UPDATE: 26 February 2016: Twice within the past week (20 and 25 February) the United States Air Force test fired nuclear-capable (W87 475kT) Minuteman III ICBMs from Vandenberg AFB in California at a target over 4,000 miles distant in the Pacific Ocean region of the Marshall Islands. Crews from the 91st Missile Wing based at Minot AFB, North Dakota removed both missiles and associated equipment from their silos, transported them intact to California, stood them back up into full operational capability and conducted both test fires at approximately 2300 hours. Two test launches within a single week is an extremely rare and noteworthy event.
Zipping along through the Earth's uppermost atmosphere at a speed in excess of Mach 19 (15,000+ mph) the Mk-21 re-entry vehicle hit its target within 30 minutes of launch. For all of our enemies incessant sabre rattling (Russia, Red China, North Korea and Iran) notice was effectively served that America's ability to strike is very much alive and well. An image of the launch on 20 February is seen above.
14 February 2016: A report published today at DefenseNews.com reinforces the points made in the second to last paragraph of the original report below. Plainly put, the United States Army is returning its land warfare power back into Europe in a very big way in 2017.
With the strategic re-adjustment that Russia is the number one threat to the USA, the Army has halted and reversed the pivot to Asia to return its power back into Europe in a process known as the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI). The ERI consists of a financial bedrock of $3.4 billion in funding that will be used for three primary purposes; strengthening our NATO allies combat capabilities, and putting thousands of American combat boots back on EU, and launching large-scale exercises on European soil to deter further Russian adventurism in Europe.
The independent American Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) and Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) currently based in Europe will shortly be powerfully reinforced with arrival of an Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) plus additional combat aviation. There will also be regular rotations of other Army combat teams occurring in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The clear fact in all of this is that Russia's launching of a land war in Ukraine - which continues to this very hour - is the impetus for the return of large numbers of US main battle tank armor back into Europe.
12 February 2016: In its report on globalization (.pdf) titled "The End of Globalization or a More Multipolar World" released in September 2015, the well-respected Credit Suisse Research Institute of Zurich, Switzerland posed the question: "Is globalization coming to an end?" The report addressed three possible scenarios, but in all actuality two of the three scenarios placed full emphasis on "new research" postulating that globalization, that is the unifying of various world 'spheres of influence, ('poles' in others words) into a single global entity, a 'one world order,' is in the process of being replaced by a new multipolar world order.
Zipping along through the Earth's uppermost atmosphere at a speed in excess of Mach 19 (15,000+ mph) the Mk-21 re-entry vehicle hit its target within 30 minutes of launch. For all of our enemies incessant sabre rattling (Russia, Red China, North Korea and Iran) notice was effectively served that America's ability to strike is very much alive and well. An image of the launch on 20 February is seen above.
14 February 2016: A report published today at DefenseNews.com reinforces the points made in the second to last paragraph of the original report below. Plainly put, the United States Army is returning its land warfare power back into Europe in a very big way in 2017.
With the strategic re-adjustment that Russia is the number one threat to the USA, the Army has halted and reversed the pivot to Asia to return its power back into Europe in a process known as the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI). The ERI consists of a financial bedrock of $3.4 billion in funding that will be used for three primary purposes; strengthening our NATO allies combat capabilities, and putting thousands of American combat boots back on EU, and launching large-scale exercises on European soil to deter further Russian adventurism in Europe.
The independent American Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) and Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) currently based in Europe will shortly be powerfully reinforced with arrival of an Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) plus additional combat aviation. There will also be regular rotations of other Army combat teams occurring in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The clear fact in all of this is that Russia's launching of a land war in Ukraine - which continues to this very hour - is the impetus for the return of large numbers of US main battle tank armor back into Europe.
12 February 2016: In its report on globalization (.pdf) titled "The End of Globalization or a More Multipolar World" released in September 2015, the well-respected Credit Suisse Research Institute of Zurich, Switzerland posed the question: "Is globalization coming to an end?" The report addressed three possible scenarios, but in all actuality two of the three scenarios placed full emphasis on "new research" postulating that globalization, that is the unifying of various world 'spheres of influence, ('poles' in others words) into a single global entity, a 'one world order,' is in the process of being replaced by a new multipolar world order.
