Category: Uncategorized

The last rebel bastion in Syria, Idlib, may soon fall to Assad and the Russian troops assisting him. The US appears to have no intention to reverse this conclusion. Syria will become, or already has become, a Russian proxy state. Russia will have its desired seaport and Assad as her ally.

Syrian forces will then extract penalties on all resisting parties still in the country. We will never know the number of casualties.

The US never had a choice. Obama knew this, and so does Trump. We couldn’t afford to risk another failed state in the Middle East. We had no appetite for another Iraq.

And the Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey? Those who can return will return, to what they deem to be a country under the control of Assad. I’m told the refugees are already beginning to go back to their homeland. As amazing as it sounds, Assad has won.

KuwaitiSeekerCarrollReview[2]

See recent review!

I just finished Gelvin’s new book, The New Middle East. This brief treatise is a must for all who try to keep up with the Middle East.

It is, in many ways, a sad book, because the outcome frankly seems hopeless. And I agree with the facts and most of his conclusions.

A couple of brief examples suffice. First, the educational system in the Middles East. Gelvin correctly notes that the teaching system in the area fails to emphasize critical thinking. Most of the time is spent on rote memory and repetition. This observation comports with my experience in teaching medical students. They were quite familiar with the textbooks and lecture notes. But when faced with a patient where integration of facts and principles was required, they consistently had trouble reaching a useful synthesis.

Another obvious area is the fact that women are second class citizens. Even in the best circumstance, women are not fully engaged in the betterment of their society, and this is not their fault. They are not allowed to participate as are the men. The obvious consequence is that the states in the Middle East automatically sacrifice nearly half of their possible productivity.

Gelvin’s little book is clear and beautifully written.  The readability is enhanced by his use of a question and answer format.

I recall my visit to Hodeidah, Yemen several years ago, when the country was at relative peace. The city lies on the eastern coast of the Red Sea.  The beach was not glorious and nothing like the beach on the Egyptian side where the rich Western tourists come for their vacations. We went for a swim in a deserted area and the water was not clear. We walked along the shore toward town where the fishermen brought in their catch. Unlike the Egyptians who restricted fishing in order to preserve the creatures for their luxury dive trade, the Yemenis harvested as much as they could. We stopped at a fish seller, asked them to carve off a fresh piece, and they cooked it for us over their charcoal fire. The next day our Yemeni hosts took us to an outdoor restaurant. Under a tent we ate with perhaps twenty Yemeni men and consumed the best fish and shrimp I’ve ever had.

But those days are over.

The Saudis and UAE , with US logistical assistance, are waging war against the Houthi army, the latter supported by Iran. Hodeidah is now the critical port for the shipment of supplies of all kinds into Yemen. This shipping entry point supplies more than two-thirds of the necessary goods for Yemen.  This includes medicines, food, and other life essentials. The capital, Sanaa, is utterly dependent on the shipments arriving in Hodeidah. Under bombardment from the Saudis, the supply ships can no longer safely dock at the port.

Is this the final choke point for Yemen? The country can’t survive without these supplies.

There is another possibility. The Iranians may see it as their duty to increase their support for the Houthis. Will all the combatants be drawn into a wider conflict?

Is there an undercurrent in the US that demeans foreigners among us? Do we cross the street to avoid them? Are we afraid they’ll hurt us? Are we afraid they’ll take our jobs?

What does Scripture say about treatment of immigrants (often referred to as sojourners)?

Well, there are tons of examples. Here are a few:

“There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” Exodus 12:49

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:33-34

The opening of the US Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem has elevated the old controversy once again. Is present-day Israel the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy?

Beginning in 1948 with the new State of Israel, many evangelicals began to develop the position that God was bringing His prophecies concerning Israel to a conclusion.  This position has been expressed in association with the doctrine known as dispensational premillenialism. Apart from details of that doctrine, however, stands the idea that the events we are seeing today reflect the immediate culmination of the Biblical prophecy. Psalm 132:13 says, “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He as desired it for his dwelling place.” And Ezekiel 5:5, “Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.” And Zechariah 12:5 “Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.'”

Other passages detract from the view that we are seeing the endgame of prophecy in present-day Jerusalem. Romans 2:28 says, “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.” And Galatians 3:8 “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.'”

The State of Israel today is similar to its surrounding nations. Israel operates for its self-interest, not in a role to bless its neighbors.  (I am not intending this as a critical comment. All current nations seek their self-interest.) The Israel of today is a secular state, not a theocracy.  The government is not guided by Biblical principles. As such, how can current Israel be the representative of end time prophecy?

My conclusion is that we are not seeing the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy in the State of Israel today.

But God keeps His own counsel. All Scripture is God-breathed, and all will indeed be brought to completion. The Lord always surprises. He knows the end from the beginning. Even with all the Old Testament prophecies, the world was shocked by the coming of Jesus. I doubt we’re clever enough today to predict what He will do next.