DECEMBER 25, 2015

Saudi Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman (middle).

Do Not Ignore Saudi Arabias

Islamic Military Alliance
fayez nureldine/afp/getty images

Anthony Chibarirwe | December 25

hen the Saudi deputy crown prince and relatively

inexperienced defense minister, Mohammed bin Salman,
announced a military alliance on December 15 to fight the disease of terrorism that has damaged the Islamic world, the
global response was underwhelming at best. At worst, the world
treated this new coalition with scorn and ridicule.
One observer determined that the 34-member, Saudi-led alliance of Islamic nation states makes little sense. Another bluntly

called it a joke [that] doesnt need a punchline.

[T]here are many reasons to doubt how effective the [coalition] plan will be, noted the New York Times. Many other commentators questioned the seriousness of the newly-formed
Islamic federation.
As important as it is to not overestimate the current reality
of this coalition, it is also critical to not undervalue its future
potential.

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Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

Alliance? What Alliance?

Islamic State terrorists, ostensibly the chief targets of the alliance, threatened to fight back: With permission from Allah, this
alliance will be the beginning of the collapse of the governments
of the oppressive tyrants in the lands of Islam. The Islamic State
called those nation states morons and fools in an article titled
Mohammed bin Salmans Alliance of Surprised Allies.
The alliance members include Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt,
Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinians, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Malaysia, Maldives, Somalia, Sudan, Mauritania,
Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Gabon, Benin and Togo.
At least three of those nation statesPakistan, Lebanon and
Malaysiawere indeed surprised that they were included in the
alliance.
But other nations of more significance welcomed the Saudi-led alliance. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutolu said
the military union was the best response to those who are trying
to associate terror and Islam. Representing the only nato member in the alliance, Davutolu believes that this effort by Muslim
countries is a step in the right direction.

State. For the Saudis, such support has been expedient for countering its own Shiite minority as well as challenging the regions
Shiite powerhouse: Iran.
The Saudis thus recognize Iran as the biggest existential
threat in the Middle East, if not the whole world. As Shikha Dalmia wrote for The Week, Saudi Arabia largely tolerates isis terror, because unlike the U.S., it has other bigger worries. Bruce
Riedel, a former cia analyst, wrote, For Riyadh, the battle against
Iran is as important as the battle against al Qaeda and Islamic
Stateperhaps even more important.
The West would do well to grasp this perspective.
Where the Alliance Is Leading
Perhaps the most damning criticism of the alliance, wrote the
Washington Post, is just how vague it is. Prince Salman said the
focus of this new alliance will not just be the Islamic State but
any terrorist organization that appears in front of us. [N]othing
is off the table, explained Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.
However, how vague this coalition is makes it especially significant. This alliance will not dissipate after it has fulfilled its
specific purpose, because it doesnt have one! Instead, this Arab
grouping will grow and morph into a different kind of alliance.
Consider the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab
League, the Muslim World League, the Gulf Cooperation Council
or the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The Arab world has been trying to develop effective military alliances since the 1940s, and one
alliance has often led to another.
The Washington Post added: [W]hile this new alliance may
appear to target terrorism, its not hard to see it as an extension
of the Saudi-led coalition currently fighting in Yemen.
Could this new alliance become something else in the future?
More and more, problems are compelling nations to forge alliances in order to confront foes which otherwise would have been
insurmountable. Its a trend we can expect to continuea trend
that will be shaped by the past, present and future of the Middle
East.
This is where Bible prophecy powerfully informs our understanding of these alliances. As the Trumpet has discussed for
more than 20 years, a prophetically significant coalition of Arab
nations will emerge in the Middle East. A prophecy in Psalm 83
shows that that alliance will comprise 10 nation statesnot 34!
It explicitly includes Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinians and Germany, and it just as plainly excludes
Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia. (Request our free booklet
of The King of the South to understand the specific details of this
alliance.)
This prophecy indicates a massive shift in alliances among
the nations of the Middle East, as Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in his article How the Syrian Crisis Will End.
Much of that prophesied realignment of Middle Eastern nations
has already happened. Of those changes soon to occur, the most
significant will transpire in Syria and Egyptsince Syria will be
allied with the Saudis and Egypt will not.
As The King of the South shows, even the purpose of that alliance will change somewhat from what we see today.
Todays Saudi-led Islamic military alliance is just one step
closer to the Psalm83 alliance.

How Islamic?
Saudi Arabias Islamic military alliance has also been ridiculed
for its inclusion of countries that do not have majority Muslim
populations: Countries like Gabon, Benin and Togo.
However, these nations are members of the Saudi-headquartered Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The populations of
their Muslim minorities are significantly high.
This fact takes on greater significance if we consider the viewpoint of some analysts: The Middle East can only be solved by
Muslim solutions.
That viewpoint is informed by the rationale that a Muslim-versus-Muslim clashwhich a Saudi-led Islamic intervention would
createwould not incite apocalyptic jihadists with the same
extremism that a West-versus-Muslim clash would. The latter
solution, the analysts believe, would violently inflame those
apocalyptic extremists who, from their interpretations of the
Quran, already anticipate an epic clash of civilizationsone pitting Muslims against essentially everyone else.
This viewpoint adds more significance (and even legitimacy)
to Saudi Arabias Islamic military alliance.
Besides, whether apocalyptic or not, the Muslim world has
typically responded to Western intervention in the Middle East
with a furious determination to humiliate foreign invaders.
Just notice Iraq and Afghanistan!
Who Is the Real Target?
Another source of criticism for this Islamic alliance is the exclusion of nations such as Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Oman, Afghanistan and
Indonesia. Not including Shiite Iran, Iraq and Algeria, in particular, proves that Saudi Arabias coalition is less of an Islamic coalition and more of a Sunni alliance. (The Saudis are mostly Sunni
Muslims.)
Saudi Arabia, while indeed wary of the Sunni Islamic State,
has sponsored Sunni terrorist groups, including the Islamic

