin tactic to justify military action by claiming Russian interests are at risk. It worked for him before, just as it worked for Adolf Hitler in 1938.
 
To further cement this claim, the Kremlin has been handing out thousands and thousands of Russian passports to Ukrainian residents in the east of the Ukraine.
 
By making hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians essentially new Russian citizens, Putin is turning them into his direct responsibility.
 
If he can then engineer a situation where “Russian” people are threatened, he can then justify an invasion to protect them. At this point, that is seeming increasingly likely.
 
The million-dollar question is what will the United States do in response? What will NATO do in response?
 
In the event of an invasion, Ukraine has only a few very limited options: cede a big chunk of its territory over to Russia, hit back politically by cozying up to and asking for help from the West, or it could fight.
 
However, despite Ukraine being stronger in military terms than one would think, they are simply no match for Russia.
 
NATO, for its part, could retaliate militarily. This, though, is unlikely. Just the thought of a hot war between Russia and NATO is enough to turn your blood cold. Such a confrontation would bring with it the highest risk of nuclear war in human history.
 
NATO might immediately admit Ukraine into its membership. But again, if NATO does this, it would be duty-bound to defend Ukraine from Russian aggression, bringing the nuclear superpowers once again back into direct confrontation.
 
More likely is that NATO would immediately admit Ukraine to the last stage before full membership, without becoming a full member, thus warning Russia, “this far, no further.”
 
The United States might employ sanctions against Russia or even reinvigorate the missile shield program, which Russia truly hates, in places like Poland in Eastern Europe. This would be a direct threat to Russia’s own deterrence capability.
 
But in such an eventuality, should Russia actually invade Ukraine as it did Georgia in 2008, there are simply no good options.
 
The world will be on tenterhooks; and diplomats, military leaders and politicians will be managing the finest of all balancing acts, trying desperately to avoid all out escalation.
 
In the Bible, when describing the very last days of the end times, Jesus talks of a time of “wars and rumours of wars.” We have long since been in that time frame. As we hurtle increasingly into that time period, the increasing birth pains will become more and more severe and intense. War will become more intense.
 
In 2021, in every direction one chooses to look, Jesus’s words of wars and rumours of war are and have become a present-day reality. From Russia to China, dictators are looking out from their own lands with greedy eyes. From Ukraine to Taiwan, to the south China seas to Hong Kong.
 
Whether it be in Eastern Europe between Russia and NATO, or more likely in Southeast Asia between the United States of America and China, major superpower confrontation and conflict is almost certainly coming in the next decade.
 
It is like a slow-motion train crash; everybody can see that it’s going to happen, but nobody seems to be able to stop it or even slow it down.
 
For us who believe in and hold to Jesus, we have a different hope and a different expectation of the decade to come. One of deliverance. That should be our focus today, and every day, until that deliverance becomes our own reality.
 
“When you see these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your head for your redemption draws nigh” (Luke 21:28).
 
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4-3-2-1: Is the Countdown to Our “Point of No Return” About to Come to An End? - by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/4-3-2-1-is-the-countdown-to-our-point-of-no-return-about-to-come-to-an-end/
 
Do you feel like we are on the verge of a major tipping point? If so, you are definitely not alone. I felt like the first few months of this year would be a time of relative stability, but now I believe that global events will really start to heat up again in a major way. Interestingly, Saturday was the only day when the calendar will read 4/3/21 for the next 100 years. I don’t know if that means anything or not, but a lot of people on social media were commenting that 4-3-2-1 sounds an awful lot like some sort of a countdown. Perhaps it is just a coincidence that we crossed that date at such a critical time in our history, but without a doubt I do believe that we are rapidly approaching our “point of no return”.
 
One of the major themes in the months ahead will be “wars and rumors of wars”. I have been writing a lot about Ukraine lately, but on Monday the big action actually happened in Asia.
 
