Global SITREP A10-20: A Continuing Crisis with Apocalyptic Iran

The five Kataib Hezbollah sites
struk by CJTFOIR aircraft around Baghdad

UPDATED - 14 March 2020: With the Iranian Twelver leadership battling COVID-19 among their ranks, the order was given to their strongest Iraqi PMF proxy force, Kataib Hezbollah, to strike the CJTF-OIR base at Camp Taji north of Baghdad. Camp Taji is a coalition base populated by troops from the many nations in the anti-ISIS coalition and both the Iraqi Army and National Guard which they train. 

CJTF-OIR aircraft struck the five targets in the illustration above. Those sites were storing Iranian-suppiled advanced conventional weapons. The strikes caused serious damage and killed several enemy combatants, possibly including an Iranian general. They were executed with the expectation that further Katyusha rocket attacks would not occur anytime soon. That expectation was in error.

This morning Camp Taji is under rocket attack once again with several rockets impacting the base in broad daylight. This attack is breaking news of the past half hour (04:20 AM EDT) so specific details are not yet known. However, Iraqi military sources say there have been casualties among personnel of the "Air Defense Command" at camp Taji.

The CJTF-OIR response should be imminent.

Update 28 March 2020: The military response did occur and it was massive. An entire IRGC-QF and Iraqi Shi'a militia base in Albukamal, Dier Ez-Zor Province, Syria was annihilated. Not a single above or below ground structure remains. Dozens of enemy troops were wiped out. The location is now just empty desert.

Global SITREP A9-20: Big Operations Coming and Ongoing

Merkava Mk4 MBT

UPDATE BELOW 24 February 2020: All indications point towards the IDF launching major military operations to fundamentally if not radically change the situation in Gaza. Such an operation could easily expand to operations against other military adversaries in the north.

Exact execution date/time is unknown, but it is close, possibly even within a week or so after the new election. The Likud currently leads in polling data, so PM Netanyahu may believe he has a free hand to do what has been promised for so long in the near term.

Map from Global SITREP C10-18  07SEP20`8

28 February 2020: Based upon the prophecy in Jeremiah 49:23-27 Eschatology Today has multipleblog posts anticipating a mjaor escalation in the fighting in northwestern Syria (Idlib Province) for the better part of two years. 

This morning an emergency meeting of NATO, under Article 4 of the NATO charter, will occur at Turkey's request following an airstrike last evening by the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) on Turkish armed forces in Idlib. The SAAF strike killed 33 Turkish soldiers. In retaliation Turkish airstrikes have been pounding a broad range of Syrian Arab Army (SAA) positions and depots for hours on end, with the Turkish defense ministry estimating the neutralizing of at least 300 SAA troops, and other foreign sources estimating only a couple dozen SAA troops have been killed in the ongoing retaliation. 

Thus, the crisis between Turkey and Russia/Iran-backed Syria has reached an unprecedented level of escalation. Additionally, multiple intelligence reports confirm that two Russian naval frigates armed with Kalibur-NK cruise missiles have deployed the Mediterranean Sea from the RussianBlack Sea Fleet. One Russian lawmaker has directly threatened the Turkish forces. The cruise missiles almost certainly would be used against Turkish forces. Ironically, the Turkish forces in Idlib are there under an agreement with Russia to defend ethnic Turks from the SAA. Turkey and Russia are no where near being allies, even Iran is predicting a Turkish defeat in Syria.

In southern Syria last night there was a significant engagement between IDF attack helicopters and "Syrian" troops in the area between Hader and Quneitra on the Golan. The "Syrian" troops could be a mix of SAA, Hezbollah and IRGC-QF troops who are well-known to disguise themselves in SAA uniforms. There were two separate IDF heliborne strikes yesterday. In the first a high-level Hezbollah officer, Imad Tawil, was reportedly killed; in the second several of the "Syrian" troops were severely injured. These troops have been busy establishing forward combat positions on the Golan for IRGC-QF operations against Israel.

New developments today may resolve some of the ambiguities in current OSINT reporting. Watching closely...

Turkish Bayraktar TB2 UAV

UPDATE 10 March 2020: The crisis discussed above can now be understood in very clear terms. The all but full-scale war in Idlib, which had a good chance of pitting Turkey directly against Russian forces in Syria, resulted in an unambiguous Turkish victory. 