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Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

MIDDLE EAST

IF ITS NOT IN THE BIBLE, THEN WHY IS CHRISTMAS SO POPULAR? |

DECEMBER 24

REPUBLICAN CONGRESS GIVES PRESIDENT OBAMA EVERYTHING HE ASKS

FOR | DECEMBER 22

YOUR PART IN OVERCOMING SINFUL HABITS | DECEMBER 23

EUROPES YEAR OF CRISES, AND THE IMPACT OF DAILY RADIO | DECEMBER 21

Iran Nuclear Deal Restricts U.S. More Than Congress Knew

Bloomberg View | December 22
WE TALKED ABOUT THIS

embers of Congress knew the Iran nuclear deal came

with strings attached. They just didnt know how many.
When the administration presented the agreement to Congress, lawmakers were told that new sanctions on Iran would
violate the deal. Now the administration is trying to sidestep a
recently passed provision to tighten rules on visas for those who
have visited Iran.
Since the accord was struck last summer, the U.S. emphasis
on complying with its end of the deal has publicly eclipsed its
efforts to pressure Iran.
In the latest example of the U.S. effort to reassure Iran, the
State Department is scrambling to confirm to Iran that it wont
enforce new rules that would increase screening of Europeans
who have visited Iran and plan to come to America. There is concern the new visa waiver provisions would hinder business
people seeking to open up new ventures in Iran once sanctions
are lifted.
U.S. officials confirmed over the weekend that Secretary of
State John Kerry sent his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, a

letterpromising to use executive powers to waive the new restrictions on those who have visited Iran but are citizens of countries
in theVisa Waiver Program.
At issue is a provision that would require travelers who visit certain countriesincluding Iran, Sudan, Syria and Iraqto apply at
a U.S. Embassy for a visa before coming to the U.S., even if they are
from a country for which such visas would normally be waived.
House staffers who spoke with us say Iran was included for
good reason, because it remains on the U.S. list of state of sponsors of terrorism for its open support for Hezbollah and Hamas.
The White House did not object until the Iranian government
told the administration last week that the bill would violate the
nuclear agreement, according to correspondence on these negotiations shared with us.
If the United States Congress cannot implement a more
secure visa procedure for those who travel to state sponsors of
terrorism like Iran, then the Iran deal ties the hands of lawmakers to a greater extent than even deal critics feared, Mark Dubowitz, an expert in Iran sanctions, told us.

Iran Boosts Its Military Aggression

Commentary | December 22
WE TALKED ABOUT THIS

sraeli media reported something surprising: The Lebanese terrorist [killed in Syria this weekend, Samir Kuntar],
wasworking directlyfor Iran, setting up anti-Israel terrorist cells
in southern Syria.
In other words, Iran is no longer outsourcing anti-Israel

operations to local terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas; its

now running them directly, thereby increasing the risk of direct
Israeli-Iranian clashes.
This isnt the only way Irans behavior has changed for the
worse since it began receiving Western sanctions relief in

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Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

exchange for negotiating on the nuclear deal concluded this

summer. It has also started recruiting child soldiers to fight in
Syria.
Altogether, Haaretz reported earlier this month, Iran has
about 5,000 of its own soldiers in Syria plus another 25,000 under
its command, including Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite militias, and the
Afghani and Pakistani refugees it exploits as mercenaries. Dr.

Majid Rafizadeh toldAl Arabiya that, of the more than 200

terrorist groups worldwide, fully a quarter are funded, trained,
or directly recruited by the Iranian government.
In short, far from improving Irans bad behavior, the nuclear
deal has exacerbated existing wars and heightened the likelihood
of more wars to come. If thats what a foreign policy success looks
like, Id truly hate to see a failure.

Turkeys Kurdish Cities Become War Zones

Wall Street Journal | December 23

urkeys stepped-up military campaign to crush Kurdish

insurgents has reduced some urban neighborhoods in the
southeast of the country to battle zones, raising fears the conflict
could escalate and spread elsewhere in the country unless peace
talks resume.
Turkish officials said Wednesday that about 170 Kurdish militants and at least 11 members of Turkeys security services have
been killed since the governments announcement last week.
The governments counterinsurgency operation is its most
intensive effort to quash young Kurdish militants since the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the pkk, declared an
end to a two-year-old cease-fire in July and restarted attacks
against Turkeys security forces.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoan on Wednesday said the
government was proceeding methodically to wipe out the pkk,
which Ankara, the U.S. and the EU have designated [as] a terrorist group.