By now, most of you know about the coup that happened in Myanmar earlier this year, and in recent days China had started to mobilize troops on the Myanmar border…
 
Chinese troops are reportedly assembling at the Myanmar border to guard China’s highly prized natural gas pipelines as violence grows in Myanmar in the aftermath of a military coup.
 
The Irrawaddy reported Thursday the troops were gathering in the Chinese border town of Jiegao, facing the town of Muse in Shan State. The mobilization includes soldiers and military trucks, the report said.
 
Well, on Monday social media was buzzing about videos that reportedly show that Chinese forces have actually crossed into Myanmar in order to support the new government against pro-democracy protesters.
 
Now that Chinese soldiers have entered the country, there is a good chance that they may be sticking around on a permanent basis, and it is probably safe to say that Myanmar will be part of the Chinese “sphere of influence” from this point forward.
 
Meanwhile, the UK and the European Union are promising to support the Ukrainians in their conflict against Russia…
 
The European Union and UK have pledged “unwavering” support for Ukraine’s government amid concerns of a military escalation in the east of the country or a possible new offensive against the Nato ally after recent Russian troop movements.
 
Ukraine has accused Russia of massing thousands of military personnel on its northern and eastern borders as well as on the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. Online researchers have identified troops being transferred to Ukraine’s borders from western and central Russia, including artillery from as far away as Siberia.
 
This is a situation that I will be monitoring very closely, because I believe that it has very serious implications for the United States.
 
Another major theme in the months ahead will be pestilences.
 
Despite the fact that hundreds of millions of people have already been “fully vaccinated” around the globe, the COVID pandemic continues to rage wildly out of control.
 
And if things weren’t bad enough already, now we are being told that a “double mutant” strain has popped up in California…
 
A new “double mutant” variant of the coronavirus has been discovered in California, with scientists worrying the strain could be more infectious.
 
Apparently this new variant has two key mutations that help it “latch onto cells” even better…
 
The emerging strain is called the “double mutant” because it carries two mutations in the virus that helps it latch onto cells, the news outlet reported.
 
The “double mutant” variant has been found in 20 percent of cases sequenced from India’s hard-hit state of Maharashtra, where coronavirus cases have surged more than 50 percent in the past week, noted Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco.
 
At the same time, we are being told that an even deadlier new COVID strain has just been discovered in Brazil. The following comes from a British news source…
 
A NEW, even deadlier Brazilian COVID-19 variant has emerged which is able to alter itself in such a way as to render all current vaccines ineffective, an alarming new study has indicated.
 
I have previously written about the P.1 variant that emerged in Brazil, but that is already old news.
 
This new variant is known as P.2, and it is apparently the most dangerous variant that has been discovered so far…
 
There is already a P.2 variant, and preliminary research authored by scientists including those at Brazil’s Department of Virology suggests the virus is continuing to alter itself in Brazil, deleting sites on the spike protein which antibodies bind to in a development that would prevent vaccines from working.
 
Needless to say, the corporate media will squeeze every ounce of drama out of this COVID pandemic that they possibly can, but those that follow my work on a regular basis already know that I am far more concerned about the next pandemic that is coming.
 
Earth changes will be a third major theme which will be prominent in the months ahead.
 
In recent weeks I have written numerous articles about the volcanic eruptions and large earthquakes which have been taking place all over the globe.
 
On Monday, it was California’s turn for some shaking. Two sizable earthquakes shook Los Angeles, and that included one of magnitude 4.0…
 
At least two earthquakes shook up the Los Angeles within half hour of each other Monday before dawn.
 
The U.S. Geological Survey said a 4.0 tremor was reported at 4:44 a.m. near Lennox, California.
 
The epicenter was just east of the Los Angeles International Airport, along Century Boulevard on the south side of Hollywood Park.
 
The good news is that this quake was just a “wake up call” and not much damage was done.
 
But someday we will see a history changing earthquake happen along the west coast, and once that happens the geography of California will never be the same again.
 
Before I end this article, I also want to strongly urge everyone to keep watching Israel.
 
