The A-O Intelligence Digest

For September 7, 2012

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Inside This Digest Edition:

Relations Between US & Israel Sour
Netanyahu Shows His Anger at Obama


US Preps For War?
US & Allies Naval Drills in Persian Gulf Next Week But Scales Back October Drill with Israel


Iranian Threats Continue


Iran Passes Threshold For Effective Strike


EU Debt Troubles Resurface Worse Than Ever


2013 - Year of Crisis & Shortages?
Food & Energy?

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Relations Between US & Israel Sour
Obama Knifes Israel in the Back
Netanyahu Shows His Anger at Obama

As we related in recent news updates, relations between the Obama Administration and the Netanyahu government have turned sour, if not to say nearly bitter. The Obama Administration is determined to do everything possible to prevent Netanyahu from ordering military action before the November elections against Iran's nuclear facilities. Why is Obama wanting to prevent any Israeli actions before the elections? Politics.

The Obama Administration is highly concerned that any military action might boomerang and cause American voters to vote him out of office. If there's no military action, then it is one less unexpected thing to worry about, election-wise. What Obama wants most is to win re-election, at all costs.

The Obama White House has pulled out ALL the stops in an effort to squelch any Israel military action prior to the election. This includes a constant parade of U.S. intelligence and military officials traveling to Israel to cajole the Israelis into believing it is not in Israel's interests to attack Iran. This has been an ongoing project since the early part of the Obama 4 year term of office. Other efforts include bribery - giving US military weapons and assistance to Israel in exchange for peace. Of course the Obama Administration insists that US forces will eventually take action if diplomacy fails, but there's always more time for diplomacy despite repeated failures in negotiations with Iran.

Israeli intelligence reveals a steady march by Iran towards a nuclear weapon. The Netanyahu government sees that the opportunity for an effective military strike is about to end. The "window of opportunity" has for all practical purposes closed. Why? New intelligence reports indicate that the key items involved in the nuclear weapons program have been safely esconced in deep underground bunkers including those under the mountain at Fordow.

To annihilate those bunkers would require the use of nuclear weapons. Using nuclear weapons to destroy Iran's nuclear program would so anger the international community as to make Israel an outcast nation in the world's family of nations. Israel would become a pariah nation, much like North Korea. Much of the international community would protest Israel's action by halting trade with Israel and thus isolating Israel from the world trading community, plunging Israel's economy into a downward spiral. Or at least that is the outcome analysts express to the Israelis. It's enough to make the Israelis think twice, three times or think about often in considering their next move.

The ultimate knife-in-the-back move by the Obama White House was when the Obama Administration quietly informed Israel that America would not assist in Israel's defense should Israel attack and be subjected to an Iranian counter-attack using a ballistic missile barrage from Iran as well as thousands of missles from Hezbollah in Lebanon. Withdrawal of missile defense support by the United States is indeed a knife plunged deep into Israel's back and then twisted.

Israeli news media reports have surfaced about an incident last week in which it was reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu got into a shouting match with the American ambassador to Israel. It was just one more indication of how relations between the two nations have soured in recent months.

Of course, for political purposes, the White House has swept the souring relations under the rug and away from the U.S. news media limelight. For political purposes in an election year, the White House
maintains that relations between the two nations have never been better, but that is simply a myth.

The rift in relations along with Obama's persistent back-stabbing simply confirms Babylon-America's prophecies from the prophet Jeremiah and the Apostle John's Revelation. The pieces are slowly falling into place for the prophetic fulfillment of the Babylon prophecies.

News Media LINK regarding shouting match between Netanyahu & US Ambassador.

LATE BREAKING DEVELOPMENT:

As we prepared this article for publication, new reports are surfacing in Israel that Israel's leaders have suddenly shifted their comments about the Iranian situation vis-a-vis the US. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave a broad hint to news outlets on Friday (9/7) that Israel may not need to take military action as the U.S. may yet take care of the problem militarily.

The IDF chief noted that the US has been conducting a major buildup of military power in the region, including a huge naval presence and massive naval exercise to take place in the second half of September. (see our related article). His comments came after new briefings by US officials in the DoD and from the White House. Of course, we suspect that this is latest development is an attempt by the Obama Administration to prevent Israel from going it alone and yet not following through with US military action.

One thing is clear to us. It is impossible to predict just how things will shake out because everyone is constantly shifting from one direction to another. We can only expect that the next 60 days will be very tense in the Middle East.

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US Preps For War?