In a move that has stirred controversy here, leaders of Turkeys legal and avowedly nonviolent Kurdish political parties are
seeking support from Russia, which is embroiled in a feud with
Ankara over the shoot down of a Russian jet last month along the
Turkey-Syria border.
Selahattin Demirtas, head of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party, or hdp, held talks Wednesday in Moscow with Russian Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov.
Neither Turkey nor Russia want a war that spreads beyond
Syria. Both countries have similar sized economies, they are
important trade partners, they have modern militariesand
they wield nuclear deterrents. Despite the angry and hostile
rhetoric, geopolitical realities suggest a compromise will
be reached. Some of the latest posturing is about increasing
leverage for a future deal.
Will Turkey Fight Russia in Syria?, theTrumpet.com, Dec. 22, 2015

Afghanistan: The Taliban Is Recapturing Helmand Before Our Eyes

Independent | December 20

t is a measure of how desperate matters have become for

government forces in Afghanistan that when the deputy governor of Helmand wanted to tell his own president that the Taliban was rapidly overrunning his province, he went on Facebook
to do so becausein his wordsthere was no other way to contact him. I dont know what else to do, he wrote.
Whether the outside world will react to this heartfelt appeal
looks doubtful.
For the relatives of the 453 British soldiers who lost their lives
in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014, mostly in Helmand, it must be
painful. Many must be wondering whether the sacrifice of their
loved ones was made in vain. Some will also remember that when

the last British soldiers left in October 2014, the defense secretary,
Michael Fallon, said they were leaving with heads held high.
This orderly transition underlines the progress that we have
made alongside our allies, he declared. Afghanistan was no longer a safe haven for terrorists.
Those words seem [laughable] now, when the most reliable
estimates indicate that the Taliban controls or heavily influences
at least half of the country. As talk grows of putting boots on
the ground in Syria, we should remember where this got us in
Afghanistannowhere.
RELATED: BURIED IN AFGHANISTAN

Taliban Outlast 14 Years of U.S. Combat in Afghanistan

Washington Times | December 23

he sudden killings of six American service members on a

foot patrol by a suicide bomber this week is a graphic message back home that theTalibanare durable [and] able to launch
a number of coordinated attacks in recent months across Afghanistan,14 years after the U.S. invasion.
A Pentagon report calls the security situation fragile and
writes of the Talibans resilience throughout the second

half of the year.

The Pentagon report, Enhancing Security and Stability
in Afghanistan, this month is warning that the security situation inAfghanistandeteriorated because of an increase in effective insurgent attacks and higher [Afghan National Defense and
Security Forces] and Talibancasualties.

Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

Islamic States Authentic-Looking Fake Passports Pose Threat

Wall Street Journal | December 23

estern security officials are struggling to respond

to the threat that Islamic State can make authentic-looking
Syrian and Iraqi passports, which could be used to hide operatives planning attacks in Europe or the U.S. among refugees.
Islamic State has likely obtained equipment and blank

passport books needed to make Syrian passports when the group

took control of the Syrian cities of Raqqa and Deir Ezzour, those
officials said. It has also gained control of materials to make Iraqi
passports when it occupied the Iraqi city of Mosul .

U.S. Congresswoman: Jerusalems Archaeological Discoveries Prove Historic Jewish Ties

Jerusalem Post | December 22

hallenges to the inexorable connection of Jews to

Jerusalem have been unequivocally disproved by archeological discoveries, the chairwoman of the U.S.s House Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa said on the floor of the
U.S. House of Representatives last Friday.
The comments, made by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, represented a sharp rebuke to increasing international efforts to delegitimize Israels connection to Jerusalem, despite numerous relics recently unearthed proving an ancient Jewish presence there.
For quite some time, there has been an effort at the United
Nations to delegitimize the Jewish State of Israel, and to try to
whitewash the Jewish peoples historical and Biblical connection
to Israel, said Ros-Lehtinen.
Denying the historic connection of the Jewish people to

Jerusalem is false. Amazing archeological discoveries are frequently made that prove the roots of the Jewish people are in
Israel.
The impetus for her address reportedly stemmed from an
announcement earlier this month of the discovery of an unprecedented impression of King Hezekiahs royal seal from the First
Temple period, dating back to 727-698 b.c.e.
Rarely do science and the Bible converge as dramatically and
as tangibly as with the life and work of King Hezekiah of Judah.
Dr. Eilat Mazars most recent discovery is barely the size of
your fingertip, but it contains a message of enormous
significance.
King Hezekiah Comes to Life, Trumpet, February 2016

EUROPE
IRAN: TOP MIDEAST THREAT, GERMANY: SELF-DEFENSE MEASURES,
CHINA: SOCIAL CONTROL, AND MORE | DECEMBER 25
EUROPE BUILDS FENCES, SAUDI ARABIAS NEW ALLIANCE, MANKIND TO
MARS, THE RICH FOOL, AND MORE. | DECEMBER 16

Paris Attacks Reveal the Outlines of a New Europe

Richard Palmer | December 18

urope will be forged in crises and will be the sum of

the solutions adopted for those crises. Those famous
words from one of the European Unions founding fathers, Jean
Monnet, explain much of what is happening in Europe. The economic crisis is forcing the political union that EU leaders could
not get voters to agree to. And now, in the aftermath of the Paris
attacks, new, major changes are afoot
But the most immediate crisis revolves around Europes bordershow to secure them, how to cope with immigrants crossing them, and how to stop terrorists moving all over Europes
open-border zone.
This puts the Schengen zoneEuropes free-travel areaat

the forefront of this crisis. Since 1985, those living in France, for
example, could hop across the German border to do grocery
shopping, visit friends, etc. without having to queue up and show
their passport.
Since the Paris attacks, Schengen has unraveled. The combination of the attacks and the refugee crisis has led to thereintroduction of border controls in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, France and Malta.
Many now are wondering if those border controls will ever go
away. Border fences are even going upbetween Schengen memberssomething that goes far beyond a temporary suspension of
border measures.

