Watchman Newsletter

Global Currency Around the Corner?

Bible Prophecy Today (Link) - Sovereignty International - Henry Lamb (August 21, 2010)

If the International Monetary Fund gets its way, the U.S. dollar will be replaced by the “bancor” as the world’s reserve currency. According to a report published April 13, the IMF would like to adopt a plan of action that would expand the use of SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) to replace the U.S. dollar as the storehouse of value and eventually create a global currency called the “bancor.”

“Bancor” is the name suggested by John Maynard Keynes, the British economist who headed the World Banking Commission that created the IMF during the Breton Woods negotiations, which preceded the United Nations.

The new global currency would be issued by a new global central bank that would have the authority to levy taxes for various infractions. The bank would have to be, according to the report writers, “accountable to member nations, but remain independent.” This statement sounds much like the defenders of the Federal Reserve, which was created by Congress and is supposed to be accountable to Congress, but refuses to allow Congress to audit its activities or even to answer congressional questions about to whom it lends U.S. dollars.

A global central bank has long been a goal of those who advocate global governance. America’s school system has failed to teach students about the century-long conflict between those who want a global governing authority and those who do not. Schools barely teach that Woodrow Wilson and his colleagues created the League of Nations, or why this institution failed. Schools never explain that many of the same people who promoted the League of Nations continued their efforts through non-government organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations until Franklin Roosevelt was elected president.

Ahmadinejad warns of ‘worldwide’ response to attack on Iran

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (August 21, 2010)

As Iranian and Russian engineers began loading fuel into Iran’s first nuclear power plant on Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Qatari newspaper Al-Shark that if the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities were attacked, the response from Teheran would be “worldwide” in its scope.

“Our possibilities would be limitless and would encompass the whole world,” said Ahmadinejad.

Ahmadinejad discussed Israel, stating that the Jewish state would like to attack Iran but understands that the Islamic Republic is a “fortress that cannot be destroyed” and that the Iranian response to such an attack would be harsh and painful.

“I don’t believe their American masters would let them attack,” Ahmadinejad added on Israel.

Column One: Dusk in Iraq

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Caroline Glick (August 20, 2010)

When US-led allied forces invaded Iraq seven years ago, their action raised the hopes of millions throughout the region and the world.

A troubling milestone arrived on Thursday when the US withdrew its final combat brigade from Iraq. The remaining 50,000 US forces are charged with advising and training the Iraqi military. President Barack Obama has pledged to withdraw them as well by the end of next year.

When US-led allied forces invaded Iraq seven years ago, their action raised the hopes and incited the dreams of millions throughout the region and throughout the world.

Operation Iraqi Freedom promised to bring the light of liberty to a corner of the world that had known none. By doing so, it would inspire and enable men and women throughout the region to believe that they too could be free.

But as the last US combat brigade departed on Thursday, the Iraq they left behind was not an Arab shining city on an Iraqi hill. The Iraq they withdrew from has no government.

Israel warns of force as Beirut refuses to bow on Gaza boat

Google News (Link) - AFP (August 20, 2010)

Israel said Friday it could use force to stop a new aid boat to Gaza, as Lebanon refused to bow to warnings against authorizing an all-women ship to head for the blockaded Palestinian territory.

In a letter sent to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said the stated intention of the Bolivian-flagged cargo ship, the Mariam, was “to violate the existing naval blockade of Gaza.”

Israel also had information that another vessel, the Naji al-Ali, plans to leave from a Lebanese port with the aim of violating the blockade, she said.

“Israel reserves its right under international law to use all necessary means to prevent these ships from violating the aforementioned naval blockade,” Shalev warned.

She said such “confrontational actions by the organizers as well as those that offer their consent, is deeply troubling and requires the attention of the international community.”

U.S.: Direct peace talks to begin on September 2 in Washington

Haaretz (Link) - Natasha Mozgovaya (August 20, 2010)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been invited to Washington to begin direct peace talks on Sept. 2, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a press conference on Friday.

The meeting will serve to “re-launch direct negotiations to resolve all final-status issues which we believe we can complete in one year,” Clinton said.

“There have been difficulties in the past; there will be difficulties ahead. Without a doubt, we will hit more obstacles. The enemies of peace will keep trying to defeat us and to derail these talks. But I ask the parties to persevere,” Clinton said.

U.S. President Barack Obama will hold one-on-one talks with each of the leaders, separately, on Sept. 1, followed by a dinner with them, Clinton said.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the special representative of the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers - the U.S., the UN, the European Union and Russia - also has been invited to attend the dinner, she said.

