Iraq Ancient Babylon

1
Iraq Ancient Babylon
2
Week of Terror In Iraq

• Headline
• There were dead bodies everywhere
• it seemed like the end of the world
• Headline DT 13 Nov
• US revives airstrikes after week of terror
  headline Times 11 Nov
• Event
• Italy was in shock and grief yesterday after the
  deadliest attack on its military since the Second
  World War. The loss of life looked likely to
  boost opposition to the already controversial
  Iraq deployment.
• American warplanes bombed suspected Iraqi
  guerrilla hideouts in their first air attack
  since President Bush declared major combat over
  in May following deaths of 27 troops in the past
  week. As a senior US official said the situation
  inside Iraq was now pretty close to war.
• Comment
• It is evident that the nations are perplexed.
  Confused. There is no exit strategy in place.
  Terrorism continues unabated.
• Bible Quote
• Luke 2125 and upon the earth distress of
  nations, with perplexity the sea and the waves
  roaring

3
Coalition Casualties

• Headline
• Iraq deaths stir up trouble at home for coalition
• Headline The Times 1 Dec
• Event
• The weekend wave of killings in Iraq caused huge
  political problems for the leaders of Japan,
  South Korea and Spain who lost 11 nationals
  between them. The targeting of the 4 attacks
  within 36 hours raised fears that the guerrillas
  have sources of information within the coalition.
  At the least, they marked a chilling departure.
  The latest strikes bore the hallmarks of a
  remorseless hit-list aimed at breaking the
  coalition.
• Comment
• We might expect the isolating of the UK and US as
  the lion powers. The weakening of the resolves of
  the other members of the coalition. We tend to
  think it is just the UK and US but there are many
  other nations represented in Iraq. I do wonder
  whether Isaiah 13 has a latter day fulfilment
  with the nations from afar gathered to the
  ancient area of Babylon. It could precede the
  final day of the Lord.
• Bible Quote Isaiah 13
• 1 The burden of Babylon.. 4 The noise of a
  multitude in the mountains, like as of a great
  people a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of
  nations gathered together the LORD of hosts
  mustereth the host of the battle.

4
Saddam Captured

• Headlines
• We got him
• Swaggering tyrant is pulled, groggy and
  dishevelled, from his rat
  hole
• Even at his darkest hour he will be plotting his
  own survival
• Headlines DT 15 December
• Americans celebrate but fear troops will pay
  price
• Headline DT 16 December
• Event
• Saddam Hussein was in custody in Iraq last night
  after American forces unearthed him from a
  cramped hideaway in an 8-ft deep hole under the
  floor of a mud hut on the outskirts of his home
  town, Tikrit.
• Saddam saw himself as an immortal hero of the
  Arab mould of Nebuchadnezzar or Saladin. His goal
  was to change the course of history by dominating
  the Middle East through the possession of oil and
  nuclear weapons.
• Saddam was found in rat hole with barely enough
  room to lie down. A fan ventilator provided fresh
  air in the pit a small neon tube gave some
  light. After months on the run in circumstances
  like these, it is no wonder a man acclimatised to
  luxury announced to his captors in what they
  describe as broken English I am Saddam Hussein,
  I am the president of Iraq, and I am willing to
  negotiate.

5
Saddam Captured

• Comment
• It is surely remarkable to see the squalor that
  Saddam Hussein had been to reduced to. Living in
  a rat hole, looking so dishevelled with hardly
  any food, yet less than 10 miles from one of his
  grandest palaces with marbled walls and gold
  plated taps.
• Saddam Hussein, as the Telegraph quoted on the
  15th December, saw himself as a latter day
  Nebuchadnezzar. A man to lead the Arab nations to
  victory against Jerusalem. He rebuilt the walls
  of Babylon, he built huge and luxurious palaces
  and statues of himself throughout Iraq. He wanted
  to rebuild the Babylonian empire which was why he
  attacked Iran (ancient Persia which overcame the
  original Babylonian Empire). And yet he has been
  unable to do so.
• And yet remarkably his life has continued to
  mirror that of Nebuchadnezzar. We remember how
  Nebuchadnezzar had his kingdom taken from him and
  became like a beast with hair like birds feathers
  and nails like birds claws. And so we have seen
  Saddam Hussein reduced to a very similar
  position. Living in a rat hole, hair grown long
  reduced to living like an animal underground.
• We surely see Gods hand working in these events
  he does rule the kingdoms of men and sets up over
  it who ever he wants.
• Bible Quote Daniel 4
• 31 O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken
  The kingdom is departed from thee. And they
  shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall
  be with the beasts of the field they shall make
  thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall
  pass over thee, until thou know that the most
  High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it
  to whomsoever he will.