According to Bible prophecy, which always comes to its fulfillment exactly as it has been foretold, there will be a time during the 70th Week (the final 42 months) when the Antichrist, empowered by Satan, will be the head of an irresistible globally projected economic, political and military power. (Revelation 13:4-8) A very great many expositors of Bible prophecy focus upon this satanically empowered "New World Order" as constituting the crux of Bible prophecy regarding the political, economic and military power wielded by the Antichrist during the 70th Week.
However, according to Bible prophecy the truly salient fact of the matter is that the Antichrist's rise to global domination occurs within and against a multipolar world order! Expositors of Bible prophecy like to speak in terms of of reference, such as "prophetic stage setting." The multipolar world order that I am speaking of here is the stage setting which exists right now, today. This multipolar world order is staring all of us in the face, and its represented by the images and words below.
The Antichrist, if one reads Scripture closely and interprets it correctly, is the king of the West, the fourth beast empire very much revived. It is the reconstituted heir of what was Rome and Greece, Babylon and Medo-Persia in ancient times. Ten crowns represented also as the ten toes of two feet that came from two legs which themselves are representative in Scripture as the eastern and western aspects of the Macedonian-Greek and Roman Empires which encompassed Europe and Southwest Asia. This is one pole of a multipolar world order, and today we know it by various circumferential names, such as: the Western World, or simply, The West; the European Union; NATO.
And, as we read in the plain text of Scripture, Antichrist goes to war against the other great powers of what? An existing multipolar world order! Antichrist, as detailed by the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, will engage in warfare against the king of the north, the king of the south and, shortly thereafter, the kings of the east. All directions of the compass are with respect to Israel's location on the Earth. This is what Scripture really tells us. (Daniel 11:40-45)
While economics and political power are key elements of globalization as we know it in these last days prior to the 70th Week, they are also the key elements of a multipolar world order and the ability of those poles to project their power globally - on land, in the air, on the sea and even on the ultimate high ground, in outer space and cyberspace. And how do those four-fold poles manifest their power with and against each other on a global scale? Through their military forces.
The Global Military Imbalance and Power Structure
On page 56 of the referenced Credit Suisse report there is the above weighted and variables chart which provides a ranking of the top 20 nations of the world with respect to their ability to project military force. In recent years I have referenced a similar chart that was compiled by the website GlobalFirepower.com. Since 2014 that chart has undergone significant changes in the ranking of countries below the top 3. Among the most significant changes are those of Japan which rose in ranking from the 9th most powerful military to the 4th most powerful military in the world; Germany which fell from 8th to 18th position; the UK which fell from 5th to 9th, Canada which fell from 14th to 20th, and most surprisingly of all are the armed forces of Italy which rose from 16th to a ranking of the 8th most powerful in the world.
Despite these changes, and despite the great reductions and realignments that have occurred during the Obama Administration, the United States remains the world's lone superpower and the world's number 1 ranked military power due to having maintained a defense budget of $601 billion dollars more than Russia, China, Japan, India, France, South Korea, Italy, the UK and Turkey combined (numbers 2 through 10 in the scale rankings). One of the primary factors is the ability of the American Navy to project power globally through its total of 19 Aircraft Carrier and Expeditionary Strike Groups. No other nation on earth has such raw global combat power projection capability as this.
Also of great importance is that of the top 10 most powerful military forces on the planet four of them (France, Italy, UK and Turkey) are America's NATO allies in Europe, and two (Japan and South Korea) are America's allies in Asia. Of the top 20 ranked military forces in the world 13 are American military allies. Therefore, on a global scale the military balance of power remains firmly in the hands of America and its allies in Europe and Asia for now and well into the foreseeable future, which includes, obviously, the rapidly approaching 70th Week.