The hundreds of Syrian tanks and armored vehicles that were destroyed in and around the town of Saraqeb owe their miserable fate largely to the Turkish drone imaged above, the Bayraktar TB2. The relatively cheap drone was instrumental in not only halting the Syrians in their tracks but in getting Vladimir Putin's undivided attention. This resulted in the Erdogan-Putin summit and ceasefire agreement of last Thursday. Putin's attention was piqued by the fact that Turkey has sold several of the Bayraktar TB2 drones to Ukraine which could easily be turned loose on pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine to devastating effect.

Skirmishing in Idlib is sporadic, but these are nothing like the pitched battle of two weeks ago which destroyed the Syrian Army day and night without cessation. Russia could have intervened directly, but the cost over a small province such as Idlib was obviously not something Putin would go all-in on. So, for the moment a fragile ceasefire remains in place. Hundred of Turkish Army reinforcements have flooded into Idlib during the present lull. And that's all this is, a lull in the fighting.

Global SITREP A8-20: Situation Chaotic

Turkish Army advances in Idlib

12 February 2020: Once again we're back with an eye on Syria. The situation there continues to deteriorate. Aside from the IAF strikes in recent days against Iranian encroachment, which the Russians say could lead to all-out war between Syria and Israel with Russia supporting Syria, we also have the increasing likelihood of all-out war between Turkey and Syria. 

And where else would this erupt in full but in the same general locale as we've been looking at for some time now - northwest Syria, the province of Idlib. Remember how Jeremiah 49:23-27 specifically identified this region! And the Turkish leadership also threatens today to attack Syrian forces anywhere in Syria, including Damascus. Wars and rumors of war. 

And all the grotesque things (famine, pestilence) that come with war which are making northwestern Syria a humanitarian catastrophe. Since the Syrian, Iranian and Russian military offensive began in February 2019 over 1 million refugees have been pushed towards the Turkish border; those who refuse to be pushed out (ethnic cleansing) are massacred by indiscriminant airstrikes and shelling of civilian neighborhoods, hospitals and schools. No question about war crimes taking place. But these are still the beginning of sorrows.

Speaking of which, a plague of locusts in East Africa will most certainly increase the already rampant famine there and even further afield. The 2019-nCoV is now beyond all attempts to contain and control it, and it's not the only viral outbreak occurring. Then there are the quakes rumbling around the globle, Japan, Papua New Guinea and Iran being the most recent. All these things are occurring simultaneously around the globe, and people just go about their daily routines in other places. Just as we've been told it would be. Our focus is on Bible prophecy, as always.

Global SITREP A7-20: NATO & Israel a Covenant Among Many

NATO and Israel: A Covenant Among Many

2 February 2020: Here we have yet another Eschatology Today published subject from ten years ago (2010) which is now elevated for a second time to a full SITREP. Ten years ago not many paid much attention to that post, the crux of which was the threat posed by Iranian ballistic missiles as a mutual threat to both NATO and Israel. The NATO ALTBMDS program in the past decade has matured into the NATO BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense) with Initial Operational Capability (IOC) achieved in 2016. The NATO BMD was exercised in Israel last year. Moreover, Israel tested a new rocket for the BMD system just days ago. Israel is the front line for the NATO BMD system of systems. In May of 2016 we had Global SITREP C2-16: Israel Takes a Big Step Towards a Covenant Among Many. So, this topic should really not be new news for any reader of Eschatology Today as over 1,400 of you read it. SITREP A7-20 will both buttress and expand upon what we already know.

Full membership in NATO for Israel, which requires the assent of all NATO members, had for six years been blocked by Turkey since 2010. In 2016, Turkey dropped its objection, and Israel's slow integration into NATO has proceeded apace. in 2017 Israel signed a cooperation agreement with NATO. Three years later, and according to the European view, Israel has become a premier partner for NATO as a 25-year long member of NATO's 'Mediterranean Dialogue' with a liaison office in the Brussels HQ of NATO. In April 2019 IDF solders were side by side with NATO troops in the American-led "Allied Spirit" exercise in Hohenfels, Germany. Israel's participation and technological advancements in the massive Defender 2020 (February-June 2020) are assured. Defender 2020 will insert massive numbers heavy, armored forces into Europe, from the Baltic to the Republic of Georgia.