US & Allies Naval Drills in Persian Gulf Next Week
But Scale Back October Drill with Israel

A 12-day naval exercise consisting of 25 nations is slated to begin on September 16 and last til the 28th. It will take place along the shores of Iran.

At least 3 US Navy aircraft carriers will lead the exercise with the USS John Stennis carrier battle group now arriving on station in the Persian Gulf region. 2 other carriers, the Enterprise and the Eisenhower are already on station in the region.

The exercise will focus on minesweeping chores to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to seafaring ships, particularly oil super tankers. The exercise will also include destroying Iranian naval, air and missile bases. British and French warships along with Saudi Arabian and UAE naval vessels will join the US Navy as the backbone force in this latest naval drill.

The exercise will include activities not only in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, but also in the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman as well as the Red Sea.

The large-scale naval exercise just happens to coincide with the opening convocation of the 67th UN General Assembly which begins on September 18. The full Assembly sessions do not begin however until the 25th.

Leaders from all over the world will begin streaming to the UN to speak before the world body starting around the 27th and continue for several days as the leader of each nation is permitted to address the Assembly.

Rumors abound that President Obama will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on or around the 27th but there has been no official confirmation of such a meeting by either side. As we've noted elsewhere in this digest edition, relations between the two leaders have profoundly soured over the issue of what to do about Iran's nuclear weapons program.

The 12 day naval exercise also happens to coincide with a "new moon" strike window, in which speculation mounts that Israel might attempt to launch an independent air strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Some analysts see the timing of this exercise being aimed to prevent an Israeli strike against Iran and/or have all assets in place for dealing with an escalation of military action should Israel go ahead and strike Iran, despite the drill.

The exercise is definitely intended to demonstrate to Iran that the US and allies are fully prepared and ready to take up the military option against Iran unless Iran halts its nuclear weapons program.

Coincidental to the naval exercise comes word that the U.S. is selling 4,900 JDAM smart bombs to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of an effort for keeping the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz clear and open to international sea traffic.

In response to the US naval buildup in the Gulf region, a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps told an Iranian news agency that the US Navy is "deeply fearful" of Iran's naval power in the Persian Gulf. He added that Iran will not leave the US warships undamaged in the case of a military move against Iran.

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Iranian Threats Continue

Threats continue to emerge from the Iranian leadership towards Israel, the United States and any nation that sides against Iran. Recently, the Supreme Ayatollah reiterated threats of retaliation against the United States, even if the U.S. did not participate in an Israeli attack on Iran. Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah reiterated the same threat indicating Hezbollah would retaliate against America. These were not idle threats.

The verbal threats primarily referred to missile attacks onto Israel and on America facilities around the Middle East. Yet that may not be the only response available to Iran and Hezbollah.

Anti-terror experts in America have long reported that there is a network of Iranian sleeper cells residing within the United States with estimates ranging as high as 50,000 Iranian sleeper agents. Hezbollah reportedly has a nearly equal number of sleeper agents within the U.S. The combination of the two forces and their activation portends a potential nightmare of chaos within the continental United States should there be military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

What we find curious in all of this is the Babylon prophecies of Jeremiah 51 which describe foreigners inside "Babylon-America" which rise up against Babylon. Jeremiah also mentions Iran directly by way of the term "Medes" and the names of 3 other tribes which were located in what is present-day Iran. I have always interpreted this passage to refer to clean up operations by the Iranians in taking out US bases in the Mideast -- after a supernatural fire-event destroys the continental USA. However, the Hebrew verb tenses are very vague on timing. It is entirely possible that in the early verses of Jeremiah 51, the prophet is speaking of sleeper cell terrorists conducting guerilla warfare within the borders of Babylon-America.

With that in mind, we have all the more reason as prophecy watchers to be on guard for such an event. The Church in America needs to be prepared and ready for such a potential action, yet the Church remains fast asleep, oblivious to the potential threat and the prophetic warnings given all of us by God in His sovereign wisdom. For this reason, we all, as believers need to be alert, on guard and aware of this potential threat if one particular interpretation of the prophetic passage in Jeremiah is accurate. The vagueness of the original text in regards to timing and location makes it all the more important to keep an open-mind towards the interpretation of the prophetic passage of Jeremiah 51.

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Iran Passes Threshold For Effective Strike

Has Israel's Window of Opportunity Closed for a Strike?

This past week, the UN's nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA released a new report indicating that Iran had more than doubled the number of centrifuges for nuclear enrichment at its Fordow facility. The Fordow facility includes that unique underground bunker built underneath a mountain outside of Fordow. The report also indicated that Iran was producing not just 20% levels of uranium but also 60%.

