America to Withdraw Troops From Africa

Commander of the U.S. Africa Command, Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, testifies February 7 at a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Europe is being forced to get more involved in its former colonial territories.

Speaking in Munich on February 20, United States Africa Command (U.S. africom) Gen. Thomas Waldhauser revealed that hundreds of United States troops, including commandos, will withdraw from West Africa over the coming years.

In accordance with the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy announcement earlier this year, the United States plans to transfer 10 percent of its personnel from Africa to regions which it deems to be of higher priority, to prepare for possible future confrontation with Russia or China. The withdrawal is to be completed by 2022 at the latest, by which time approximately 600 of the 6,000 American troops currently in Africa will have left. Also to be sent elsewhere are about 100 of 1,000 civilian contractors who assist and train local African forces. They will be restationed in regions where the Russian and Chinese threat to American interests is perceived to be more direct.

A Civilization on the Verge of Collapse

 

02:40 The Entebbe Rescue Mission (5 minutes)

In this segment, I follow up on yesterday’s show about the Entebbe rescue mission. I discuss the impact the mission had on Herbert W. Armstrong, and read some listener feedback in response to the show.

Russia Cyberattacks Norway

Exterior of the satellite antenna in Longyearbyen, Norway (iStock.com/Dmitry_Chulov)

 

Increasing provocations from Moscow will have a worrying effect on the nations of Europe.

Russia has carried out repeated acts of “extensive electronic jamming” of satellite signals in Norway, the head of Norway’s foreign intelligence unit said during a national risk assessment report on February 11.

“This is not only a new challenge for Norwegian and Allied training operations,” Morten Haga Lunde said in the report. “Jamming is also a threat to, among others, civilian air traffic and police and health operations in peacetime.”

China’s Huawei Stealing U.S. Trade Secrets

A pedestrian walks past a Huawei Technologies Co. store on January 29 in Beijing, China. (Getty Images)

 

This troubling trend fulfills a specific Bible prophecy.

The United States Justice Department unveiled a list of criminal charges against the Chinese telecom company Huawei last month in the latest acknowledgment of China’s systematic theft of American intellectual property and trade secrets.

Most of the charges were related to Huawei stealing intellectual property from T-Mobile, including the firm’s proprietary phone testing technology. Court documents say Hauwei promised hefty bonuses to any employee who was able to gather confidential information on T-Mobile, encouraging them to send photos and spec sheets to Chinese officials. One Hauwei employee was caught stealing a proprietary robotic arm.

New Spy Headquarters Highlights Germany’s Changing Role

German police stand guard in front of the Federal Intelligence Service headquarters in Berlin on February 8. (JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)

 

The newfound importance of Germany’s national spy agency is deeply symbolic of its changing foreign policy.

Germany opened a new headquarters for its national spy agency, the bnd, on February 8. The opening of this new facility in the very heart of Berlin is symbolic of an ongoing transformation in Germany’s foreign policy.

Deutsche Welle noted that “the move signals a major symbolic change for Germany, no longer shying away from taking a prominent role on the global stage.” The opening is not only a step forward for the bnd, but also for Germany’s international role.

The bnd headquarters was previously located in the countryside near Munich. Now that it has moved to the center of Berlin, it is close to other government offices and the former site of the Berlin Wall. Moving the headquarters to this area where Germany was once divided but is now united and resurgent is a symbolic victory.

Preparing to Storm America’s Castle

 

A foreign power that controls the Caribbean Sea could cripple the U.S. economy.

The United States is being threatened by hostile nations taking over the Caribbean Sea. Major news sources pay little attention to this region, but the Caribbean is vital to U.S. security. This sea not only connects the East Coast with the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal, it guards the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. Half of America’s seaborne trade passes through the Gulf. So a foreign power that controls the Caribbean could cripple the U.S. economy by restricting its access to oceanic shipping.

This geographic reality is why Russia and China want to challenge U.S. dominance in the Caribbean. These aspiring superpowers are forging alliances with socialist governments in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. If these Latin dictatorships become staging grounds for Russia and China, a coalition of nations could potentially cut off U.S. access to the Panama Canal and seal off the Straits of Florida and the Yucatan Channel.

As shocking as this scenario sounds, the Bible reveals that enemies will seize control of the world’s most strategic maritime choke points and lay siege to the United States. America is going to lose access to the Panama Canal, the Straits of Florida, the Windward Passage, the Yucatan Channel and many other shipping lanes that its people rely on for food, electronic components, oil, raw materials and other goods.

The results will be devastating.

France and Germany Team Up for New Fighter Jet

French Defence Minister Florence Parly, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Safran Chairman of the Board Ross McInnes , visit the French high-technology group Safran plant in Genneviliers, near Paris, on February 6, 2019, during the inauguration of a construction platform as part of the French-German FCAS (Future Combat Air System). (THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Working together on advanced military capabilities strengthens the prophesied Franco-German alliance.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced on February 6 that France and Germany will sign a €65 million (us$73.5 million) deal to proceed with a project to produce a joint stealth fighter jet.

“What we are doing today with the Franco-German fighter jet of the future is concrete, balanced, makes us stronger, and prepares for the defense of Europe,” wrote Parly.

