“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My Name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
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The Atlantic—The End of the US-Dominated Order in the Middle East:
Jeffrey Goldberg’s fascinating article taps into President Obama’s thinking about foreign policy and reveals its wellsprings. In that sense, he does more to help the president define and explain “the Obama Doctrine” than previous efforts by the White House itself, captured in those memorable lines “don’t do stupid shit” and “leading from behind,” which do not do justice to a doctrine that is both complicated and far-reaching in its implications for American foreign policy.
By his own reckoning, Obama’s most radical departure from the “Washington playbook” came on August 30, 2013, when he decided not to enforce his self-declared red line against the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime in Syria. For Obama that was a defining moment and, as he told Goldberg, even a proud one. Most of his closest foreign-policy advisers—including his national-security adviser, secretary of state, and vice president—had warned him that he was putting the credibility of the United States on the line.
But the president was caught between two conflicting imperatives.
The first was his determination to deter the use of weapons of mass destruction, which stems from his belief in the importance of promoting a rules-based international order. A priority for Obama is protecting the global commons from the threats of terrorism, pandemics, climate change, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. For him, that takes precedence over a return to geopolitical competition with revisionist powers like Russia, China, or Iran. The Paris climate-change accord, the elimination of the Ebola threat, the Iran nuclear deal, and the war against ISIS all result from Obama’s shift in focus from regional to global threats. Demonstrating diplomatic deftness, mobilizing the international community behind effective sanctions, and applying force where necessary, he has succeeded in protecting American interests and promoting an international order that serves the global community.
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To continue reading, click here.
SnyderTalk Comment: As Walter Cronkite used to say, “And that’s the way it is.”
It’s Obama’s doing. Can the next president rectify the situation? We’ll see.
The flaws in Obama’s logic are depicted well by people who say that there is “moral equivalence” between Israel’s settlement builders and Palestinian terrorists.
From a human perspective, Obama’s thinking may seem reasonable, but from Yahweh’s perspective it doesn’t. Many things that seem right aren’t.
I like the way Yahweh explained it to Isaiah: “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and My ways are not your ways,’ declares Yahweh.” (Isaiah 55: 8)
That explanation hits the nail on the head.
See “Former Israeli Ambassador Blasts Obama for ‘Completely Collapsed’ Middle East Vision” by Ruthie Blum.
The vacuums left around the world where the U.S. packed up and moved out are being filled. The Middle East is no exception. Russia is moving into position to become the dominant player, but China is making headway. The U.S. is in a precipitous decline. It can be reversed, but at this point, that will take some doing.
The 2016 presidential election is shaping up to be very important from a geopolitical perspective.
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His Name is Yahweh, the website, is a companion of the book His Name is Yahweh.
To see videos that explain the importance of God’s Name, click here.
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1: The Telegraph—Who is the man Europe’s giving €6 billion to handle the refugee crisis?:
Some of the busiest people in Turkey are lawyers acting for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During the last week alone, they have persuaded the courts to seize two newspapers and pass a jail sentence against one editor.
Their frenetic activity has notched up a total of 1,800 cases against people accused of “insulting the president” – about three for every day that Mr Erdogan has been head of state. His minions are pursuing not only journalists but academics, bloggers and ordinary Turks who dare to write political messages on their Facebook pages.
Yet at the very moment when Mr Erdogan is escalating a sweeping campaign against dissent, the European Union has agreed to reward his government with €3 billion (£2.3 billion), in return for a deal to close down illegal migration between Turkey and Greece.
The final bill for Turkey’s cooperation in the migration crisis may turn out to be even higher. Mr Erdogan’s ministers claim that Turkey achieved a still greater triumph over the EU by wringing €6 billion– twice the original sum – out of its coffers. The real figure should emerge at another EU summit on Thursday.
But, if the last week is any guide, Mr Erdogan’s lawyers may have seized another newspaper or two by then.
SnyderTalk Comment: Erdogan is a dictator. It’s no coincidence that he and Obama are friends.
As president, Obama was smart enough to get Congress to pass legislation that increases Secret Service protection for past presidents. Dictators tend to die merciless deaths at the hands of the people they oppressed.
Saying that Obama has made lots of enemies is an understatement. So has Erdogan. As I said, they are close.
I am all for providing Secret Service protection for past presidents, but I’m reminded of something Winston Churchill said, “Dictators ride to and fro on tigers from which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.”
Churchill was famous for not having very much security protection. It wasn’t that he didn’t need it. He simply believed that if someone wanted to kill him badly enough, he could.
By contrast, Adolf Hitler had numerous competing security battalions guarding him 24/7. He understood that the people who want most to kill dictators and wannabe dictators are those closest to them, including security personnel.
The Führer lived in paralyzing fear until he committed suicide in an underground bunker at age 56. Today he is remembered as a diabolical monster. Churchill lived a full life and died at age 91 as a respected and admired former British prime minister.
Human retribution for their crimes terrorizes dictators, but they don’t give Yahweh enough thought. They can’t escape from Him. When He decides to act, nothing and no one can stop Him.