Full membership in NATO for Israel through the Membership Action Plan (MAP) is just a matter of time in fulfillment of Daniel 9:27. The MAP is a process which can take a few years under normal conditions. Since 2008 NATO and Israel have also been in an Individual Cooperation Program (ICP). Israel is the only nation outside of Europe in an ICP with NATO. The ICP coordinates repose to terrorism, intelligence sharing, armaments, NBC defense, military doctrine, exercises, civilian emergency and disaster preparedness. In 2020 everything is present except for the actual accession, or confirming of membership in NATO.

What is NATO? NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It could just as easily be called the North Atlantic Covenant Organization, for that is exactly what NATO is, a covenant among many nations for their common defense, and much, much more. It arose concurrently with the rebirth of Israel after WWII. And NATO not European-centric due to the presence of the United States of America and Canada as founding members. Yet the heart of NATO, its headquarters and membership is in Europe. 

Finally, if a major NATO war erupted today there is no question whatsoever that the Israel Defense Forces would participate in active theater warfare as a de facto member of the North Atlantic Treaty (Covenant).

Global SITREP A6-20: The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement (IPPA)

The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement Conceptual Map

(UPDATE BELOW) 28 January 2020: The so-called "Deal of the Century" proposed by the Trump Administration is also known as "Vision for Peace: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People." This Vision is a realistic approach, apart and distinct from the nearly 700 ineffectual United Nations resolutions, to establish a man-made peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples; the establish a "State of Palestine" where nothing of the sort has existed previously.

From the purely Biblical perspective, this is a plan to divide the land given in the Land Covenant established by God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel); it ignores the inheritance of these lands as a possession to the Twelve Tribes of Israel. As such Eschatology Today believes this plan has no chance of success, nor is it, as described by the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, the covenant among many. This plan is between Israeli's and a newly recognized people, the Palestinians. It is a Two-State solution, separate and distinct from the generational Arab-Israeli or Muslim-Jewish conflict.

This Vision also recognizes the dynamics of the Middle East region as a whole; the changes taking place at the present time; the common threats faced by Israel and its Arab neighbors from the Islamic Republic of Iran and the need to establish an economic foundation upon which to build peace in the Greater Middle East. This plan envisions a doubling of the Palestinian GNP in a decade, the creation of over one-million new jobs, unemployment below ten percent and a reduction of the poverty rate by fifty percent. Accordingly, this plan is diametrically opposed to the objectives of the Shi'a Twelver doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran and their proxies from Lebanon to Yemen, which focus upon a regional apocalypse led by a mythical, centuries old religious figure.

This Vision is for the State of Israel and the new State of Palestine to establish the Israel-Palestinian Peace Agreement between them and from which all other future potential will flow. Peace, Safety and Security are things which these two peoples will establish for themselves, with the United States of America acting as a facilitator.

This Vision recognizes two major hurdles: Gaza and Jerusalem. Terrorist control of Gaza must end; HAMAS, PIJ and other factions must recognize Israel's existence, the State of Palestine must control Gaza and the territories that will become integral to it. Jerusalem and its holy sites will remain in the current status quo, with free access at the Temple Mount to Jews, Muslims and Christians. Politically, Jerusalem is to remain the undivided capital city of the State of Israel. A capital for the State of Palestine can exist outside of the municipal boundary security barrier east and north of the city.

UPDATE 30 January 2020: What is wrong with the map at the top of this SITREP? For starters, it has no basis in fact or reality. It is no real nor is it Israel. It is a concept what what could be IF the vision of the peace plan were to be accepted by the current State of Israel and the "Palestinian" leadership. It depict an Israel with total control of the entirety of its borders north, east and south; the potential State of Palestine is entirely within the state of Israel.

Here's the bottom line about the visionary map and the text of the "Vision for Peace" plan. It embodies to the ultimate degree that which Donald J. Trump has become most renowned for -- the "Art of the Deal" Anyone who understands Trump has to understand what a Trump deal is, and that is he puts forward from the get-go the highest most expansive position possible, and then sits back and waits for the counter offer, or if the deal is rejected, he just walks away. No deal. We will see how this plays out after the Israeli election in March because nothing of substance will come of this until after the election.

