Monday, April 30, 2007

Search And Destroy - Apr 30

Here is Acts 9:1-5 :

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied.

My friend, this passage is still relevant today. There are many Saul of Tarsus' out there. When I look at these liberals, the shoe seems to fit awfully well. Within the Left establishment, it's all about proving your bona fides, your own 'street cred' if you will. How does one do this? By bad-mouthing and slandering any combination of America, Israel, the church, Christians, Jesus, the Bible and God in general. Basically, you cannot prove you belong to the church of militant secular-progressive humanism until you've persecuted Jesus Christ at length. Take Rosie O'Donnell, a hard-core disciple of the MSPH church. Isn't it enough for her that the battle over gay marriage is all but won? No, of course not. All dissent must be crushed. It's not enough to win the court battles, the enemies of the MSPH church must be humiliated as well. Consider too the case of Roman Catholic Poland as the EU is basically gang-raping the Poles over their insistence of 'one-man-one-woman-for-life' stance on marriage. It is the old story of 'repaying evil with evil', a Biblical no-no. It appears history does repeat itself and Christians are once more in the establishment's crosshairs.

One of the multi-billion dollar false churches that is in vogue today is led by High Priest Al Gore. I'm obviously referring to that whole global warming thing. It has to be believed, indeed it MUST be believed that human activity is the sole reason for the strange weather phenomena. Any scientist who dare suggests that increased solar activity is the main culprit runs the risk of ruining their careers. I found this bit of information in the article rather enlightening:

Dr Sami Solanki of the Institute for Astronomy in Zurich studies solar activity. His findings are as follows: "Looking at the past 1,150 years the Sun has never been as active as it has been during the past 60 years.

Now consider this: Israel just recently celebrated its 59th anniversary. And the sun just so happened to increase it's activity at roughly the exact same time! A coincidence maybe? I don't think so. One thing that can be agreed on is that God is still in full control.

Here's another thing that bothers me about this leftist hard-on for the environment. Does the whole green movement strike you as having neo-Marxist origins and blatant anti-American tendencies? Portraying Bush's America as the black-hatted villian seems to be the primary reason driving environmental activism. Why is the West vilified for its modern industry and countries like China (the world's second biggest polluter) given the kid glove treatment? I smell a rat here. There's a hidden political agenda at work and it does not bode well for what's left of Western civilization.

I've got a whole bunch of links that I'd love to share with you. As it's a wee bit late I'm going to fire them off in rapid succession.

Did you ever wonder where the ingredients for the food that you feed your family come from? After reading this article you may not want to.

Big Brother is listening! The demand for encrypting cell-phone conversations in Italy due to recent phone-taps is causing jitters. How long before this becomes a global demand?

Islam is bad for women and is the main reason for failure in Iraq.

The Canadian Anti-Christ (aka Justin Trudeau) has just won his nomination in the Montreal riding of Papineau. The kid knows how to pull 'em in, I'll give him that.

Earthquakes in Divers Places Dep't: There's been an unlikely 4.3 magnitude earthquake in Folkestone, England. Many buildings (whom I suspect were not built with California standards) have been permanently damaged.

To close, know that religion is good for your kids and ministering the Gospel as a family as this couple in India has discovered is even better.

Johnny Cash

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

The Thin Edge Of The Wedge - Apr 24

I was absolutely gobsmacked when I saw this cartoon. Not because of its content, message or style, but because of where it came from. Would you believe Saudi Arabia of all places? You can find this cartoon and a whole bunch of others in the MEMRI link provided.


Here's an excerpt from the same link above:

The cartoons presented the terrorists who perpetrated the attacks in Morocco and Algeria as bloodthirsty murderers destined for hell; the spread of terrorism in the Arab world was characterized as a worrying and threatening phenomenon; terrorism was presented as a distortion of the commandments of the Koran; and there was criticism of the clergy's acquiescence in the face of terrorist acts.

Also from MEMRI are these two remarkable posts about hard lessons learned when Arab countries expel their Jews and a parody op-ed from al-Hayat editor Ghassan Charbel on the need of a massive funeral society to accommodate all the dead Arabs and their dreams.

Here is Islam's evolution as I see it:

1) Believers see their faith as growing; triumphalism abounds.