6
Troops to stay in Iraq

• Headline
• Troops to stay in Iraq until 2006
• Headline DT 5 January
• Event
• Several thousand British troops will remain in
  Iraq until at least 2006, Tony Blair said
  yesterday during a surprise visit to forces
  stationed in the south of the country. The 10,000
  British troops in Iraq would not be scaled down
  this year, even after the passing of the July 1
  deadline handing over control of government to
  the Iraqi people.
• Comment
• We may well expect the UK and US to keep a
  presence in the area to perform their role in the
  future as King of the South. The operation in
  Iraq keeps our forces and indeed US forces
  stretched and so when the final war over
  Jerusalem comes and the nations converge on
  Jerusalem this may be reason for the defeat of
  the King of the South. We know that the King of
  the North for a short time wins as he overflows
  and passes over and many countries shall be
  overthrown.
• Bible Quote Daniel 11
• 40 ..and he shall enter into the countries, and
  shall overflow and pass over.41 He shall enter
  also into the glorious land, and many countries
  shall be overthrown

7
9 US soldiers killed

• Headline
• Nine US soldiers die in missile attack
• Headline DT 9 January
• Event
• Nine American soldiers were killed yesterday when
  their helicopter crashed near Fallujah, a town
  at the heart of anti-coalition insurgency where
  rebels have made a specialty of shooting down
  aircraft. Earlier, a military transport plane
  taking off from Baghdad airport with 63 people on
  board was forced to turn around and make an
  emergency landing when it was hit by a surface to
  air missile.
• Comment
• We may have won the battle but the war continues
  in Iraq. It is my opinion that Isaiah 13 is
  talking about these events we are witnessing as
  nations from afar have come to the ancient area
  of Babylon. These very events lead to the day of
  Lord coming. Why? Because it is this invasion
  that has led to the incredible tensions and
  lining up of the nations against each other.
• Bible Quote Isaiah 13
• 4.. a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of
  nations gathered together the LORD of hosts
  mustereth the host of the battle.5 They come
  from a far country, from the end of heaven, even
  the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to
  destroy the whole land.6 Howl ye for the day
  of the LORD is at hand

8
Suicide bomb kills 20

• Headline
• Suicide bomb kills 20 workers at Assassins Gate
• Headline DT 19 January

• Event
• A huge suicide bomb exploded outside coalition
  headquarters in central Baghdad yesterday killing
  at least 20 people, including two American
  civilian contractors.
• At least 110 people were wounded as 1,000lb of
  explosive went off in a pick-up truck outside
  Assassin's Gate, the heavily fortified entrance
  to one of Saddam Hussein's palaces. It was the
  deadliest attack since 28 people died in a
  suicide bombing at an Italian base two months ago
  and coincides with attempts by the United States,
  in talks in New York today, to persuade the
  United Nations to return to Iraq.
• Comment
• Time magazine recently had a front page which
  said Peace is Hell referring to the so called
  peace created by the US and UK in Iraq. There
  will be no true peace until our Lord returns. In
  the mean time we live in this age of terror.
• Bible Quote Psalm 72
• 7 In his days shall the righteous flourish and
  abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

9
Bloodbath in Iraq

• Headlines
• Bombers slaughter 180 pilgrims in attempt to
  provoke civil war -
  headline DT 3 March
• Events
• A wave of explosions at two Shiite shrines in
  Iraq yesterday killed at least 180 pilgrims and
  wounded hundreds more in an attack to whip up
  religious hatred and provoke civil war. The
  co-ordinated bombings, on the holiest date in the
  Shiite Muslim calendar, led to the bloodiest day
  in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein
  last April.
• Comment
• Another headline read Pure terrorism in its
  blackest form. We now know over 280 people were
  killed that day.America was duly blamed for not
  protecting innocent Iraqis but these bombers were
  in all probability fellow Arabs and fellow
  Muslims. The Bible long ago foretold these
  events. See quote below.
• We now live in this age of terror how long
  before we too are affected. We know that the time
  of trouble such as never was will effect all who
  live on the face of the earth. Let us pray we are
  spared the horrors that are coming.
• Bible Quote Genesis 16 talking of the Arab
  peoples
• 12 And he will be a wild man his hand will be
  against every man, and every mans hand against
  him and he shall dwell in the presence of all
  his brethren.

