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Yesterday a Canadian General was appointed to command NATO forces in their war against Libyan President Muammar al-Qaddafi. But today FoxNews reports that Pentagon officials are now considering turning the NATO campaign into a ground war—not just the defense of a no-fly zone in Libyan airspace. It would seem evident that Obama, though he would like to portray himself as very different from George W. Bush, really is caught between his liberal ideals and the facts on the ground in the Middle East. Most likely, though Canadian NATO commander, General Charles Bouchard is perfectly competent to lead this campaign. But Obama is actually still in charge. Even the Libyans know this to be true. The National Post quoted one citizen as giving thanks to Britain, France and the USA… no mention of Canada’s leadership because everyone knows Obama is still calling the shots:
“Thank you Britain, thank you France, thank you America,” said one rebel, praising the Western air strikes against Gaddafi targets. [source]
And this is the problem. Appearances are one thing. Facts on the ground are another. Obama probably never wanted to get involved in a ground war in North Africa… he did not want to fall under the same hammer of public opinion that George W. Bush suffered. But once he actually had to make the tough calls that go with the comfy chair in the Oval Office, political and economic realities crushed his liberal, idealistic platitudes. “Yes we can!” has become “I guess we have to.”
"The United States should not and cannot intervene every time there’s a crisis somewhere in the world," Obama said in the speech Saturday. But with Qaddafi threatening "a bloodbath that could destabilize an entire region … it’s in our national interest to act. And it’s our responsibility. This is one of those times."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/26/considers-firepower-hit-qaddafi-forces/#ixzz1HjKGcdKS
I mentioned economic realities because it seems to me that Obama’s decision to wage war against Qaddafi was not truthfully motivated merely by the desire to protect the Libyan people. After all, why are there no plans to protect the people of Yemen? Because Yemen is not an oil-rich nation. In other words, Obama is willing to go to war to protect people but only if there is a reasonable likelihood of securing oil reserves in the process. Even though experts warn that without US intervention, Yemen could turn into a terrorist haven equivalent to Afghanistan “on steroids”, Obama’s administration has not plans, no intention of getting involved in Yemen… it’s just too expensive… there’s no oil to make it worth their while… and we’re suddenly so tired of doing the right thing in far away places.
If the American people can already be described as “a public weary of a decade of war”, how much less willing will Obama, or whoever occupies the presidency in the future, be to go to war to protect Israel from a Russian invasion when it happens? Back in February of 2009, I posted a blog article in which I wondered out loud what sort of conditions would have to exist in order for Ezekiel 38:13 to be fulfilled.
In Ezekiel 38:13, we read this:
Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, “Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?
This unified voice appears to be trans-regional, economy-driven, and more concerned with a threat to prosperity than with basic issues of justice or a nation’s sovereignty. The event this unified voice is protesting is the invasion of the land of Israel by “Gog” and its allies, whom many scholars believe to be some alliance of nations under the leadership of Russia.
Two conditions seem to be necessary in order for this prophecy to come to pass: 1) The USA must become weakened in some way so that fear of US retaliation is not sufficient to deter Russia from invading Israel. 2) International political bodies must come to a point when they are much more concerned with the right to prosperity than with “human rights” like justice or the sovereignty of the State of Israel. This group of diplomatic/economist leaders that raises a mild protest in Ezekiel 38:13 does not exist to promote justice or national sovereignty but prosperity.
When we come to a time when the world political climate reflects these two conditions, perhaps the time will be ripe for a Russian invasion of the Middle East? [original post]
When that day comes, Russia will probably at first claim to be doing the very same thing the US and NATO claim to be doing in Libya right now: protecting the people with military intervention. But then, as now, all will not be as it seems. It’s not about democracy, it’s not about sovereignty, it’s not about the people. It’s about the oil, and it always will be. Ezekiel prophesied that countries watching from a distance (probably referring to Atlantic nations like Britain and the USA) will have occasion to question Russia’s motivation for invading the Middle East when the time comes (Eze 38:13). But less than a century later, Daniel also prophesied about Russia’s coming land-grab, carefully noting the economic motivation behind it:
" …The king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train." (Dan 11:40-43 ESV)
If only world leaders cared as much about truth, honour and justice as they do about their economies and protecting their supplies of oil. We might wonder, “how long can this injustice continue?”
"Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?" (Jer 12:1 ESV)
But not all is at it seems.