2) Islam suffers some setbacks. No panic in the Ummah yet. Israel and America still thrive, much to the jihadis chagrin.

3) More setbacks follow, this time more serious and extensive. A slow trickle of believers leave the faith, never to return. Still no panic but now visible signs of worry are evident.

4) Many people come out publicly, including ex-Muslims, to criticize Islam and its Prophet. While Islam still remains a formidable foe, those filled with the Holy Spirit of God begin to see that the end-game for Islam and other false religions is in sight. More Muslims become apostates and begin their new path of faith by trusting in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour.

5) The Rapture of the Church occurs suddenly and without warning. Chaos is all over the globe, especially in America where the vanishings hit hardest. The tribulation era begins and a mysterious figure out of Europe seizes the reins of power. The Muslims refer to him as the al-Mahdi. The Jews in Israel that remain call him Messiah and sign a seven year peace treaty with this articulate and handsome leader.

6) Seven years of horrific bloodshed ensues. Many Muslims begin to openly curse their al-Mahdi for lack of progress. What was once a trickle of believers leaving Islam is now turning into a irreversible cascade. Disasters befall Earth's inhabitants and powerful miracles are sent from God to proclaim the coming Millenial Reign.

7) Armaggeddon and the Second Coming of Christ. All the armies arrayed against the King of Kings are squashed like a bug in one day. Islam and other false doctrines are finished forever. The Kingdom of God is ushered in and the Golden Age of Humanity lasts for a thousand years.

As I see it right now, we are at stage four. The thin edge of the wedge is already well underway. Are you ready to receive Jesus Christ as Saviour today? I hope so.

Johnny Cash

Sunday, April 22, 2007

101 Ways To Die - Apr 22

Yes my friend there are many ways to die. Such is the case for Corporal Brent Poland who died recently in Afghanistan:



Of course you could always get struck by lightning too. Check out this electrical discharge in the Arizona desert:

One of the things that stalks humanity is famine and drought:


Nuclear war is also a possibility, especially since the collapse of the late (and unlamented) Soviet Union.

There also doesn't seem to be any shortage of megalomaniacs either. While Adolf Hitler has been in Hell since 1945, people like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been picking up the slack and beating the drums of war.


So what does all this prove exactly? There are indeed many ways to die but only one way to life and that is salvation through Jesus Christ.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:17-21)

As recent events at Virginia Tech proved, death can visit at any time. The one thing that I will say about the liberal media is their uncanny ability to predict something long after its already happened. We're all geniuses after the fact and that is that. Truth of the matter is, there are many more individuals out there who fit the profile of a mass murderer who will never commit a felony. It's called a 'false positive' and we have to learn to live with it if we desire a free and open society. Unless the police have the hard intelligience, there is no sure-fire way to predict the likes of Cho Seung-Hui. What has been proven to be an effective deterrent to crime are conceal-and-carry laws. Naturally, the statists and the believers in big gov't (especially one world gov't supporters) are loathe to admit this. Take the example of Venus Ramey, an 82 year-old former Miss America (1944) who prevented a crime while using a snub-nosed .38 caliber pistol. How do you think Mrs. Ramey would've fared without her pistol? The answers aren't pretty if she isn't armed. Look, the average citizen doesn't want a main battle tank or a cruise missile. What they do want is the ability to protect their lives and property and owning a gun (or a rifle or a shotgun) is the most effective way to achieve this. There has to be compromise between the two positions. The state must control the flow of weapons to its citizens and the citizens must retain the right to self-defence. Any attempt to swing it hard to the left or to the right will prove to be disasterous.

Of course we cannot allow Miss Coulter to hog the spotlight now can we? Bill O'Reilly makes two valid points on what happened at VT. First, is it not in poor taste to gloat over the death of your rivals? Much of the European media was filled with such horrible bile and invective over a pile of dead Americans that you were forced to shake your head. I'm quite sure repaying evil for evil is not what Jesus would advocate in this instance. The second point is why does there seem to be a near media blackout over the carnage that is occuring in Iraq? Over a hundred Shia were killed in Baghdad recently and there was practically no coverage. I think that's the difference between us and them. As much as I despise Islam, I don't gloat over individual Muslim deaths. There is no joy in my heart when I hear of such atrocities.