These statistics mean that Iran is racing at break-neck speed to make a bomb, if it hasn't already. Remember, we only know about the public aspects that the Iranians want us to know about. They may have dual track programs that were hidden long ago and that are further along than anything made public.

Intelligence assessments from last spring and early summer concluded that by the end of August Iran would have enough of what equipment and materials were needed to build a bomb in newly constructed underground facilities. Such facilities are considered to be bomb-proof except for the possibility of a nuclear bomb.

Given the recent change in public rhetoric by Iranian leaders about war and the West, the Iranians seem very confident in themselves, as if they know a lot that we don't know about their abilities. Therefore, as we consider whether or not Israel's window of opportunity has closed, we note that Iran's actions would seem to suggest that indeed their program is safe from being totally wiped out. In fact, there are suggestions from some that the program is so protected that the best Israel could do would be to set back the program by a few months or a year or so at best.

There is a serious question as to whether the latest MOP Bunker Buster bomb built by the US is capable of destroying the underground mountain complex at Fordow. Recent talk within intelligence circles suggests that the only way America could set the Iranians back more than 2 years would be by using nuclear warheads.

If the Israelis continue to delay it may be because Netanyahu's intelligence reports indicate Israel couldn't destroy the Fordow facility and so why bother trying. If Israel does NOT attack before the November elections, I do not see them ever launching a strike. Instead, Iran will make the first move and it may well be the Magog War prophesied by Exekiel in chapters 38 and 39.

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EU Debt Troubles Resurface Worse Than Ever

Moody's Downgrades EU Credit Rating

This past week saw the Moody's credit rating service downgrade the European Union's credit rating. This shocking development was however, not unexpected. There is a crushing debt overload among
key member nations within the EU. Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal are the most prominent basket cases, yet France and Britain are not in good shape. The German economy is straining to assist the EU balance sheets but the German economy is not able to carry all of the debt amassed by the profligate member nations.

The debt crisis within the EU is setting the stage for its eventual collapse. Some analysts believe such a collapse could come this fall, the traditional time of the year for financial collapses. The IMF along with the World Bank and the central bankers of Europe and the US continue to grapple with the situation, but the new world order bankers are simply waiting for the right time to pull the plug and create a new one-world currency that will itself most likely lead to the collapse of the EU.

It's hard to project just how the European nations will deal with the EU collapse. We suspect that a new and different 'union' will emerge. Perhaps a 10 nation group will emerge to fulfill Daniel's prophecies concerning the 10 toes of a beast that many interpret as a revived Roman Empire.  We do however, think the 10 toes could be a reference to the G-10 or some other confederation such as a form of NATO-like group of European nations. All we can conclude however is that a major change is coming to Europe and it will likely come sooner, rather than later.

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2013 - Year of Crisis & Shortages?
Food & Energy?

New prognostications are emerging for the year 2013 based in large part upon climate and weather conditions of 2012.

The United States, considered the food basket to the world, experienced one of the most severe droughts in its history, parelling the dust-bowl days of the 1930s and the Great Depression.

Corn crops have been decimated across the majority of the United States, particularly in the Midwest region. Soybeans have fared somewhat better and to a certain extent, some types of wheat grains have done better, particularly the number 2, hard-red winter wheat which harvested before the drought and record heat could destroy the harvest.

Around the world, generally speaking, food crop harvests have suffered due to varying weather conditions - either too much heat and a lack of rain, or too much rain.

Compounding the grain harvest problems are livestock concerns. The combination of the excessive heat and drought in America along with a lack of feed grains for livestock have forced farmers and ranchers to cut back on their herds. Meat prices will skyrocket in 2013 and match the price rises for grains. The impact will be widespread, across the board and felt around the world. In fact, food shortages can be expected.

Another item in shorter supply for 2013 will likely be refined oil products. Why? More and more problems are developing with refineries as refineries around the world and particularly in America continue to age and "rust." Many refineries are experiencing significant mechanical and production problems due to age and the need for re-furbishing existing facilities.

Consequently, experts predict that in 2013 we can expect higher prices for refined goods, such as gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel. Also accompanying higher prices will be localized shortages of refined products.

Higher food prices and shortages of food along with surging fuel prices and shortages will likely mean that people will travel less and in some areas, people will go hungry with a greater likelihood of famine in third-world areas. What a great year awaits humanity in 2013.

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