Obama Doesn't Get It. Neither Does US Intelligence

This from the Debkafile after today's first meeting between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.

US-Israel summit shadowed by Obama's soft stand on Iranian enrichment
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report


Iran has consistently fooled international nuclear monitors
DEBKAfile's Washington sources report that the gap between US president Barack Obama and Israel prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Iran was wider even than on the Palestinian issue. Overshadowing their outwardly easy conversation was the US president's growing inclination to meet Iran halfway on uranium enrichment and call off UN and American sanctions if Tehran allows international monitoring of the process.

Our intelligence sources report that Obama is seriously considering taking up the Anglo-German proposal for an international monitoring mechanism strict enough to preclude Iran's attainment of weapons-grade enriched uranium.

The president was convinced by American intelligence and nuclear experts that this can be done. He also believes that nothing will persuade Tehran to cede its right to enrichment activity on its soil.

Israeli intelligence and military experts take the opposite view. They believe the Anglo-German plan gives Iran the perfect cover for concealing its race for a nuclear bomb, a misgiving shared by the political and military establishments of the moderate Arab governments in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

It is their view that if Obama adopts this plan, Iran can be sure of arriving at a nuclear weapon capability by the end of 2010.

This dispute did not come up in the Obama-Netanyahu conversation. Both skated around the Iranian nuclear threat separately without touching on options outside diplomacy. The US president said he was in the process of "reaching out" to Iran and was confident he could persuade Tehran's rulers that a nuclear weapon was not in their best interest if they wanted to be fully accepted as part of the international community. He did not mention uranium enrichment or a military option against Iran. Neither would he accept a deadline for negotiations with Tehran, except to say that at the end of the year, "we will see where we stand."

But asked later to comment, Netanyahu said: "We will defend ourselves."

Seen from outside Washington, by Iran's neighbors, Israeli and Arab alike, President Obama has made Iran the gift of seven clear months for developing its nuclear capabilities and enrichment undisturbed.

The only thing left to the Israeli prime minister was to commend "the president's firm commitment that Iran will not attain a nuclear weapon."
__________________________________________________________________________
My Commentary

Ravi Zacherias said recently that: 'We see with our ears, and hear with our emotions.' We bypass logic and reason, refusing to understand anything beyond what we feel. One thing is certain with President Obama: HE FEELS DEEPLY. However, that there is no understanding or wisdom in the Iran/Israeli/Palestinian...foreign policy, is obvious. He continues to ignore the obvious fact that Iran has a reason for developing nuclear weapons, and it is not to join the World Community.

What is spewing out of the mouth of Iran's Ahmadinjad is not rhetoric. He sincerely belives he is called to initiate the firestorm that will usher in the appearance of the Islamic messiah known as the Twelfth Imam, or Mahdi. He is hell bent on starting his own version of Armageddon, all at the expense of Israel and a sleepy, lethargic United States. Obama is only showing a limp-wristed hand to our self-declared mortal enemies. They will see it for what t is: WEAK!

I keep asking: When will Obama wake up to the realities of the world?" I fear the answer will come well after the the end of our world as we know it.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Jimmy Root Jr
Author: Distant Thunder
www.lightningchronicles. com
www.jimmyrootonline.com

No Dark Colored Glass Here

May 12, 2009

It is becoming increasingly clear (pardon the pun) that there is no seeing through a glass darkly when it comes to the direction that Barack Obama, President of the World, is heading.

As I jot, preparations are being made at the great pyramids of Giza to receive the messiah. Once there, Obama will address the Islamic world, probably with a great big smooch. Here is a man, smooth and cool, who is nothing but a calculating fool. Can there be such a thing? I'm sorry to say, YES. Why this man would lay the kiss of friendship upon people who desire to slit his throat is....beyond logic, reason, and defies belief.