Here's a further example of what I mean. While those practicioners of the 'Religion of Peace' slaughter innocents in Turkey and attack a Canadian reporter in Mississauga, all we want to do is show a film on Islam stripped of all its PC pretensions. I've not seen Obsession yet as there seems to be some reticence in showing it here north of the border. Hopefully I'll see it soon.

I suppose that's it for now. As I've moved the Christian Defender to it's new Blogger format, you'll notice some stuff is missing. I'll get my e-mail contact at aol.com back up and maybe throw in a Bible verse or two. I've re-added those buttons and you can still get the rss feed for this blog by going right to the very bottom of the page to see the link. As always, the X-Def is perpetually under construction.

Johnny Cash

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The Destroyer of Worlds - Apr 18

Jesus had much to say about the Devil. In John 8:44 we read:

He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Doesn't leave much wiggle room, does it? When Jesus spoke, He spoke with clear authority from the Father. Satan is the father of ALL LIES, no matter what anyone else tells you. We've all fallen a little short and we've all told a fib or two to gain the advantage. Why is this bit of scripture so important? Because Satan is still in the business of telling lies to the world. Satan is also a murderer and uses lies to get others to do his bidding. There is only one innoculation against the lies of the enemy and that is to put yourself under submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit, and only the Holy Spirit, that can give you discernment and see the Devil's lies for what they truly are. Please do this today. Your life here and the life to come is at stake.

By now you have heard of the shooting at Virginia Tech University. Please don't tell me that evil isn't real because it is. Mass murder is something that repells us, an aberration of the highest order. It appears to be the work of a 23 year-old South Korean student named Cho Seung-Hui. I'm actually relieved that there was no Islamist connection although that's small consolation to the families of the victims. In all, 33 victims are dead with many more wounded. A picture gallery from the BBC can be found here.

I think many a Christian living in Canada bemoans the fact the gay marriage is the law of the land. When you look at the Liberals and the Conservatives do you see any remarkable difference of opinion? I sure don't. Let's face facts here: The gays have won, hands down. Yep, we've lost and they're the victors. Which is not to suggest that they're right; they aren't and they never will be. Look, Satan hates marriage and the church because it was God Himself who ordained the two. So what better way to kill two birds with one stone than to introduce this? The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams faces a real schism between the more liberal churches in the West and the conservative Anglicans from Africa. Make no mistake, this is a real problem and Satan delights in the idea of causing divides in the global church. Satan despises the family and children too. In Germany, homeschooling is under assault. A 15 year-old teenager named Melissa Busekros has been separated from her family and placed in the psychiatric ward because her parents decided to home-school her. The message to Christian families from our secular gov'ts is both crude and simple: The state can do a better job of raising your kids than you can. I mean this stuff reads like a horror novel! You should also read Faith Girl's post about finding a high school for her little ones and the trials she's enduring.

Not only is the church being undermined from within, it is being attacked from without as well. You can read about two pastors being assaulted with full complicity from the police in Madhya Pradesh, India. Or you can read about Assyrian Christians in Iraq being forced to convert to Islam or be killed. Don't be deceived. Islam was spread by the sword during Mohammed's time and is still being spread by the sword.

It should also come as no surprise that Satan hates the Jews and the nation of Israel most of all. As I reported last summer, Israel's latest war with Hezbollah left them intact. Because of this foolishness, I fear that there will be an even bigger and more destructive war later on this year. The lies that Hamas and Hezbollah tell their people are so transparent and downright laughable if not for the seriousness of the situation. So what they do is make every single preparation for war and when Israel decides to take action, they turn around and claim 'Israeli aggression'! The air is thick with their bullshit. Only a complete moron would believe even one percent of what Hezbollah readily provides to an all too gullible (and liberal) MSM.

In other news, it's been reported that Johnny Cash's home in Tennessee recently burnt to the ground. Turns out there is a God after all as Bee Gee Barry Gibb was set to take up residence in Cash's old home. Lemme see: Folsom Prison Blues vs. Stayin' Alive. Which song would you prefer?