10
28 dead in huge car bomb

• Headline
• 28 dead in huge car bombing
  
  at Baghdad hotel
• Headline DT 18 March
• Event
• A powerful car bomb ripped through a Baghdad
  hotel last night, killing at least 28 people and
  injuring 45 in the building and surrounding
  houses in the heart of the city. Two Britons were
  among the wounded, the hotel manager said.
• Comment
• There may well be those who disagree with me but
  I find it more than a coincidence that the
  literal area of ancient Babylon ruled once by a
  man calling himself a latter day Nebuchadnezzar
  is going through so much destruction and terror.
  We know the religious and more important element
  of Babylon from Revelation 17 but I find it hard
  to dismiss verses like the one quoted below not
  having some relevance to the days in which we
  live.
• Bible Quote Jeremiah 51
• Prepare against her the nations with the kings of
  the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the
  rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.
• 29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow for
  every purpose of the LORD shall be performed
  against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a
  desolation without an inhabitant.

11
Urban warfare in Iraq

• Headline
• Urban warfare grips Iraq
• Headline DT 8 April
• Event
• America abandoned restraint in Iraq yesterday and
  launched an all-out attempt to impose its will on
  the country, bombing a mosque compound and
  promising to destroy the militia of the rebel
  Shia leader, Moqtada al-Sadr. In the heaviest
  fighting since the fall of Saddam a year ago, US
  forces dropped two 500lb bombs and fired rockets
  on a mosque in Fallujah.
• Comment
• A year on from the toppling of the statue of
  Saddam there is a new sense of crisis looming in
  Iraq. Sunni and Shia extremists are forging an
  alliance against US-led forces. Civil war is on
  the cards. This ancient area of Babylon is a
  picture of destruction and death. We see this war
  continuing to create tensions both between
  countries and religions. It has had the effect of
  lining up the nations as promised.
• Bible Quote Isaiah 13 this prophecy is about
  Babylon it rings true today!
• 4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains,
  like as of a great people a tumultuous noise of
  the kingdoms of nations gathered together the
  LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. 5
  They come from a far country, from the end of
  heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his
  indignation, to destroy the whole land.

12
More US troops needed

• Headline
• More US troops needed to quell uprising
• Headline DT 13 April
• Event
• America's top commander in Iraq called yesterday
  for 10,000 more troops to put down the uprising
  there, describing the new Iraqi army's
  performance as "a great disappointment".
• As the hostage crisis deepened with reports of
  the capture of 14 more foreigners and the
  disappearance of nine others, Gen John Abizaid
  said he had asked for the equivalent of two more
  mobile combat brigades.
• Raising American troop numbers from the present
  level of 132,000 is an extremely sensitive issue
  in the countdown to November's presidential
  election.
• Comment
• The situation continues to worsen. Far from
  bringing troops home more are to be sent. This
  will further stretch the US army. Ezekiel 3813
  sounds as though the US and UK are standing in
  the sidelines watching with horror the invasion
  of Israel. If troops are tied up in Iraq perhaps
  that is all they can do.
• Bible Quote Ezekiel 38
• 13 the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young
  lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come
  to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company
  to take a prey?

