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Saleh Forced Out As Yemen Is Latest Country To Fall In Arab Spring Riots

From January 2011 he struggled to quell big popular protests against his rule as a spate of gunbattles pushed Yemen closer to civil war. The violence culminated in deadly clashes between forces of the Hashed tribal group and government troops. Under mounting pressure, Saleh agreed to sign a Gulf accord in November that was meant to see him gradually relinquish power.

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SANAA (Reuters) – Ali Abdullah Saleh, who once compared his 33-year rule of Yemen to “dancing on the heads of snakes,” formally steps down this week after Yemenis anoint a new president in an election many hope will give Yemen a chance for democracy.

A boy looks through a hole in a banner, with an image of Yemen's outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, as he performs the weekly Friday prayers during a rally to show support for him in Sanaa January 27, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

No ceremonies are expected to mark the end for Saleh, who is out of the country being treated in the United States for injuries he sustained in an assassination attempt last June.

But the election, in which Saleh’s deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is the only candidate, is expected to pave the way for Yemen to introduce political and economic reforms and give it a chance to restructure security forces currently run by the outgoing president’s relatives.

Before he flew to the United States last month, Saleh apologized for “any shortcoming” in his rule and said he planned to come back. “I will return to Sanaa as head of the General People’s Congress party,” he told senior party and government officials in a televised speech before his departure on January 22.

From January 2011 he struggled to quell big popular protests against his rule as a spate of gunbattles pushed Yemen closer to civil war. The violence culminated in deadly clashes between forces of the Hashed tribal group and government troops. Under mounting pressure, Saleh agreed to sign a Gulf accord in November that was meant to see him gradually relinquish power.

But fears remain that the accord, inked in Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 1 oil exporter which shares a long porous border with Yemen, may not provide the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state with a roadmap out of misery and chaos.

The bombing of Saleh’s compound in June, an apparent assassination attempt, left Saleh with severe burns, forcing him to seek treatment in Saudi Arabia, one of Yemen’s resource-rich neighbors which had tried in vain to ease him from power.

Ever nimble, Saleh reneged on three deals to transfer power before the attempt on his life and shrugged off U.S. and Saudi pressure to stay in exile, making good on a promise to return home in September.

But international pressure redoubled in October, when the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution demanding he sign a handover plan brokered by Gulf neighbors. France and Britain hinted at European Union sanctions against him.

The United States has talked openly of its concern about who might succeed Saleh, an ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a Yemen-based wing of the militant group.

Until last year, Saleh’s grip on power seemed unshakeable. In 2010, supporters pushed for constitutional changes to allow him unlimited five-year terms as president. Speculation was high that he was grooming one of his sons as a possible successor.

But popular uprisings that toppled Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak resonated in Yemen, drawing tens of thousands to daily protests in Sanaa and in Taiz to the south, threatening his apparent dynastic ambitions.

Saleh began to offer concessions.

First, he said he would not stand for re-election in 2013 and dismissed the idea of his son succeeding him. Then he offered a referendum on a new constitution by the end of the year and a shift to a truly democratic “parliamentary system.”

But after the death of 52 protesters in March, mostly by sniper fire, a string of generals, tribal leaders, diplomats and ministers either resigned or switched their allegiance to the protesters.

They included key figures in the al-Ahmar and Sanhan tribes, kinsmen who Saleh had placed in key military and other positions.

When confronted with a power transfer deal brokered by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, Saleh was forced to accept that he has lost the ability to win back his former allies, and sign up to the deal.

OVERSAW UNIFICATION

Saleh became the ruler of North Yemen in 1978 at a time when the south was a separate communist country, and has led the unified country since the two states merged in 1990.

Opponents often complained that he failed to address the basic needs of Yemen’s people, two-thirds of whom live on less than $2 per day. Oil wealth is dwindling and water is running out, though liquefied natural gas exports began in 2009.