To close out this post I've got two links from Live Science on how volcanic activity is linked to earthquakes and how the power of faith influences healing in patients.

Yes, the X-Def has been updated to the new version of blogger! It's also a little messed up as I've lost some stuff including my buttons. Hopefully I'll get things back into shape real soon. I also promise to post more often. A week between posts is not acceptable. Enjoy the new Christian Defender!

Johnny Cash

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Unfinished Business - Apr 7

Below is a cool pic from Jerusalem Post on the Easter festivities in the Holy Land.


Today being Saturday on the holiest weekend of the year, I thought to myself, 'What title would be appropiate for today?'. Christ's Passion took place on the Friday (although there are many Bible scholars who dispute the actual day of the week that this took place) and His resurrection is celebrated on the Sunday. So what about the Saturday when the crucifiction was finished and Jesus still lay in the tomb? And there's were it hit me: Unfinished business. Well, Jesus did come out of His tomb to show His victory over death and sin. Thank God! However, Christ's work is still unfinished. When He comes in glory to put the final nail in the coffin of this sinful age is when He will truly be able to say, 'It is finished!'.

I've been reading up on the fallout of the release of those British sailors and I gotta tell ya, it isn't pretty. Back in January of this year there was a raid in Irbil, Iraq on the Iranian consulate that the Americans executed in trying to capture Iranian Revolutionary Guards Gen. Minojahar Firouzandeh. Although the officer eluded capture after some Kurds tipped him off, six others were taken into custody and one diplomat was promptly released. In other words, this was a 'tit for tat' measure. You should also read Alan Caruba's article submitted by Brigitte Gabriel at Jihadi du Jour for insight as well.

Wars and Rumors of Wars Dep't: Last summer's war that the Israelis waged against Hezbollah has left a sour taste in everybody's mouth. When I was blogging on the war I said that leaving Hezbollah half-finished simply set the table for a future and much larger conflict. It now appears that everybody is getting into the act including Syria, Iran, and even Libya. In a way, this is exciting news for those who are intimately acquainted with Bible prophecy. In Ezekiel 38 and 39 we are foretold of a future battle in which God would intervene directly in the affairs of men on behalf of the nation of Israel. That reality is now much closer than it appears. In the meantime, continued prayer for Israel and the ME is a must.

When Jesus said 'Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted', I'm quite sure that He wasn't referring to those crybaby leftists who blame America for all the world's ills. Here's a Biblical lesson on freedom from Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly on Rosie O'Donell's antics and a sobering report on the ugly reality in Iraq four years later.

I didn't realize this but its been 25 years since the Brits kicked ass in the Falklands. From the Beeb comes a cool picture gallery of that conflict a quarter of a century ago.

I always enjoy closing a post on a positive note. Read about Mahabir who started a mission in Goa, India with his mother. This missionary has sacrificed much, including being disowned by his father and being banned from his home village of Karnataka, India. God is good and He will take care of Mahabir and his mum. Praise His name!

Break out the salami and cheese cause the Toronto Raptors have captured their very first Atlantic Division title. Let's hope Chris Bosh and the boys go far and add some much needed excitement to the Toronto sports scene. Perhaps an extended playoff run by the Raptors will dull the disappointment of another underwhelming year from the Leafs.

LET'S GO RAPTORS!

Johnny Cash

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

A Breather For Now - Apr 4

It appears that the mini-crisis over the Iranian capture of those British sailors is finished. Naturally this is good news, especially for the families of the sailors. However, we should carefully mute any kind of celebration. Here's my humble opinion of what happened here:

1) The targets were going to be British from the get-go. Any attempt to capture American personnel would have had immediate and unfortunate consequences. The Iranians basically wanted to give us the middle finger, not spit directly in our face.

2) There is no doubt of Russian involvement in this. These military actions would never have gone ahead without explicit Russian approval, up to and including Vladimir Putin.

3) This was not a spur of the moment! I think people in the West seriously underestimate Iranian craftiness and resourcefulness. The Iranian leadership had this planned out. They knew who was to be captured, when and where that capture was to take place (though there had to be an opportune time to present itself before they could act), how the captives were to be treated (rather well in this case), where they were going to be held and the approximate time frame before they were to be released. In other words, it was a calculated manouevre from beginning to end.