Because I believe that in the months ahead we are going to see things happen in Israel that are of absolutely critical importance.
 
No matter what we do, we cannot stop the inexorable march of time.
 
Each day we continue to move even closer to the “point of no return” for our society, and yet very few people seem alarmed by this.
 
Sadly, time will eventually run out, and then our day of reckoning will be at hand. 



 
Nearing Midnight: A Most Intriguing Pair… - Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/
 
In observing all the many indicators that the Tribulation (Daniel’s seventieth week) might be about to begin, we can, with reasonable certainty, speculate that the evil dictator of that prophesied era might be almost in view. “Is the Antichrist alive today?” is the question that is asked, right up there with, “Is America in Bible prophecy?”
 
The question about who this terrible tyrant will be has preoccupied many students of Bible prophecy for centuries. But it is the past few decades, with the movement into ever-increasing rebelliousness against the God of Heaven, that have been an incubator for giving the question immediately crucial importance. That is, everything is now almost in place for birthing that Beast system of control upon planet earth.
 
For example, society and culture have become so debased as to demand that earth’s inhabitants believe and accept that God’s way for humanity is wrong and man’s own way is how things should be. We’ve looked at this many times. Men can be in sexual relationships with other men and women with other women and we must accept it as legal, moral, and normal in every way. Marriage can be between men and men and women and women, not only relationships exclusively involving one man and one woman in the marital union for life.
 
A person can be the gender they want to be, not what their birth certificates indicate they are biologically. God is wrong and man is right. It is what God’s Word says is mankind “doing what is right in their own eyes.”
 
Antichrist’s regime of terror can be seen developing in the area of economics. Fiscal equilibrium is so out of balance nationally and worldwide as to require, as it is called, a “reset.”
 
This includes the globalists elite manipulating sovereign nations into a one world order of economy. It’s all moving toward the prophesied Antichrist numbers-and-mark system of Revelation 13:16–18. This is largely what the entire period of hatred for Donald J. Trump has been about. America’s dollar, thus it’s hegemony over other economies of the world, must be destroyed and US assets brought under the auspices of a central banking system. It is all to prepare for the institution of the 666 regime of economic control—over which Antichrist will be master.
 
In religion, the trajectory cannot be missed. Satan’s propaganda machine, the worldwide news and entertainment media, have been complicit in convincing that all religions of the world are portals to achieving godhood. Only true Christianity is equated to a hate-centered system of religion. It is called bigoted and narrow-minded to the exclusion of all of humanity who don’t adhere to Christ as the only way to salvation.
 
But now a man, the Roman Catholic Pope Francis, the so-called Vicar of Christ, has declared on many occasions that there are many ways to God, not just the way given in the Bible. As pontiff and acknowledged by most religious observers as head of all Christendom, this pope’s apostate view validates for the world that Christ as the only way to salvation is a lie. This, too, is a bomb-burst notice against the black skies of end-times evil that the platform for Antichrist is almost complete in its construction.
 
Antichrist in view?
 
All seems set for Antichrist to take the stage for the wind-up of human history leading to Christ’s return. Should we expect that that entity be on the scene today?
 
I will say here that I don’t know, but that it’s not only possible, but probable that he is somewhere on planet earth today and that he could be thrust into his blasphemous limelight at any moment. That moment would be when the Rapture happens in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52).
 
Some believe strongly that that man is in view. As a matter of fact, those who hold to this belief say both the first and second beasts of Revelation 13 might be even now consulting with each other.
 
I’m not saying that I accept this. I’m just saying that there are many who do see that pair as already making themselves known in today’s headlines. A news item frames the scene some see as Antichrist and the False Prophet to come making their presence known.
 
FROM VATICAN NEWS: Pope Francis and France’s President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone on Sunday, according to a press release from the President’s Office at Élysée Palace. The call, which was requested by the Pope, marks the fifth time the two world leaders have spoken since Macron’s election in 2017.
 
