JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T
MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE
MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET
SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO
OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST
FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
BIDEN OKAYS FOR UKRAINE TO USE LONG-RANGE MISSLES INSIDE RUSSIA.RUSSIA NUKE DOCTRIN INTO EFFECT.
WARN THE PEOPLE-WW3
EZEKIEL 33:1-6
1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2
Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them,
When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man
of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4
Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not
warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon
his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not
warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall
deliver his soul.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow
not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and
take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but
his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
DANIEL 11:40-45 (WW3 BREAKDOWN)
40
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at
him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM
HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with
chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; 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: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab,
and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43
But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and
over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the
Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the
east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS
LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he
shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away
many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the
tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy
mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
ISAIAH 24:1
1
Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste,(NUKES
USED) and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants
thereof.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel
of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a
son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(ARAB/MUSLIM) because the LORD
hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild
man;(RIOTS-BURNING-MURDEROUUS RAGE) his hand will be against every
man,(ISLAM WANTS WORLD DOMINATION) and every man's hand against
him;(DEFENDING THEMSELVES) and he shall dwell in the presence of all his
brethren.(ARAB/MUSLIMS LIVE WITH ISRAELIS)
ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe
to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed)
and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee!
when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be
spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal
treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19
Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than
thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not
understand.
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the
synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think
that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF THEIR MOON GOD
ALLAH)
ISAIAH 14:12-23
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, (SATAN) son of the morning! (HEBREW MEANS CRESCENT MOON
ANGEL-ISLAM OVIOUSLY)(SATAN IS THE GOD OF ISLAM) how art thou cut down
to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said
in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in
the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
10
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the
realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor
planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
EZEKIEL 31:10-17
10
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself
in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his
heart is lifted up in his height;
11 I have therefore delivered him
into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal
with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.
12 And
strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left
him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen,
and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the
people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
13 Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:
14To
the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for
their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither
their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they
are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the
midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.(HELL).
15Thus
saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a
mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods
thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn
for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
16 I made
the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to
hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the
choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in
the nether parts of the earth.
17They also went down into hell with
him unto [them that be] slain with the sword; and [they that were] his
arm, [that] dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
18To
whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of
Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the
nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the
uncircumcised with [them that be] slain by the sword. This [is] Pharaoh
and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
EZEKIEL 32:17-32
17
It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth [day] of the
month, [that] the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
18 Son of
man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, [even] her,
and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the
earth, with them that go down into the pit.
19 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
20
They shall fall in the midst of [them that are] slain by the sword: she
is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.
21 The
strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with
them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain
by the sword.
22 Asshur [is] there and all her company: his graves [are] about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
23
Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round
about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused
terror in the land of the living.
24 There [is] Elam (IRAN) and all
her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the
sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the
earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have
they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.
25 They
have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her
graves [are] round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the
sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet
have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put
in the midst of [them that be] slain.
26 There [is] Meshech,
Tubal,(RUSSIA) (GERMANY, TURKEY) and all her multitude: her graves [are]
round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though
they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27And they shall
not lie with the mighty [that are] fallen of the uncircumcised, which
are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid
their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their
bones, though [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the
living.
28 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with [them that are] slain with the sword.
29
There [is] Edom,(JORDAN) her kings, and all her princes, which with
their might are laid by [them that were] slain by the sword: they shall
lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
30
There [be] the princes of the north, all of them, and all the
Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they
are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with [them that
be] slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to
the pit.
31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all
his multitude, [even] Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith
the Lord GOD.
32 For I have caused my terror in the land of the
living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with
[them that are] slain with the sword, [even] Pharaoh and all his
multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
EZEKIEL 38:1-23
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2
Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA)
the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy
against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against
thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and
Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into
thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee
forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with
all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields,
all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6
Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of
the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with
thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
7 Be thou prepared, and
prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto
thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be
visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is
brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against
the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is
brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of
them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a
cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with
thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall
also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy
mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt
say,(RUSSIA-ARAB-MUSLIMS) I will go up to the land of unwalled
villages;(ISRAEL) I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely,
all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12
To take a spoil,(OIL IS IN SPOIL) and to take a prey; to turn thine
hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the
people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle
and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and
Dedan,(SAUDI-ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(SPAIN) with all the
young lions thereof,(ENGLAND,AND ALL ITS ASSOCIATES-CANADA,AUSTRALIA-NEW
ZEALAND, USA, AND WESTERN ENGLISH SPEAKING NATIONS) shall say unto
thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to
take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and
goods, to take a great spoil?(OIL IS IN SPOIL-I BELIEVE THATS WHY
RUSSIA,ARAB/MUSLIMS MARCH TO ISRAEL)
14 Therefore, son of man,
prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my
people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And
thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many
people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a
mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel,
as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I
will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I
shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
EZEKIEL 39:11-22
11
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog
(RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of
the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of
the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall
they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and
they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300
MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
13
Yea, all the people of the land (OF ISRAEL) shall bury them; and it
shall be to them a renown the day that I (GOD-JESUS) shall be glorified,
saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual
employment,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB EXPERTS) passing through the land to
bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth,
to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15
And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s
bone, then shall he set up a sign by it,(WON'T TOUCH IT) till the
buriers have buried it (PROPERLY) in the valley of
Hamongog.(RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS NEW BURIEL SITE)(EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN
THE JORDAN VALLEY)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
17
And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every
feathered fowl,(500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS THREW ISRAEL EVERY
SPRING,FALL) and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and
come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do
sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel,
that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF THE RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM
ARMIES)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood
of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of
bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21
And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall
see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon
them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
REVELATION 19:17-18
17
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice,
saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and
gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL
NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye
may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of
mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and
the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8
And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that
sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given
unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with
sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE
DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18
By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the
fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their
mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE
17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS
KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE
BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND
DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in
that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN
WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4
billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37
And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto
them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered
together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against
Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten
by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE
SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE
CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH
IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)(50% OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.(ON EARTH)
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.(ON EARTH)
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12
And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the
people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume
away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and
their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)
and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM
ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD
PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that
day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they
shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand
shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN
WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 32:18-29 (NOTICE ALL THE COUNTRIES LAND PROMISED ISRAEL BY GOD ARE IN THE JORDAN VALLEY BURIED)
18
“Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the
daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those
who descend to the Pit:
19 Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised! (IN HELL FIRES)
20 They will fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is appointed! Let them drag her away along with all her multitudes.
21
Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her
allies: ‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those
slain by the sword.’
22 Assyria (SYRIA) is there with her whole company; her graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.
23
Her graves are set in the depths of the Pit, and her company is all
around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—those who
once spread terror in the land of the living.
24 Elam (IRAN) is there
with all her multitudes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen
by the sword—those who went down uncircumcised to the earth below, who
once spread their terror in the land of the living. They bear their
disgrace with those who descend to the Pit.
25 Among the slain they
prepare a resting place for Elam with all her hordes, with her graves
all around her. All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread in the land of the living. They
bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit. They are placed
among the slain.
26 Meshech and Tubal (RUSSIA) are there with all
their multitudes, with their graves all around them. All of them are
uncircumcised, slain by the sword, because they spread their terror in
the land of the living.
27 They do not lie down with the fallen
warriors of old, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose
swords were placed under their heads, whose shields rested on their
bones, although the terror of the mighty was once in the land of the
living.
28 But you too will be shattered and lie down among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.
29
Edom (JORDAN) is there, and all her kings and princes, who despite
their might are laid among those slain by the sword. They lie down with
the uncircumcised, with those who descend to the Pit.THIS IS RIGHT FROM
93:
SECOND ANGEL: MIDDLE EAST
Then I saw that the second angel
had a sickle in his hand, such as is used in harvesting.The second
angel said: "Harvest time has come in Israel and the countries all the
way to Iran."I saw those countries in a few split seconds."All of Turkey
and those [inaudible] countries that have refused me and refused my
message of love shall hate each other and kill one another."I saw the
angel raise the sickle and come down on all the Middle East countries. I
saw Iran, Persia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, all of Georgia - Iraq, Syria,
Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, all of Asia Minor - full of blood. I saw blood
all over these countries. And I saw fire; Nuclear weapons used in many
of those countries. Smoke rising from everywhere. Sudden destruction –
men destroying one another. I heard these words:"Israel, Oh Israel, the
great judgment has come." The angel said, "The chosen, the church, the
remnant, shall be purified. The Spirit of God shall prepare the children
of God."I saw fires rising to heaven.The angel said: "This is the final
judgment. My church shall be purified, protected and ready for the
final day. Men will die from thirst. Water shall be scarce all over the
Middle East. Rivers shall dry up, and men will fight for water in those
countries."The angel showed me that the United Nations shall be broken
in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no
more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.
PSALMS 83:1-8 (GODS LAND PROMISED TO ISRAEL)
1 O God, do not remain silent;do not turn a deaf ear,do not stand aloof, O God.
2 See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads.
3 With cunning they (ARAB,MUSLIMS) conspire against your people;they plot against those you cherish.(ISRAELIS)
4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.”
5 With one mind they plot together;(TREATIES) they form an alliance against you—
6
the tents of Edom (JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites, (EGYPTIAN ARABS SO
CALLED PALESTIANS) of Moab (JORDAN) and the Hagrites,(EGYPT)
7 Byblos,(HEZBOLLOH) Ammon (JORDAN) and Amalek,(SYRIAN ARABS IN THE SINAI) Philistia,(ARABS) with the people of Tyre (LEBANON).
8 Even Assyria (SYRIA) has joined them to reinforce Lot’s descendants.
GENESIS 6:11-13
11
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the
earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and,
behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
1 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO
1-PROMISCUOUS SEX AMOUNG EACH OTHER.
ROMANS 1:24
24
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of
their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: (THE
60S FREE SEX)
2 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO
2-SODOMITES - MEN LUSTING MEN, AND WOMEN LUSTING AFTER WOMEN.
ROMANS 1:26-27
26
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their
women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned
in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is
unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error
which was meet.
3 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO
3-A DEPRAVED MIND-ANY SIN GOES.
ROMANS 1:28-31
28
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God
gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not
convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate,
deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO THESE 3 DEPRAVED ABOMINATION SINS?
OH OH NOAHS DAY. WHAT HAPPENED IN NOAHS DAY. THE WHOLE WORLD WAS JUDGED BY WATER.
GENESIS 6:7,17
7
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face
of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the
fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
17 And,
behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy
all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every
thing that is in the earth shall die.
GENESIS 7:4
4 For yet seven
days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty
nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from
off the face of the earth.
GENESIS 8:16
16 And the bow shall be in
the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting
covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is
upon the earth.
WELL THE SODOMITES PICKED THE RIGHT SIGN OF A RAINBOW
FOR JUDGEMENT. THE SODOMITES TRYED TO STEAL GODS SIGN THAT THE WHOLE
EARTH WILL NEVER DIE FROM FLOOD WATERS AGAIN. BUT THE JUDGEMENT THIS
TIME IS GOING TO BE BY FIRE.NOT WATER.