4) This is not over. Not even by a long shot.

To get your free stratfor.com updates, click here and become the life of the party!

Johnny Cash

The British Detainees: Why a Rescue Attempt was Never in the Cards
By Fred Burton


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said April 4 that the 15 British sailors and marines captured March 23 in the area around the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway would be released. Although it is unclear at this point just what deal was made to secure their freedom, it is apparent that Iran instigated the drama for much the same reason it held 52 American hostages for 444 days following the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by radical students in 1979. Both events were meant to demonstrate the power of Iran's hard-liners, not only to the Iranian public but also to the West and the rest of the world.

As the stalemate between the British and the Iranians dragged on for nearly two weeks, many Stratfor readers wrote in to suggest that a rescue operation should be undertaken. In this case, however, seeking a diplomatic solution was always the most logical approach.

Although the rescue operation authorized by U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1979 ended badly for the United States, the British Special Air Service (SAS) and its U.S. counterparts are far better prepared than they were back then -- and they could have avoided most of the mistakes made during "Desert One." That said, however, the Iranians are experts at hiding hostages for long periods, and there certainly was no guarantee that a rescue attempt would have succeeded. Therefore, it was indeed just speculation that one would have been attempted.

The SAS and American operators have conducted hundreds of successful missions in the region, both during the 1991 Gulf War and following the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. They are better equipped than ever before and, with their skills honed to a razor's edge by repeated combat deployments and many successful missions, they perhaps are at their highest level of proficiency.

However, this was not the Iranians' first rodeo when it comes to holding captives, and they undoubtedly would have taken measures to thwart any rescue attempt. While some of these measures would have been military, the most important ones would have been in the realm of intelligence. The Iranians understand that intelligence drives any rescue mission and that by denying the British the required intelligence, they could prevent a rescue attempt from ever getting off the ground.

Naturally, the British (and the Americans) will have focused a tremendous amount of effort and resources on determining where the British personnel were being held. While this case is reminiscent of the 1979 crisis in some ways, when it comes to thwarting intensive intelligence efforts to locate a small group of detainees, it is perhaps more relevant to look back to the Lebanon hostage-taking crisis of the 1980s. During that period, the Iran-guided Hezbollah operation thwarted intensive U.S. efforts to collect the tactical intelligence required to mount a rescue attempt for nearly a decade.

Ali the Iranian

Hezbollah is intimately connected to Iran. The organization was created by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the 1980s as a vehicle to export the ideals of Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini's Islamic Revolution to Lebanon's Shiite community. Since then, Iran has been Hezbollah's chief source of funding and weapons, and the Iranians also provide extensive training in weapons, tactics, communications, surveillance, intelligence and other methods to Hezbollah's militant wing in Lebanon.

Because of this relationship, the Iranians were intimately involved in Hezbollah's operations to abduct Western hostages in Lebanon -- and to hold them for prolonged periods of time. In fact, some of the hostages were even held at locations clearly associated with Iran's IRGC, such as the Sheikh Abdullah Barracks in Baalbek, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

This linkage to Iran was clearly displayed in the Iran-Contra scandal, in which sales and transfers of arms to Iran led to the release of hostages, including Benjamin Weir in 1985 and David Jacobson and Father Lawrence Jenco in 1986. However, this Iranian involvement in the keeping of Western hostages in Lebanon was perhaps best personified by a Persian who came to be known as "Ali the Iranian".

During the debriefings of the Western hostages held in Lebanon, it was learned that many of the hostages had seen the same short, chubby bearded chap -- a man the debriefers nicknamed "Ali the Iranian." The uncanny similarity between the sketches made of this man during the debriefing process, as he was described by hostages held at different times and in different locations, demonstrated Ali's prolonged involvement in the episode.

When Ali would come to visit the locations where the hostages were being held, he was treated with great reverence and respect by the guards, and a few of the hostages even characterized his visits as "inspections." Also, due to the timing of his visits, it is believed that Ali was involved in overseeing prisoner movement, monitoring their treatment and approving the sites where they were held.