13
Basra bombings

• Headline
• Basra bombings bear hallmarks of Al-Qaeda
  campaign
• Headline DT 22 April
• Event
• The carefully co-coordinated bombings in and
  around Basra yesterday were designed to kill and
  maim as many Iraqi police and civilians as
  possible and plunge the British-controlled
  southern city into turmoil. There were five early
  morning rush-hour bombs, probably all of which
  were suicide bombers. By last night the estimated
  death toll was 68, up to 20 of them children and
  many other police officers. British soldiers were
  stoned by Iraqis angry at the breach in security.
• Comment
• More death, more destruction in this ancient land
  of Babylon. Britain was blamed for the carnage by
  local Iraqis. The situation in this ancient land
  of the Chaldeans is one of great destruction. We
  know that there will be a greater war though. One
  were spiritual (Rome) and political (Europe)
  Babylon will make war with against Christ and the
  saints. This war against the physical land of
  Babylon is perhaps the opening shots of the far
  greater war to come. Centred as we know on
  Israel.
• Bible Quote Jeremiah 51
• 54 A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and
  great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans

14
US acts of torture in Iraq

• Headline
• Arab world outraged by scenes of 'torture'
• Headline DT 30 April
• Event
• Graphic images of grinning American soldiers
  humiliating naked Iraqi prisoners swept around
  the Middle East yesterday, provoking an outburst
  of fury.
• Al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite channel with an
  audience of 50 million, showed the pictures
  yesterday and they were circulated on dozens of
  websites. For many Arabs, already incensed by the
  Anglo-American invasion, they were vivid evidence
  of the brutality of the occupying powers. The
  fact that women soldiers were pictured taunting
  naked men fuelled the anger.
• Comment
• As I write this reports are coming in of the UK
  also being involved with similar acts of torture.
  We are watching before our very eyes the English
  speaking peoples becoming more and more
  isolated. As they continue to lose their so
  called moral case for war we can surely see how
  other nations may feel they have as much right if
  not more to become involved. Especially over
  Israel. God is indeed gathering the nations to
  that final battle.
• Bible Quote Isaiah 66 see verse 1516 for
  context
• 18 For I know their works and their thoughts it
  shall come, that I will gather all nations and
  tongues and they shall come, and see my glory.

15
Suicide bomber kills Iraqi leader

• Headline
• Suicide bomber kills Iraqi leader
• Headline DT 18 May
• Event
• The head of Iraqs Governing Council was killed
  by a suicide car bomber in Baghdad yesterday in a
  blow to American-led attempts to establish
  stability before next months handover of
  sovereignty.
• Izzedin Salim, 64, a Shia from the southern city
  of Basra who had been jailed by the former
  Baathist regime, died with seven others. Mr
  Salim is the second member of the US-appointed
  council to be murdered since it was set up.
• Comment
• America appears to be lurching from one disaster
  in Iraq to another. Tony Blair said this week
  that he will not cut and run from Iraq. It is a
  sign of how dire the situation is that he has to
  even say that Britain will not give up. Jack
  Straw the British Foreign Secretary said that as
  many as 10,000 Iraqis have been killed since the
  start of the invasion. Many nations from afar
  have come to the ancient land of Babylon and
  destruction has come. It may not be too long
  before the religious and political Babylon also
  joins the fray in a war that is centred on Israel
  
• Bible Quote Isaiah 13 the land spoken of is
  Babylon (modern Iraq)
• 5 They come from a far country, from the end of
  heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his
  indignation, to destroy the whole land.

16
Plan for Iraq will leave US dominant

• Headline
• Plan for Iraq will leave America as dominant
  voice
• Headline DT 25 May
• Event
• Britain and America are trumpeting their new
  United Nations resolution as heralding the "end
  of the occupation" of Iraq and the restoration of
  "sovereign" powers to an Iraqi government.
• But the reality on the ground will be very
  different the new Iraqi administration will be
  short-lived with limited authority and America
  will remain the dominant voice for the
  foreseeable future.
• A US general will retain "unity of command" over
  all coalition forces, including the embryonic
  Iraqi army and police force, foreign troops will
  enjoy immunity from Iraqi law and there will be
  no fixed date for their departure.
• Comment
• America it appears will continue to embroiled in
  Iraq for many more months - possibly years.
  There is no support now in Iraq for the US and
  UK. "The situation here is ground zero, there is
  no security, no life. The Americans simply look
  after themselves. If they leave there will be
  chaos but there is chaos anyway. said one middle
  class Iraqi. We await the time when religious
  and political Babylon join the fray.
• Bible Quote Jeremiah 5154 crys and destruction
  from the Chaldean land
• A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great
  destruction from the land of the Chaldeans