2 PETER 3:7
7 But the
heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in
store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men.
EZIKIEL 38:12-13
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA
ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions
thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLAND,ENGLISH SPEAKING
shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered
thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away
cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? (AGAINST ISRAEL)
14
Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, (RUSSIA AND HER
MUSLIMS HORDES)Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of
Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from
thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will
shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3
And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY)
him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of
the earth be blessed.
And here are the bounderies of the land
that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the
future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have
every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east
of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The
southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the
Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num
34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE
FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE
FUTURE.(ALL THESE ARAB, MUSLIMS ARE OCCUPYING ISRAELS LAND. GET OFF
IMMEDIATELY. BECAUSE YOUR DEATH CULT DAYS ARE NUMBERED)
ISLAMIC DEATH CULT AND FAKE MOHAMMAAD AND FAKE MOON GOD ALLAH WHICH IS SIMPLY SATAN IS THE LEADER OF ISLAM.
LEVITICUS 26:16
16
I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden)
terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes,
and cause sorrow of heart:(WARS AND DEATH) and ye shall sow your seed in
vain, for your enemies shall eat it.(CHINA CONTROLS AMERICAS ECONOMY BY
BUYING UP DEBT)
ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that
spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest
treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou
shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and
when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal
treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19
Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than
thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not
understand.
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the
synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think
that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF THEIR MOON GOD
ALLAH)
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto
her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call
his name Ishmael;(ARAB/MUSLIM) because the LORD hath heard thy
affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man;(RIOTS-BURNING-MURDEROUUS
RAGE) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM WANTS WORLD DOMINATION)
and every man's hand against him;(DEFENDING THEMSELVES) and he shall
dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(ARAB/MUSLIMS LIVE WITH
ISRAELIS)
The Family Tree of Ishmael
12 This is the family tree of Ishmael son of Abraham, the son that Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham.
13-16
These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in the order of their births:
Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah,
Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah—all the sons of Ishmael.
Their settlements and encampments were named after them. Twelve princes
with their twelve tribes.
(ISLAM CLAIMS MOHAMMID IS A OFF SPRING OF
ISHMAEL THE FIRST BASTARD CHILD OF THE ARABS WITH A SLAVE MOTHER TO THE
ISRAELIS.DOES ANY ONE SEE THE NAME OF MOHAMMID IN ISHMAELS FAMILY TREE.
BECAUSE I SURE DON'T. I DOUBT MOHAMMID EVEN EXISTS. AND SATAN IS THE
LEADER OF ISLAM HHIMSELF. SO ISLAM IS NOT A RELIGION AT ALL. ISLAM IS
NOTHING BUT A DEATH CULT THAT WORSHIPS DEATH. AND WILL BURN IN HELL
FIRE, THEN THE FINAL JUDGEMENT IN FRONT OF JESUS.ONLY TO BE THROWN IN
THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER WITH THEIR NEVER DYING BODIES.ISLAM EXPOSED AS A
FRAUD SATAN LIE AND MURDER DEAT CULT.
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the
morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars
of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the
sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above
the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF
THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 8:44
44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will
do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of
his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
In first, Biden
gives okay for Ukraine to use US arms to strike deep inside
Russia-Ukraine said planning to conduct its first long-range attacks in
the coming days, after Biden reverses long-standing Washington policy,
two months before Trump takes office-By Mike Stone and Humeyra Pamuk
Today, 11:22 pm-NOV 17,24
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — US President Joe
Biden’s administration has allowed Ukraine to use US-made weapons to
strike deep into Russia, two US officials and a source familiar with the
decision said on Sunday, in a significant reversal of Washington’s
policy in the Russia-Ukraine war.Ukraine plans to conduct its first
long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without
revealing details due to operational security concerns.The move comes
two months before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on
January 20 and follows months of pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky to allow Ukraine’s military to use US weapons to hit Russian
military targets far from its border.The change comes largely in
response to Russia’s deployment of North Korean ground troops to
supplement its own forces, a development that has caused alarm in
Washington and in Kyiv, a US official and a source familiar with the
decision said.The White House and the State Department declined to
comment. The Ukrainian foreign ministry and president’s office did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.Russia has warned that it
would see a move to loosen the limits on Ukraine’s use of US weapons as a
major escalation.Ukraine’s first deep strikes are likely to be carried
out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306
kilometers), according to the sources.While some US officials have
expressed skepticism that allowing long-range strikes will change the
war’s overall trajectory, the decision could help Ukraine at a moment
when Russian forces are making gains and possibly put Kyiv in a better
negotiating position when and if ceasefire talks happen.It is not clear
if Trump will reverse Biden’s decision when he takes office. Trump has
long criticized the scale of US financial and military aid to Ukraine
and has vowed to end the war quickly, without explaining how.A Trump
spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But
one of Trump’s closest foreign policy advisers, Richard Grenell,
criticized the decision.“Escalating the wars before he leaves office,”
Grenell said, in an X post, responding to the news.Some congressional
Republicans had urged Biden to loosen the rules on how Ukraine can use
US-provided weapons.Since Trump’s November 5 victory, senior Biden
administration officials have repeatedly said they would use the
remaining time to ensure Ukraine can fight effectively next year or
negotiate peace with Russia from a “position of strength.”‘Way too
late’The US believes more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been
sent to eastern Russia and that most of them have moved to the Kursk
region and have begun to engage in combat operations.Russia is advancing
at its fastest rate since 2022 despite taking heavy losses, and Ukraine
said it had clashed with some of those North Korean troops deployed to
Kursk.Stretched by personnel shortages, Ukrainian forces have lost some
of the ground they captured in an August incursion into Kursk that
Zelensky said could serve as a bargaining chip.“Removing targeting
restrictions will allow the Ukrainians to stop fighting with one hand
tied behind their back,” Alex Plitsas, senior non-resident fellow at the
Atlantic Council, said.“However, like everything else, I believe
history will say the decision came way too late. Just like the ATACMS,
HIMARS, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Abrams Tanks and F-16. They were all
needed much sooner,” he added.Despite Zelensky’s pleas, the White House
had been reluctant to allow US-supplied weapons to be used to strike
targets deep inside Russia for fear that might escalate the
conflict.Kyiv’s other allies have been supplying weapons, but with
restrictions on how and when they can be used inside Russia, out of
concern such strikes could prompt retaliation that draws NATO countries
into the war or provokes a nuclear conflict.Poland’s foreign minister,
Radoslaw Sikorski, also called the move a response to North Korea’s
involvement.“President Biden responded to the entry of North Korean
troops into the war and the massive Russian missile strike in a language
that V. Putin understands — by removing restrictions on Ukraine’s use
of Western missiles,” Sikorski said on X.
17 Nov, 18:22-US
military industrial complex seeks to unleash World War III — Donald
Trump Jr."The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure
they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace
and save lives," he said
NEW YORK, November 18. /TASS/. The US
military industrial complex wants to unleash World War III before Donald
Trump is inaugurated, his son, Donald Trump Jr. stated on his X social
network account."The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make
sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create
peace and save lives," Trump Jr. said commenting on the permission of US
President Joe Biden to strike deep into Russia with the use of American
long-range missiles."Life be damned!!! Imbeciles!" Donald Trump Jr.
added.The New York Times reported on November 17 that US President Joe
Biden had allowed to use US-supplied long-range missiles, known as the
Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, to strike inside Russia.Later
that day, France’s Le Figaro reported that France and the United Kingdom
followed Biden’s lead and also allowed to use their weapons to strike
inside Russia.
Biden authorizes Ukraine to use US-supplied
long-range missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia-By AAMER MADHANI,
COLLEEN LONG, ZEKE MILLER, MATTHEW LEE and ELLEN KNICKMEYER-Updated 5:04
PM EST, November 17, 2024
MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — President Joe
Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to
strike deeper inside Russia, easing limitations on the weapons as
Russia deploys thousands of North Korean troops to reinforce its war,
according to a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the
matter.The decision allowing Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile
System, or ATACMs, for attacks farther inside Russia comes as President
Vladimir Putin positions North Korean troops along Ukraine’s northern
border to try to reclaim hundreds of miles of territory seized by
Ukrainian forces.Biden’s move also follows the presidential election
victory of Donald Trump, who has said he would bring about a swift end
to the war and raised uncertainty about whether his administration would
continue the United States’ vital military support for Ukraine.The
official and the others knowledgeable about the matter were not
authorized to discuss the U.S. decision publicly and spoke on condition
of anonymity.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s reaction Sunday
was notably restrained.“Strikes are not made with words,” he said during
his nightly video address. “Such things are not announced. The missiles
will speak for themselves.”What to know about Trump’s second
term:Staffing the administration: Here are the people Trump has picked
for key positions so far. Plus, a look at recess appointments and how
could Trump use them to fill his Cabinet.Follow all of our coverage as
Donald Trump assembles his second administration.Zelenskyy and many of
his Western supporters have been pressing Biden for months to allow
Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with
Western-supplied missiles, saying the U.S. ban had made it impossible
for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical
grids.Zelenskyy’s statement came shortly after he posted a message of
condolence on Telegram following a Russian attack on a nine-story
building that killed at least eight people in the northern city of Sumy,
40 kilometres (24 miles) from the border with Russia.Russia also
launched a massive drone and missile attack, described by officials as
the largest in recent months, targeting energy infrastructure and
killing civilians. The attack came as fears are mounting about Moscow’s
intentions to devastate Ukraine’s power generation capacity before the
winter.“And this is the answer to everyone who tried to achieve
something with Putin through talks, phone calls, hugs, and appeasement,”
Zelenskyy said.Some supporters have argued that the limitation and
other U.S. constraints could cost Ukraine the war. The debate has become
a source of disagreement among Ukraine’s NATO allies.Biden had remained
opposed, determined to hold the line against any escalation that he
felt could draw the U.S. and other NATO members into direct conflict
with nuclear-armed Russia.News of Biden’s decision followed meetings
over the last two days with the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China.
The addition of North Korean troops was central to the talks, which
took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
summit in Peru.Biden did not mention the decision during a speech at a
stop in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil on his way to the Group of 20
summit.Asked about the decision, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
said in a press conference that the body’s position is “to avoid a
permanent deterioration of the war in Ukraine.”“We want peace, we want
fair peace,” Guterres said on Sunday before the summit in Rio de
Janeiro. He didn’t elaborate.The longer-range missiles are likely to be
used in response to North Korea’s decision to support Putin’s invasion
of Ukraine, according to one of the people familiar with the
development.The overall supply of ATACMS missiles is short, so U.S.
officials in the past have questioned whether they could give Ukraine
enough to make a difference. Some supporters of Ukraine say that even a
few long-range strikes deeper inside Russia would force its military to
change deployments and expend more of its resources.North Korea has
provided thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow try to claw back
land in the Kursk border region that Ukraine seized this year. The
introduction of North Korean troops to the conflict comes as Moscow has
seen a favorable shift in momentum. Trump has signaled that he could
push Ukraine to agree to give up some land seized by Russia to find an
end to the conflict.As many as 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent
to Russia, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian assessments.