US tries to tempt Syria away from Iran with regional power incentives

Deutsche Welle (Link) - Nick Amies (August 20, 2010)

The United States, backed by a number of its Arab allies, is dangling the carrot of greater Middle East influence in front of Syria in an attempt to convince Damascus to turn its back on a 30-year alliance with Iran.

With US forces withdrawing from Iraq, the realisation that the United States will drastically reduce its influence in the country after the 2011 final pull-out date begins to dawn on Iraq’s neighbors. Washington has already considered the potential consequences of a power vacuum and has begun to encourage deeper involvement by regional powers considered to be of use in maintaining US interests in the Middle East.

While the courting of Syria for this reason may at first seem surprising, the wider strategic implications of a more active role for Damascus in Iraq’s post-US future suggests Washington is considering a much bigger picture.

Syria’s current interest in Iraq is based on a policy of diluting the power of Shi’a majority in the country and promoting an inclusive, secular government which includes equal representation for the Sunni minority.

Damascus has had a hand in supporting Iyad Allawi, the secular Shi’a leader whose bloc emerged from the contentious elections in March with a slim lead over the coalition of Nouri al-Maliki, the incumbent prime minister.

The Syrians, with the help of Saudi Arabia, aided Allawi’s election campaign and brought Allawi and Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr together to form a new cabinet in July. As the climate of uncertainty in Iraq over the formation of the government continues, both Damascus and Riyadh continue to apply covert pressure in a bid to secure the premiership for Allawi and install a secular government in Iraq.

EU foreign policy chief misses UN meeting over speaking rights

EU Observer (Link) - Honor Mahony (August 19, 2010)

Although the EU is the biggest donor to flood-stricken Pakistan, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton chose not to address Thursday’s (19 August) special UN gathering on the devastated country because she does not yet have full speaking rights at the international forum.

Instead she phoned UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday to give details on the €105 million that the EU and its member states are providing to Pakistan.

“I would have represented the European Union myself in this meeting but for the fact that the appropriate speaking rights are not yet in place and expressed my wish that this hurdle can be overcome as soon as possible,” said Ms Ashton is a statement.

Belgian foreign minister Steven Vanackere, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, was sent to represent the union instead.

“We too very much regret this fact,” said a European Commission spokesperson. “Cathy Ashton very much wanted to go, but we can’t do that under the current rules.”

Bible Prophecy Update: 1.5 Billion Barrels of Oil Discovered in Israel

Bible Prophecy Today (Link) - Joel C. Rosenberg (August 18, 2010)

Readers of my non-fiction book Epicenter may recall that Chapter Five predicts this future headline: “ISRAEL DISCOVERS MASSIVE RESERVES OF OIL, GAS.” That chapter is based on prophecies in Deuteronomy that specifically indicate that “oil” and “hidden treasures” under the sea and the sands will be found in Israel in the last days of history. It is also based on the prophecies of Ezekiel 38 & 39 indicating that Israel will be significantly prosperous in the last days, before a Russian-Iranian-Turkish alliance forms against her and seeks to destroy her.

In recent years — and indeed, in recent months — we seem to be seeing this Russian-Iranian-Turkish alliance growing. We also see Israel’s economy growing significantly and remarkable new discoveries of oil and gas.

Consider today’s headline from Ynet to which a friend just alerted me: “1.5 Billion Barrels of Oil Discovered Near Rosh Ha’ayin.”

Excerpts:

“Could the State of Israel be sitting on an oil reserve that can provide energy, cash flow, and international political influence? This is the question that everyone is waiting to be answered in the engineering report ordered by Givot Olam Oil, overseeing the drilling at the Megged 5 site, next to Rosh Ha’Ayin. The final report will be submitted on September 5. However, a preliminary report was already issued to Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on the oil reserves on the site. ‘The amount of oil in place in the Rosh Ha’Ayin plot is estimated at 1.525 billion barrels of oil.’ In previous reports, the quantity was appraised at only a few hundred barrels of oil a day….”

China Turns to Euros

The Trumpet (Link) (August 18, 2010)

China just cut its reserves of U.S. debt by the largest amount ever. The move raised speculation that a plunge in U.S. yields has made government securities unattractive. Beijing, whose $2.45 trillion worth of foreign exchange holdings is the world’s largest stockpile of cash, is also increasing its reserves of euro-bonds and Japanese bonds as it trims its dollar holdings.

From June 2009 to June 2010, China hacked its holdings of U.S. debt by $100 billion, or 11 percent, according to Treasury Department data released on Monday. From its May 2009 highpoint of $939.9 billion in U.S. holdings, by June 2010, China’s holdings had fallen to $839.7 billion.