Yet Saleh managed to keep Western and Arab powers on side.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, Washington became more aware of Yemen as a source of foot soldiers for Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network. Bin Laden himself, though born in Saudi Arabia, could trace his roots back to Yemen’s Hadramaut region.

Saleh cooperated with U.S. authorities, and the CIA started taking action against wanted figures. But by 2007, militants had regrouped in Yemen, and in 2008 they announced that their Saudi and Yemeni wings had united under the banner of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

From 2009, the resurgent group made ever bolder attempts to stage attacks on Saudi and U.S. targets beyond Yemen, as well as targeting foreign tourists at home. At the same time, Shi’ite Muslims in the north rebelled against Saleh’s rule and southerners, feeling marginalized, began a new separatist drive.

Saudi Arabia, the United States and other allies responded by stepping up financial support to bolster Saleh’s rule.

If Saleh has been a determined survivor, he has also been a charismatic and often popular ruler with a canny understanding of the workings of Yemeni society.

Born in 1942 near Sanaa, Saleh had only limited education before joining the military as a non-commissioned officer.

His first break came when President Ahmed al-Ghashmi, who came from the same Hashed tribe as Saleh, appointed him military governor of Taiz, North Yemen’s second city. When Ghashmi was killed by a bomb in 1978, Saleh replaced him.

In 1990, an array of domestic and regional circumstances propelled North Yemen under Saleh and the socialist South Yemen state into a unification that Saudi Arabia at first opposed.

He angered Riyadh by staying close to Saddam Hussein during the 1990-91 Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, leading to the expulsion of up to one million Yemenis from Saudi Arabia. Before the crisis, Kuwait had given Yemen financial aid.

But Saleh then won plaudits from Western powers for carrying out economic reforms drawn up by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and made efforts to attract foreign investors.

His General People’s Congress party swept to victory in a 1993 parliamentary election, the first held after unification. South Yemen tried but failed to secede in a brief civil war in 1994 and Saleh then proceeded to move closer to Saudi Arabia, allowing an influx of its radical Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam. source – Yahoo News

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In A Stunning Move, Israel Unleashes Relentless And Blistering Overnight Airstrikes On All Syrian Military Installations Rendering Them Effectively Neutered

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Israel pounded Syrian army bases on Tuesday in strikes it says aim to keep weapons from falling into hostile hands, but denied its forces had advanced into Syria beyond a buffer zone at the border.

Over the weekend, rebels forces toppled the Assad government in Syria by driving power out and seizing control of capital city Damascus. On our Podcast yesterday, we introduced you to their new leader, Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani. Israel for their part wasted no time in responding to all that, and as the sun rose this morning in the Middle East, all that was left of the entire Syrian military was smoldering in ruins. Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani may have just taken Syrian, but Israel just took away his ability to wage war against them in stunning fashion.

“And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel .” Malachi 1:5 (KJB)

Ever since the exploding pagers that wreaked such havoc throughout all Hezbollah, Israel and the IDF have been on a wonderful offensive streak that their enemies simply have no response to. Buoyed by the knowledge that the Biden regime has effectively ended and the incoming Trump administration that supports Israel is almost in place, Israel is acting without reservation to protect their borders. Over the past 24 hours, the IDF has neutralized chemical weapons factories, military installations, aircraft and ships, and entire stockpiles of missiles so that Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani has almost nothing to work with. Pray for the Jews, pray for Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Am Yisrael Chai.

Israel pounds Syrian military sites; regional sources claim ‘nothing left’ of army assets

FROM THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: Regional security sources and officers within the now-fallen Syrian army who spoke to Reuters described Tuesday morning’s airstrikes as the heaviest yet, hitting military installations and airbases across Syria, destroying dozens of helicopters and jets, as well as Republican Guard assets in and around Damascus.

The rough tally of 200 raids overnight had left nothing of the Syrian army’s assets, said the sources.

