There is increasing talk again about a U.S. strike on Iran. I think it cannot be discounted because of Iran’s increased nuclear development, the preparation for war going on in Syria, and Iran’s arming of the Hamas and Hezbollah with thousands of missiles. A Middle East war in late spring or early summer on the 60th year of Israel’s existence is more likely than not.

Newsmax.com - Source: U.S. Strike on Iran Nearing

Contrary to some claims that the Bush administration will allow diplomacy to handle Iran’s nuclear weapons program, a leading member of America’s Jewish community tells Newsmax that a military strike is not only on the table – but likely.

“Israel is preparing for heavy casualties,” the source said, suggesting that although Israel will not take part in the strike, it is expecting to be the target of Iranian retribution.

“Look at Dick Cheney’s recent trip through the Middle East as preparation for the U.S. attack,” the source said.

Cheney’s hastily arranged 9-day visit to the region, which began on March 16, included stops in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Turkey, and the Palestinian territories.

Tensions in the region have been rising.

Syria has known chemical and biological capabilities and has tried to obtain nukes. With this arsenal of rockets it should be clear why Bible prophecy says that Damascus will be destroyed. It increasingly looks like this will take place in the very near future

clipped from www.worldnetdaily.com The official said after the Israeli airstrike, Syria picked up the pace of acquiring rockets and missiles, largely from Russia with Iranian backing, with the goal of completing its missile and rocket arsenal by the end of the year. The Jordanian official said Syria is aiming to possess enough projectiles to fire over 100 rockets into Israel per hour for a sustained period of time.

The person gives a pretty good case why there will be no peace agreement until some things change in the Middle East. I think the Islamic terrorists will have to be defeated worldwide before any peace agreement is realistic. That means dealing with the instigators in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan,Syria and in parts of Africa.

The facts on the ground seem to abundantly proclaim that any final U.S.-backed peace accord that helps create a Palestinian state inside Judaism’s biblical heartland and the Gaza Strip will not be achievable, let alone viable, until the Tehran-led jihad axis of evil is dealt with. Not a few Israelis hope that is the real reason for the president’s current Middle East jaunt - preparing the ground for a military assault on nuclear-arming Iran, which would certainly help render its regional Muslim surrogates mere toothless fairies.

Full article

FrontPage Magazine: “The gist of the new evidence is this: roughly one quarter of Saddam’s WMD was destroyed under UN pressure during the early to mid 1990’s. Saddam sold approximately another quarter of his weapons stockpile to his Arab neighbors during the mid to late 1990’s. The Russians insisted on removing another quarter in the last few months before the war. The last remaining WMD, the contents of Saddam’s nuclear weapons labs, were still inside Iraq on the day when the coalition forces arrived in 2003. His nuclear weapons equipment was hidden in enormous underwater warehouses beneath the Euphrates River. Saddam’s entire nuclear inventory was later stolen from these warehouses right out from under the Americans’ noses.

The theft of the unguarded Iraqi nuclear stockpile is perhaps, the worst scandal of the war, suggesting a level of extreme incompetence and gross dereliction of duty that makes the Hurricane Katrina debacle look like a model of efficiency. Without pointing fingers at the Americans, the Israeli government now believes that Saddam Hussein’s nuclear stockpiles have ended up in weapons dumps in Syria. Debkafile, a somewhat reliable private Israeli intelligence service, has recently published a report claiming that the Syrians were importing North Korean plutonium to be mixed with Saddam’s enriched uranium. Allegedly, the Syrians were close to completing a warhead factory next to Saddam’s WMD dump in Deir al Zour, Syria to produce hundreds, if not thousands, of super toxic “dirty bombs” that would pollute wherever they landed in Israel for the next several thousands of years. Debka alleged that it was this combination factory/WMD dump site which was the target of the recent Israeli air strike in Deir al Zour province.. “

Very interesting article. If this information checks out, Syria is now as much a nuclear danger as is Iran. Now we might know why Bible prophecy says Damascus will get destroyed. It also fits with Syria’s recent attempt to build a nuclear facility and Israel taking it out. There are obviously things about Syria’s WMD capability that we are not being told. Three rogue states are in collusion developing WMD - Syria, Iran and North Korea.

Israel on alert for Syria airstrike - Times Online: “THE defensive missile shield around Israel’s Dimona nuclear reactor was placed on red alert 30 times last week amid fears of an airstrike by Syria.”

Syria refuses to participate in Middle East peace conference Jerusalem Post: “Syrian President Bashar Assad announced on Thursday that his country would not participate in the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis next month, Army Radio reported. “

“Speaking to Tunisian media, Assad said the conference had no chance of achieving Syria’s goals.”

WorldNetDaily: Syrian guerrilla group ‘ready for attacks’: “In his new book, ‘Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans – to a Jew!’

WND Jerusalem bureau chief obtained access to the leadership of the new purported Syrian group, calling itself the Committees for the Liberation of the Golan. ‘If an agreement is not quickly forged between Israel and Syria [for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan], we will begin attacks,’ a senior leader of the Committees told Klein, speaking on condition his name be withheld.”