At the same time, the only true friend America has had in Middle East is receiving a firm backhand by the President. His position is to strip Israel of its right to protect itself. That he would address Islam from Egypt on June 4th, the eve of the 1967 Arab/Egyption invasion of Israel, is not coincidental. It is calculated. That date was the last 24 hour period in which Islam controlled the Holy City of Jerusalem. Not surprising that Obama desires to divide that city again. hmmm

The worst of it is that Obama is not listening to the majority of Americans, including Jews and Evangelicals, who are clamoring for continued support of one, undivided Israel. Maybe he is smarter than we all think and simply is attempting to fulfill prophecy.
Jimmy Root Jr

Taking a Collective Breath as Netanyahu and Obama Meeting Approaches

The question remains: Will the Obama Administration and the Israeli administration of Benjamin Netanyahu be able to find a way to work together? A large portion of the world holds its collective breath as the first meeting between the two leaders approaches.
To say that Barack Obama has added a sense of vertigo to the Middle East epicenter (a term penned by Joel C. Rosenberg) is an understatement. Leaked from White House operatives over the weekend of May 4th was the US administration's policy of "Expose and Dispose." The long standing, gentleman's agreement of non-disclosure of Israel's possible nuclear arsenal went up in a wisp of smoke with just the hint that Obama wanted to expose Israel's deterrent. Forty years worth of partnership and cooperation suffered an extreme evaporation of trust. In Obama's misguided hunt to bring about a peacefully negotiated settlement with radical Iran, the last true Middle Eastern Allie is having it's face rubbed in the dirt while being told it must not have the right to defend itself. Israel is being stripped of a right that every other nation on earth is allowed to exercise.
On May 18th, Prime Minister Netanyahu will sit down in the White Hose with the President and attempt to salvage some semblance of trust. Whether the gesture works or not remains to be seen. But a few principle differences in positions are clear. First is the ever-present Palestinian issue. Two totally different worldviews are about to clash when it comes to the push for a Palestinian state. Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, see the absolute necessity of creating two full states, one Jewish, one Palestinian. Both would have the right of self-defense and self-determination. Palestinians (Arab refugees) would have the ability to migrate to the new Palestinian state only, while Jews would migrate to Israel. Never the two would meet.
Problem: Obama and Clinton seem to be ignorant of the radical Islamic element to the equation. A two-state solution is not what the Arab world seeks. It is looking for a ONE STATE SOLUTION....ARAB! Israel remains the 'Little Satan,' and the Jewish state must be destroyed. To radical, Wahabi Islam, Israel must cease to exist.
Netanyahu sees the Obama/Clinton vision as something fraught with danger. He understands the constant peril of his people. A Palestinian state, with the right to create and maintain its own military, is nothing less than handing a gun to an unarmed thief who is attempting to rob you.
Iran must also be considered. What Obama fails to understand is that Iran, and its puppet Syria, are the force and fire behind militant Palestinians. The President is seeking to extend a hand to an entity that wants to remove America from existence. He cannot, or will not see the apocalyptic bent of Mahmoud Ahmadinijad. To expose Israel's nuclear capacity, and push for a unilateral concession on the part of Israel, just to entice Iran to halt its nuclear ambition is naive at best and foolish at worst. Obama and Clinton are using the Palestinian issue as yet another way to soothe and persuade Iran. It's scope is Carteresque in weakness and diplomatic limp wristedness.
I believe Netanyahu will seek to move toward a Palestinian state that is minus the trappings of a sovereign nation, one that will be denied the right of creating a military. It is also increasingly obvious that he will cordially refuse to comply with Obama's 'Expose and Dispose' policy. Why? As Obama turns further away from the thought of defending the Jewish State, Israel's last true deterrent in stopping Iran is its nuclear arsenal. We must keep that in mind as it becomes clearer that Israel will soon have to deal unilaterally with the Iranian nuclear threat.
The question is: will Obama slow his increasingly anti-Israeli tone after the May 18th meeting? Can trust be built between the two men? If not, what will happen next?
Jimmy Root, Jr
Author: "Distant Thunder" August 2009
Support the Joshua Fund www.joshuafund.net

Obama Continues To Dismantle Historic Ties With Israel, To the Detriment of All

If there were any lingering hopes that President Obama would rise above his globalist roots and maintain a strong relationship with America's last true allie int he Middle East, recent developments in the administrations Mid-East policy have dashed them all. Obama is playing the Arab two-step with greater gusto than any President in history. Not only has he begun a systematic reconstruction of the United States of America, he is running rapidly toward Biblical ruin. Is it his Islamic life history, a thumbing of his nose at Democracy, or just plain ignorance in facing a world gone mad? You choose.
Newt Gingrich has his opinion, and I believe he is correct. Read this article from the May 3rd Jerusalem Post...and pray.

Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Sunday blasted the Obama administration for setting itself on a collision course with Israel and endangering the Jewish state.


"They are systematically setting up the most decisive confrontation that we've ever seen," the leading Republican politician told The Jerusalem Post, referring to news reports about the administration's approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"There's almost an eagerness to take on the Israeli government to make a point with the Arab world," he said, speaking to the Post ahead of his speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference.

He called US President Barack Obama's program of engagement on Iran a "fantasy," and his Middle East policies "very dangerous for Israel." He summed up Obama's approach as "the clearest adoption of weakness since Jimmy Carter."

Instead, he maintained, the US should be sending the message to Israel that "we are for the survival of Israel" and that "we are not going to tolerate Iran getting nuclear weapons."

He added that creating prosperity among Palestinians was important, and that the US should be helping their leaders grow their society and crowd out Hamas.


The Obama administration has also been trying to support the Fatah party as it shuns Hamas, and is looking to restart the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians in part to accomplish that end. The US government has also been focusing on engaging Iran to try to prevent them from obtaining nuclear weapons, holding out the possibility of more economic sanctions should the diplomatic process fail.

My furhter Comment
Can there be any doubt that we are rushing headlong toward the cataclysmic fulfilment of the Ezeziel 28 & 39 prophecy? Israel will be surrounded by an Russian/Iranian/Arab coalition, and only God will intervene. The nations of the world will finally and completely forsake the Jewish nation. Judgment will follow. The passage in Ezekiel also gives strong indication that, in the immediate aftermath, the gospel of Jesus will resound around the world like never before. Are you ready?

Obama Leaves Israel In a Lurch

This from the Debkafile

Israel shocked by Obama's approval of large Turkish arms sale to Lebanon
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report

April 22, 2009, 10:49 PM (GMT+02:00)

DEBKAfile quotes senior Israeli military circles as staggered by the discovery that US president Barack Obama had approved a large Turkish arms sale to the Lebanese army, including the services of Turkish military instructors. This was taken as further proof that the US president is deaf to Israel's immediate security concerns. Lebanese president Gen. Michel Suleiman has more than once threatened neighboring Israel. When he signed the arms deal in Ankara Tuesday, April 21, he once again pledged publicly to place the Lebanese army at the disposal of the Shiite terrorist Hizballah in any confrontation with Israel.

If that happened, said one Israeli source, Israel could find itself under attack not just by Hizballah as in the past, but by a Lebanese army, well trained and armed by Turkey. He noted that more than 50 percent of Lebanon's fighting manpower are Shiites loyal to Hizballah.

The conviction is growing in Jerusalem that the US president endorsed the transaction as a means of breaking up the long-standing military pact between Israel and Turkey, because it interferes with his Middle East objectives. Our sources note that neither Washington nor Ankara bothered to inform Israel of the transaction or its scope.

After meeting Turkish president Abdullah Gul, Suleiman at the head of a large Lebanese military delegation signed the contracts for the sale and declared with deep satisfaction: "We reviewed the new [US] policies towards the region in the light of President Obama's recent visit to Turkey."

My Comments
The prophet Daniel tells the story of Babylonian King Belteshazzar including the now well-used phrase, "The handwriting is on the wall." While Belteshazzar partied and gloated over the demise of Jerusalem, a hand appeared in mid-air inscribing the words 'mene, mene, tekal parsin' on the wall. The words signaled the braggadocios king's demise. It happened suddenly and quickly. The difference between what happened then and what is taking place now is this: The handwriting on the wall is long and drawn out. We can see Obama's eventual abandonment of Israel coming a long way off. No suddenness here, no secret, no attempt to cover it up. Obama has the great new vision of doing what everyone else has done before, pull the rug out from under the Jewish nation.

Giving approval of Turkey's supplying of Israel's enemies, overt in the face of existing treaties, tells us Obama is either Biblically ignorant, or absolutely bent on doing the exact opposite of what is right. However, his act leads me to believe he is a player in the fulfillment of the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecies. How so? Turkey is most definitely part of the Russian-led coalition that will descend to attack Israel. Togarmah and Gomer are both people groups that settled in what is modern day Turkey. It is also stated that no nation will come to Israel's aid when that coalition attacks, including the United States of America.