Israel Today - 30 January 2020

Secondly, and we all must know this if we have read our Bible's cover to cover, any current map of Israel is nothing more than a temporary map of Israel. The map of Israel on May 14, 1947 was altered to a different map at the armistice of 1949. And the map of 1949 changed again in 1956, and back again a few months later. In June 1967 the map of Israel changed again, and again in 1973, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1982, 2000, 2002, and 2005. Only for the last fifteen years have the borders of Israel remained relatively static, status quo. The illustration below show this in good detail. These are maps of Israel in disbelief. These are maps which are pretty good illustrations of Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37. If you've not read them in a while, by all means re-familiarize yourself with those prophetic words.

Expanding Israel

Israel's borders will change yet again, and soon, and in my eschatological view Israel's borders will change drastically away from what the visionary map illustrates. And the next map change will occur with a high degree of certainty due to what the visionary map and plan both instigate among the Arab Muslims within and all around Israel. Talk about your paradigm shifts, this one will be something to witness!

So here's the rub. None of these maps illustrate the true Israel, the full covenant land map of Israel. That will be the Israel in belief, the Israel in which the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon. And no matter what may transpire between now and then, nothing will actually change except for the earthquake movements of the surface. The land belongs to God and it is the Lord's Land Covenant with Abram/Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel. Ezekiel 36/37, as well as 38/39 all attest to this fact. The will of God is in motion, these things must take place. Even so, Marana'tha!

Global SITREP A5-20: IRAN Part IV

Fake News Iranian Twelver Style

25 January 2020: We begin Part IV of the Iran series by noting that the fake news reported in Iranian media is not really that different from what the American public recieves from ABC, CBS or NBC and all of its subsets. The above image is touted as a recent "anti-US rally." In reality it is photo of a Shi'a religious procession known as Arba'een Chechelom that was taken on Safar 20 (October 19, 2019).

Iraqi Shi'a to US Troops: "Leave to Live" 

The above images are from the Khamenei regime's Keyhan newspaper, show pro-Iranian demonstrators advising US troops to "Leave [Iraq] to Live" and "Leave to Survive." These IRGC-QF-led demonstrators also hung in effigy a manikin of President Trump and three uniformed US soldiers. The threats against US troops continues day in and day out. Truly, the Iranian Twelver regime and its proxies are the Nazi's of the 21st century.

Meanwhile, all across Iraq and Iran, and even in Lebanon, there are anti-Iran protests. Yesterday the Amal militia in Beirut attacked an anti-Iran demonstration. The Lebanese army immediately came to the defense of the demonstrators. Late word that the downtown area of Basra, Iraq is in flames today.

The US military confrontation with Iran continues unchanged. The US position that was made clear by President Trump as the Davos economic summit has several bullet points. 

Firstly, bilateral relations between the US and Iraq are far deeper than just the presence of US forces in the country. Any talks must take all aspects into account. 

Secondly, NATO will be taking on an increased role in the fight against Islamic State. To this end the establishment and/or expansion of bases in the territory of the Kurdistan Regional Government (Erbil) seems is highly likely. 

FFinally, the defense of the large US base at al-Tanf on the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian border region from encroachment by Iranian and Syrican forces will be robust; confronting of IRGC-QF and proxy forces at various points along the Iraqi-Syrian border and denial of access to all land corridors linking Iran to Syria and Lebanon, plus denying access of Russian forces to the Iraqi-Syrian border region.     


This will be continued...

Global SITREP A4-20: Miscellaneous Items

(6FEB20 UPDATE BELOW) 23 January 2020: This SITREP is to cover miscellaneous items, some new, some just for updating purposes.

Firstly, it's necessary acknowledge the passing of televangelist Dr. Jack Van Impe. He was truly amazing in his ability to call up chapter and verse of prophetic Scripture, and his passing is mentioned here simply because he was a brother in Christ. It is irrelevant if one agreed or disagreed with some of what he taught, but I do thank the Lord that Dr. Van Impe was true to his calling for several decades. He will be missed. There is an entire generation of us who grew up with prophecy teachers in Jack's class, and now we look forward to being with them again at the Lord's side.

