ALL:

To me, the "port" issue may soon prove to be only a "SMALL"
problem for the president.  This is probably the most shocking
article I have seen regarding Iraq and, again, it ONLY proves the
Bible true and "WHAT GOD SHOWED DANIEL" comes more and
more into the light:  the "CLAY" of democracy CANNOT MIX with
the "IRON" of Islam!!!!

From Daniel 2:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%202&version=31

...Daniel 2
...42 As THE TOES WERE PARTLY IRON AND PARTLY CLAY,
...kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as
...you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so THE PEOPLE
...WILL BE A MIXTURE AND WILL NOT REMAIN UNITED, ANY
...MORE THAN  IRON MIXES WITH CLAY.

...44 "In the time of THOSE kings, the God of heaven will set up
...A KINGDOM THAT WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED, nor will it
...be left to another people.  IT WILL CRUSH ALL THOSE kingdoms
...and BRING THEM TO AN END, but it will itself endure forever.

Will it be like Chuck Colson's vision?

http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/jan2006/mariek15-1.htm
New Year's Dream: Nightmare or Prophecy?
By Chuck Colson

Calvin

From:

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060223/1050412.asp

By TRUDY RUBIN
2/23/2006

Once again, the Bush administration has been unpleasantly
surprised by the results of Mideast elections - this time in Iraq.
Two months after Iraq's Dec. 15 ballot, Iraqi politicians are still
far from forming a government. And the political kingmaker in
Baghdad - the force behind the new prime minister-designate
Ibrahim al-Jaafari - has turned out to be a radical anti-American
cleric. The cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, seeks an Islamic state, and
his militia has killed many Americans. He has been actively
courting Syria and Iran.

This election outcome was not in the White House game plan.
America's ability to withdraw troops from Iraq will depend on
whether a new, four-year government can prevent the country from
sliding further toward chaos. If the government is weak, the country -
along with its U.S.-trained army - is likely to collapse.

U.S. officials mistakenly believed Iraqi secular parties would do
well in the elections. As a fallback, they hoped the Shiite religious
bloc, the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), which won the most seats,
would nominate the capable Adel Abdul-Mahdi for prime minister.
Instead, the UIA nominated the weak current prime minister, Jaafari.
His victory was due to the machinations of al-Sadr, who controls
more than 30 seats in the assembly. Al-Sadr's minions phoned
members of the UIA before the nomination vote and threatened
civil war if Mahdi won. In the end, Jaafari triumphed by a single vote.

Now the questions are: Can Jaafari govern? And what will be the
influence of al-Sadr? The son of a revered ayatollah who was
murdered by Saddam, al-Sadr trades on the reverence for his father
and wins support from the poor and criminal elements in Baghdad.

In April 2003, his thugs murdered the moderate Shiite cleric
Abdulmajid al-Khoei, son of a grand ayatollah and a potential rival
to al-Sadr. Shiite clerics told me al-Sadr's militia attacks those who
criticize him. In 2003, his men even threatened the Grand Ayatollah
Ali al-Sistani, although the two have since made an uneasy peace.

Al-Sadr recently visited Syria and Iran; presumably Tehran encouraged
him to back Jaafari. A weak Iraqi prime minister means more Iraqi
chaos; this serves Iranian interests by making trouble for the United
States. A weak Iraq also means less chance of pulling Sunnis into a
government of national unity that might undercut the insurgency and
enable U.S. forces to leave sooner.

Is there a way out of the al-Sadr/Jaafari trap? Some in Baghdad hope
the Shiite bloc will split, with backers of Mahdi joining Kurds and
Sunnis in forming a superbloc that chooses a new candidate for
prime minister. I doubt this will happen; despite their unhappiness
with Jaafari, Shiites know that if their bloc splits, they will lose the
political strength that comes with being a majority.

The hope for blocking al-Sadr lies less with moderate Shiites than
with the political skills of the Kurds.

Kurdish leaders - often accused of wanting to separate from Iraq -
seek to hold the country together. Toward this end, they are trying
to organize a government of national unity that will bring Sunnis in,
contain al-Sadr and force Jaafari to share power.

Kurdish leader Barham Salih outlined the plan to me. "It's ironic,"
he said, "that the Kurds are emerging as the unifiers of the country.
But this unity can't be obtained without inclusivity."

Salih told me the Kurds will insist that a national unity government
include the UIA, the Kurds, Sunni groupings and the party of Iyad
Allawi, a secular Shiite and former interim prime minister. While in
office, Allawi sent troops to put down al-Sadr's militia.

Last Thursday, Kurdish and Sunni factions and Allawi - with U.S.
Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad present - met to signal Jaafari and
al-Sadr that they must bargain. Whether the Kurds can pull off the
deal and thwart al-Sadr will be known in the next few weeks.

Philadelphia Inquirer