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Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

Now even top EU officials are talking aboutsuspending Schengen for two yearswhich in practice means putting Schengens
problems in the too hard bin and hoping a solution comes up
later.
But Schengen is a core part of the EU and greatly loved by
pro-Europeans. They wont let it die easily. How can their dream
of a European superstate be realized if a passport is needed to
travel within that state?
Just like the euro crisis, instead of giving up on the whole project, theyll push for the oppositefixing the problem through
closer integration.
The solution capturing the headlines right now is athinly disguised European army. Called the European Border and Coast
Guard, the force would be armed and have its own ships, helicopters and drones. Most importantly, it coulddeploy anywherein
Europewithoutthe target nations approval.
Such a dramatic expansion of EU power is a hard sell. Which
is probably why the plans put forward by the European Commission call for such a small forcearound 2,000. But even such a
small force would be a huge step. A Europe where a central government can send in armed forceseven if theyre called border guardsto another sovereign state is not a Europe of nation
states. Its a single superstate.
Another alternative to a total Schengen collapse is the
mini-Schengen plan. First circulated by the Dutch, this would
see Schengen shrink down to a handful of nationsGermany,
Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourga group
that bears a remarkable resemblance to the Holy Roman Empire
in the late 18th century,as Stratfor put it.
This idea has gained traction very quickly. The Dutch, who
take over the EUs rotating presidency in January, floated it in
November. Both the Netherlands and Germany have confirmed
that theyve held talks on the idea.Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloemsaid, If we do not do it in the external borders of the
EUs 28 members, or in the Schengen zone, then maybe we will

have to do it on the level of a mini-Schengen zone. In December,

EU leadersbegan threateningtokick Greece out of Schengena
move that would also begin the process of shrinking Schengen.
Though it may not look like it at first glance, a mini-Schengen
would also be a big step for Europe.
If the spirit leaves our hearts, we will lose more than the
Schengen, said European Commission President Jean-Claude
Juncker. A single currency does not exist if the Schengen fails.
He may be exaggerating a little, but the consequences of such a
shrink go far beyond the common border zone. Until now, Europe
has always moved forward and expanded. But if you can kick people out of Schengen, why not the euro? This reverses the direction for the whole EU. For the first time it would establish the
principle that a group of European nations can shrink in the face
of a crisis. If a small group of nations is a better fit for the Schengen zone, then why not shrink the euro too?
A practical force would push in this direction. It would be
odd to have a zone with one currency but many borders. A common currency works best when goods, people and capital can
move freely. The more obstacles there are to free movement, the
more imbalances build up and the more unstable the whole thing
becomes.
Just like a proto-army, this idea is not going away. If the crisis
continues, it will continue to be floated.
Both these solutions to the Schengen crisis match exactly what
the Trumpet has been forecasting for Europea smaller, more
closely integrated group of nations. In these proposed solutions,
we can see the outlines of what this new Europe will look like.
Regardless of whether these measures are adopted this time
around, they reveal Europes instinctsthe ideas they look to
when a crisis hits. As these crises keep hitting, this smaller, more
tightly knit group is the clear destination.
For more on why theTrumpethas been making this forecast,
read Is a World Dictator About to Appear? from our free bookletHe Was Right.
Follow Richard Palmer

Germans Stock Up on Weapons for Self-Defense

Soeren Kern, Gatestone Institute, December 21
WE TALKED ABOUT THIS

ermans, facing an influx of more than one million asylum seekers from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, are rushing to arm themselves.
All across Germany, a country with some of the most stringent
gun-control laws in Europe, demand is skyrocketing for non-lethal self-defense weapons, including pepper sprays, gas pistols,
flare guns, electroshock weapons and animal repellents. Germans are also applying for weapons permits in record numbers.
The scramble to acquire weapons comes amid a migrantdriven surge in violent crimesincluding rapes, robberies and
aggravated assaultsin cities and towns throughout the country.
German authorities, however, are going to great lengths to

argue that the German citizenrys sudden interest in self-defense

has nothing whatsoever to do with mass migration into the country, despite ample evidence to the contrary.
In recent weeks, German newspapers have published dozens of stories with headlines such as: Germany Is AfraidAnd
Grabs for the Weapon, Germans Are Arming Themselves: The
Demand for Weapons Explodes, More and More People Are
Buying a Weapon, Security: Hands Up! The Need for Security
Increases, Boom in Weapons Stores, and Bavarians Are Arming ThemselvesAfraid of Refugees?
The German daily newspaper Die Welt recently produced
a video report about Germanys surge in sales of self-defense

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Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

weapons, which was titled The Weapons Business Is Profiting

from the Refugee Crisis.
Since Germanys migration crisis exploded in August 2015,
nationwide sales of pepper spray have jumped by 600 percent,
according to the German newsmagazine Focus.
According to KH Security, a German manufacturer of self-defense products, demand is up by a factor of five, and sales in
September 2015the month when the implications of German
Chancellor Angela Merkels open-door migration policy began to
dawn on many Germanswere the highest since the company
was founded 25 years ago. The company says there is an increased
demand not only for self-defense weapons, but also for home
alarm systems.
Another manufacturer of self-defense products, the Frankfurt-based company def-tec Defense Technology, has reported a