U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials say North Korea also has
provided Russia with significant amounts of munitions to replenish its
dwindling weapons stockpiles.Trump, who takes office in January, spoke
for months as a candidate about wanting Russia’s war in Ukraine to be
over, but he mostly ducked questions about whether he wanted U.S. ally
Ukraine to win.He also repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for
giving Kyiv tens of billions of dollars in aid. His victory has
Ukraine’s international backers worrying that any rushed settlement
would mostly benefit Putin.America is Ukraine’s most valuable ally in
the war, providing more than $56.2 billion in security assistance since
Russian forces invaded in February 2022.Worried about Russia’s response,
however, the Biden administration repeatedly has delayed providing some
specific advanced weapons sought by Ukraine, agreeing only under
pressure from Kyiv, its supporters and in consultation with allies.That
includes initially refusing Zelenskyy’s pleas for advanced tanks,
Patriot air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets, among other
systems.The White House agreed in May to allow Ukraine to use
U.S.-provided weaponry for limited strikes just across the border with
Russia.___Long, Miller, Knickmeyer and Lee reported from Washington.
Associated Press writer Will Weissert in West Palm Beach, Florida, and
Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed to this report.
Commentary-How credible is Russia’s evolving nuclear doctrine? Steven Pifer-November 14, 2024
Russia’s
doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons has gone through several
evolutions over the past 15 years. Changes in 2010 and 2020 seemed
relatively benign. In September 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin
announced additional modifications, which appear more meaningful.These
recent modifications were made while Western officials debated whether
to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to conduct strikes into Russian
territory. They introduce ambiguity on when Russia might employ nuclear
arms in a bid to persuade the West to stand down. But those
modifications may well stretch Russian declaratory policy beyond the
point of credibility.Russian nuclear doctrine-Nuclear weapon states use
doctrines to communicate policy on when they might use nuclear arms.
According to the Biden administration’s 2022 Nuclear Posture Review,
“the fundamental role of [U.S.] nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear
attack on the United States, our Allies, and partners. The United States
would only consider the use of nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances
to defend the vital interests of the United States or its Allies and
partners.”The U.S. government does not define “extreme circumstances”
beyond saying the adversary’s attack would have a “strategic effect,”
leaving a degree of ambiguity.Declaratory policy may not necessarily be
the same as action policy—that is, what a state would really do in a
crisis or conflict. In 1982, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev announced a
policy of no first use of nuclear weapons. However, following the Soviet
Union’s collapse, revelations of Soviet war plans in Europe showed they
envisaged the first use of nuclear weapons in a war with NATO. In any
event, the decision to use nuclear arms would be one of the most
consequential ever made; that decision would depend far more on the
leader and the specific circumstances at the time rather than on a
declared policy.A relatively benign Russian doctrine-The Russian
government released a new military doctrine in 2010. It was seen as
narrowing the circumstances in which Russia might resort to nuclear
weapons compared to the 2000 military doctrine. The 2010 document
reserved the right to employ nuclear arms in two circumstances: “the
utilization of nuclear or other types of weapons of mass destruction
against [Russia] and (or) its allies” and “in the event of aggression
against the Russian Federation involving the use of conventional weapons
when the very existence of the state is under threat.”This appeared
benign. It was difficult to see circumstances in which the three Western
nuclear-weapon states—the United States, the United Kingdom, and
France—would launch a first strike on Russia with nuclear or other
weapons of mass destruction. As for a conventional assault that might
threaten Russia’s existence, Napolean and Hitler demonstrated the folly
of that.In 2020, the Kremlin issued a document entitled “On Basic
Principles of State Policy of the Russian Federation on Nuclear
Deterrence.” This document added two circumstances to those specified in
2010 for Russian nuclear use: the receipt of “reliable data on a launch
of ballistic missiles attacking the territory of the Russian Federation
and/or its allies,” or an attack (presumably with conventional weapons)
against “critical Russian governmental or military sites of the Russian
Federation, disruption of which would undermine nuclear force response
actions.”The first modification suggested a launch-on-warning policy,
meaning Russia might launch its nuclear weapons before incoming missiles
could arrive on target and destroy them. This likely referred to an
attack by nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles and/or
submarine-launched ballistic missiles, though it could also have taken
into account the U.S. Department of Defense’s interest in 2019 in a
ground-launched intermediate-range ballistic missile. (As noted in the
2022 Nuclear Posture Review, the U.S. military “maintains the capability
to launch nuclear forces under conditions of an ongoing nuclear
attack,” but “it does not rely on a launch-under-attack policy.”)As for
an attack on critical government or military facilities, that language
mimicked language in the Trump administration’s 2018 Nuclear Posture
Review, which stated that the United States might consider using nuclear
weapons in response to a “significant non-nuclear strategic attack”
against “U.S. or allied nuclear forces, their command and control, or
warning and attack assessment capabilities.” This is not startling; it
would seem logical that the United States and Russia would consider
using nuclear forces if those forces or their command-and-control
facilities came under significant attack by non-nuclear
weapons.September 2024 modifications to Russian doctrine-Facing the
possibility of a broad Ukrainian counteroffensive in September 2022,
Moscow rattled the nuclear saber and then quickly toned down its nuclear
rhetoric. However, as the Russian military failed to make significant
progress in 2023 and NATO members supplied Ukraine with increasingly
sophisticated weapons, some Russian security experts suggested that
Russia lower its threshold for nuclear use. Sergey Karaganov proposed
limited nuclear strikes against Western Europe to reestablish the West’s
fear of Russia’s nuclear deterrent. He downplayed the risk of almost
certain nuclear retaliation, and his proposal was rejected by other
Russian security experts as well as Putin.Nevertheless, the idea of
threatening nuclear use to dissuade the West from supporting Ukraine
apparently took hold within the Kremlin. The Russian military has given
greater visibility to exercises involving non-strategic (tactical)
nuclear arms, most recently last spring. On September 25, 2024, Putin
described further changes to Russian nuclear doctrine, though they were
not as radical as experts such as Karaganov sought. First, Moscow would
consider “aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with
the participation or support of a nuclear state” as a “joint attack” on
Russia. Second, Russia would consider using nuclear arms on “receipt of
reliable information about a massive launch of air and space attack
weapons and their crossing of our state border,” to include an attack by
“strategic and tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, hypersonic
and other aircraft.” Third, Russia would reserve “the right to use
nuclear weapons in the event of aggression against Russia and Belarus as
a member of the [Russia-Belarus] Union State,” including an attack in
which the adversary “using conventional weapons, creates a critical
threat to our sovereignty.”The first point on “joint attack” aims to
implicate NATO’s three nuclear-weapon states in conventional attacks by
Ukraine against Russian territory. The second point revises the 2020
modification regarding receipt of information of an attack with
ballistic missiles to include attack by virtually any kind of aircraft,
missile, or drone. It seems credible that a large-scale attack on
Russian nuclear forces using air-delivered weapons, cruise missiles, and
drones could trigger a Russian launch of nuclear weapons. Would Moscow
resort to nuclear weapons in response to an attack with short-range
ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and/or drones focused on units in
Russia supporting military operations in Ukraine? That seems nowhere
near as credible.The third point makes two modifications. First, the
2010 doctrine threatened nuclear use in the event of a conventional
attack putting the existence of the Russian state at stake. The
September 25 language covers Belarus, much as U.S. doctrine covers U.S.
allies. Second, the third point changes the criterion for when Russia
might use nuclear weapons from a conventional attack that puts Russia’s
existence “under threat” to one that “poses a critical threat” to
Russian (or Belarusian) sovereignty. That formulation is ambiguous and
undoubtedly intended to suggest a lowering of Russia’s nuclear
threshold. But what would constitute a critical threat to Russian
sovereignty? Real threat or bluff? The latest changes to Russian nuclear
doctrine introduce greater ambiguity, which the Kremlin undoubtedly
hopes will give Western governments pause in decisions on providing
weapons to Ukraine or lifting restrictions on their use. Vague Russian
threats since 2022 apparently have slowed Western decisions about arming
Ukraine but have not prevented those decisions. The kinds of weapons
now provided—such as artillery, main battle tanks, ATACMS missile
systems, and F-16 fighters—are far more sophisticated than the weapons
provided to Ukraine prior to 2022.The problem confronting the Kremlin is
that the nearly 80-year existence of nuclear weapons suggests they are
useful for deterring a nuclear attack and, possibly, a major
conventional attack. Beyond that, their influence appears limited. The
possession of a large nuclear arsenal did not help the United States in
Vietnam or the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.Would Russia use nuclear
weapons if its nuclear forces came under concerted Western attack?
Almost certainly. Would Russia use nuclear weapons if Ukraine used U.S.
ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets in
Russia that were supporting Russian operations inside Ukraine? Moscow
wants the West to think so. But such nuclear use would be fraught with
political and military peril for Russia. Putin has accepted his
ostracism from the West. Russian nuclear use against a non-nuclear
weapon state would play badly in Beijing and New Delhi and likely make
Putin a global pariah. Indeed, Putin suggests a lower nuclear threshold
when his close partner China is again pressing for an agreement on no
first use. More consequentially, using nuclear weapons would open a
Pandora’s box full of nasty, unpredictable, and potentially catastrophic
consequences—including for Russia.The Kremlin hopes the West will
ignore all that and be dissuaded from further helping Ukraine. But
Western governments can and should question whether the new elements of
Russia’s nuclear doctrine and implied nuclear threats have any real
credibility.Author-Steven Pifer-Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign
Policy, Center on the United States and Europe, Strobe Talbott Center
for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Arms Control and
Non-Proliferation Initiative.