Secondly, in recent studies the angel Gabriel's prophecy in Daniel 9:26b, "And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary," has been in the forefront. Almost exactly ten years ago at the very beginning of Eschatology Today several posts were made to identify specifically who the people of the prince to come were. The prince is the coming Antichrist; the people were the several legions of the Roman Empire that besieged, sacked and destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple, specifically and most prominent among them was Legio X Fretensis. 

The army of the Antichrist, as has been written about here in several posts, is back in the news. One post in particular was brought to mind recently because of this, "It Was Never About the EU, But All About NATO." It's three and a half years old now, but that post deserves a revisiting because there's lots of noise of late about an EU army being stood up, one building block at a time. Breitbart published an article on this today that is worth reading. And yet, the EU army will be wholly reliant on NATO and buttressed American military power that will enable it to take the field in future combat operations as seen in our discussions on Daniel 11:40-45 taking place during the 70th Week.

The thing here, and this is a lot to wrap any one's head around at one time, but I must also be recalling other Eschatology Today posts such as "Ten Toes" and "The Little Horn," which rest upon even more very specific Bible prophecy regarding ten kings or leaders of nations among whom an eleventh little horn rises and plucks three of the ten out by the roots (making them his own). This occurs while there's a war going on. This is the fourth beast of Daniel 7:7-8. So, while some might tend to think its quiet and not much is going on, oh but to the contrary!, this world has a great deal going on andis moving inexorably down the Prophetic Road to Revelation.

Thirdly, and as an adjunct to the above (rumor intelligence (RUMINT) has been rampant all week long in advance of the Davos economic summit and the VP Pence trip to Israel) it looks as if Trump will have both Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu and Israeli PM wanna-be Benny Gantz as his guests in the White House next week to be briefed on the so-called "Deal of the Century" peace initiative. 

Both Netanyahu and Gantz have pledged to annex the Jordan Valley to Israel, and Netanyahu acknowledging that since that is now the case, then Israel should move forward immediately an make the annexation happen. And guess who would like to blow that up in all of their faces? The Iranian Ayatollah. So little wonder that today rockets were launched again from Gaza.

Meanwhile, In Iraq, there are raging battles between anti-Iran protesters and pro-Iran forces in several cities this evening, and just about every evening this week, most involving life fire automatic weapons. In the Iraqi-Syria border town of al-Qaim unknown aircraft attacked the 45th Brigade of Kata'ib Hezbollah with reports that a commander was killed. This coincides to today with the United States warning the new IRGC-QF commander, MG Esmail Qa'Ani, that he faces that same fate of MG Qassem Soleimani if any US forces are harmed in Iraq.

Finally, the truth about the coronavirus that emerged in China and has spread around the world is finally being acknowledged. There are over 20 million people trapped in Chinese cities as that government attempts to get a handle on an epidemic in the making. Wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes in diverse places, plagues and pestilences... sounds like a Jack Van Impe telecast, but its real and its all happening today just as our Lord said it would in the Olivet Discourse.

UPDATE 06 FEB 20: Taiwan News recently leaked the actual numbers of 2019-nCoV in the PRC. Infected 154,023; Suspected infected 79,808; Deaths 24,589, Victims cured 269. These numbers dwarf the "official" numbers being reported. The 2019-nCoV Infected and Suspected Infected total is well over one-quater million people (circa 234,000). 

2019-nCoV Data
Left to Right: Confirmed cases, Suspected cases, Cured cases, Deaths.

Other data from Taiwan strongly suggests that 2019-nCoV may be an "unkillable" virus due to the many insertions of other viruses in the core. That may mean in 2021 it may resurface again with unknown consequences. Also, H5N1 Bird Flu has recently made a reappearance in the People's Republic just south of Wuhan.

UPDATE 25 January 2020: Another of the older posts, one from December 2018, is worth noting again. "Psalm 68: A Messianic Prophecy for a Snowy Israel." There are a couple of interesting passages in it, with a reference to a specific season of the year; when snow is present upon a certain mount. This has me recalling what Jesus said in the Olivet about the middle of the 70th Week as Matthew 24:20 recorded. More convinced than ever that nothing here is coincidental.

Marana'tha!