Their conversation reportedly lasted around 40 minutes, and came after President Macron sent the Pope a message on the occasion of the 8th anniversary of his election to the papacy.
 
The last time they spoke was October 30th of last year, after the attacks on the Cathedral of Nice, which killed 3 people.
 
Iraq visit “a turning point”
 
The Élysée press office said that during their Sunday conversation the two spoke at length about Pope Francis’ recent Apostolic Journey to Iraq. Macron said the visit marked “a true turning point” for the Middle Eastern region. The pair also dwelt on their “thoughts and concerns” about several crises affecting various parts of the globe…
 
According to the Élysée press statement, President Macron also spoke to the Pope about the “challenges of a post-Covid world”. Pope Francis published a book with British journalist Austen Ivereigh on the subject, in which he said humanity has been given the opportunity to build a better world after the pandemic. (“Pope Francis speaks to French President Emmanuel Macron by phone, discussing his recent visit to Iraq and the challenges of a post-Covid world,” by Vatican News staff writer, Vatican News, Rapture Ready News March 25, 2021)
 
Again, I don’t know—nor does anyone else—who Antichrist and his False Prophet will be. This pair does, however, make for intriguing speculation. In the final analysis, we have only God’s Word in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 to tell us about the timing of Antichrist’s coming onto the world scene as that “man of sin.”
 
If you’re a true believer in Jesus Christ—that He is the only way to salvation—not one who believes the way this pope promotes, you will never know for sure who this “son of perdition” is—at least not this side of your heavenly home.
 
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he [God the Holy Spirit resident within true believers, the Church] who now [restrains evil]will [restrain,] until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked [Antichrist] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. (2 Thessalonians 2:7–9)
 
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)

 


 
Israel Reveals it has the Ability to ‘Completely Destroy’ Iran’s Nuclear Plan - https://www.israel365news.com/189010/israel-reveals-it-has-the-ability-to-completely-destroy-irans-nuclear-plan/
 
When you take the field against your enemies, and see horses and chariots—forces larger than yours—have no fear of them, for Hashem your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, is with you. Deuteronomy 20:1 (The Israel BibleTM)
 
The past year was very good for Israel, security-wise. The number of attacks was relatively low, and the intensive focus on the pandemic (and elections) pushed aside issues that in normal times would have made headlines. But the country’s security challenges are here to stay. The new government, when it is formed, will not be able to avoid them, and topping the list is Iran. Behind the scenes, preparations are already underway for these marathon discussions, which take place mainly within the Israel Defense Forces, and specifically in the new unit formed last year to deal with Iran and strategic issues—the Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate.
 
The man heading this unit, Maj. Gen. Tal Kalman, a former fighter pilot, is one of the most cautious members of the IDF General Staff. His statements here, in his first and exclusive interview, portray exactly the threats and possible responses—including military—but are also a warning: to avoid dealing with these problems could pose a strategic threat for Israel.
 
According to Kalman, 2020 was a good year for the battle against Iran.
 
“I don’t want to call it a turning point year, but it was a year of major changes,” he said.
 
It began with the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq by the United States, and continued with “a sequence of events that I mostly can’t elaborate on, which made the balance positive, even very positive,” he added.
 
The dimensions of the challenge
 
Iran, he said, represents not a specific operational challenge, but a challenge to Israel’s entire national security doctrine.
 
“We had a tendency to be cynical in recent years, due to the idea that Iran is being pushed into the discussion for other things, but I really think this is about dealing with a country with the potential to become a regional power, headed by an extreme regime with a real goal of destroying Israel,” he said.
 
The overall challenge can be broken down into four components, according to Kalman: the extremist regime, the nuclear issue, military buildup and last, Iran’s attempt to grow its regional influence. Moreover, Iran’s size and distance from Israel’s borders add complexity to the equation, he added.
 
Q: Explain.
 
A: For a country on our border, I build up the force, prepare for war, sometimes act to thwart threats, and I [amass] a very large [amount of] intelligence … with the aim of [defeating the enemy] in war. With Iran, it’s not about defeat. It’s a competition, and therefore the components that need to be dealt with are not only military. They’re also military, but also diplomatic, economic … and more. That’s how big the challenge is.
 