How Serious a Threat Is Russia’s
New Nuclear Doctrine? Russia’s nuclear shield insures it against NATO’s
large-scale involvement in the war in Ukraine, but below that threshold,
the West is doing more and more to support its Ukrainian allies,
leaving the Kremlin facing the difficult question of how to restore the
effectiveness of its deterrent.
by Alexander Gabuev-Published on October 3, 2024 Carnegie Politika
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has announced imminent changes to the
country’s nuclear doctrine. Those changes, announced in public comments
at the start of a Security Council meeting on September 25, amount to a
lowering of the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.The specific
wording of the new version of the doctrine will only be known once the
corresponding decree is published, but Putin listed the main innovations
in his short speech. The first proposal is that aggression against
Russia by any non-nuclear state, but “with the participation or support”
of a nuclear one, should be considered a joint attack. The second
defines the conditions for the possible use of nuclear weapons: Moscow
will be prepared to use them “upon receipt of reliable information of a
massive launch of air and space attack weapons and their crossing of the
state border,” including strategic and tactical aircraft, cruise
missiles, drones, and hypersonic aircraft.Finally, nuclear weapons may
be used in response to an attack on Russia and Belarus using
conventional weapons if that attack poses a “critical threat to
sovereignty.” Under the current version of Russia’s nuclear deterrence
policy, approved by Putin in June 2020—just four years ago, but in a
very different pre-war era—Moscow is only prepared to use nuclear
weapons in response to an attack using conventional weapons specifically
against the Russian Federation, and only in cases “when the very
existence of the state is threatened.”It was no coincidence that Putin
made his comments on the eve of a meeting between U.S. President Joe
Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, where a decision
was due to be made on allowing Kyiv to use Western missiles to strike
deep into Russian territory. That conversation is just the latest
episode in an extremely worrying trend for the Kremlin in which the West
is expanding its aid for Ukraine while showing increasing disregard for
Russia’s red lines. In response, the Russian leadership wants to show
that its statements should be taken more seriously, and a tougher
nuclear doctrine is one of the few tools available to do that. There’s
no guarantee that this step will help, however.Only a couple of years
ago, it was hard to imagine Western military personnel ever bombing the
headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, or that such an event could
possibly take place without sparking a war between Russia and NATO. Yet
that is precisely what happened one year ago, when the Ukrainian armed
forces launched a strike on Sevastopol using British Storm Shadow
missiles. Flight missions for these missiles, as Putin himself stated,
could only have been assigned by NATO military personnel. A leaked
conversation, apparently between German air force officers discussing
the reasons for Berlin’s refusal to supply Kyiv with long-range Taurus
missiles, revealed similar concerns.But those strikes against Sevastopol
did happen, and now the Russian leadership is ramping up its rhetoric
in an attempt to stop the West from allowing Ukraine to fire NATO
missiles into internationally recognized Russian territory. According to
Putin, such permission would mean that “NATO countries, the United
States, and European countries are fighting Russia.” In other words,
even the president indirectly recognizes the difference between legally
established Russian territory and territory captured from Ukraine,
including Crimea. That recognition—a position that if publicly voiced in
Russia by anyone else would carry the risk of a prison sentence for
discrediting the army—is compelling evidence that while NATO is
successfully deterring Russia, Russia is not so successful at deterring
NATO.The problem is that right from the very beginning of the full-scale
invasion of Ukraine, Putin—who had envisaged that it would all be over
in a matter of days—has deployed extremely harsh threats against the
West. “Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be
such as you have never seen in your entire history,” he said in his
address on February 24, 2022, as the invasion began. At first, Western
leaders took him at his word, but it soon became clear that Putin would
not achieve his maximal goals in Ukraine and that the Ukrainians, with
Western help, could rout Russia on the battlefield and force it to
retreat.Washington then began to test the red lines that Moscow had
initially proclaimed. Russia continued to threaten the West with a high
price for intervention in the war, but in practice there was little it
could do about Western aid to Kyiv, which over the two-and-a-half years
of war has grown from modest supplies of small arms and Javelin
anti-tank missiles to multibillion-dollar packages that include
artillery, air defense, tanks, and F-16 fighters.The West is trying to
nudge Russia’s red lines as carefully as possible, via long discussions,
media appearances, and communication with Moscow through intelligence
channels. This approach irritates Kyiv, but it reduces the risk of an
emotional response from Putin. After all, the pyramid of U.S. interests
is topped by the security of the United States itself, followed by the
security of its formal allies, and only then the interests of friends
and partners, which right now include Ukraine.Washington also believes
that unless the Kremlin finds itself on the brink of military defeat in
Ukraine, the risk of the use of nuclear weapons remains low. But it is
still doing what it can to avoid getting into dangerous situations.
Despite Ukrainian drone attacks on the Kremlin and Russian radar
stations, which are elements of its nuclear shield, the White House has
no intention of changing its cautious approach.In other words, the
nuclear shield has insured Russia against NATO’s large-scale involvement
in the war, but below that threshold the West is doing more and more to
support its Ukrainian allies. The war has shown that Russia does not
have a sufficient arsenal of high-precision conventional weapons to
mitigate many of the threats to it, or to break the resistance of a
country as large as Ukraine. The Kremlin therefore faces the difficult
question of how to restore the effectiveness of Russia’s deterrent.The
upcoming changes to the nuclear doctrine are intended to be part of
Russia’s response. But the changes announced by the president, although
verbally lowering the threshold for nuclear use, leave the Kremlin with
plenty of room for maneuver and interpretation.As a result, the most
likely scenario for the ongoing war is not a nuclear attack, but
increasingly large-scale attacks by Russia and Ukraine against each
other with drones and missiles. The latter will be a growing problem for
Russia, since Kyiv is actively developing its missile program with the
help of Western countries. Ukrainian ballistics could become a much more
serious threat as early as next year. As for deterrence and retaliation
against the West, the Kremlin is likely to double down on using its
toolkit of sabotage, arson, and targeted killings on NATO territory. The
transfer of sophisticated Russian weapons to Western adversaries, such
as the Houthis in Yemen, is another option on the escalation ladder—but
such a bold move will come with its own cost, including pushback from
partners vital for the Kremlin’s war economy, such as Saudi Arabia.The
irony is that the supposed threats from Ukraine that Putin used to
justify the upcoming invasion at the end of 2021 were at the time purely
hypothetical and scarcely believable. Yet during the course of the war,
many of them have become reality, like self-fulfilling prophecies. By
attacking Ukraine, Putin himself created a problem that did not exist
before. It’s a problem that will haunt the Kremlin in a multitude of
ways for many years to come.Alexander Gabuev-Director, Carnegie Russia
Eurasia Center-Alexander Gabuev-Nuclear Policy-Russia-Carnegie does not
take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views
represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Putin
Pulls From Stalin’s Playbook in Sending North Koreans Disguised as
Buryats to Ukraine-The role of Buryats in the Korean War and the Russian
invasion of Ukraine are two episodes of the same story: an Indigenous
minority being exploited in imperial wars by an imperial power.By Maria
Vyushkova-Nov. 14, 2024-Buryat soldiers. t.me/poddergimnas
As
news of North Korean troops being sent to Russia to fight against
Ukraine made global headlines, some sources claimed these troops were
being trained at a military base in Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, to be sent to
the Ukraine front line “disguised as Buryats” (since both Koreans and
Buryats are Asians and ostensibly hard to tell apart). Buryats are an
Indigenous Siberian nation of Mongolic origin which is known to be
significantly overrepresented both among Russia’s invading forces in
Ukraine and among the Russian-side casualties of the war.“Putin has
negotiated that Koreans from the DPRK [North Korea] would fight in
Ukraine under the guise of Buryats, the media writes. Another
confirmation that anyone can be passed off as Buryats. ‘Buryats,’
unfortunately, is a collective image (of any Asian soldiers) in the
context of this war,” wrote Alexandra Garmazhapova, a prominent Buryat
journalist and the president of the Free Buryatia Foundation.A week
later, the Free Buryatia Foundation published a cartoon where President
Vladimir Putin instructs two Korean soldiers: “Korean Comrades, your
task is to pretend to be Buryats pretending to be Donbas coal miners!”
This references the fact that Buryat troops, along with other Russian
forces, were deployed to the Donbas War under the guise of a “Donbas
militia.”“History repeats itself in strange ways,” says Dr. Sayana
Namsaraeva, a Buryat scholar and senior research associate at the
Mongolia & Inner Asia Studies Unit at the University of Cambridge
whose recent research work focuses on Buryat and other Soviet-Asian
involvement in the 1950-1953 Korean War in which Buryats, Sakha, Tuvans
and other Soviet Asians were deployed to fight for North Korea in the
Korean War under the guise of Chinese volunteers. Indeed, one cannot
help but notice the parallel between the two wars. On the other hand,
the similarity between the covert Soviet participation in the Korean War
and Russia’s role in the Donbas War is also obvious, with ethnic Buryat
troops being involved in both.Though the participation of Soviet troops
in the Korean War has always been denied by the Soviet government and
all Soviet soldiers involved in the conflict had to sign a
non-disclosure statement, the situation changed in post-Soviet Russia.
The involvement of the Soviet Asian soldiers in the Korean War was
officially recognized, and their stories were told in local media in
Buryatia, Sakha (Yakutia) and Tuva.However, these testimonies attracted
little attention, and Buryat involvement in the Korean War remains
understudied and largely missing from the collective memory, its true
scale still unknown.So why are Buryats being singled out? The republic
is situated close to the Russia-North Korea border and has numerous
military bases and a significant Asian population. Though a minority
(30% of the population) in their own region, Buryats still are one of
the biggest Indigenous Siberian groups, second only to Sakha.
Historically, Buryatia has one of the highest concentrations of military
bases relative to its population. The above factors likely contributed
to the role of Buryatia in both the Korean War and Russia’s war in
Ukraine.The region is struggling economically, which makes military
service a competitive job option for local men. These two factors led to
ethnic Buryats being overrepresented among contract soldiers in the
Russian army by the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2014, when
troops from Buryatia were infamously deployed to Donbas, their Asian
appearance blowing the cover of Russia’s active military involvement in
the conflict.The analysis of the obituaries of the Russian-side
casualties shows that ethnic Buryats are significantly overrepresented
among the Russian-side casualties of the full-scale Russian invasion of
Ukraine. This likely results from the high per capita concentration of
military bases in both Buryatia and the Zabaikalsky region and how
Russia’s military leadership has considered units from Buryatia to be
expendable.Moreover, in the Ukrainian public discourse, “Buryat” became a
collective term for any Asian-looking Russian troops, no matter their
actual ethnicity. Given that such Asian ethnicities as Tuvans, Kazakhs
and Altai are also overrepresented among the Russian invasion forces,
Ukrainian media tend to significantly overestimate the scale of Buryat
involvement in the war.This also led to stereotyped allegations that
Buryats were responsible for war crimes such as the Bucha massacre.
