Defeat in Advance

By Todd Strandberg

President Barack Obama has finally given his long-awaited speech to the Islamic world. The address in Cairo, Egypt, broke no new ground, but it confirmed that a sea change in American foreign policy has taken place. Obama’s speech was all about "a new beginning" and "mutual respect" between the United States and the Islamic world.

The Israel-centric Middle East policy of George W. Bush is dead. The plan is now for America to deal on an equal footing with all parties in the Middle East.

I am totally certain that this new approach will likely result in a huge disaster. His speech basically was a declaration of defeat in advance of events yet to come.

Our dear President gave a major gesture of conciliation to Iran when he admitted U.S. involvement in the 1953 coup that overthrew the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. "In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government," said Obama.

Obama then said Iran may have some right to nuclear energy. He said that any nation, including Iran, "should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."

Another major step by the President was to acknowledge that Hamas has a valid claim to being the ruling party in the Gaza Strip. He said, "To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, recognize Israel's right to exist."

Obama also pushed for the two-state solution. The President called on Israel and the Palestinians to revive stalled peace talks, demanding that Palestinians halt violence and Israelis ease the plight of those in the occupied territories. "Too many tears have been shed. Too much blood has been shed," he said.

There are two key reasons why I see calamity coming. The first one is that you cannot win by kissing up to the Muslim world. There is not a single Arab nation in the Middle East that one can point to as a model nation. Egypt, where Obama gave his speech, is not a democracy, and the West probably hopes it stays that way. If there ever were free and open elections, the likely outcome would be a radical Islamist victory.

I don’t see any benefit in trying to butter up Iran. That nation’s leaders are racing to build a nuclear bomb. Just this week, we learned that Iran now has five thousand high-speed centrifuges, with two thousand ready to go online in the production of enriched uranium. It would be insane for anyone in the West to think that if we fawn over Iran, they will pull the plug on their centrifuges. What Obama should be doing is asking Israel if it needs any more laser-guided bombs.

It is pointless to reach out to Hamas. This organization only has one agenda: the extinction of Israel. It’s been sixteen years since the Oslo Accords turned the West Bank and Gaza over to the Palestinians. The number of roads, bridges, courthouses, and hospitals built during the time has been zip. The billions given to the Palestinian leadership have either been spent on weapons or deposited into Swiss bank accounts.

The two-state solution is doomed to failure. Every concession will lead to the need for further peace talks. The Arabs’ goal is to capture all of Israel. That's why Haj Amin al-Husseini, the acting Arab power in Palestine, chose war rather than a two-state solution in 1947, why Yasser Arafat turned down a Palestinian state in 2000, and why Abbas rejected Olmert's even more generous December 2008 offer. They don’t want part of the land occupied by the Jews; they want it all.

The second reason Obama’s hopes for peace will fail is that the Bible says it will never work. Eventually, Jerusalem will become the main sticking point of the “peace process” and the struggle over this city will lead to a series of global conflicts.

One of the strongest indications that we are very near to the tribulation hour is how easy it has become to predict the actions of world leaders. Since the day Obama stepped into office, he has done everything I thought he would do. If he does what I fear will come next – a major break with Israel – the world could soon see Bible prophecy begin to rapidly unfold.

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