600 percent increase in sales this fall. According to ceo Kai Prase:
Things took off beginning in September. Since then, our dealers
have been totally overrun. We have never experienced anything
like this in the 21 years of our corporate history.
The same story is being repeated across Germany.
Germany is gripped by deep social and political upheaval
and is experiencing a transformational identity crisis. As
Europes old demons return and the basic urges of self-preservation and nationalism once again take hold, Germans will
increasingly look for a leader and political party willing and
able to lead Germany (and even Europe) through this transformation.
Europes Old Demons Return, Trumpet, November-December 2015

Self-righteous Germany Has Left Guilt Behind

Edward Lucas, The Times, December 23

ermany has had a grotesque past and, until recently, a

guilt-ridden present. Since the Federal Republic was founded
in 1949, Germans of all generations have worked assiduously to
purge the crimes of the Nazi era.
For allies and neighbors, putting pressure on Germany was
easy: Murmuring historical responsibility was usually enough
to open wallets and silence objections.
Not anymore. Europe is now facing a new Germany, self-confident to the point of self-righteousness. It dominates Europe and
is happy to do so. It enforces rules because it believes them to be
rightand in Europes best interest.
The biggest example of this is migration. Germans feel they
have done the right thing by taking a million asylum-seekers this
year, a bold humanitarian gesture made on principle. Having
taken the lead, Germany is now firmly asking (some would say
telling) the rest of Europe to help to share the short-term costs of
housing, feeding and integrating migrants in their societies too.
Recalcitrant countries can expect to pay a penaltyfor
example in losing access to EU payments for infrastructure and
regional development. Germany is also promoting what is in
effect an EU armya border guard for the Schengen zone which
can be deployed over the heads of a failing national government

(read: Greece).
It is a similar story with the eurozone. Germany has bailed out
the indigent south Europeans. But it expects laggards (read:
Greece) to become competitive, by introducing the budgetary discipline and efficient public administration that they lack.
Germany runs European foreign policy too: It dragged reluctant eastern and southern European governments into supporting sanctions on Vladimir Putins Russia. In an even more startling diplomatic somersault, it is pushing for a rapprochement
with Turkeya country that it once shunned.
Yet modern Germany is something quite different. It is not
burdened by Kaiser Wilhelms grievances about lack of colonies,
far less is it licking the wounds of Versailles. It is not militaristic.
But the big point is that Germany wants to make the EU work.
This is hard for Britons to grasp at a time when we are obsessing about leaving it. We see the EU as shackles, to stop us [from]
doing the right thing. Germany sees it as an enforcer, to make
sure other countries behave kindly, thriftily and responsibly. We
simply cannot grasp the unstinting money and effort Germany is
willing to devote to this.
As Germanys new Europe takes shape, we are not part of it.

TW IN BRIEF

utch riot over plan to build housing for Muslim refugees:

Dutch citizens in the town of Geldermalsen rioted on December 17 to protest plans to build a housing complex for Muslim refugees. The plan calls for building a facility to house 1,500 asylum
seekers in the town of a population of only 27,000. More than
2,000 Dutch citizens are thought to have participated in the protests. Videos on social media showed rioters tearing down fences,
throwing objects at police, and chanting anti-immigrant slogans.
Police said they had made numerous arrests in connection with
the unrest.

ope wins Charlemagne prize: Pope Francis has been named

the winner of the International Charlemagne Prize, awarded
annually by the German city of Aachen for contributions to European unity. The prize committee said yesterday that the pontiff has sent a message of hope and encouragement at a time
in which many citizens in Europe are seeking orientation, the
news agency dpa reported. However, this year, the prize will not
be awarded in Aachen; but rather, it will be handed over in Rome.

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Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

ne million migrants, one record-breaking year: More than

one million people entered Europe in this record-breaking
year, migration experts said on Tuesday, reaching a symbolic
milestone capping a mass movement of people that has challenged the concept of European unity. With just days left in 2015,
the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration said
1,005,504 people have entered Europe as of Monday, more than

four times as many as last year. Almost all came by sea, with nearly
4,000 drowning in the crossing. Most people entered Europe via
Greece, which took in 820,000 people, nearly all of them crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey. From Greece, hundreds of thousands of migrants have been making their way through Balkan
nations such as Macedonia and Serbia, with the aim of reaching
more prosperous, Western European countries.