17
Week of violence in Iraq

• Headline
• Car bomb kills 12 Iraqis near US base
• Britons killed in suicide bombing
• Pipeline attack delays Iraqs oil recovery
• Bomb attack on Iraq army queue kills 35
• Headlines DT 14,15,16,18 June respectively
• Event
• At least 12 Iraqis were killed by a suicide car
  bomber and a senior Iraqi civil servant was
  gunned down in a new spate of assassinations.
• Two oil pipelines in southern Iraq were blown up
  yesterday by saboteurs seeking to destabilise the
  country. This has cut oil production to a third
  of their previous level.
• At least 35 people were killed and more than 130
  wounded when a suicide car bomber blew up a car
  next to a queue outside the Iraqi army recruiting
  centre in Baghdad.
• Comment
• Mayhem, terror and destruction in this ancient
  land of the Chaldeans and of Babylon. Jeremiah 51
  could well have a latter day fulfilment which we
  are witnessing now.
• Bible Quote Jeremiah 51 literal Babylon /
  Revelation spiritual Babylon?
• 47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will
  do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon
  and her whole land shall be confounded, and all
  her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
  Confounded disconcerted / ashamed

18
Attacks rock Iraq

• Headline
• Iraq erupts in orgy of killing and car bombs
• Headline DT 25 June
• Event
• Scores of people were killed and hundreds injured
  in Iraq yesterday when insurgents launched a wave
  of attacks on police and government buildings. It
  was a concerted attempt to disrupt the handover
  of power due next Thursday.
• At least three American soldiers and dozens of
  insurgents were among the 120 dead. About 320
  people were wounded. The scale of the attacks and
  the degree of co-ordination was the most
  devastating in the countdown to the handover. It
  indicated the strength and determination of the
  insurgents and the foreign Islamists.
• Comment
• The cry from this ancient area of Babylon is
  heard among the nations. Their habitation is
  becoming desolate. The nations have become mad.
  See Jeremiah 517
• Bible Quote Jeremiah 50 Babylon is religious /
  political and literal
• 45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD,
  that he hath taken against Babylon and his
  purposes, that he hath purposed against the land
  of the Chaldeans Surely the least of the flock
  shall draw them out surely he shall make their
  habitation desolate with them.46 At the noise of
  the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the
  cry is heard among the nations. The war is
  firstly against literal Babylon which develops
  into a war against political (Europe) and
  religious (Papacy) Babylon centred on Israel

19
Arab leaders - foreign troops should go

• Headline
• Arab leaders call on foreign troops to leave
• Headline The Times 29 June
• Event
• Arab governments cautiously welcomed the official
  end of the American-led occupation yesterday, but
  many Arabs were sceptical of the extent of Iraqs
  new-found sovereignty and remain pessimistic over
  the stability of the country.
• The American occupation will continue as long as
  there is one American soldier on Iraqi soil
  without the full blessing of all the Iraqi
  people, Mohammed Aziz Chucri, a Syrian political
  analyst, said. There is no doubt resistance will
  continue.
• Comment
• There is little doubt the resistance will
  continue. The US army is very stretched as well.
  It was reported this week that the US has moved
  to recall 6000 former US soldiers to help
  maintain its force levels in Iraq and
  Afghanistan. This is the first sizable call up
  since the 1991 Gulf War. Many say this is back
  door conscription. Perhaps the US will continue
  to be embroiled in Iraq for a long time. Sapping
  its resources so that when Gog does come down and
  invades Israel, this young lion is far weaker
  enabling the northern host to sweep down like a
  storm.
• Bible Quote Daniel 11 read whole verse - all
  happens at the time of the end
• 40 and the king of the north shall come against
  him like a whirlwind, and he shall enter into
  the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

