Friday

The Daily WAR (09-17)

 
 
    Serbia is at a crossroads. Whether or not it has a future within the EU rests on how it deals with Kosovo - and with its past. This week Belgrade seemed to break the silence on the whereabouts of war criminals Karadzic and Mladic, but said it would shun the West if Kosovo's independence is recognized.
 
    Even well before the Dec. 10 deadline for an agreement with Belgrade on the status of Kosovo, Pristina, Washington, and Brussels were moving blindly toward independence. Pristina's enthusiasm for this course is entirely understandable - the Albanians want independence and the US and the EU have promised to deliver it on a silver platter.
    What motivates the US and its allies is less clear - at least if one expects leaders to offer genuine moral judgments, sound strategic logic, and realistic evaluation of the consequences of their decisions.  If estrangement between Russia and the US progresses further, Moscow may decide to use its UN veto to block an extension of the EU force's mandate in Bosnia. Measures intended to avoid violence in the Balkans would boomerang, bringing broader Balkan instability.
 
 
 
    In a corner of 21st Century Turkey, a congregation still worships in the language of Christ. These people are Assyrians and the region they know as Tur Abdin was once the heartland of their ancient Christian church. At the turn of the last century an estimated 200,000 Assyrians still lived here. Today there are fewer than 3,000 left. But recently, there have been signs of a possible revival.
 
German press...
    Turkey's continuing military operations against Kurdish guerrillas may be bearing fruit militarily, but some German commentators warn it could provoke the PKK to spread the violence throughout Turkey.
 
    Little is reported concerning the role the US played in Somalia, as it continues to engage in semi-secret operations, using Ethiopian troops as surrogates.
 
 
 
    In Pakistan, considered one of the world's most fertile breeding grounds for conspiracy theories, many more possible suspects will be bandied about. Indeed, the blame can be laid at the feet of any of a large number of elements. Not only did the assassin want to cause maximum casualties, but he also hoped that authorities would later be unable to identify him and thus ascertain which organization he was working for.
 
    The main suspects in the assassination are the foreign and Pakistani Islamist militants who saw Bhutto as a Westernised heretic and an American stooge, and had repeatedly threatened to kill her. But fingers will also be pointed at the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, (ISI) which has had close ties to the Islamists since the 1970s and has been used by successive Pakistani leaders to suppress political opposition.
 
    With at best a tenuous grip on his country, President Musharraf gains nothing from her death. Musharraf is the big loser in this mess, and he is not the kind of leader who is strong or skilled enough to perform well in this kind of crisis. The winners and the likely perpetrators of this crime are Muslim revolutionaries, al-Qaida and similar elements whose principal tactic is to create and exacerbate political instability.
    Meanwhile, India is very concerned that instability in Pakistan erodes its own security, and Pakistani government inaction or over-reaction will be viewed by India with great trepidation. Throw nuclear weapons into the mix, and you have a recipe for potential disaster.
 
    As her supporters and family laid slain opposition leader Bhutto to rest today, Pakistan slid into further chaos. Violence flared up across the country in reaction to her assassination on Thursday while her political rival Nawaz Sharif said he would boycott forthcoming elections.
 
    The assassination was carried out in Rawalpindi, headquarters of the Pakistani military and ostensibly one of the country's most secure cities. There are conflicting accounts of how the assassination occurred. The New York Times has reported senior Pakistan People's Party (PPP) officials as saying Bhutto was hit by a rooftop sniper before a second assailant carried out the suicide bombing.
    Before any evidence had been collected, let alone examined, and with key facts about the assassination still in dispute, the US political establishment effectively declared the investigation over, categorically attributing Bhutto's murder to Al Qaeda or a like-minded Islamicist group. In a perfunctory statement wildly at odds with political reality in Pakistan, President Bush declared that Bhutto's assassination was a "cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy."
 
German press...
    The assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Bhutto has stoked fears that Islamic militants will push nuclear-armed Pakistan into chaos, write German newspapers. The January election is likely to be postponed and a state of emergency may now be re-imposed, commentators say.
 
    Leaders from around the world have reacted with shock to the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Many are worried about the country's stability.
 
    As the world mourns the loss of Benazir Bhutto, it would be myopic to focus only on Islamic-inspired violence and on Pakistan. This is a region with a turbulent post-independence political history. Our (Islamophobic?) preoccupation with Muslim terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan often blocks out a bigger picture. From end to end, South Asia is a region drenched in blood.
 
    India has put its border forces in "a high state of vigil" and suspended train and bus links after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto raised the spectre of chaos in Pakistan spilling over to its nuclear-armed neighbour. "There are no specific threats as yet. They have been put on alert, there have been various speculations, jihadis, the spillover effect."
 