ASIA

China Just Launched the Most Frightening Individual Ranking Program Ever
And Soon It Will Be Mandatory
Anti Media | December 21
WE TALKED ABOUT THIS

ceania, ChinaAs if further proof were needed

Orwells dystopia is now upon us, China has now gamified
obedience to the State. Though that is every bit as creepily terrifying as it sounds, citizens may still choose whether or not they
wish to opt-inthat is, until the program becomes compulsory
in 2020. Going under the innocuous name of Sesame Credit,
China has created a score for how good a citizen you are,explains
Extra Credits video about the program. The owners of Chinas
largest social networks have partnered with the government to
create something akin to the U.S. credit scorebut, instead of
measuring how regularly you pay your bills, it measures how obediently you follow the party line.
In the works for years, Chinas social credit system aims to
create a docile, compliant citizenry who are fiscally and morally
responsible by employing a game-like format to create self-imposed, group social control. In other words, China gamified peer

pressure to control its citizenry; and, though the scheme hasnt

been fully implemented yet, its already workinginsidiously
well.
Rick Falkvinge pointed out a startling comparison:
The kgb and the Stasis method of preventing dissent from
taking hold was to plant so-called agents provocateurs in the general population, people who tried to make people agree with dissent, but who actually were arresting them as soon as they agreed
with such dissent. As a result, nobody would dare agree that the
government did anything bad, and this was very effective in preventing any large-scale resistance from taking hold. The Chinese
way here is much more subtle but probably more effective still.
As Creemers described to Dutch news outlet, de Volkskrant,
With the help of the latest internet technologies, the government wants to exercise individual surveillance. The Chinese aim
[] is clearly an attempt to create a new citizen.

Zimbabwe Becomes Beijings First African Colony With Adoption of Chinese Yuan
Zerohedge | December 24

[A]

fter its disastrous adventures with hyperinflation

denominated in its own currency, Zimbabwe decided to
entirely abandon its reserve currency and shift to the dollar.
[A]s reported early in 2015, China announc[ed] it planned
to set up a modern high-tech military base in Zimbabwes diamond-rich Marange fields.
The news of the agreement to set up the first Chinese military
airbase in Africa comes amid increasing bilateral cooperation
between Zimbabwe and Chinanotably in mining, agriculture
and preferential trade. China is the only country exempted from
the indigenization laws which force all foreign investors to cede
51 percent of their shareholding to carefully selected indigenous
Zimbabweans.
China could be positioning itself for future gunboat

diplomacy where its military presence would give it bargaining

power against superpowers like the U.S. It would also be safeguarding its significant economic interests in Zimbabwe and the
rest of Africa.
[L]eaked confidential Central Intelligence Organization documents suggested that China had played a central role in retaining
President Robert Mugabe in the countrys most recent elections,
indicating that high level military officers had worked closely
with the local army in poll strategies while Beijing bankrolled the
ruling party, Zanu (PF).
The Asian country has supplied Zimbabwe with military hardware, including MiG jet fighters, tanks, armored vehicles and
rifles, since independence. In other words, while nobody was
looking, China just took over one more nation without spilling a

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Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

drop of blood.
And then, on Monday, all of our confusion was laid to rest
when Zimbabwe announced that this small, economically devastated country would officially make the Chinese yuan its legal
tender as it seeks to increase trade with Beijing. In exchange for
becoming not only a military but also financial colony of China,
$40 million of its debts to Beijing would be canceled.

China was delighted it cost it only a $40 million debt write-off

to acquire its first official African colony.
Adoption by a struggling economy has been a privilege previously reserved for the U.S. dollar, which is officially used by
almost a dozen other countries.
And while Zimbabwe may be the first official Chinese colony
in Africa, it will hardly be its last.

Chinas War by Algebra Strategy to Bury America

National Interest | December 22

ver the course of the 2016 presidential debate, the argument that America vastly outspends China will likely be
used to discount any possibility of an emerging China threat. ...
Chinas reported annual military expenditures are rapidly
heading beyond $200 billion, the United States still spends more
than three times that. Moreover, Chinas military spending consumes only about 2 percent of its gross domestic product annually while the U.S. number is closer to 4 percent.
This America outspends China argument must, however, be
tempered by several considerations. [W]hile America projects its
force globally, China focuses regionally. ...
As a further consideration, one dollar of Chinese defense
spending goes much farther than a like U.S. dollar for at least two
reasons: Chinese military personnel earn wages and benefits far
less than their American counterparts. It is also demonstrably
cheaper for Chinas sweatshops to churn out weapons systems. ...
Chinas military does not have to spend anywhere near as
much on research and development. One key reason: the vaunted
ability of Chinese hackers to steal Americas latest weapons.
Another reason: the equally vaunted ability of Chinas scientists
to reverse-engineer the foreign weapons systems China buys. ...
For all these reasons, it would be wrong to discount Chinas

military threat based on budget metrics alone.

[W]ill China be able to use its superior manufacturing might
to overwhelm America on the battlefield? ...
The U.S., as a military power, is in rapid decline. This sobering
deterioration of Americas military resolve was forecast decades ago by Herbert W. Armstrong. Just after the Bay of Pigs
fiasco of 1961, Mr. Armstrong pinned the blame for Americas
loss not on the nations military, or even on President Kennedy,
but on the American people: Unless or until the United States
as a whole repents and returns to what has become a hollow
slogan on its dollars: In God we trust, the United States of
America has won its last war! [T]he God America has deserted gave it its most humiliating defeat! What does the Cuban
debacle mean? It means, Mr. and Mrs. United States, that the
handwriting is on your wall! (Plain Truth, October 1961). ... The
Chinese seem to recognize the U.S.s shattered will to use its
power. And they may well be preparing to put those tatters on
display for the whole world.
Will China Call Americas Military Bluff?,
theTrumpet.com, Jan. 29, 2013

Kremlin-Owned Russia Today Helps Readers with Western Media Guide

Breitbart | December 17

ussian propaganda site Russia Today (RT) is offering its

readers a brand new site to navigate the Western media,
detailing the biases and shortcomings of American media outlets
from the eyes of the Kremlin.
The world of mainstream media can be difficult to navigate,
with countless outlets and various agendas offered on a 24-hour
basis, wrote the editors. With that in mind, RT has created a

roadmap of the major players across the globe.