The Israeli Air Force has carried out over 300 airstrikes in Syria since the collapse of the regime, destroying advanced weapons and other capabilities. Strikes reportedly carried out by Israel in Damascus’s Barzeh area completely destroyed a defense ministry research center, AFP correspondents reported on Tuesday. Western countries including the United States struck the facility in 2018, saying it was related to Syria’s “chemical weapons infrastructure.”

The IDF had yet to comment broadly on the strikes, but military sources said that the Navy had carried out a large-scale operation Monday night to destroy the former regime’s naval fleet, amid a wave of operations to take out military assets lest they fall into hostile hands.

The Israeli operations in Syria came in the wake of a lightning offensive by rebel forces there, which on Sunday toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad in a dramatic two-week chapter of a civil war that began in 2011, and which had been locked in a stalemate for years. Following the regime’s fall, Israel moved to destroy regime weapons sites before they could fall into the hands of forces hostile to Israel, amid the chaotic takeover by rebel groups, many of whom were originally associated with al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups.

Numerous Syrian navy vessels armed with sea-to-sea missiles were destroyed in strikes carried out by Israeli Navy missile boats Monday night at the Minet el-Beida bay and Latakia port on the Syrian coast, according to military sources. READ MORE

Multiple explosions from Israel have hit Syria’s capital, a day after opposition fighters forced the collapse of the Assad regime. There’ve been about a hundred Israeli air strikes on Damascus and other parts of the country as people look to rebuild after 13 years of civil war.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

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But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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Emmanuel Macron Flies To Saudi Arabia To Sign Strategic Partnership With Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman To Broker Peace In The Middle East

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President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a strategic partnership on Monday, December 2, aiming at deepening bilateral ties and de-escalating conflict in the Middle East, including Lebanon

Emmanuel Macron has been on the quiet side lately, but behind closed doors he’s been a whirlwind of activity. Take for example what he did yesterday with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. Together the two end times luminaries signed a pact, a covenant if you will, regarding the future of peace in the Middle East, and the rebirth of Lebanon. While all the world is wondering after Donald Trump and the state of America, Macron and MBS are doing what they are destined to do, no, make that predestined to do. Forget the United States, this is where all the Bible action is.

“And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over youthen come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” Judges 9:15 (KJB)

Nearly 8 years ago, NTEB published our first article on Emmanuel Macron in connection with the biblical man of sin, and the shocking news that this virtually unheard of nobody, Macron, got a full-throated endorsement from none other than Barack Hussein Obama. Shortly after receiving Obama’s blessing, and financial backing from George Soros, Emmanuel Jean Michel Frederic Macron won the office of president of France in a landslide victory of 66.6% over rival Marine Le Pen.

Don’t Miss This Amazing Sale At The NTEB Bookstore

Right now, everything is on sale until Friday. Everything written by Ruckman, Larkin, Grady, Gipp, Tillis, Moody, Spurgeon and all the rest. Save $35-50 on all Ruckman Bibles, save $150 on the Ruckman Commentary Bundle, save $65 on the best book ever written about DL Moody, and save 20-30% off on all our KJV study Bibles. But don’t wait, this sale ends on Friday, and won’t be back for another year. 

Macron and MBS sign strategic partnership, call for elections in Lebanon

FROM LE MONDE: After a meeting with Prince Mohammed, the de facto ruler of the oil-rich Gulf kingdom, Macron’s office announced the signing of a new partnership aimed at improving cooperation in “defense, energy transition, culture, mobility between the two countries.” The two leaders also “agreed to make every effort to contribute to de-escalation in the region,” including helping to consolidate the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

“Together, they called for the holding of presidential elections in Lebanon with the aim of bringing the Lebanese people together and carrying out the reforms necessary for the stability and security of the country,” the statement from Macron’s office said.

Macron touched down in the Saudi capital Riyadh in the afternoon, where he was greeted by an honor guard of sword-holding servicemen and celebratory cannon fire as he disembarked from his plane. Macron’s visit began as France’s less than three-month-old minority government faced the prospect of being forced out by a vote of no confidence in the coming days.