Because of his function, the U.S. interagency task force assigned to locate the hostages (part of which involved debriefing former hostages) came to the conclusion that Ali was an Iranian intelligence officer who worked very closely with Imad Fayez Mugniyah, the man responsible for Hezbollah's intelligence and counterintelligence activities. Mugniyah is believed to have directed the kidnappings of the Westerners in Lebanon and to have been involved in the efforts to guard them and to thwart any U.S. rescue efforts.

Tactical Lessons from Lebanon

From the debriefings of the Western hostages in Beirut, much was learned about the tactics used by Mugniyah and Hezbollah to keep U.S. intelligence off balance during the decade-long hostage crisis.

First, Hezbollah did not keep all of its eggs in one basket -- it kept the hostages split up. While some were kept in groups, they were never all held together in the same location. The high-value targets, such as CIA station chief William Buckley and Marine Col. William Higgins, were held and interrogated separately. Buckley was moved to the same location as one of the small groups shortly before his death, but he was gravely ill at the time of his transfer and had clearly been severely tortured and badly abused during his solitary captivity.

The hostages also were kept in a number of different environments, including the basement of a military barracks, a secret compartment under a barn and an apartment in a high-rise building in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Sometimes the hostages were kept in absolute darkness, while at other times they were kept in a more congenial atmosphere where they were given light and reading material. Regardless of the conditions, however, the hostages were well-secured and carefully watched by guards armed with assault rifles and pistols. At times, the hostages were chained to the radiator in a room in an apartment building, and at other times they were locked in cells that measured just 16 square feet and were 4 feet high (which was particularly tough for 6'7" Briton Terry Waite). While captives Charlie Glass and Jerry Levin successfully escaped, other escape attempts were foiled and resulted in merciless beatings.

The hostages were almost always held in an area surrounded by Hezbollah sympathizers -- people who could warn of surveillance by Western intelligence, provide early warning on preparation for rescue attempts and help deter escape attempts and recapture escaped hostages.

Hezbollah also moved the hostages around, especially following the release of a hostage or another event that could serve to compromise their location. The hostages were nearly always moved under cover of darkness, and they frequently were bundled like mummies and wrapped in cloth or tape. This not only made escape difficult, but would also make it impossible for any accidental bystander to identify them. At times, the bundled hostages would be moved in the trunk of a car, or even hidden in trucks with secret compartments (presumably used at other times for smuggling arms and other illicit goods).

These measures (along with the U.S. government's paucity of human sources in Lebanon and over-reliance on signals intelligence) meant that the United States could never gather hard intelligence on the locations of all the hostages at any one time. Without the ability to get U.S. "eyes on" the different detention sites simultaneously, no U.S. rescue mission could be launched. U.S. eyes were needed for verification because the United States could not run the risk of being lured into a trap by bad intelligence -- a trap in which American service personnel could be killed or captured and the disaster made even worse.

Tactical Reality Today

One stark difference between the situations in Lebanon in the past and in Iran today is that the conditions and circumstances under which the Britons are being held is different. The British detainees are being held by an acknowledged government, not a nonstate actor like Hezbollah. Certainly, the captors moved the detainees to various locations, keeping security around them tight and compelling them to make statements to the media. The detainees, however, were not tortured or otherwise intentionally traumatized. Iran could not have afforded for its former captives to tell stories to the media about being chained to radiators and kept in tiger cages. It also could not have them relate stories about being wrapped as mummies and shoved in false compartments of trucks. Also, there was never any indication that the Iranians meant for this captivity to last for months or years.

That said, while many of the specific tactics used by Iran's proteges in Lebanon could not be used during the most recent situation, many of the broad principles could have applied, and these principles would have assisted the Iranians in keeping British intelligence efforts off balance -- should they have chosen to prolong this drama.

Iran is far larger than Lebanon, and Tehran is several times farther from the sea than any point in Lebanon. As witnessed during Desert One in 1979, even getting a rescue team to Tehran can be difficult. The terrain, however, was just one of the obstacles. The IRGC, which captured the British personnel, is far larger and better-equipped than Hezbollah -- not to mention the rest of the Iranian military, police and the MOIS -- and the Iranians are far better trained, equipped and organized than they were in 1979 or Hezbollah was in the 1980s.