However, it has been proved beyond any reasonable doubt that it was the
paratroopers from the Russian city of Pskov, almost exclusively ethnic
Russians, who were responsible for the occupation and mass murder of
Ukrainian civilians in that city. Nevertheless, the “Buryats in Bucha”
myth persists, and the myth of the “bloodthirsty Buryat savage” has been
spread by such prominent public figures as Pope Francis. Given all the
above, it is unsurprising that Putin and his generals may try to pass
the North Korean troops for Buryats, even though their alleged numbers
way exceed the total number of ethnic Buryat soldiers ever involved in
this war. This may help the Russian side conceal the true scale of North
Korean participation in the war. According to a study published by
iStories and the Conflict Intelligence Team in August, the 2023-early
2024 military recruitment campaign in Buryatia failed to provide as many
soldiers as had been expected. The high death toll among the contract
soldiers who were in the military as of February 2022, along with
disproportionate mobilization in September-October 2022, resulted in
much fewer people still willing to join the army, even with the promise
of incredibly generous wages compared to the region’s median income. So
the North Korean troops probably are, in a sense, a “replacement” that
fills in this shortage of recruits from Buryatia.To me, as an ethnic
Buryat, both stories — the Buryat soldiers deployed to the Korean War by
Stalin, and the North Korean troops being sent to fight against Ukraine
disguised as “Buryats” — are actually two episodes of the same story:
an Indigenous minority being exploited in imperial wars by an imperial
power. Not just using Buryat men as cannon fodder for those wars, but
also exploiting our name and identity to cover up its true actions.The
views expressed in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the
position of The Moscow Times.Maria Vyushkova-Dr. Maria Vyushkova is a
research scientist, Buryat activist and expert in how Russia's ethnic
minorities are involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Joe Biden lifts ban on Ukraine using US weapons to strike deep inside Russian territory-Reuters
WASHINGTON,
Nov 17 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration has lifted
restrictions that had blocked Ukraine from using U.S.-provided weapons
to strike deep into Russian territory, said three sources familiar with
the matter, in a significant change to U.S. policy in the Ukraine-Russia
conflict.Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the
coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to
operational security concerns.The White House declined to comment.The
move by the United States, which comes just over two months before
President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, comes after months
of requests by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to allow
Ukraine's military to use U.S. weapons to hit Russian military targets
far from its border.The change follows Russia's deployment of North
Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces, a development that
has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv.The first deep strikes are
likely to be carried out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up
to 190 miles, according to the sources.While some U.S. officials have
expressed skepticism that allowing long-range strikes will change the
war's overall trajectory, the decision could help Ukraine at a moment
when Russian forces are making gains and possibly put Kyiv in a better
negotiating position when and if ceasefire talks happen.It is not clear
if Trump will reverse Biden's decision when he takes office. Trump has
long criticized the scale of U.S. financial and military aid to Ukraine
and has vowed to end the war quickly, without explaining how.Still, some
congressional Republicans have urged Biden to loosen the rules on how
Ukraine can use U.S.-provided weapons.Russia has warned that it would
see a move to loosen the limits on Ukraine's use of U.S. weapons as a
major escalation.(Reporting by Mike Stone and Humeyra Pamuk in
Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Lisa Shumaker)
opinion-Russia Supporting Houthi Rebels Is Diplomatic Suicide-By Saahil Menon-Nov. 4, 2024
On
Dec. 8, 2022, Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout had his 25-year
prison sentence cut short by the Biden administration to secure the
release of American basketball player Brittney Griner from a Mordovian
penal colony on trumped-up drug possession charges. Nonetheless, recent
revelations that he is on the cusp of brokering $10 million worth of
automated weaponry sales to the Houthi movement suggest otherwise.
Admittedly, Bout might not have received President Vladimir Putin’s
blessing for his post-incarceration wheeling-and-dealing given the
immediate threat his Yemeni clients pose to Russia’s regional allies
such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Following a 2014 coup d’état in Yemen,
the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest nation, then Saudi Defense Minister
Mohammed Bin Salman waged an all-out military campaign and economic
siege against the Iranian-backed Houthi insurgents with help from the
UAE, hoping to bomb and starve them into submission. That said, the
Houthis’ capacity to bring the war home and imperil national security in
expat-driven sheikhdoms which pride themselves on being safe havens for
foreign direct investment forced the aggressors to pursue an off-ramp.
The puritanical strand of Shia Islam the Houthis adhere to has, however,
left them immune to being bought off with their neighbors’ blood-soaked
petrodollars.Saudi Arabia’s rationale behind entertaining
Chinese-initiated peace talks with Iran last year was the misguided
notion that normalizing relations would convince the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to yank on Ansarallah’s leash. Though
routinely labeled an Iranian proxy, the Houthis have far greater agency
and latitude than was presumed to be the case before Oct. 7, 2023. The
Red Sea Crisis they manufactured in defense of Palestine bears testament
to how ideology supersedes all other material or geostrategic
considerations for the Houthis. By the first quarter of 2024,
year-on-year maritime traffic through the Suez Canal and Bab El-Mandeb
Strait had halved thanks to Houthi-led piracy.The Kremlin’s underhanded
cooperation with Yemen’s de-facto government is just the latest example
of its ineptitude at navigating the deeply complex rivalries dividing
the Middle East. The Russian Envoy in Tehran was summoned twice last
year over Moscow endorsing the UAE’s territorial claims to three
disputed islands in the Persian Gulf. Needless to say, arming and
rehabilitating the Houthis is a whole new ball game that risks blowing
apart Russia’s alliance with the Gulf Cooperation Council. Saudi
Arabia’s holding pattern regarding BRICS accession coupled with Crown
Prince MbS’ no-show at the Kazan Summit last week suggests fault lines
are already emerging. Saudi-Russia ties under the Biden administration
have been on overdrive. The two OPEC+ heavyweights famously colluded in
December 2022 to slash oil output by 2 million barrels a day and send
crude prices soaring in defiance of Washington’s wishes. Riyadh also
threatened to sell off its European debt holdings if the G7 went ahead
with plans to seize $300 billion in frozen Russian assets while Saudi
investment company Kingdom Holding plowed over $500 million into
Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil when the Ukraine conflict began. Yet,
Russia’s decision to equip the Houthis with satellite data with Donald
Trump’s potential re-election looming ahead could turn this thriving
partnership on its head.As signatories to the Abraham Accords which host
United States Central Command’s Al Dharfa Air Base and the U.S. Navy’s
Fifth Fleet respectively, the UAE and Bahrain will be considered fair
game by the Islamic Republic’s foot soldiers should the shadow war
between Israel and Iran spiral out of control. Whereas the Bahrainis
have painted an even bolder target on their backs by agreeing to be part
of Operation Prosperity Guardian, Russia has much more to lose if
instability arises in the Emirates. Besides bilateral trade tripling to
$7 billion during the last three years, Dubai has positioned itself as a
welcoming hub” for sanctioned oligarchs no longer welcome in legacy
Western capitals as well as white-collar Russians employed by
multinational firms.Notwithstanding the GCC states’ continued
willingness to invest in Russia, facilitating exchanges via mutual visa
waivers and sending high-level delegations to flagship annual events
like the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin appears
prepared to sacrifice a profitable relationship with moderate Arab
nations on the altar of burying Pax-Americana. Apart from their vast
pool of battle-hardened manpower equally gung-ho about ending Western
hegemony and paving the way for a more balanced world order, the Houthis
– proscribed terrorist organization by the U.S. – do not present any
real value proposition to Moscow.The views expressed in opinion pieces
do not necessarily reflect the position of The Moscow Times.Saahil
Menon-Saahil Menon is an independent wealth advisor based in Dubai. He
has written for the Kyiv Post and Emerging Europe.
NATO's largest artillery exercise underway in Finland.
Rovaniemi,
Finland, Nov 17 (AFP) Nov 17, 2024-Finland is hosting its first
large-scale NATO artillery exercise since the Nordic nation joined the
military alliance last year, with live fire drills starting on
Sunday.The exercise conducted in the northern Lapland region in November
is part of Dynamic Front 25, the largest NATO artillery exercise ever
held in Europe, with fire drills in Finland as well as Estonia, Germany,
Romania and Poland.Running from 4 to 28 November, it marks the first
time NATO allies are practicing artillery fire at a large scale on
Finnish soil.The Nordic nation, which shares a border with Russia,
joined NATO last year, dropping decades of military non-alignment after
Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022."We work on
interoperability with our allies, to carry out artillery fire in
coherence with our NATO allies," said Romain, a French army captain and
unit commander of the Ecrins battery of the 93rd mountain artillery
regiment, giving only his first name.His team was dressed in warm
camouflage uniforms in a field where the temperature was a few degrees
below zero Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit).Up to 3,600 soldiers from
Finland, the United States, Sweden, Britain, France and some other NATO
members were rehearsing as a damp cold took hold of Lapland's vast
arctic landscapes.The Lapland firing range and training area, called
Rovajarvi, is Europe's biggest."The area itself is the reason why allies
want to come to the Rovajarvi exercise area to train", Finnish Colonel
Janne Makitalo, director of the exercise, told AFP.It allows for
"multi-sided tactical fire exchanges for field artillery" while training
soldiers to handle the challenging conditions and varying terrain in
the Arctic region, Makitalo said.
Why long-range missiles could
be either a silver bullet or a powder keg for Ukraine-Russia war-Cybele
Mayes-Osterman-Tom Vanden Brook-USA TODAY
(This story has been
updated with new information)-WASHINGTON − A decision allowing Ukraine
to strike deep inside Russia with U.S.-guided weapons appears imminent
as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presses western allies for
permission this week at the United Nations General Assembly.The stakes
couldn’t be much higher.Ukraine wants to destroy Russian bases that have
launched devastating airstrikes on residential neighborhoods and
critical infrastructure, while Russian President Vladimir Putin warns
that Western-backed strikes in Russia’s heartland will pull NATO
countries into the war.The calculations for President Joe Biden and the
Pentagon are muddy, as ever, in a war that has stretched on for more
than two and a half years.The administration has balanced supporting
Ukraine against the unprovoked invasion, preventing a wider
conflagration in Europe and maintaining weapons stocks in the Pentagon’s
own arsenal. Zelenskyy is expected to plead his case in White House
meetings Thursday with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.Yet feared
red lines with Putin – arming Ukraine with Abrams tanks, long-range
rocket artillery and F-16 fighter jets – have been crossed without
sparking a wider war.What Ukraine wants-Earlier in the war, Ukraine
deployed a shorter-range precision weapon to destroy Russian command
posts and supply depots. They worked, forcing the Russian military to
move sensitive targets farther from the front line.Zelenskyy now wants
to take the fight deeper into Russia with longer-range
missiles.Zelenskyy already has western-supplied, long-range precision
weapons – the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, and British Storm
Shadow and French SCALP missiles. ATACMS have a range of up to 190
miles, while French and British missiles can reach around 155 miles. But
precise targeting at their longest range requires technical guidance
that only the Pentagon can provide, limiting their effectiveness.U.S.
policy has been altered to allow its weapons to attack inside Russia
close to the Ukraine border. But the prohibition on striking targets at
the high range of the weapons remains in effect, according to a U.S.
official who was not authorized to speak publicly.There have been
ongoing discussions within the administration about allowing deeper
missile strikes but no decisions have been made, the official
said.Ukraine wants to destroy Russia’s ability to launch attacks with
Soviet-era weapons launched from aircraft inside Russian airspace that
have been outfitted to glide to their targets. So-called glide bombs
have proved difficult to defend against.How the weapons could help
Ukraine fight Russia-Russia relies on bases outside the current range of
Ukrainian missiles to launch airstrikes and stockpiles large stores in
its own country to conduct ground attacks, giving them a “huge
advantage," said Fred Kagan, a senior fellow and director of the
critical threats project at the American Enterprise Institute.“The more
that the Ukrainians are able to strike these perfectly legitimate
military targets that the Russians are using to attack Ukraine, the more
countermeasures the Russians have to take that reduce the effectiveness
of Russian military action,” he said.Ukraine has used its weapons to
carry out long-range strikes, highlighting the advantage of hitting
targets inside Russia.Most notably, the Ukrainian military demolished a
Russian arsenal around 240 miles from Moscow last week in what Kagan
called the third such Ukrainian drone attack. That strike reportedly
destroyed 30,000 tons of ammunition, “probably several months’ worth,”
according to Kagan."We've seen the intensity of some Russian air
artillery operations drop after these attacks,” he said.Longer-range
strikes would force Russia to move its command posts, supply depots and
airfields farther from Ukraine, according to a senior defense official
who also was not authorized to speak publicly. Longer supply lines slow
the restocking of vital equipment, and longer flight times mean
warplanes will have less time to loiter when they reach their patrol
area.Beyond those tactical advantages, the strikes could have larger,
strategic effects, the official said. The war will drag on even longer,
and Russia, which has suffered hundreds of thousands of troops wounded
and killed, will have to reconsider its costs, the official said.Why
supplying Ukraine with weapons is complicated-Escalating the war could
have unforeseen consequences.Russian military doctrine allows for the
use of smaller, tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield. Seen as
unlikely, the possibility of detonating a nuclear weapon can’t be
dismissed.More immediately, supplying Ukraine with precision weapons
means there are fewer in U.S. stockpiles. They’d be in high demand in a
conflict with North Korea, a perpetual saber rattler, or with China and
its longstanding designs on Taiwan.The limited number of western
precision missiles for use in Ukraine means their effect on Russia would
be muted and thus not worth the potential cost in escalation, according
to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.Kagan doesn’t
buy that argument. There’s no reason to believe Putin’s threats are any
less hollow than before, he said.“The burden thus far has been put on
those advocating for allowing Ukraine to strike legitimate military
targets in Russia,” Kagan said. “But I think the burden really needs to
shift now to those who say that some fear of an unspecified escalation
should continue to cause us to hold the Ukrainians back.”