I am not surprised, but I am saddened. Not only is President Obama dismantling every foundational aspect of the Constitution and our freedom, he is doing the one thing that will guarantee the judgment of God upon our country. He is rejecting Israel. It's the same as a curse. When Israel next finds itself under the gun by those who seek to destroy her, our president will turn a deaf ear and a stiffened back. I believe that will take place soon. We are quickly approaching the next major fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. It will be catastrophic, but it will also be the last major opportunity for world-wide evangelism. Are you ready?

Jimmy Root, Jr
Author: "Distant Thunder"
To be released August 2009

A Fox in the Henhouse Playing with a Chicken

A fox is in the henhouse, playing with the chicken.
Read this article in today's Jerusalem Post.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday he was willing to forget the past and build a new relationship with the United States, adding that he was preparing a new package of proposals aimed at breaking the impasse with the West over his country's nuclear program.
The remarks to thousands in the southeastern city of Kerman took a conciliatory tone not usually heard in his speeches.
"The Iranian nation is a generous nation. It may forget the past and start a new era, but any country speaking on the basis of selfishness will get the same response the Iranian nation gave to Mr. Bush," Ahmadinejad said.
He spoke a day after the Obama administration said its immediate goal is to get Iran back to the negotiating table. Though the US government declined to publicly discuss possible new strategies for dealing with Teheran on the nuclear issue, one senior official said they could involve allowing Iran to continue enriching uranium at its current level for some time.

My Comments

Is it a coincidence that not two weeks have passed since newly elected Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared that if the US doesn't do something about the Iranian Nuclear Program, Israel would? I don't think so. Iranian President, Mahmoud Amadinijad, is no idiot. He is wiley and deceptive in offering the appearance of an olive branch to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
In fact, I believe he is smarter than the two of them combined.

Ahmadinijad knows something. First, he understands Obama's drive to be seen in America and around the world as a man of peace. (Peace at any cost, of course, is nothing less than perilouss.) Obama is young, arrogant, and gullable. He is ripe for the picking, and Ahmadinjad is picking. Iran also knows that Obama will do nothing beyond words in attempting to halt nuclear progress. That leaves the threat imposed by Israel. Ahmadinijad is well aware of Netanyahu's history of doing exactly what he says. In other words, Israel is not threatening Iran, they are issuing a warning that something will be done.
Ahmadinijad is a step ahead of everyone. He is playing his card. By offering an olive branch to the US, he is gambling that Obama will, in turn, pressure Israel to stand down and let negotiations and restored relations have a chance. May I say it? Hogwash! The sad fact is this, Obama will fall for the gambit.
Last, for Ahmadinijad to offer to negotiate its nuclear capabilities simply means they now, most likely, have nuclear capabilities. Israeli intel has been saying that Iran would have the capacity to deploy one or more nuclear weapons by June of this year. Logic demands us to acknowledge that those estimates were probably wrong. Iran has either formed a weapon, or can deploy at least a "dirty nuke."
In my book, Distant Thunder, set to be released in August of 2009, Haifa is the target of a tactical nuclear attack committed by Iran and Syria. The odds are growing daily that just such an event will happen. The world will stand by and allow it. Israel will be on its own.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem before it is too late.

Promise Twenty To Reward Your Patience

Have you ever tried to get a bird to come when you called, or a deer to eat out of your hands? How about a stray cat? Man, I can't hardly get my Jack Russell Terrorist to come when I call.

I once freaked out a perspective girlfriend. (That happened from time to time. Thanks Jean for hanging in there!) There was a wasp flying around the room and I was showing off. You know, just being 16 year old dumb. I stuck my finger into the air at the wasp as he flew by, and then I gave a little whistle. I swear, that thing did a u-turn and lit on the end of my finger. The girl was freaked. I was shocked. And then it hit me...this is painful. Stingers hurt. Oh well. Patience is rewarded from time to time.

God promises a reward for our hanging in there with him and our service to others. There are times when nothing seems to be working right, people don't want to listen, the devil gets the upper hand. But the Lord tells us a harvest is coming...and it will, at some point.