The propaganda site breaks down each popular outlet, naming the ceos and key people.
RT hopes this roadmap will inspire viewers to Question
More when it comes to msm, by providing them with a valuable
tool that will enable them to make up their own minds regarding
the current media landscape, concluded the editors.

Modi Seeks Russian Crown Jewel in Decades Biggest Defense Deal

Bloomberg Business | December 22

ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Moscow

after approving whats set to be his nations biggest weapons
deal with Russia since 2001, reaffirming a military partnership
that newer suppliers like the U.S. will find difficult to dislodge.
The S-400 air defense missile systems, which India plans to

buy, are among the crown jewels of Russias defense capability, according to Jon Grevatt, Asia-Pacific defense-industry analyst for ihs Janes. The two-day visit, starting December 23, will
also include a private dinner with Russian President Vladimir
Putin and an event at the Kremlin with Russian and Indian chief

9
Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

executives. ...
Indias defense acquisition panel last week approved the purchase of five S-400 systems likely to cost about $4.5 billion .
About $7 billion worth of deals will be agreed during the visit,
according to Konstantin Makienko, deputy director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, which advises

Russias defense ministry.

The Trumpet has long said that Indiawith its population of
more than 1.2 billion peopleis almost certain to join the Asian
bloc that the Bible says will congeal in the end time.
The Other Asian Powerhouse: India, theTrumpet.com, Oct. 22, 2015

Human Rights Group: North Korea Slave Force Earns Kim Jong Un Regime $300M
UPI | December 23

orth Korea deploys at least 50,000 people overseas in its

force of involuntary laborers who earn up to $300 million for
the Kim Jong Un regime.
The numbers released Wednesday by the Database Center for
North Korean Human Rights, a South Korean think tank, include
a list of companies that have exploited North Koreas slave labor
force .

126 companies in 14 sectors outside North Korea, including in

Russia, Mongolia and Poland, employ North Korean slaves as a
form of cheap labor.
Yonhap reported in the case of workers deployed in Poland
and Mongolia, 90 percent of their earnings are remitted to the
North Korean authorities.

China Accuses U.S. of Serious Provocation by Flying Bombers

Associated Press | December 19

hinas Defense Ministry said Saturday that the U.S. committed a serious military provocation by recently flying two
Air Force B-52 bombers over a Chinese-controlled man-made
island in the South China Sea, a mission that the U.S. appeared to
indicate had strayed off course.

The Defense Ministry accused the U.S. of deliberately raising

tensions in the disputed region, where China has been aggressively asserting its claims to virtually all islands, reefs and their
surrounding seas. It also reiterated that it would do whatever is
necessary to protect Chinas sovereignty.

AFRICA/LATIN AMERICA

Somalia Bans Christmas and New Year Festivities

Agence France-Presse | December 23

Somalias government has banned celebrations of Christmas

and New Year in the Muslim majority country, saying the festivities might attract Islamist attacks.
All events related to Christmas and New Year celebrations are
contrary to Islamic culture, which could damage the faith of the
Muslim community, the director general of the religious affairs
ministry told reporters on Tuesday.
Sheikh Mohamed Khayrow said security forces had been
ordered to break up any such celebrations. There should be no
activity at all, he said.
Sheikh Nur Barud Gurhan, of the Supreme Religious Council of Somalia, said that non-Muslim festivities might provoke
the ire of [Al-Shabaab], East Africas al Qaeda branch, which is

headquartered in Somalia.
We are warning against the celebration of such events which
are not relevant to the principles of our religion, Gurhan added,
saying it could provoke [Al-Shabaab] to carry out attacks.
Somalia is at least the second Muslim majority country to ban
Christmas this year .
The trouble is, it seems religion is more often intent inwreaking vengeancerather than seeking peace. Hans J. Morgenthau
wrote inPolitics Among Nations,The wars of religion have
shown that the attempt to impose ones own religion as the only
true one upon the rest of the world is as futile as it is costly.
Return of the Religious War, Trumpet, May 2004

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Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

ANGLO-AMERICA

Hidden Danger in Keeping Christmas?

Gerald Flurry,
The Key of David | December 25

amily time together and the life of Jesus Christ are both wonderful. But does God want us to celebrate these things by keeping Christmas?