Russia Pounds Ukraine With ‘Massive’ Attack in ‘Hellish’ Night-By Sergii Volskyi for AFP-NOV 17,24
Russia
on Sunday pummelled Ukraine with a "massive" aerial barrage of missiles
and drones, killing at least nine people across the country in the
largest attack in months that Kyiv called "hellish."Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow launched 120 missiles and almost 100
drones, targeting Kyiv as well as southern, central and far-western
corners of the country.Civilians were killed in the Mykolaiv, Lviv,
Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions."A hellish night," the
spokesman for Ukraine's airforce Yuriy Ignat said on social media,
saying Kyiv downed "144 targets."The strikes caused massive power cuts
across the country, with fears of a precarious winter to come.Officials
in Kyiv called it one of the biggest attacks in the almost
three-year-long Russian invasion."A massive attack on our country,"
Zelensky said."Over the past week, the aggressor used nearly 140
missiles of various types, more than 900 guided aerial bombs, and over
600 strike drones," he said, accusing Moscow of trying to "intimidate us
with cold and blackouts."The attack came just two days after German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the
first time in almost two years.'True response'"This is war criminal
Putin's true response to all those who called and visited him recently,"
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said after the attack."We need
peace through strength, not appeasement."Kyiv had slammed Scholz for
calling Putin, as have many in Germany itself.But on Sunday, Scholz
reaffirmed his country's support for Ukraine, saying that no decision on
ending the war would be taken without Kyiv."Ukraine can count on us"
and "no decision will be taken behind Ukraine's back," the chancellor
said at Berlin airport before flying off to a G20 meeting in Rio de
Janeiro.Ukraine has been on the back foot militarily in eastern Ukraine,
where Moscow's forces have made steady advances.The election of Donald
Trump in the U.S. has raised questions about the future of the conflict,
with the Republican blazingly critical of U.S. aid to Ukraine.AFP
journalists heard explosions in the early morning in Kyiv and in
Sloviansk in the Donetsk region.Moscow, meanwhile, said it had hit all
its targets, claiming it had targeted an "essential energy
infrastructure supporting the Ukrainian military-industrial complex."But
civilian deaths were reported across Ukraine.Officials in Kherson said a
51-year-old woman was killed by a drone.Civilian deaths across
country-In the southern Mykolaiv region, local leader Vitaliy Kim said
two women were killed in a night attack and that seven people —
including two children — were wounded.The death toll included two
employees of the state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia in the city of
Nikopol, who were killed when a depot was hit, the Dnipropetrovsk
region's Governor Serhiy Lysak and the operator said. Three more people
were wounded in the bombing.Two people were also killed in the Odesa
region, where a teenager was wounded.Russian drones also made their way
to Zakarpattia — a mountainous region rarely hit — with officials saying
fragments fell in the village of Pavshyno, near the border with Hungary
and Slovakia.The head of the Lviv region, Maksym Kozytsky, said a
66-year-old woman was killed in her car in the village of Sheptytsky —
some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Polish border.That prompted NATO
member Poland to scramble fighter jets and mobilize all available forces
on Sunday in response.Warsaw puts its armed forces on alert whenever
attacks against its neighboring country are deemed likely to create a
danger for its own territory.Russia, meanwhile, said a man was killed by
a Ukrainian drone in its border Belgorod region.Attacks on energy
facilities 'throughout Ukraine' Ukraine's energy operator DTEK on Sunday
announced emergency power cuts in the Kyiv region and two regions in
the east.Russia's relentless aerial bombardment has destroyed half of
Ukraine's energy production capacity, President Volodymyr Zelensky has
said.Earlier, Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on
Telegram that Russian forces were "attacking electricity generation and
transmission facilities throughout Ukraine."With the harsh Ukrainian
winter fast approaching, the country is already suffering from major
energy shortfalls, while its outmanned and outgunned forces have been
steadily ceding ground to the Kremlin's troops for weeks.Kyiv has
implored its Western allies to help rebuild its energy grid — a hugely
expensive undertaking — and supply its outgunned forces with more aerial
defense weapons.But many in Ukraine fear that Western help will not be
as freely given following the imminent return of Trump to the White
House in January.
13 Nov, 05:00-Press review: Trump forms foreign policy team and Europe sets course for militarization
MOSCOW,
November 13. /TASS/. The European Commission plans to bolster its
military-industrial complex; US President-elect Donald Trump chooses
nominees for Secretary of State and National Security Advisor; and the
UN Climate Forum in Baku (COP29) seeks to raise financing for new
low-carbon technologies. These stories topped the headlines across
Russia on Wednesday.Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Europe Commission charts path
toward militarization.The European Commission intends to redirect around
€400 bln from the EU budget, initially earmarked for the development of
underdeveloped regions, in order to spend it on strengthening the
military-industrial complex of member states and providing military aid
to Ukraine, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports. The resolution of these issues
will be supervised by the European Commissioner for Defense - a position
that will be created for the first time in the new composition of the
European Commission, which will begin work on December 1.The Financial
Times reported on Tuesday that the European Commission will release €392
bln from the so-called Cohesion Fund to increase military spending.
This amount is allocated in the EU budget for 2021-2027 to reduce
economic inequality within the community. After all, the Cohesion Fund
is one of the largest budget programs designed to finance the most
underdeveloped regions of EU states and bring them closer to the
advanced ones in terms of development.Re-elected for a second five-year
term, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen promised
to turn the EU into a defense union. Thus, the new initiative of the
European Commission is fully in line with her promises, Nezavisimaya
Gazeta notes. It also includes the development of a common European air
defense system, a threefold increase in the number of coast and border
guards, and the creation of a European defense commissioner."Europe is
in an increasingly combative mood. Suffice it to say that on November
11, during the Paris celebrations of the 106th anniversary of the end of
World War I, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime
Minister Keir Starmer discussed how to convince the Joe Biden
administration to allow Kiev to strike with long-range weapons deep into
Russian territory. Perhaps with British Storm Shadow missiles or French
Scalp missiles," Alexey Fenenko, a professor at the Faculty of World
Politics at Moscow State University, told the newspaper.According to the
expert, it is wrong to claim that the Americans are pushing the
Europeans into a conflict with Russia. On the contrary, the
Franco-British alliance itself is pushing the US to act more decisively.
"Russia will probably have to come to terms with a new reality - the
awakening of militarism in European countries. This new European
militarism may turn out to be even more hostile to Russia than American
policy," Fenenko believes.Vedomosti: Donald Trump starts assembling his
foreign policy team-US President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate
Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Mike Waltz from Florida for the
positions of Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, the Wall
Street Journal reported, citing sources. However, the publication
believes that the decision regarding Rubio is not final. According to
Vedomosti, their views on the Ukrainian conflict have changed and now
align with Trump’s.Secretary of State and National Security Advisor are
the two most important foreign policy positions in the United States.
The former is the US president’s chief envoy on the international stage.
The latter is responsible for briefing the president daily on the state
of the world and coordinating the work of the National Security
Council, which includes key cabinet members.Both politicians hold
similar positions to Trump on the Ukrainian conflict, Vedomosti writes.
Initially, Rubio was a supporter of providing aid to Kiev, but later
declared additional aid packages hopeless.Lev Sokolshchik, leading
researcher at the HSE Center for Comprehensive Economic and Social
Studies, believes that American diplomacy will still use sanctions
pressure. In his opinion, sanctions can be expected to be used as a
bargaining and pressure tool. The personalities of the appointees
matter, but they will still be guided by Trump’s priorities, who
demonstrated during his first term that he acts solely in his own
opportunistic interests.Waltz is an advocate of increasing the financial
involvement of the US’s European allies in the Ukrainian conflict and
increasing sanctions pressure on Russia, Director of the Institute of
International Studies at MGIMO University Maxim Suchkov told Vedomosti.
The expert does not rule out that Trump is using Waltz as a "bad cop" in
possible negotiations on Ukraine. "Waltz is needed to extract
concessions from uncompromising opponents," the expert
believes.Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Developing nations need $1 trillion for
green transition-The central initiative of the UN Climate Forum in Baku
(COP29) was the demand from developing countries to raise financing for
new low-carbon technologies to $1 trillion. Developed countries have not
yet been able to create an economically attractive model for the green
transition, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports. Experts told the newspaper that
plans for securing additional financial resources could be formulated
at the meeting.The climate summit in Baku is being attended by 80 heads
of state and government. Ruslan Edelgeriev, the Special Representative
of the Russian President for Climate Issues, was appointed as the head
of the Russian delegation. Earlier, the Special Representative of the
Russian President for Relations with International Organizations, Boris
Titov, said that Moscow would present its proposals for establishing an
international carbon market at COP29.On Monday, COP29 countries agreed
on quality standards for carbon credits, which are necessary to the
launch of the UN-backed global carbon market that will finance projects
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is expected that the agreement
reached on Monday will enable the launch of the UN-backed global carbon
market as early as next year.Experts say the first days of the summit
have been promising. "One result has already been achieved - there is a
consensus on a set of fundamental rules for the global trading of CO2
emission allowances. This is a key element of the future global system
for trading quotas for greenhouse gas emissions," Pavel Sevostyanov,
associate professor at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics,
told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. He also hopes that the Baku meeting will
provide an opportunity to formulate plans to raise additional financial
resources."One of the most important steps is to agree on a number of
renewable energy initiatives, including a plan to develop energy storage
and distribution infrastructure, as well as a declaration on reducing
methane emissions," Kirill Chernovol, research fellow at the Russian
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Center at
the Presidential Academy, said. However, mobilizing funds from both
countries and the private sector remains essential to achieve these
goals, he added.Izvestia: Palestinians assess prospects of cooperation
with Trump administration-The Palestinian authorities will reject any
proposals from the future administration of US President Donald Trump if
they do not consider the rights of their people, which include the end
of the Israeli occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state along
the 1967 borders, with its capital in East Jerusalem. This was stated by
Abd al-Fattah al-Dawla, the official representative of Fatah, the
largest faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), in
an interview with Izvestia."The Palestinian side will not consider any
proposals that do not meet the aspirations and rights of our people.