20
Jordan ready to send troops

• Headline
• Jordan ready to send Iraq troops
• Headline BBC online 2 July
• Event
• Jordan would consider sending troops to Iraq if
  the new interim government asked, King Abdullah
  has told the BBC. "If the Iraqis ask us for help
  directly it will be very difficult for us to say
  no," he told the Newsnight programme.
• "If they fail, then we will pay the price," King
  Abdullah said, adding he did not think Jordanian
  were "the right people" for the job, however.
• The king is the first Arab leader to consider
  sending troops to Iraq and the move is likely to
  please the US. "To have fellow Arabs patrolling
  I'm sure would be welcome," an unnamed US
  official told Reuters news agency.
• Comment
• Jordan incorporates the areas once occupied by
  Moab, Ammon and Edom. We expect Jordan to be
  aligned with Britain and the southern Arabian
  powers when Gog invades Israel. In fact Isaiah 16
  indicates that some Jews (My outcasts) find
  refuge in Jordan when Gog invades. Daniel 1141
  makes clear that Jordan escapes the invasion of
  the King of the North. We see things developing
  as expected.
• Bible Quote Isaiah 16 - NKJV
• 4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab Be a
  shelter to them from the face of the spoiler. For
  the extortioner is at an end, v 5 speaks of
  Christ then ruling as King.

21
Iraq issues threat to Iran

• Headline
• Iraq issues threat to Iran over insurgents
• Headline DT 21 July
• Event
• Iraq threatened military retaliation against Iran
  yesterday, accusing its former foe of backing
  terrorists who have begun to focus their campaign
  of violence on the interim government itself.
  Hazim al-Shaalan, the defence minister, denounced
  Iranian interference, saying that Teheran was
  supporting foreign Islamic militants fighting
  alongside remnants of the Saddam era to
  destabilise Iraq.
• "They confess to the presence of their spies in
  Iraq who have a mission to shake up the social
  and political situation," he said. "Iranian
  intrusion has been vast and unprecedented since
  the establishment of the Iraqi state."
• Comment
• The tensions increase between these ancient foes.
  Babylon and Persia. Saddam Hussein fought Iran
  during the 80s with the loss of hundreds of
  thousands of lives. He saw himself as a latter
  day Nebuchadnezzar whose role it was to launch a
  war against ancient Persia. We now see Iran
  asserting itself more and more in the area. Again
  something we expect. Iran will definitely play a
  role in the future invasion of Israel.
• Bible Quote Jeremiah 51
• 11 the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the
  kings of the Medes for his device is against
  Babylon, to destroy it perhaps we see a latter
  day fulfilment of this verse

22
Carnage marks a month of Iraqi rule

• Headline
• Carnage marks a month of Iraqi rule
• Headline DT 29 July
• Event
• At least 129 people were killed in Iraq yesterday
  in one of the bloodiest days since the war, as a
  suicide bomber caused carnage at a police
  recruiting centre and the country's fledgling
  army launched its biggest offensive to date.
• Exactly one month after taking power from the
  US-led coalition, the interim government seemed
  overwhelmed and bewildered as a series of bloody
  records was set.
• A suicide bomb killed 71 Iraqis and wounded about
  30 outside a police station in Baquba, north of
  Baghdad, in the worst single attack since the
  handover. A minibus packed with explosives blew
  up, tearing through scores of civilians shopping
  at a market and a group of men lining up at the
  recruiting office.
• Comment
• Iraq / ancient Babylon continues to be a place of
  extreme terror and violence. It continues to stir
  up other nations around it especially Iran. The
  US / UK and others are firmly stuck there with no
  chance of leaving at the moment. The Lord of
  hosts is mustering the host of the battle. It
  appears He is doing it using literal area of
  Babylon.
• Bible Quote Isaiah 13 centred on the land of
  Babylon
• 4 .a great people a tumultuous noise of the
  kingdoms of nations gathered together the LORD
  of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.

23
300 in battle for holy city

• Headline
• '300 die' in battle for holy city as Iraqi truce
  ends
• Headline DT 7 August
• Event
• A shaky truce in the Shia-dominated south of Iraq
  collapsed yesterday as US marines fighting to
  regain control of the holy city of Najaf said
  they had killed 300 militants loyal to the
  firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
• Scores more died in Shia strongholds in Baghdad
  and Basra as some of the worst clashes since the
  fall of Saddam Hussein continued for a second
  day.
• Comment
• To understand why the battle for Najaf maybe
  significant we need to understand the Shia
  religion. The Shia or Shiites make up 10-15 of
  all Muslims. The largest sect (85)being the
  Sunni Muslims. Shia Muslims live all over the
  world but the highest concentrations are Iran
  (90 Shia) and Iraq (60 Shia / 30 Sunni). Najaf
  is home to Shias most holy shrine which has been
  damaged during the fighting. Mr al-Sadr is
  calling on Muslims to take up arms to defend
  your holy places. Hence reports of 100s of
  Iranians coming over from Iran into Iraq to
  fight. They are fighting with those of the same
  faith. Perhaps we can see God stirring up Iran
  (Persia) into the war.
• Bible Quote Isaiah 13 them being Babylonians
  modern Iraq
• 17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against
  them, which shall not regard silver and as for
  gold, they shall not delight in it.