War on the Horizon? - HUMAN EVENTS: “Syria is beating the loudest war drums and appears to be the geographical lynchpin to any near-term conflict with Israel. Syrian President Bashar Assad says his military is preparing for that war. “We have begun preparations within the framework of our options,” Assad told the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anba.”

‘Chances of war with Syria still high’ Jerusalem Post: “The IDF continued to maintain a high level of alert along the northern border on Sunday as senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post that while close to three weeks have passed since Israel’s alleged air strike in Syria, there is still a chance war could break out. “

Israel to fulfill Biblical prophecy? (OneNewsNow.com): “Markell says she wonders about the prophetic words in Isaiah 17:1, ‘Damascus is to be leveled to become a ruinous heap. Not anything can live in it again. Now that’s never happened,’ she says. She says with Syria trying to obtain nuclear weapons, the words of Isaiah 17:1 loom even larger. ‘If Syria ever lobs any kind of a nuke into Israel, I believe Israel will respond in kind and depending on the seriousness of the whole situation could fulfill Isaiah 17:1, the complete destruction of Damascus,’ she states. “

Israel to Syria: Use chem weapons & we’ll wipe you off map: “Politicians in Israel said yesterday they were not picking a fight with their neighbor, but pledged to forcefully retaliate if chemical warheads come screaming across its shared border. ‘We will not attack them first. But if they ever use these weapons against Israel, then we must be clear — it will be the end of this evil and brutal dictatorship,’ Yuval Steinitz, a right-wing member of the Israeli parliament, told the Daily News yesterday.”

And according to Bible prophecy the city of Damascus will become a ruin.

WorldNetDaily: Prophesied destruction of Damascus imminent?: “To Ahmadinejad’s way of thinking, if somebody has to be martyred to the Mahdi’s cause, why not Syria? Twenty-five hundred odd years ago, the Hebrew prophet Isaiah prophesied of the destruction of Damascus. This prophecy is made more fascinating by the fact it remains unfulfilled in history. Damascus is the oldest continually inhabited city on earth. Although conquered many times, its status as an economic and cultural center of antiquity preserved it intact to this day. But Isaiah predicted Damascus would one day face utter destruction: ‘Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and it will become a fallen ruin,’ he writes in Isaiah 17:1.”

“Bible prophecy doesn’t make allowances for a full-scale unconventional war of annihilation of Israel by Iran, however. Ezekiel predicts Iran’s participation of the Gog-Magog invasion as part of a Russian-led alliance, not a regional alliance with Syria. Both Iran and Israel are listed as participants in that future conflict.
But Syria isn’t.
Syria isn’t numbered among any of the various protagonists prophesied to participate in the conflicts of the last days.”

I think Hal is correct. Syria will be wiped out in the war on Islamofascism. Then the moderates will ascend to power in the Islamic nations and there will be a period of peace with Israel. Then Iraq and Israel will become the economic hubs of the Middle East. Later Gog (Russia) comes down against Israel that is resting in peace and many Islamic nations join with him but not Iraq. These forces are defeated by God. Iraq then becomes the center point of Babylon the Great of Revelation and the Middle East.

Could Damascus Become a “Ruinous Heap?” - CWN: “Analyst Micah Halpern says, ‘My analysis is also based on past experience, patterns of behavior, and instinct. What probably happened is that North Korea and Syria thought it would be a good idea to amass nuclear warheads and hold them as a surprise weapon against Israel. North Korea has the weapons and Syria wants them. Both countries are pariah nations, and they are co-joined in their antipathy to the West, and by extension, that also means Israel. ‘Intelligence from Turkey as well as from several non-official Israeli sources shows that this was more than a plan. Syria was actually in receipt of the weapons.”

SCRIPTURE: Keep in mind that Isaiah 17:1 says that Damascus, Syria, will become a “fallen ruin” some day. If the day comes when Syria’s saber-rattling becomes threats including nuclear activity, or, God forbid, it becomes clear that Israel is threatened seriously, she will have no choice but to act preemptively and strike Syria in a serious manner. While this is tough talk, put yourself in Israel’s shoes. We may be closer to this time than we think.

US confirms Israeli air strike on Syria - Telegraph: “A US official has confirmed that Israeli warplanes carried out an air strike ‘deep inside’ Syria, escalating tensions between the two countries. The target of the strike last Thursday remained unclear but Israeli media reported that a shipment of Iranian arms crossing Syria for use by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon was attacked.”

Israeli ambassador warns of Syrian arms buildup (OneNewsNow.com): “The Israeli ambassador to the United States says the Jewish state faces rebuilt threats from its northern and southern borders that are being armed by the Syrian and Iranian regimes.”

“We see them preparing in a way that we’ve not seen since [1973] in their investment in equipment and in their training and in their military operations,” said the ambassador, adding: “We hope it’s not offensive, but we are not sure.”