Q: Can Iran be defeated?
 
A: When you’re in a strategic competition with a state, you’re not concerned about defeat. What you try to achieve is supremacy at any given point in time, supremacy that … will give you security and deter the other side from acting against you.
 
Q: And yet, Jerusalem and Washington had hoped for defeat—that the regime would collapse under the sanctions.
 
A: A strategic competition is not about … tomorrow morning, but [the] long term. It requires synchronizing all the national efforts, some of which are not managed by the IDF but rather other bodies. Israel has room for improvement in this area.
 
This is precisely the process that Kalman has been advancing this past year. Together with the Mossad, the Foreign Ministry, the Atomic Energy Commission and other bodies, an orderly process is taking place which will eventually submit to the state leadership a long-term strategic doctrine on Iran, and will subsequently bring about the synchronization of all the national efforts.
 
Q: What have you already learned?
 
A: We understood that we need to deal with all the components of the problem. You can’t just look at the nuclear, or just at the military, or just at the regional. You need to deal with everything. These past years we were very focused on the nuclear, which is of course on top because there’s a difference between dealing with a nuclear Iran and a non-nuclear one.
 
‘Longer and stronger’
 
The Iranian regime is interested in nuclear capability primarily to secure its own stability, but for Israel, this is an existential issue, he said. If Iran becomes a nuclear power, he added, it will change the Middle East, sparking a nuclear arms race. While the challenge Iran presents for Israel has multiple aspects, Kalman believes that when it comes to the negotiations around the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, the focus should be on that aspect alone.
 
“We have to achieve the maximum on that one,” he said, adding, “We know how to deal with the rest.”
 
“It’s not that we’re not asking the international community to deal with those as well, but there’s a clear priority. First of all: nuclear capability.
 
With regard to the nuclear negotiations with Iran, Kalman believes Israel can influence what a deal with Iran will look like. The way to achieve that, he said, is through dialogue with the new U.S. administration, which is already underway.
 
Q: And they agree with us?
 
A: I think that in very high percentages they see the situation as we do.
 
Q: And can you understand the fear in Israel, based on the fact that these are the same people who were involved with making the deal last time?
 
A: It’s true that in some of the cases these are the same people, but it’s not the same administration. So far, this administration is keeping its promises. It has come to listen, not rush to a new deal. So, I think there’s a space of a few months to try to influence the administration’s policy. Even the Americans are clearly saying they will not allow Iran to achieve nuclear capability. Now, the question is how to act in this situation.
 
Q: What should Israel be demanding?
 
A: I can’t go into detail, but basically we’re saying “yes” to a deal that is longer and stronger [than the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action].
 
Q: What do you say to those who think Iran is closer to the bomb than it was under the [JCPOA]?
 
A: As we see it, the actions Iran has taken are reversible, and were made to signal to the international community … It’s not that Iran has run away and headed towards a bomb. Furthermore, if the deal still existed, the Iranian issues wouldn’t be on the agenda. Under Biden’s national security doctrines, the Middle East is in fourth or fifth place. The United States is looking at other regions and doesn’t want to invest as much in ours. Leaving the deal actually left the Iranian issues on the agenda very clearly.
 
Q: Let’s discuss the military option.
 
A: I’ve been dealing with this for 25 years. I know the plans from the tactical level to the systemic and strategic level where I am today. [In recent] decades it was always in gear. During the first years of the deal the level of attention to this dropped somewhat, but over the past year we’re back in fourth-fifth gear.
 
Q: So one should ask if Israel has the ability to militarily thwart Iran’s nuclear plan. To attack and completely destroy it, like in Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007.
 
A: The answer is yes. When we build these capabilities, we build them to be operational. It’s not that there aren’t many strategic dilemmas, since the day after Iran can go back to the plan, but the ability exists. Definitely.
 