Therefore, the American administration has to change its policy of
supporting the occupier (Israel - Izvestia) and preventing a two-state
solution [to the conflict]," the Fatah representative
emphasized.According to him, the criterion for the success of any
proposal and the Palestinian side’s interaction with it is the degree to
which it aligns with the rights of the Palestinian people and the
international legal framework."If the policy of the US President-elect
Trump follows the same logic that denies the rights of the Palestinian
people and supports the policy of occupation, then it will not lead to
success. If he pursues a policy consistent with the international legal
framework and the full realization of the rights of the Palestinian
people, then we will welcome it," he stressed."Trump’s Middle East
policy is still forming and will partly depend on the members of the
team that the Republican president will appoint to be responsible for
this region," Middle East expert Leonid Tsukanov told Izvestia.According
to him, Trump’s personal involvement may play a role here, especially
since he has repeatedly emphasized that he is ready to make "personal
proposals" on any of the crises, including the Palestinian one.It is
highly likely that the Trump administration will try to revive the
Abraham Accords, which the Democrats failed to expand during the Biden
presidency. "However, this requires resolving the hot phase of the
crisis in Gaza, and it is highly likely that Washington will defend the
interests of the Jewish state in this conflict more firmly, which will
lead to the final curtailment of the deal on the sector proposed by the
Democrats," the expert concluded.Vedomosti: China increases imports of
copper ore from Russia by 36%-Exports of copper concentrate from Russia
to China rose by 36% year-on-year to 310,000 tons in January-September
2024, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of
China. In September, shipments grew 1.5-fold to 35,000 tons, while
exports of finished copper and copper products from Russia to China
dropped by 18% year-on-year to 226,700 tons in the reporting period.
Experts told Vedomosti that demand for copper raw materials in China is
growing due to a shortage of local smelting capacities.China is the
world’s largest consumer of copper, but only the fourth-largest producer
of copper ore. This forces the country to import copper concentrate,
which is then processed into refined metal to meet domestic demand,
Vedomosti reports. The total volume of copper concentrate imports into
China in the first nine months increased by around 4% year-on-year to
21.06 mln tons.According to British consulting company CRU, around 3.2
mln tons of new copper smelting capacity will be added in China by 2030.
Nornickel’s copper smelter could be one of the new production
facilities in China.Maxim Khudalov, Chief Strategist of Vector Capital,
explained that the increase in supplies to foreign countries is due to
Nornickel’s Bystrinsky Mining and Processing Plant and Udokan Copper
reaching their full capacity. According to the expert, the volume of
supplies from Russia to China will hit 405,000-410,000 tons of copper
concentrate by the end of 2024. Demand for the metal is growing,
especially in the production of electronics, solar panels, and electric
cars, he added.China consumes about 60% of the world’s copper
production, Boris Krasnozhenov, head of securities market analysis at
Alfa Bank, told Vedomosti. About two-thirds of this volume is covered by
imports, but high copper prices make new projects economically
unfeasible, the expert suggests.TASS is not responsible for the material
quoted in these press reviews
India hails 'historic' hypersonic missile test flight.by AFP Staff Writers.
New
Delhi (AFP) Nov 17, 2024-Nuclear-armed India has tested its first
hypersonic missile, the defence minister said Sunday, publicising the
super-fast high-tech weapon days after rival China showcased its latest
military aviation powers.Hypersonics are the new frontier in missile
technology, because they fly lower and are harder to detect than
ballistic missiles, can reach targets more quickly, and can be ordered
to change target in mid-flight.The United States, Russia, China and
North Korea have all tested hypersonic missiles, and several others are
developing the technology."India has achieved a major milestone by
successfully conducting flight trial of long range hypersonic missile,"
Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh said in a statement.The test flight
comes days after rival and neighbour China showcased its expanding
aviation capabilities at an airshow, with the J-35A stealth fighter jet
and attack drones displayed.That, according to China's state media,
included the debut of the HQ-19 surface-to-air missile system, designed
to intercept ballistic missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles.India's
missile blasted off from Abdul Kalam Island off the east coast on
Saturday.Video images released by India's Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO), showed a slender missile blasting into
the night sky followed by a surge of flames."This is a historic moment
and this significant achievement has put our country in the group of
select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced
military technologies," Singh added.No further details were given about
the missile.New Delhi has deepened defence cooperation with Western
countries in recent years, including in the Quad alliance with the
United States, Japan and Australia.India is also a major buyer of
Russian military hardware, including Moscow's S-400 missile defence
system -- despite the threat of US sanctions over the multi-billion
dollar deal.
US Air Force honors crews that thwarted Iran’s April
missile, drone attack on Israel-History made as first woman is
decorated with force’s third-highest award for valor; American jets
downed some 80 drones in ‘largest air-to-air enemy engagement in over 50
years’ By Stuart Winer-and ToI Staff Today, 6:48 pm-NOV 17,24
The
US Air Force has honored pilots, aircrews and support personnel who
helped thwart a massive Iranian-led rocket and drone attack on Israel
earlier this year.Airmen from the 494th Fighter Squadron and 494 Fighter
Generation Squadron were recognized for their activities in
intercepting hundreds of attack drones and rockets fired by Iran and
from Yemen at Israel on April 13-14.History was made during the ceremony
— held last week at Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath station —
when for the first time, a woman serving in the American Air Force was
decorated with a Silver Star, the force’s third-highest award for valor,
according to a Friday statement.F-15E jets from RAF Lakenheath were
“vital during the fight that intercepted and engaged aerial threats” and
“fought in the largest air-to-air enemy engagement in over 50 years,”
the statement said.The jets, which though based in the UK had been
deployed to the US Central Command’s region of responsibility, which
includes Israel, flew 154 sorties during the night.US President Joe
Biden personally praised the service personnel in a direct phone call
during the event.The ceremony saw Air Force members receive “two Silver
Stars, six Distinguished Flying Crosses with the valor device, four
Distinguished Flying Crosses with the combat device, four Distinguished
Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars Medals, seven Air and Space
Commendation Medals and seven Air and Space Achievement Medals,” the
statement said.The pair of stars went to F-15E instructor pilot US Air
Force Maj. Benjamin Coffey and to F-15E instructor weapon systems
officer US Air Force Capt. Lacie Hester.Hester is the first woman in the
US Air Force to receive the honor and only the 10th woman in the
Department of Defense to have the decoration.“The team engaged the enemy
multiple times throughout the night despite having severe aircraft
emergencies and while under falling debris at the expeditionary base
caused by hostile fire from the enemy,” the statement
said.“Additionally, at great personal risk, Coffey and Hester engaged
low-altitude one-way attack UAVs in the complete darkness of night with
the air-to-air gatling gun of the F-15E after they expended all their
air-to-air missiles,” it explained.“We all fell into an execution
rhythm: call, shoot, and confirm the target was destroyed before we
moved on to the next task we had to accomplish to keep everyone safe,”
said US Air Force Lt. Col. Timothy Causey, the 494th Fighter Squadron
commander.The statement revealed further details about the events of the
Iranian-led attack, including that the US forces destroyed more than 80
attack drones from Iran or Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.In April,
Iran launched over 300 missiles and drones at Israel in response to the
killing of two senior army generals in a Damascus strike that Tehran
blamed on Israel.The wave was intercepted by Israeli air defenses
alongside the US-led coalition of regional forces that included British
and French warplanes, as well as, reportedly, intelligence and radar
resources from some Arab nations. A few missiles made it through the
defenses, causing very minor damage at an air base, while a young
Bedouin girl was seriously injured by falling shrapnel from an
interception.Israel carried out only a limited response to the attack,
but on October 1 Iran again fired a massive barrage of missiles that
sent most of Israel into bomb shelters, killed a Palestinian man in the
West Bank, and caused damage in residential areas and at military bases —
although the IDF said that the attack had no operational
impact.Israel’s retaliation to that attack was hours of strikes almost a
month later that took out Iranian air defense systems defending vital
energy infrastructure as well as rocket and drone manufacturing sites,
and reportedly a nuclear research site. Iran has vowed to respond to the
attack.The clashes came as a spillover from the ongoing war in the Gaza
Strip that began on October 7, 2023, when Iran-backed Palestinian
terror group Hamas led a massive attack on southern Israel that killed
1,200 people, mostly civilians, amid atrocities including the taking of
hostages. The war has since spread to multiple fronts.Agencies
contributed to this report.
Record 101 foreigners executed in
Saudi Arabia so far in 2024, tally finds-Figure nearly triple the counts
for 2022 and 2023; latest sentence carried out for Yemeni national
convicted of drug smuggling; kingdom executed 274 people in total over
past year-By AFP Today, 5:39 pm-NOV 17,24
Saudi Arabia has
executed more than 100 foreigners this year, according to an AFP tally,
indicating a sharp increase that a rights group said was
unprecedented.The latest execution, on Saturday in the southwestern
region of Najran, was of a Yemeni national convicted of smuggling drugs
into the Gulf kingdom, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.That
brought to 101 the number of foreigners executed so far in 2024,
according to the tally, which is compiled from state media reports.This
is almost triple the figures for 2023 and 2022, when Saudi authorities
put to death 34 foreigners each year, according to AFP tallies.The
Berlin-based European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) said
this year’s executions had already broken a record.“This is the largest
number of executions of foreigners in one year. Saudi Arabia has never
executed 100 foreigners in a year,” said Taha al-Hajji, the group’s
legal director.Saudi Arabia has faced persistent criticism over its use
of the death penalty, which human rights groups have condemned as
excessive and out of step with efforts to soften its forbidding image
and welcome international tourists and investors.The oil-rich kingdom
executed the third-highest number of prisoners in the world after China
and Iran in 2023, according to Amnesty International.In September, AFP
reported that Saudi Arabia had carried out its highest number of
executions in more than three decades, surpassing its previous highs of
196 in 2022 and 192 in 1995.Executions have continued rapidly since
then, totaling 274 for the year as of Sunday, according to AFP’s tally.