PROMISE Twenty
"Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up." Galatians 6:9

Let me tell you, it is soooo easy to give up. Quiting is simple. Just walk away. Walk away from your mission. Walk away from your effort. Walk away from your spouse. Walk away from your failure. Just walk away. Of course, your trouble is like a yapping dog. It will follow you as you walk away and nip at your heels. My advice is to patiently face what is in front of you and strive to do the right thing. It takes patience! I'll say it again so LISTEN UP...It takes PATIENCE. So hurry up and keep doing right. (Can you hear my struggles?)
Pastor Jim

Promise Nineteen A Reward of Your Faith

I finally won a prize. I had signed a million or so of those little sheets that enter a person in a drawing. Everytime I went to the lumber yard I signed. Once for a prize, once for a bill. Up til then I'd never won a drawing or prize. Then, I got the call. "Mr. Root," said an excited voice, "You've won the drawing." Wow! Cool! I won a fifty dollar ten speed bycicle. (No remember, I was a pastor and just a tad overweight...the ten speed was for junior.) At least I won.

I relished my winning moment; replayed it over and over again to maintain the joy it produced. I even rode the bike a bit. Sometimes you just gotta believe. I suppose it's a faith thing, but the faith is in chance.

Not so with God. It is no accident that God gave you a measure of faith. He gave it so you would express it, use it, practice it. If you just use a seeds worth, big things can happen. I'm talking things that are bigger than ten speed bikes. The more you learn that big things happen through faith, the more you desire to excercise it. God rewards even the smallest faith, for with him, all things are possible!

PROMISE Nineteen
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

I was so pumped at winning, I double my entrances in drawings. I promptly won an all expense paid trip for me and my family to Washington D.C. Got there just in time for Monica Lewinsky's testimony. Wow! Faith...use it or.....use it.
Pastor Jim

Promise Eighteen Refined Desires

I used to think it would be cool to be a pro football player. But then I saw some ex-pros trying to walk. I once thought it would be neat to be a computer programmer. But then I saw a huddle of geeks. Yikes! (Just kidding.) I still dream about being a pilot, but man, have you seen the price tag on getting a license? Shazzam! I think I can wait for the rapture. That'll be real flying!

PROMISE Eighteen
"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4

It's amazing how our desires are refined as we gain wisdom. Now, I'm not a really wise sort of fella, maybe a wiseguy. I still open my mouth wide and stick a foot in with relative ease. But age, and a closer walk with Jesus have put my desires to the fire. The truly good ones come out more like gold than the rest. The closer I get to eternity, the more I desire the things with eternal value. Being a good husband. Being a faithful servant. Being a true pastor. Being a loving dad, and eventually granddad. But most of all, I desire to see the one who died in my place. You may think it strange, but I'm beginning to think about seeing Jesus most of the time.

In difficult times, our desires tend to simplify. Rather than desiring a new house, car, boat, or wife, we may be stuck desiring a drink of water or a slice of bread. I want to challenge you to let your desires become eternal, not temporal. As you've already seen in this promise marathon, the food, water, clothes, roof, and provisions are already promised. You may as well desire the Kingdom because it's coming.
Pastor Jim

Promise Seventeen Blues Busting Joy

PROMISE Seventeen
"Those who sow in tears will reap with joy." Psalms 126:5


The other day, I caught a tear welling up in my eye while I was watching a movie. What a pansy! You know you're losing it when you have to clandestinely reach up and flick away any evidence of emotion. Sissy! Of course, it was only a movie.

I find myself crying more. (Some say that happens after 50.) It's not an age thing. Well, yes it is, maybe not an aging, but tears produced by the current age we live in. This present age really hurts. It is filled with pain, and the pain is increasing. Pain produces tears. (Okay big fella, hit your thumb really hard with a hammer and see if you don't cry some big crocodile tears!) But there is more to it than hard times. I believe God lays upon our hearts a spirit of compassion and empathy. It is an emotion that reaches out and hurts with others.

Many of you are hurting, probably crying deep inside. Listen, the Lord sees those tears, and he is coverting them into nurishment that will produce a harves of joy; just like a cornfield needs water for the kernels to grow. No, we don't enjoy that feeling of sorrow that produces tears, but a harvest is coming. Imagine leaping for joy when you see Jesus for the first time. Imagine his finger, the one that created the universe, wiping away your tears of sorrow for all time and eternity. Makes me want to jump up and dance.
Pastor Jim