Based on these considerations, the conditions under which the detainees have been kept, the risk associated with a rescue operation and the difficulty in collecting the intelligence necessary to launch a rescue attempt in the first place -- a diplomatic, negotiated settlement to the case was always in the cards.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Fools Rush In Where Angels Dare To Tread - Apr 1

The picture below was taken at the Vatican by a British tourist. Of course, this doesn't prove anything nor am I attempting to be clever. I just thought it was a cool pic.



Speaking of fools, this new brouhaha over those captured British sailors is escalating. Keep in mind that this is a calculated ploy. The Iranians believe (correctly) that it's too risky to try and kidnap American troops so they captured British troops at sea instead. This is been a long time coming as the Iranians desire a showdown with the West. So as the U.S. Navy gathers strength in the Persian Gulf (Is it an exercise? Or a prelude to war?), we must realize that the Mutually Assured Destruction (or MAD) doctrine that was in place with the Russians during the Cold War simply doesn't work with Iran. If Iran's mad mullahs were to order an attack on Israel they would have no moral quandry in sacrificing tens of millions of innocent Iranians to achieve their demonic dream of a Jew-free Middle East. Yes, it is THAT insane! So long as Islam is advanced and Islam's enemies (America and Israel) are seen in a bad light is how 'victory' is determined.

Meanwhile, the dhimmification of Europe continues as it is now very un-PC to even mention the word jihad. Well, if they can't say it then I will: Jihad, jihad, jihad. Ahhh, that feels so much better! And by jihad I'm not referring to inner spiritual struggle either. On the other side of the pond, American lawmakers are fighting dhimmification to defend American citizens from malicious prosecution. You may remember the case of the Six Flying Imams who conspired to raise all sorts of hell in Minneapolis as they boarded a US Airways flight. Organizations like CAIR are notorious for using litigation to intimidate their opponents or anyone who has a critical word to say. Free speech under attack? You bet.

Allright, five more links and then we're done. This is without doubt the most important week of the year for Jews and Christians world-wide. As the Jews celebrate Passover, Christians celebrate Palm Sunday this weekend as Jesus Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, in accordance to Daniel's prophecy of 'Seventy-Sevens' found in chapter nine.

I love the Pope. He's a no-nonsense, back to basics kind of guy. As much as JP II was loved and admired, I think the guy tolerated far too much. Benedict XVI on the other hand is a different story which is good for the Catholic church and the church as a whole. Benny recently proclaimed that the fires of Hell were both real and eternal. Wow. Just how un-PC is that! I believe in the doctrine of Hell too, not because of what some 80 year-old German theologian said but because of what Jesus Himself said. Go back and read some of the NT gospels. Not even once did Jesus contradict the doctrine of Hell as being both real and eternal. So what does that tell you?

As a news hound and a history aficionado, it disheartens me greatly when we fail to learn from our mistakes. Take Iraq for example. In 1920, learned people who underood Iraq knew there was going to be trouble when the British were there. Read these quotes and see what I mean.

Should it surprise you that slavery has never really disappeared? Except now it's called 'human trafficking'. A case here in Canada was over Portuguese immigrants who came here illegally to work here is an example that comes to mind. What happens to one of these workers when they get injured? How are labor laws supposed to protect them then? How can they report to the Ministry of Labor when unsafe conditions exist in the workplace? Workers who come here illegally are completely at the mercy of a tyrannical and unethical employer who don't care a whit if their illegals get hurt. I think that there's a special place in hell for those that exploit the vulnerable, especially women.

My last link goes to Gospel for Asia. See this slide show that proves God's faithfulness to new Christians in India.

Many thanks to Faith Girl for forwarding her links to me. You may have noticed I've added a new header in my sidebar that show FG's favorite links. Please do visit them as I believe they are quite useful. I've also added Israeli Weapons to my short list. I've subtracted Sacred Scoop because his blog is no longer current. CottShop, you will be missed. I've done away with Inshallah Shaheed, a Muslim blogger who isn't deserving of any kind of publicity, be it negative or positive. And thanks to Douglas who tagged me with a 'Thinking Man's Blogger Award'. I have no clue what that entails exactly but I'm 100% sure that it is a compliment.

Johnny Cash