Revelation 6 details the opening by our Lord Jesus Christ of the Seven Seals. The first four of those opened seals are directly relevant to the pertinent facts presented here thus far because they all relate to a multipolar world war. The multipolar world prophesied to exist and wage war during the 70th Week, and even prior to the 70th Week, is plainly evident right now if one is willing to look at it directly and objectively. In closing, and just in case you were wondering, Israel's armed forces are ranked as #14, and the Islamic Republic of Iran's military is #23.
However, according to Bible prophecy the truly salient fact of the matter is that the Antichrist's rise to global domination occurs within and against a multipolar world order! Expositors of Bible prophecy like to speak in terms of of reference, such as "prophetic stage setting." The multipolar world order that I am speaking of here is the stage setting which exists right now, today. This multipolar world order is staring all of us in the face, and its represented by the images and words below.
The Antichrist, if one reads Scripture closely and interprets it correctly, is the king of the West, the fourth beast empire very much revived. It is the reconstituted heir of what was Rome and Greece, Babylon and Medo-Persia in ancient times. Ten crowns represented also as the ten toes of two feet that came from two legs which themselves are representative in Scripture as the eastern and western aspects of the Macedonian-Greek and Roman Empires which encompassed Europe and Southwest Asia. This is one pole of a multipolar world order, and today we know it by various circumferential names, such as: the Western World, or simply, The West; the European Union; NATO.And, as we read in the plain text of Scripture, Antichrist goes to war against the other great powers of what? An existing multipolar world order! Antichrist, as detailed by the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, will engage in warfare against the king of the north, the king of the south and, shortly thereafter, the kings of the east. All directions of the compass are with respect to Israel's location on the Earth. This is what Scripture really tells us. (Daniel 11:40-45)
While economics and political power are key elements of globalization as we know it in these last days prior to the 70th Week, they are also the key elements of a multipolar world order and the ability of those poles to project their power globally - on land, in the air, on the sea and even on the ultimate high ground, in outer space and cyberspace. And how do those four-fold poles manifest their power with and against each other on a global scale? Through their military forces.
The Global Military Imbalance and Power Structure
On page 56 of the referenced Credit Suisse report there is the above weighted and variables chart which provides a ranking of the top 20 nations of the world with respect to their ability to project military force. In recent years I have referenced a similar chart that was compiled by the website GlobalFirepower.com. Since 2014 that chart has undergone significant changes in the ranking of countries below the top 3. Among the most significant changes are those of Japan which rose in ranking from the 9th most powerful military to the 4th most powerful military in the world; Germany which fell from 8th to 18th position; the UK which fell from 5th to 9th, Canada which fell from 14th to 20th, and most surprisingly of all are the armed forces of Italy which rose from 16th to a ranking of the 8th most powerful in the world.
Despite these changes, and despite the great reductions and realignments that have occurred during the Obama Administration, the United States remains the world's lone superpower and the world's number 1 ranked military power due to having maintained a defense budget of $601 billion dollars more than Russia, China, Japan, India, France, South Korea, Italy, the UK and Turkey combined (numbers 2 through 10 in the scale rankings). One of the primary factors is the ability of the American Navy to project power globally through its total of 19 Aircraft Carrier and Expeditionary Strike Groups. No other nation on earth has such raw global combat power projection capability as this.
Also of great importance is that of the top 10 most powerful military forces on the planet four of them (France, Italy, UK and Turkey) are America's NATO allies in Europe, and two (Japan and South Korea) are America's allies in Asia. Of the top 20 ranked military forces in the world 13 are American military allies. Therefore, on a global scale the military balance of power remains firmly in the hands of America and its allies in Europe and Asia for now and well into the foreseeable future, which includes, obviously, the rapidly approaching 70th Week.
Revelation 6 details the opening by our Lord Jesus Christ of the Seven Seals. The first four of those opened seals are directly relevant to the pertinent facts presented here thus far because they all relate to a multipolar world war. The multipolar world prophesied to exist and wage war during the 70th Week, and even prior to the 70th Week, is plainly evident right now if one is willing to look at it directly and objectively. In closing, and just in case you were wondering, Israel's armed forces are ranked as #14, and the Islamic Republic of Iran's military is #23.