Q: Many in the defense community believe that instead of fighting the Iranians on our border, we should move the battle to their territory.
 
A: One of the conclusions in the process we’re carrying out now is that we need to strengthen that component in the set of actions we’re taking.
 
Q: That means that if things explode on our border, Iran won’t be able to sit quietly back at home?
 
A: We need to develop such tools. Definitely. When you’re competing against an intelligent, strategic actor who plays long term, you need to act to influence his intentions. For that you need to act also in other places and in other ways.
 
‘WHAT’S MADE IN IRAN DOESN’T STAY IN IRAN’
 
Kalman, 52, is married and the father of three. In 2018 he was appointed head of the Strategic Division in the IDF Planning Directorate, and last year was appointed head of the new division responsible for Iran. A former fighter pilot, he continues to fly and is considered a leading candidate to command the Israeli Air Force.
 
He believes that despite Israel’s efforts to prevent Iran from entrenching itself in Syria and stop the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, Tehran has not abandoned its plans to these ends. However, he added, Soleimani’s death in January has made things more difficult for Iran, which is now “looking for other ways.”
 
Iran is not where it had thought to be at this time, and as a result has “dramatically” changed its plans, he added. However, he reiterates that the confrontation with Iran is about the long term, and that as such will require a solution that goes beyond the merely military.
 
With regard to Syria, “there needs to be a diplomatic component, that is missing now,” he said.
 
“Assad is very dependent on the Iranians economically, and we are thinking about how to bring Syria to the end of its civil war without Iran being there. It’s a complicated event that needs to be managed between the powers,” he said.
 
Kalman believes Iran’s conventional military buildup is not getting enough attention. The concern, he said, isn’t tanks and artillery, but mostly long-range missiles and rockets, many of them guided, as well as drones and advanced aerial defense weapon systems that could challenge the Israeli Air Force. Furthermore, he said, Iran doesn’t keep these weapons to itself, but supplies them to its proxy groups. Iranian-produced weapons quickly make their way to Syria, Lebanon, and potentially to the Gaza Strip, he said.
 
Precision rockets and missiles pose a strategic threat, and have been the focus of intense Iranian activity in recent years, he said. Tehran is working to equip its proxy groups with these weapons, he said, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis Yemen.
 
“There is this tendency, which is wrong, to speak of these precision missiles and Hezbollah in the same sentence,” he said. “It’s much more widespread and worrying. We’re speaking of a technological trend that has become fairly … available to all those around us,” he added.
 
Due to Israel’s small size, precision missiles constitute a “grave strategic threat,” he said, albeit not as grave as that posed by nuclear weapons.
 
“What many don’t understand is that it’s not just Hezbollah. It’s what’s being built in Syria, and maybe in the future in the Palestinian arena, and in Iraq and Yemen, and of course in Iran itself. It’s a very challenging puzzle,” he said.
 
Q: What you’re saying is that if there’s a war in the north, your working assumption is that we’ll have to deal with precise weapons firing on us from every place in the region.
 
A: Correct. We’re not just talking about a battle in the north, but a battle in the Northeast arena.
 
Q: Israel needs to define red lines that it will not cross?
 
A: Defining red lines is very problematic.
 
Q: Why? You defined red lines when it comes to the nuclear issue.
 
A: Red lines tend to rub out. Israel knows how to respond to complicated challenges, and I believe that with our technology and capabilities we’ll know how to respond to this complicated challenge. But as I said, it’s not just Hezbollah but a wider regional problem, which must be part of our strategic discussions with the Americans and others, because nobody in the world is dealing with it. They talk about nuclear bombs, chemical weapons, but nothing about the precision weapons, and this must become part of the discussion.
 
ISRAEL’S SECURITY PARADOX
 
In conclusion, Kalman says Israel is in a “security paradox.” On the one hand it enjoys strategic supremacy, but on the other the threats it faces have grown more dire.
 