24
US dead pass 1,000 in Iraq

• Headline
• Bush defends war in Iraq as US dead pass 1,000
  Headline DT 9 September
• Event
• President George W Bush and his senior aides
  launched a vigorous defence of his record in Iraq
  yesterday as the number of US military deaths
  passed the grim milestone of 1,000. Few, if any,
  in America anticipated the figure when the
  invasion was launched 18 months ago. "We're still
  at war," President Bush said .
• Comment
• They are still at war. The mission is NOT
  accomplished. It is my view that the whole war in
  Iraq is only the very beginning of the final
  battle involving Babylon. Babylon as we know was
  resurrected Babel. Babel was a city and a
  tower. See Gen 114. It was the first kingdom of
  men. It was a rebellion against God in every way.
  The city and tower symbolise spiritual,
  political and literal elements to the kingdom of
  men.
• The final war against Babylon will eventually
  destroy all 3 elements. The literal has begun in
  the ancient land of Babylon. The spiritual (Roman
  Catholicism) and political (Europe) will follow.
  All elements have the destruction of Israel as
  their motivation. It will need the return of
  Christ to destroy Babylon entirely.
• Bible Quote Revelation 18
• 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice,
  saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,

25
Blair we face new war in Iraq

• Headline
• Blair We face a new war in Iraq
• Headline DT 20 September
• Event
• British troops are back at war in Iraq at the
  centre of a new battle against global terrorism,
  Tony Blair said yesterday.
• Sixteen months after President George W Bush
  declared that combat operations were over, and
  after a week which has claimed 300 lives, Mr
  Blair conceded for the first time that a
  full-scale "new Iraqi conflict" was under way.
• He said the country had become the "crucible" in
  which the future of the battle against global
  terrorism would be determined.
• Comment
• This is not a new war the war never stopped!
  The conflict in Iraq is worsening though. Mr
  Blair says Iraq has become a crucible. A
  crucible is a vessel used for melting metals. It
  is the same idea in 1 Peter 17 where we are told
  our faith is tried by fire. It is a proving or
  examining. The nations are indeed being heated up
  in Iraq. Interestingly in Jeremiah we read that
  Babylon (modern Iraq) is a golden cup in Gods
  hand. The nations have drunk from it and are mad.
  They are indeed.
• Bible Quote Jeremiah 51 Babylon in OT possibly
  refers to the country.
• 7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORDS
  hand, that made all the earth drunken the
  nations have drunken of her wine therefore the
  nations are mad.

26
Mosques sending fighters to Iraq

• Headline
• Mosques sending fighters to Iraq
• Headline DT 2 December
• Event
• A network of Syrian mosques is sending men, money
  and weapons to Iraq, fuelling the insurgency.
• An investigation by the Telegraph has shown that
  Arab volunteers are streaming across the border
  despite Damascus government claims that it is
  curbing cross-border terrorism.
• Much of the traffic is financed by former members
  of Saddam Hussein's regime living in the Syrian
  capital and has the backing of prominent tribal
  leaders.
• Comment
• There is continued destruction in the land of the
  Chaldees (Iraq). Syria is accused of fuelling the
  insurgency. Apparently members of Saddams former
  Baathist regime pay 1600 a month to the
  families of the fighters. This is increasingly
  seen as a holy war. America and UK seen as
  crusaders trying to defeat the Muslim relgion.
  They in turn see this a an opportunity to defeat
  the great Satan. The Bible talks of war being
  sanctified or made holy. We are seeing Jihad
  (Holy War) develop in the Middle East.
• Bible Quote Joel 3 prepare sanctify or make
  holy
• 9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles Prepare
  war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of
  war draw near let them come up