Macron’s state visit is the first by a French president to Saudi Arabia since Jacques Chirac in 2006, cementing what the presidency calls a “very close relationship.”

The French president and Prince Mohammed will see how they “work together” on the conflicts shaking the region, with Lebanon at the “heart of the discussions,” the French presidency said in an earlier statement.

Macron is hoping for Saudi support for the Lebanese army, which is being deployed toward the border with Israel under the ceasefire but is poorly armed and trained. He will also try to win Saudi help to reverse the political disintegration that has plunged Lebanon’s government and economy into catastrophe. READ MORE

The French President is holding talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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INCOMING: Israel Is On Heightened State Of Alert As IDF Awaits Missile Attack From Iran That Could Come From Tehran, Syria, Yemen, or Iraq

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The IDF has heightened its state of alert and readiness in anticipation of a possible Iranian response to the recent Israeli strike, military sources said on Monday.

Iran right now is gambling, not at a casino or on the ponies, but gambling all the same on the outcome of the US presidential election on Tuesday. They know that if Kamala Harris is the winner, they will receive a whole lot better treatment from the United States after Tehran launches a missile strike on Israel than if Donald Trump is the winner. So it would appear that they are going to time the attack to coincide with the presidential election. Seeing as the election is only hours away, it could happen literally any time.

“When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? Acts 1:6 (KJB)

Israel has been on a roll lately, vanquishing so many of their enemies in a seemingly effortless military campaign. But it does little good to defeat Hamas and Hezbollah if you leave the country that created these terror networks, Iran, in power and in place to restock them. Has the time finally arrived for Israel to go head-to-head with Iran? Hopefully, yes, it has. The Iranian people even want to see an end to the regime that has plagued their nation for the past 45 or so years, and most would happily welcome that outcome. The next 24 hours are going to tell an amazing end times story, and we will bring you events as they unfold. Am Yisrael Chai.

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IDF heightens state of alert in Israel anticipation of Iranian missile strike to coincide with US election

FROM THE JERUSALEM POST: This increased vigilance includes daily situational assessments across all branches and divisions of the IDF General Staff, including the Home Front Command. Intelligence gathering efforts have been intensified through various methods involving the entire intelligence community. At the same time, the Israeli air force remains on high alert, focusing on its control and air defense systems.

“The presence of hundreds of American soldiers in Israel operating the THAAD missile defense system underscores the close cooperation between the IDF and US forces stationed here,” a military official noted.

Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram has also strengthened cooperative ties with his counterparts at US CENTCOM headquarters to prepare for various scenarios. IDF sources emphasized, “Despite various reports in foreign media, there is no confirmed information about the exact timing of a response.”

They further assessed that Iran is still considering its options for retaliation and evaluating the scale of their response. The IDF has not ruled out the possibility of an Iranian response from Syria, Yemen, or Iraq, rather than directly from Iran.

Additionally, security officials are not discounting the possibility of Iranian attempts to target senior Israeli figures both domestically and abroad. Security officials pointed out that Iran is likely weighing US warnings carefully while testing the limits, particularly during the American election period.

“An Iranian attack on Israel could impact the US elections, as Israel is deeply embedded in the political narratives of both Democratic and Republican campaigns,” one source explained.

Military sources confirmed that, despite assessments suggesting that the US elections might delay any Iranian response by at least a few days, the IDF has strategically reinforced its detection, warning, air defense, intelligence, and operational systems within the General Staff. READ MORE

Iran is reportedly preparing for a significant attack on Israel, planning to utilise more powerful warheads that have not been deployed previously. This escalation follows recent Israeli airstrikes on Iranian territory, with an Egyptian official revealing that Tehran has privately warned Cairo of a “strong and complex” response to IDF provocation. The upcoming military operation is expected to involve Iran’s regular military forces, marking a shift from earlier missile attacks carried out solely by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on April 13-14 and October 1. This potential change in strategy underscores the increasing tensions in the region and the serious implications for both Iran and Israel.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Continue Reading

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