And China is not alone. Asia’s central banks hold around 60 percent of the world’s foreign-exchange reserves and, in recent months, nations such as Malaysia, India and South Korea have followed China’s lead in reducing their holdings of U.S. debt. In June, the International Monetary Fund said that global reserves of dollar-denominated debt have fallen from 62.2 percent of total currency holdings to 61.5 percent.

‘Israel has days to strike Bushehr’

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Hilary Leila Krieger (August 17, 2010)

Israel has only mere days to launch an attack on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor if Russia makes good on its plan to deliver fuel there this weekend, former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton warned Tuesday.

He said that once Russia has loaded the fuel into the reactor -- slated for Saturday – Israel would no longer be willing to strike for fear of triggering widespread radiation in an attack.

“This is a very, very big victory for Iran,” Bolton told The Jerusalem Post. “This is a huge threshold.”

Bolton, who also once oversaw US non-proliferation policy, said that when Russia announced the plans to load the fuel last Friday, “the element of surprise was essentially taken away” from Israeli calculations.

Bolton noted that he doesn’t “have a clue” as to whether Israel would actually attack, but he said, “If Israel was right to destroy the Osiraq reactor, is it right to allow this one to continue? You can’t have it both ways.”

Israel took out Iraq’s Osiraq reactor during a stealth mission in 1981. It is also believed to have conducted a similar strike on an alleged Syria nuclear site in 2007.

Loss of 25 percent of Russian wheat crop worries international grain markets

MinnPost (Link) - Miriam Elder (August 17, 2010)

The deadly forest fires ravaging the Russian countryside have wiped out a quarter of Russia’s grain crop, prompting the country to ban all wheat exports as of Sunday and inflaming worries of a global food crisis.

A similar food crisis in 2007-08 provoked riots around the developing world, from Bangladesh to Yemen and from Haiti to the Ivory Coast. Is the world in store for a similar fate this year? Not necessarily, analysts say.

This time around, global reserve stocks are stuffed, and healthy grain crops in countries like the U.S. and Argentina are expected to mitigate Russian shortfalls. This year, a crisis will likely be avoided, analysts say.

Yet with Russia already making predictions that its fall and winter planting will likely be disrupted, bigger problems could lie ahead. And analysts warn that a heavy reliance on this year’s record U.S. crop means that if the weather stateside changes, all predictions would go out the window.

Russia is the world’s third largest grain producer, taking roughly a 13 percent share of the global wheat trade. Much of Russia’s wheat is exported to the Middle East. Egypt is its largest market, followed by Turkey, Syria, Iran and Libya, according to reports.

Israel begins to tear down wall on edge of settlement

Belfast Telegraph (Link) (August 16, 2010)

The Israeli military yesterday began removing part of an eight-year-old concrete wall which once protected an Israeli settlement from gunfire, citing sharply improved security as the reason.

The Palestinian Authority pointed out that the move, which does not affect the much longer 450-mile separation barrier, will have no impact on the lives of local Palestinians.

But it has been seized on as making the case for a wholesale easing of restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Army engineers removed sections of a three-metre-high blast wall alongside the Gilo settlement on the southern edge of Jerusalem in an operation which will continue over the next fortnight.

Israel Defence Forces spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said yesterday that this was the first time “we have moved such a structure from a neighbourhood that was hit by sniper fire and shells.”

But Ghassan Khatib, spokes-man for the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, said: “They are not easing anything in practical terms. The only significance is an acknowledgement of the security situation. We are disappointed that when they acknowledge improvements in security they are not lifting the restrictions on Palestinians.”

US presidential envoy and former Ulster peace broker George Mitchell has been conducting intensive negotiations on a formula to bring Palestinian President Abbas to the negotiating table.

US warns Turkey on Iran and Israel

The Financial Times (Link) - Daniel Dombey (August 15, 2010)

President Barack Obama has personally warned Turkey’s prime minister that unless Ankara shifts its position on Israel and Iran it stands little chance of obtaining the US weapons it wants to buy.

Mr Obama’s warning to Recep Tayyip Erdogan is particularly significant as Ankara wants to buy American drone aircraft – such as the missile-bearing Reaper – to attack the Kurdish separatist PKK after the US military pulls out of Iraq at the end of 2011.

The PKK has traditionally maintained bases in the remote mountains in the north of Iraq, near the Turkish border.

One senior administration official said: “The president has said to Erdogan that some of the actions that Turkey has taken have caused questions to be raised on the Hill [Congress] . . . about whether we can have confidence in Turkey as an ally. That means that some of the requests Turkey has made of us, for example in providing some of the weaponry that it would like to fight the PKK, will be harder for us to move through Congress.”

Washington was deeply frustrated when Turkey voted against United Nations sanctions on Iran in June.

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