The number includes both nationals and foreigners.‘Execution
crisis’Foreigners executed this year have included 21 from Pakistan, 20
from Yemen, 14 from Syria, 10 from Nigeria, nine from Egypt, eight from
Jordan, and seven from Ethiopia.There were also three each from Sudan,
India and Afghanistan, and one each from Sri Lanka, Eritrea and the
Philippines.Saudi Arabia in 2022 ended a three-year moratorium on the
execution of drug offenders, and executions for drug-related crimes have
boosted this year’s numbers.There have been 92 such executions so far
this year, 69 of them of foreigners, according to the AFP
tally.Diplomats and activists say that foreign defendants usually face a
higher barrier to fair trials, including the right to access court
documents.Foreigners “are the most vulnerable group,” said Hajji of the
ESOHR.Not only are they often “victims of major drug dealers” but also
“subjected to a series of violations from the moment of their arrest
until their execution,” he said.Saudi Arabia is notorious for beheading
those convicted of capital crimes, although official statements tend not
to mention the method of execution.The high number of executions
undercuts statements by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, who told The Atlantic in 2022 that the kingdom had
eliminated the death penalty with the exception of murder cases or when
an individual posed a threat to many lives.Jeed Basyouni, who heads
Middle East anti-death penalty advocacy for the NGO Reprieve, said
persistent drug arrests were “perpetuating the cycle of violence.”The
overall number of executions was on track to exceed 300 for the year,
she noted.“This is an unprecedented execution crisis in Saudi Arabia,”
said Basyouni. “Families of foreign nationals on death row are
understandably terrified that their loved one will be next.”
Hezbollah
media chief killed in IDF strike on central Beirut, terror group
official says-Mohammed Afif targeted at Syrian Ba’ath Party offices;
military carries out new wave of strikes in terror group’s Dahiyeh
stronghold; drone apparently launched from Iraq shot down-By Emanuel
Fabian-Today, 5:08 pm-NOV 17,24
An Israeli airstrike on a
building in a central neighborhood of the Lebanese capital Beirut on
Sunday reportedly killed the top spokesman for the Hezbollah terror
group.Two Lebanese security sources told Reuters that Hezbollah’s media
relations chief Mohammed Afif was killed in the strike on the Ras
al-Naba’a neighborhood. A Hezbollah official, speaking anonymously,
confirmed this to The Associated Press.The Israel Defense Forces did not
immediately issue a comment on the strike.Unlike dozens of other
Israeli attacks carried out in Beirut this past week, the strike killing
Afif was not carried out in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah
stronghold known as Dahiyeh.The building where Afif was targeted housed
the offices of the Syrian Ba’ath Party, Lebanese media reported. The
IDF did not issue any evacuation warning before the strike, as it was an
assassination and did not target Hezbollah’s infrastructure.Afif had
been especially visible after Israel’s military escalation in September
and following the assassination of longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah, who was also killed in an Israeli airstrike.Last month, Afif
was forced to interrupt a press conference in Dahiyeh after the IDF’s
Arabic language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, issued an evacuation
order for residents of the area ahead of an airstrike.Also on Sunday,
the IDF said it had completed a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah
targets in Dahiyeh. The targets hit by fighter jets included command
rooms and other infrastructure, according to the military.Before those
strikes were carried out, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to
civilians in the area.In recent days, the IDF has ramped up strikes
against Hezbollah targets in Beirut with over 50 Hezbollah sites hit in
the past week.One of the targets struck by Israeli fighter jets in
Beirut on Saturday was an apartment formerly belonging to Nasrallah,
according to the IDF.The military said Nasrallah was targeted at the
home during the 2006 Second Lebanon War, and it was later rebuilt. The
apartment was currently being used by Hezbollah for its activities, the
IDF said.Sunday’s strikes came after a barrage of some 20 rockets was
launched from Lebanon at the Western Galilee and Haifa Bay area in the
morning.According to the IDF, some of the rockets were intercepted by
air defenses, while the rest struck open areas, causing no injuries.The
IDF also released footage on Sunday showing a Hezbollah weapons cache
and tunnel being demolished by combat engineers in southern Lebanon.The
site had been discovered by troops of the Kfir Brigade’s Haruv
reconnaissance unit, who are operating in Lebanon under the Alon Reserve
Brigade. It marked the first time in the unit’s history that it was
operating in Lebanon.According to the IDF, during a raid in a southern
Lebanon village, the troops found a tunnel shaft that led to underground
infrastructure. Next to the shaft was a weapons depot, ammunition and a
motorcycle, which the IDF says “were prepared for an invasion” of
Israel.Three IDF divisions have been operating in southern Lebanon in
recent days, as the military has expanded its offensive against
Hezbollah.On Saturday, Hezbollah claimed to have confronted IDF soldiers
on the outskirts of Shama, a Lebanese village located some 5 kilometers
(3.1 miles) from the border with Israel.It would mark the deepest point
in Lebanon that the IDF has reached during the ongoing ground
offensive.Meanwhile, the IDF reportedly removed roadblocks on the
northern border which were set up to prevent civilians from driving on
roads that were exposed to anti-tank missile fire from Lebanon.According
to a Sunday morning report by Army Radio, all of the military
roadblocks on the Lebanon border were removed in recent days, ahead of a
possible return of the displaced residents of the north to their
homes.“The reality in the north has changed,” IDF officials were cited
by the radio station as saying.“There are no longer places where you
can’t drive. Bypass roads are no longer needed, and citizens can also
drive on these roads,” the officials were cited as saying, adding that
this freedom of movement is due to the IDF having taken control of key
areas in south Lebanon, thereby reducing the threat.Some 60,000
residents were evacuated from northern Israeli towns on the Lebanon
border shortly after fellow terror group Hamas’s October 7, 2023,
onslaught in southern Israel, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a
similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the Lebanese terror
group.For months since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah-led forces attacked
Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily
basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war
there.Hezbollah has since expanded its attacks to also target cities in
central and northern Israel with rockets, in addition to the attacks on
the border, though in recent days the IDF has seen a decrease in the
number of attacks.The attacks on northern Israel have resulted in the
deaths of 43 civilians. In addition, 70 IDF soldiers and reservists have
died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation
launched in southern Lebanon in late September. Two soldiers have been
killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several
attacks from Syria, without any injuries.The IDF estimates that some
3,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100
members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have
also been reported killed in Lebanon.Meanwhile, on Sunday morning, the
IDF also said a drone launched at Israel “from the east” — usually code
for Iraq — was intercepted by air defenses over southern Israel.Footage
posted to social media showed a cloud of smoke above a Bezeq antenna
farm near Rehovot, apparently following the interception of the
drone.There were no reports of injuries. Shrapnel from the interception
sparked a small fire in the area.There was no immediate claim of
responsibility for the drone.Agencies and Times of Israel staff
contributed to this report.
Shin Bet chief says firing of flares
at Netanyahu’s home ‘far from legitimate protest’Police seek 12-day
remand for 3 detainees who reportedly are prominent anti-government
activists; minister urges sacking of AG, accusing her of inaction that
may cause PM’s ‘murder’ By Sam Sokol,Jeremy Sharon-and ToI Staff Today,
4:58 pm-NOV 17,24
The head of the Shin Bet security agency said
Sunday that the firing of flares the previous evening in the vicinity of
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea
“marks a dangerous escalation,” as Hebrew media reported that the three
people arrested over the incident are prominent members of the
anti-government protest movement.The incident drew condemnation from
across the political spectrum, as well as fury at Attorney General Gali
Baharav-Miara by coalition members who called for her dismissal and
accused her of being overly lenient toward action taken by
anti-Netanyahu demonstrators.The Israel Police’s Lahav 433 major crimes
unit and the Shin Bet are investigating the incident, which came during
weekly Saturday evening protests against the government and in favor of a
deal to free the hostages being held in Gaza by the Hamas terror
group.The police and the Shin Bet asked a court Sunday to extend the
suspects’ remand by 12 days.Video posted to social media by a reporter
from the Kan public broadcaster apparently showed that the flares were
fired into the air above the premier’s home, rather than toward it. One
of the flares appeared to malfunction and fell to the ground near the
premier’s home while still lit.No damage was reported in the incident
and a joint statement from the security bodies noted that Netanyahu and
his family were not home at the time.Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar said on
Sunday that “firing flare guns at the Prime Minister’s residence is a
very serious incident that is far from legitimate protest,” and called
it a “dangerous escalation.”Bar added that “the Shin Bet is obligated by
law to protect the symbols of the government. Accordingly, we acted
swiftly, in coordination with police, to locate and arrest the suspects
involved in the incident, using all the tools at our disposal. We will
not tolerate violent actions against government symbols. Each case will
be treated with the utmost severity.”Meanwhile, reports said the three
detainees were regulars at the anti-government rallies, and that one of
the suspects serves as a senior officer in the military reserves.Lawyer
Gonen Ben Itzhak told the media the three have been prevented from
meeting with an attorney since their arrest in the early hours of Sunday
morning.In a strongly worded response, Communications Minister Shlomo
Karhi called for the attorney general to be fired, blaming her for
incitement against the government.Accusing the embattled attorney
general of failing to tackle violence and incitement from
anti-government protesters, Karhi alleged that Baharav-Miara is “sitting
with her arms crossed, granting them legitimacy and refusing to stop
this dangerous deterioration.”In an incendiary post on X, he added that
her alleged failure to act “is bringing us closer with great strides to a
catastrophe – to the murder of the prime minister.”“The attorney
general must go home today. A person who gets up to kill you — including
through weakness and agreement through silence — rise up and fire
them,” declared Karhi, paraphrasing a line from the Talmud about
self-defense.In response, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accused Karhi of
“openly inciting murder against the attorney general,” and called for
him to be fired.Lapid and National Unity chairman Benny Gantz, also of
the opposition, both issued statements condemning the firing of the
flares and calling on law enforcement to “bring the guilty to
justice.”Gantz declared on Sunday morning that “this is not a protest –
this is terrorism.”“Although I deeply disagree with Netanyahu and often
criticize him… Netanyahu is not a murderer and is not an enemy. One
should demonstrate against him and the government only according to the
law,” Gantz tweeted.“This is the position of the absolute majority of
those who oppose this government. And this is the only correct position.
In view of the recent events, every public leader, including the
leaders of protests against the government, must say this out loud
today,” he added.Responding to the news, Culture and Sports Minister
Miki Zohar said that Saturday’s incident serves as proof that the
government must complete its controversial judicial overhaul.“The
criminals who committed the heinous act and the tailwind they receive
from the [justice] system remind us all of the duty to complete the
legal reform in order to save Israeli democracy,” he said.Justice
Minister Yariv Levin denounced the incident as the latest “link in a
chain of violent and anarchic actions, the purpose of which is to bring
about the assassination of the prime minister and the overthrow of the
elected government by means of a violent coup.”Far-right National
Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, meanwhile, declared that “the
incitement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has crossed all
boundaries.”“Today it’s a flare and tomorrow it’s live fire,” he said,
calling for a halt to “the incitement against Netanyahu and his
family.”At a cabinet meeting in September, government ministers railed
against the attorney general’s office for ostensibly not doing enough to
crack down on incitement against the prime minister, pointing to a
prominent government critic comparing Netanyahu to Nazi dictator Adolf
Hitler as well as protesters deriding Netanyahu as a “traitor,” “Satan”
and an “enemy of the people.”The Netanyahus’ private home in Caesarea
was lightly damaged in a Hezbollah drone attack last month. Following
that attack, the government reportedly demanded a NIS 2 million
($530,000) security upgrade at the estate.