German-Russian Friendship Blossoms

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (left) and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov shake hands during a joint press conference following their meeting at the Reception House of Russia’s Foreign Ministry. (Sergei Savostyanov\TASS/Getty Images)

 

Germany bows to Russia in negotiations over the Kerch Strait and Azov Sea as dangerous cooperation between the two increases.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow on January 18 to discuss, among other things, a new proposal to ensure unimpeded shipping through the Kerch Strait and Azov Sea. After the meeting, Maas flew to Ukraine to inform its leaders of the negotiations. The exclusive discussions between Germany and Russia, excluding Ukraine, reveal the close ties developing between these two powers.

The Kremlin’s Strategy for World Domination

AleXei Nikolsky/TASS/Getty Images

 

Vladimir Putin and his generals are following a blueprint laid out by a neo-fascist political scientist to replace the United States as the world superpower.

The Kremlin is following a detailed plan to replace the United States as the world superpower. Astonishingly most American leaders do not understand this reality. Like former United States President Barack Obama, they dismiss Russia as a “regional power” attacking nations like Ukraine from a position of weakness, instead of strength. Their assessment could not be more wrong. The 2014 conquest of Crimea was actually a calculated step in Russia’s strategy for world domination.

And this strategy was drawn up years in advance.

The Philippines Considers Scrapping Defense Treaty With U.S.

Philippines’ Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana gestures as he delivers a speech during the closing ceremony of the annual joint US-Philippines (TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images)

 

China could gain a major victory in the region if the 67-year-old U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty changes.

The government of the Philippines is considering revising the country’s Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States. The review will aim to decide whether “to maintain it, strengthen it, or scrap it,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on December 28.

Signed in 1951, the treaty between the Philippines and the U.S. requires each nation to support the other if one of them is attacked. Under this treaty, the Philippines has been protected by the world’s superpower for a lifetime.

Why Has Emotion Replaced Reason in America?

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks during the Women’s March in New York on January 19. (DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)

 

The answer will surprise you.

“Facts are stubborn things.” That’s what American founding father John Adams famously said. But in modern America, facts are not so stubborn, and you don’t get famous by clinging to them. You get famous by being stubborn with your emotions. In modern America, more stubborn than facts, truth and logic are emotions, feelings and “personal truth.”

Historian Niall Ferguson described the phenomenon in this week’s Sunday Times, writing, “We no longer live in a democracy. We live in an ‘emocracy,’ where emotions rather than majorities rule and feelings matter more than reason. The stronger your feelings—the better you are at working yourself into a fit of indignation—the more influence you have.”

China Significantly Boosts Size of Navy and Air Force, Downsizes Army

An airman of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force operates an aircraft during a drill on the second flight training day of the New Year at Liaodong Peninsula on January 3, in Liaoning province, China. (Getty Images)

 

‘Transformational changes’ in military priorities are enhancing Beijing’s ability to flex its muscles far beyond China’s borders.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (pla) is undergoing “transformational changes” to greatly boost the size of its navy and air force and to downsize its land-based army by nearly half, the nation’s official Xinhua news agency said on January 20.

“This new data is unprecedented in the history of the pla,” the agency wrote. As a result of the changes, it said, “the Army now accounts for less than 50 percent of the total number of pla troops; almost half of our noncombatant units have been made redundant.”

Iran Suspected in Worldwide Cyberattacks

iStock.com/basketman23

 

‘Unprecedented’ cyberattacks targeting Western governments and organizations have been traced to hackers in the Islamic Republic.

FireEye, a California cybersecurity and intelligence firm, released a report on January 9 linking Iran to a pattern of cyberattacks dating back to 2017. These attacks targeted nations in North America, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The report states, “This campaign has targeted victims across the globe on an almost unprecedented scale, with a high degree of success.”

Pentagon: ‘Rising Chinese Military Has Taiwan in Its Crosshairs’

Always remember a Chinese war with Taiwan goes beyond the scope of simple reunification via force. As per the quotes page:

“The central committee believes, as long as we resolve the United States problem at one blow, our domestic problems will all be readily solved. Therefore, our military battle preparation appears to aim at Taiwan, but in fact is aimed at the United States, and the preparation is far beyond the scope of attacking aircraft carriers or satellites.”

– Chi Haotian, Minster of Defense and vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission

 

Soldiers attend the state memorial ceremony for China’s National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims at the Nanjing massacre memorial hall on December 13, 2018 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China. (Getty Images)

 

China is ‘on the verge of fielding some of the most modern weapon systems in the world. In some areas, it already leads the world.’

China has made major military advancements and developed new weapons technologies as it works to boost its ability to wage war over places such as Taiwan, according to a January 15 report from the United States Defense Intelligence Agency.

“Beijing’s long-standing interest to eventually compel Taiwan’s reunification with the mainland and deter any attempt by Taiwan to declare independence has served as the primary driver for China’s military modernization,” the report said.

America Frozen Out of World Trade

 

Yet another trade agreement excludes the U.S.

A new trade agreement that covers more than 13 percent of the world economy, accounting for 15 percent of global trade, was ratified by its first six countries on December 30. The Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (cptpp) will cover 500 million people.

Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore will be joined by another four countries that have already signed but not yet ratified the agreement. Vietnam joins on January 14, while Brunei, Chile, Malaysia and Peru will join the deal 60 days after completing the ratification process.