U.S. Bows to Russia, Again

Stephen Flurry | December 23

WE TALKED ABOUT THIS

ssads days are numbered. Assad needs to go. Im

confident Assad will go. These are all crystal clear statements from United States President Barack Obama. Over the past
five years, he and his administration have made these statements
repeatedly.
The United States and our partners are not seeking so-called
regime change.
That is an equally clear and completely contradictory statement from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, made just last
week. America just completely reversed its position over Syrian
President Bashar Assad. Why? In order to appease Russia.
The U.S. stands ready to work with Russia, Kerry told reporters in Moscow on December 15, adding that the world is better
off when the United States and Russia pull together in the same
direction. In other words, the United States will let Russia have
its way. The Associated Press reported the flip-flop as, Assad can
stay, for now: Kerry accepts Russian stance.
In a press conference last month, President Obama stressed
the urgency of defeating the Islamic State, adding that were not
going to be able to fully succeed in eliminating their safe havens
until we have a political settlement of some sort in Syria. Less
than a month ago the president stuck to his commitment that
Assad must go! Now his secretary of state has essentially said, I
guess Assad can go ahead and stay for a while.
The Syria situation is proving to the world once again that the
American president cannot stick to his word.
Today, I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those
under his command, the world is watching, Obama famously
said back in 2012. The use of chemical weapons is and would be
totally unacceptable, and if you make the tragic mistake of using
this weapons, there will be consequences, and you will be held
accountable.
Assad has crossed that red line again and again. America has
responded by hedging. Nothing happened. America was reduced
to threatening an unbelievably small, limited military intervention (Kerrys own words). More than two years later, Assad is

still in power, and Obama and Kerry are happy to let him remain
there. He has faced no consequences. Those red lines became
the most talked about symbol of American weaknessof many
such symbolsin recent years.
It was this weakness that gave Russia an opening in the Middle
East in the first place. After America started wavering and hedging over the red lines, Russia swooped in with a sham agreement
on removing Assads chemical weapons, and America came out
looking foolish.
And Assad is still using chemical weapons! Earlier this year the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (opcw)
reported several incidents between March and May of 2015 which
likely involved the use of one or more toxic chemicals.
Witnesses reported hearing helicopters overhead at the
time the chemical munitions exploded, a U.S. State Department
spokesman noted. Only the Assad regime has helicopters.
Rafael Foley, the U.S. representative to the opcw, said, The
sad reality is that chemical weapons use is becoming routine in
the Syrian civil war.
Nearly everyone I talked to in the administration considered
the red line aftermath to be a diplomatic fiasco, David Remnick wrote in the New Yorker. The administration, which started
out saying that [Assad] must step aside, is now willing to see
Assad play a transitional role in a political settlement. As one
abashed U.S. official told me, the meaning of Assad has to go
has evolved.
Yet even as America hands leadership of Syria over to Russia,
Mr. Obama maintains that the U.S. is still in charge.
When told that Russia was challenging Americas leadership
on 60 Minutes in October, President Obama scoffed. But over and
over again, Russia keeps getting its way.
But this is a problem that goes far beyond Americas leadership. When Obama backed down over his own Syria red lines,
most of the country was relieved. At the time only 28 percent of
Americans supported a strike against Assad. At the time, Trumpet managing editor Joel Hilliker wrote:

11
Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015

Nearly two in three now say that the U.S. should be extremely
reluctant to use military power worldwide, a September 9 cnn/
orc International survey found. Only 34 percent say America
should be ready and willing to wage military campaigns.
The mood of the American public is clear. What American politician would go against that in order to commit the nation to any
but the lightest intervention?
Most Americans could probably care less about Assadthe

Islamic State is now seen as the more pressing threat. But a world
in which Americas word is no longer reliable is a recipe for disaster.
When a red line is so easily erased and Assad needs to go
evolves into Assad can stay, it means the United States has lost
the pride in its power. And the rest of the world has taken note.
Just look at Russia.
Follow Stephen Flurry

9 Arrested After Black Lives Matter Activists Shut Down Southbound 405 Fwy NearLAX
KTLA | December 23

ine people were arrested after Black Lives Matter

activists demonstrated on the 405 Freeway near lax on
Wednesday afternoon, temporarily shutting down all southbound lanes of the busy roadway, according to police and the Los
Angeles Times.
The incident began shortly before 1:30 p.m. on the 405
between Manchester and Century boulevards, according to chp
Officer Peter Bishop.

The demonstration lasted about 25 minutes before the roadway was fully reopened, according to chp Officer Ramberto Salcido. He confirmed the arrests but was unsure of the charges they
faced.
It was not immediately clear how many people were involved
in the incident, but Bishop initially estimated that five people
were blocking the southbound lanes.

7,000 Syrian refugees to be relocated from Turkey to Canada

Albawaba News | December 23

anada would receive about 7,000 Syrian refugees

fromTurkey by the end of February,the head of the International Organization for Migration (iom) said.
In total, Canadawill resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end
of February, the largest group comingfrom Jordan, followed by

Lebanon andTurkey,William Lacy Swing, director generalof the

International Organization for Migration,told Anadolu Agency in
Geneva.
ComparedtoCanada, the U.S. plans to admit 10,000 refugees
from Syria during the 2016 fiscal year.

TW IN BRIEF

inter tornadoes in the United States: A storm system

killed at least six people as it swept across the United States
yesterday. Tornadoes touched down in the states of Indiana and
Mississippi and spring-like storms packed strong winds in Tennessee. One tornado damaged or destroyed at least 20 homes in
the northwest part of Mississippi. In the city of Clarksdale, planes

at a small airport overturned and an unknown number of people

were injured. Footage filmed by a local volunteer group showed a
dark twister travelling through Clarksdale at high speed. Interstate 55 was closed in both directions as the tornado approached,
the Mississippi Highway Patrol said.

Remembering Herbert W. Armstrong

Stephen Flurry,
Trumpet Daily | December 25

ne of the best-known, most prominent religious leaders of

the 20th century

Follow Stephen Flurry

12
Trumpet Weekly | December 25, 2015