 
 
    Chancellor Merkel said that heading off the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran, with tougher sanctions if needed, remains a "vital interest" for the world community. "It remains a vital interest of the whole world community to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran - if necessary, with the further toughening of sanctions."
 
 
 
Good!...
    Senate probe shines light on televangelists' "prosperity gospel". The probe by Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has brought new scrutiny to the underlying belief that brings in millions of dollars and fills churches from Atlanta to Los Angeles the "Gospel of Prosperity," or the notion that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches.
 
    Described as "the most learned, ignored scholar dealing with the history of the European and American Right," professor Gottfried once again helps us understand how the American right fell into the clutches of "minicon scribblers."
 
 
 
    The assassination of Benazir Bhutto has had a negative influence on major stock markets around the world. The shock waves of her death were not limited to Pakistan and were felt by stock markets around the globe amid concerns that global instability may follow.
 
    Oil held near $97 a barrel today, within sight of its record high, bolstered by a fall in US fuel inventories and mounting tension in Pakistan and northern Iraq.
 
    The euro neared $1.47 today amid persistent speculation that poor US economic data could force the Federal Reserve to cut rates in 2008. The greenback was also under pressure as traders reacted nervously to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, while activity was muted with many investors away for year-end holidays, dealers said.
 
    When Citigroup warned in early November that it was likely to write down its portfolio by $8-11 billion in the 4th quarter because of exposure to bad loans, investors recoiled at the size of the losses. Some now say those early estimates appear drastically understated. Citigroup could write off as much as $18.7 billion in the 4th quarter, Goldman analysts said.
 
    This is the last in a 5-part series on the subprime mortgage crisis.
 
 
 
    Cassiopeia is high in the north on winter evenings. From a dark country sky, you'll see that Cassiopeia sits atop of the luminous band of stars known as the Milky Way. Arching from horizon to horizon, this soft-glowing boulevard of stars represents an edge-wise view of the galactic disk.
    [WAR: "(The Sun) rises at one edge of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other..." (Psalm 19:6). In this Psalm, David is describing how the Sun's path goes from one band of the Milky Way (winter) to the other (summer).]  
 
    A Malaysian newspaper is reporting that Christians in that Muslim nation are being banned from using the word "Allah." An estimated 10% of Malaysia's population is Christian, and a part of that segment is Catholic. The editor of the Herald said "Allah" was not used to offend or confuse anyone. He said the Malay-language Bible uses the word "Allah" for God, and uses "Tuham" for Lord."
    [WAR: "Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God ('el - #410) Most High ('elyown - #5945; from #5927 = 'alah) ." (Gen 14:18).]
 
Today in Scripture
    "A proclamation was then issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to assemble in Jerusalem. Anyone who failed to appear within 3 days would forfeit all his property, in accordance with the decision of the officials and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles." (Ezra 10:7,8)
 
    "The assault on femininity—its long history, its utter viciousness—cannot be understood apart from the spiritual forces of evil we are warned against in the Scriptures. This is not to say that men (and women, for they, too, assault women) have no accountability in their treatment of women. Not at all. It is simply to say that no explanation for the assault upon Eve and her daughters is sufficient unless it opens our eyes to the Prince of Darkness and his special hatred of femininity.
    Turn your attention again to the events that took place in the Garden of Eden. Notice—who does the Evil One go after? Who does Satan single out for his move against the human race? He could have chosen Adam . . . but he didn't. Satan went after Eve. He set his sights on her. Have you ever wondered why? It might have been that he, like any predator, chose what he believed to be the weaker of the two. There is some truth to that. He is utterly ruthless. But we believe there is more.
    Why does Satan make Eve the focus of his assault on humanity? Because she is captivating, uniquely glorious, and he cannot be. She is the incarnation of the Beauty of God. More than anything else in all creation, she embodies the glory of God. She allures the world to God. He hates it with a jealousy we can only imagine.
    And there is more. The Evil One also hates Eve because she gives life. Women give birth, not men. Women nourish life. And they also bring life into the world soulfully, relationally, spiritually—in everything they touch. Satan is a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). He brings death. His is a kingdom of death. And thus Eve is his greatest human threat, for she brings life. She is a lifesaver and a lifegiver. Eve means "life" or "life-producer."
    Put those two things together—that Eve incarnates the Beauty of God and she gives life to the world. His bitter heart cannot bear it. He assaults her with a special hatred. Do you begin to see it?" (Captivating , 82–85)
 
 
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