The Messiah explained it this way: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10: 28)
The Messiah also said, ” And whosoever shall fall on this Stone [He was referring to Himself] shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” (Matthew 21: 44)
He was distinguishing between people who are saved and those who are not saved. Saved people fall on the Stone and are broken. Think of it as coming to faith and becoming obedient. Eventually, the Stone falls on unsaved people and obliterates them completely.
David described the Stone this way: “The Stone which the builders rejected has become the chief Corner Stone. This is Yahweh’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118: 22-23)
There is a Day of Judgment. It’s certain. It will arrive right on time.
Yahweh is never late and never early.
2: ABC News—Ted Cruz Says It’s a ‘Disaster’ for Republicans if Trump Becomes Nominee:
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said it will be a “disaster” for Republicans — and the country — if Donald Trump becomes the party’s presidential nominee.
“I think it’s a disaster for the country because if Donald is the nominee, it makes it much, much more likely that Hillary Clinton wins the general,” Cruz said in an interview on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
The Texas senator said the answer to beating Trump isn’t a brokered convention, but instead to “beat him at the ballot box.”
Cruz said his campaign is “on a path to beating Donald Trump,” after defeating the Republican front-runner in contests in seven different states, and recently securing endorsements from former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, radio talk show host Mike Levin, and conservative magazine National Review.
“We’re seeing Republicans uniting behind our campaign because we are the only candidate that is in position to beat Donald Trump, to earn 1,237 delegates and become the Republican nomination— nominee,” Cruz said.
Cruz then spoke directly to Republicans supporting Marco Rubio and John Kasich, and urged them to unite behind his campaign in order to defeat Trump.
SnyderTalk Comment: Cruz is wrong on several counts. Most importantly, Trump won’t be a disaster for the GOP.
The establishment GOP said the same thing about Ronald Reagan in 1976 and ended up giving us President Jimmy Carter. Need I say more?
See “Trump Will Win GOP Nomination, But Ted Cruz Plans to Be the Next Republican President”.
3: Times of Israel—Dustin Hoffman finally meets his Jewish roots:
Dustin Hoffman warned himself not to get emotional as he learned about his family history on the most recently aired episode of the PBS genealogy series “Finding Your Roots.” Still, the 78-year-old Oscar-winning actor cried openly when he found out about his paternal ancestors and their fates.
By delving into his family’s past with the guidance of “Finding Your Roots” host Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Hoffman came to realize the importance of his Jewish identity — something that he had been brought up to suppress.
Hoffman was raised in Los Angeles by parents who moved from Chicago to make a clean break from their families and Jewish heritage. He was brought up without knowledge of either Judaism or his ancestors (at least on his father’s side, which is what is dealt with in the show).
Thanks to archival sleuthing by the “Finding Your Roots” researchers, Hoffman discovered that he never knew his father’s father because he had been killed by the Bolsheviks during the Soviet Civil War. Hoffman’s grandfather, Frank Hoffman, had risked making a trip back to what is now Ukraine to rescue his parents from anti-Semitic pogroms.
4: Washington Post— Explosion rips through Turkish capital, killing 34:
A car bomb in the heart of the Turkish capital, Ankara, killed at least 34 people Sunday, heightening anxieties that violence from the war against Kurdish militants in the southeast is spilling into Turkish cities.
The early evening explosion struck near a busy square along the main Ataturk Boulevard, an area of malls and restaurants that is typically packed with shoppers and commuters.
It was the second such bombing in Ankara in less than four weeks and occurred less than a mile from the earlier one. The previous attack , on Feb. 17, targeted a bus full of Turkish soldiers, killing 28 of them, and was claimed by an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
There was no immediate assertion of responsibility for Sunday’s blast, but the pro-government Daily Sabah quoted a Turkish government official as saying the PKK or one of its affiliates is the main suspect.
5: Caroline Glick—The fourth strategy:
This week we learned that Lebanon is no more. It has been replaced by Hezbollah’s Iranian colony in Lebanon.
Two weeks ago, Saudi Arabia listed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and canceled its $3 billion aid package to the Lebanese military. The Gulf Cooperation Council followed suit. Rather than support the move by his sponsors and allies, Saad Hariri, the head of the anti-Hezbollah March 14 movement, flew to Syria to meet with Hezbollah leaders.
Saudi Arabia’s decision to end its support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) doesn’t mean that Saudi Arabia is making peace with Hezbollah.
It means that the Saudis are no longer willing to maintain the fiction that with enough support, the LAF will one day challenge Hezbollah’s effective control of Lebanon.
Hezbollah and its bosses in Tehran don’t seem too upset about the Sunnis’ decision to acknowledge that Hezbollah is a terrorist group. And they are right not to care. In essence, the Saudi move is simply an admission that they have won. Lebanon is theirs.
Hezbollah’s isn’t the dominant force in Lebanon because it has better weapons than the LAF.
Unlike the LAF, Hezbollah has no air force. It has no armored divisions.
Hezbollah is able to dominate Lebanon because unlike the LAF and the March 14 movement, Hezbollah is willing to destroy Lebanon if doing so advances its strategic goals.
SnyderTalk Comment: I’m amazed at the similarities between Islamist crazies and liberals. Both groups are “all-knowing” or at least they think they are, and they are dangerous.
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SnyderTalk Comment: Cruz would make a good V.P. this go-round.
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“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17: 22-24)
See “His Name is Yahweh”.