“We’re credited for the security, the daily quiet, but it is our duty to also look to the long term,” he said, adding, “There is no doubt that 2020 ended in a very positive strategic balance for Israel.”
 
Looking ahead, he believes that the Abraham Accords normalization agreements are a very hopeful sign, and that if a few more can be signed “we’ll have potential for a different Middle East”
 
Israel’s overall strategic outlook, however, will remain dependent on the dynamic with Iran, he said.
 
“If we succeed in getting the international community on board for a longer and stronger nuclear deal, we’ll be in a very positive situation.”

 


 
Daily Jot: The “Post” election “Post” truth – Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com
 
The world is in an uproar over Major League Baseball moving its All-Star game from Atlanta because of the new voter integrity law in Georgia. The narrative on the new law is that it suppresses voting for minorities. That’s the narrative. It went viral. No one in the national media seemed to check the facts about what the new law does. So now you have corporations and a major sports league feigning wokeness when, in reality, their grand stand is upon a crumbling foundation. Even the Washington Post had to write a story refuting the narrative. Now that’s saying something. If the narrative is so false that the All-Star slant-rag of the left has to refute it, you know it must be really bad.
 
The narrative attacks the Georgia law on these main points: restricting the distribution of food and water to people standing in line, making it harder to cast absentee ballots, reducing drop boxes for mail ballots, and barring mobile voting places. But the facts, the truth, are not the same as the narrative. Georgia polls will remain open from 7 am to 7 pm, no changes. The Post says that changes to early voting actually expand, not limit, voting opportunities. Sunday early voting remains, and an additional Saturday early voting was mandated. Voter authentication for absentee (mail in) ballots is required. And campaign workers are not allowed to bring water to voters in line—always an electioneering concern.
 
On March 30, the Post’s Glenn Kessler wrote, “(President Joe) Biden has echoed many of those concerns. But there was one line in both his news conference and his statement that has kept us puzzling until our puzzler was sore. It also puzzled experts who have studied the new law.” On March 25, Biden stated: “What I’m worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It’s sick. It’s sick…deciding that you’re going to end voting at five o’clock when working people are just getting off work.” A day later, he said, “Among the outrageous parts of this new state law, it ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over.” Kessler says these statements deserve “Four Pinocchios,” in other words, Biden is lying. And the general narrative is a lie, too.
 
The truth is, some of the concerns were actually in original versions of the legislation. Those concerns were widely addressed before the final bill was passed and signed into law. Even the Post admits to this. But, the residual remained and became the battle cry for those who do not want to see election reform unless it codifies the “cheat.” The Prophet Isaiah wrote that in transgressing and lying against the Lord, departing from God, speaking oppression and revolt, and lying, “judgment is turned away backward, and justice stands afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter (Isaiah 59:14).” One has to take notice when a purveyor of propaganda like the Washington Post reveals a “Post” election, “Post” truth. We of the Way, however, are not exempt from believing other post-election, post truths. Seek truth.

 


 
Daily Devotion: Above All Else - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org  
 
Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. —Malachi 3:8
 
https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/above-all-else-2/ - Listen
 
Did you know it’s possible to steal from God himself? We find this incredible statement in the Old Testament book of Malachi: “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings” (3:8 NKJV).
 
The Bible reminds us that our ability to produce wealth comes from the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:18 says, “Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful” (NLT).
 
All that we have has come to us from God, so we should give back to Him from our finances. In fact, Christians should understand that it’s a privilege to give to God. We all should want to do it.
 
In fact, God makes specific promises to us about our giving. As we faithfully invest in His kingdom, He will bless us as a result. Also, Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33 NLT).
 
In the context of this statement, Jesus was talking about unbelievers who worry about what they will wear, what they will eat, and what they will drink. Then Jesus went on to say, “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs” (Matthew 6:32 NLT).
 
Back in Malachi, we find this amazing promise: “‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!’” (Malachi 3:10 NLT).
 
I challenge you put the Lord to the test in this area. Give faithfully to Him.

 

 
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