Why Would Syria Use Chemical Weapons Now?

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Why Would Syria Use Chemical Weapons Now?




by Mitchell Moss



Alleged victims of a 2012 Syrian chemical attack seen in a screen capture from a YouTube video uploaded by Syrian rebels.



Source: The Times of Israel

Last week, news reports broke that the regime of Syria's president Bashar al Assad apparently used chemical weapons in a massacre of civilians on a scale not yet seen in that country's two-year-long civil war. A year ago, U.S. president Obama drew a red line , stating that if Syria used them, America would recalculate its plans for dealing with the violent government crack-down on rebels attempting to overthrow the regime. Up to then, and to this day, he hasn't made any moves to intervene. The international community has likewise kept its distance.

Puzzlingly, the attack came at a time when United Nations weapons inspectors had been invited into the country. Those inspectors now on the ground will be reviewing the scene of the attack and if it confirms chemical weapons were used by the Assad regime, global support for stronger action will be almost unanimous. We'll find out what that stronger action looks like. Analysis of the situation exposes a precarious position—if America strikes, what's to stop Syria from retaliating by launching an attack on Israel? One of Syria's most loyal allies, Iran, has warned that an attack on Syria would lead to such an attack. If Syria does that, Israel will undoubtedly hit back with a barrage of its own. At that point, not to be dramatic, we're looking at the possibility of World War III.

But it all begs the question of "Why?" Assuming Assad launched a chemical attack on his own citizens, why would he do so right at the moment weapons inspectors are arriving, and why now after more than two years of uprising? A New York Times piece seeks to answer this question, and does a good job at explaining many possible reasons. Many of the reasons put forth in that piece could certainly be true and be factors.

But another explanation that I think could very well be a large part of all this turmoil is that there is a great struggle going on in the spirit realm. We know that the spirit realm, although unseen, is involved in human affairs—the story of Job, the angels of the churches in Revelation, the angels pouring out different events in the end time, etc. In another example and a fascinating passage of scripture, an angel appeared to Daniel the prophet and told him that he had been sent to see Daniel earlier, but was delayed for three weeks by the prince of the kingdom of Persia (Daniel 10). He was unable to overcome the prince of Persia until one of the chief princes of God, Michael, came to his aid. Clearly the princes referred to are angels or fallen angels. With regard to the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece (verse 20), those are evidently spirit rulers over these empires under the chief of demons, Satan the Devil. Apparently, there are spirits who rule over different nations, and the spiritual battles between them manifest themselves physically in our realm.

The latest attacks on the people of Syria presumably by their own leader, Bashar al Assad, make no logical sense. But if we look at things through the lens that there are spiritual forces at work who perhaps are eager to see a spiral downward into massive global war, things begin to come into focus.

As always, we should be praying for God to speed the day of his coming while drawing closer to Him in our lives, perfecting our character as Christians. And that He will protect us in the times of danger ahead.

In Brief... Court's Jurisdiction Challenges National Sovereignty

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In Brief... Court's Jurisdiction Challenges National Sovereignty






article by Bill Eddington, Cecil Maranville, Jim Tuck





The arm of the law is growing more potent, and an age without political borders is dawning upon the world. National leaders accused of human atrocities no longer neccessarily have a secure place to hide.



The case of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic who was handed over to an international tribunal recently, "demonstrates that even the highest government officials are vulnerable to international prosecution for human rights crimes," said Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch.



In 1989 Manuel Noriega, the dictator of Panama, was seized and convicted of drug trafficking by the United States. The former leader of Chad was under arrest in Senegal until a new government turned him loose last year, but his fate remains in question. Then more recently, Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean strongman, spent considerable time in British custody on a Spanish warrant before being allowed to return home. The trend is that the long arm of the law is growing in strength and challenging national sovereignties.



That trend is quite evident in a landmark decision by the International Court of Justice, the UN's highest judicial tribunal, when it ruled for the first time on June 27, 2001, that its provisional orders were binding on countries and that the United States should have acted to postpone the execution of a German national until his case was considered by the court.



Venturing into dual emotional issues-the death penalty in America and the extent of the United States' willingness to bow to international bodies-the 15-member "World Court" effectively sought to stake a claim of influence over the American legal system. The decision, which came in a 14-to-1 vote in The Hague, will please opponents of capital punishment in Europe and infuriate American opponents of international organizations and treaties that appear to intrude on U.S. sovereignty. President George W. Bush's first official tour of Europe was dominated by disagreements over capital punishment due to the recent execution of Timothy McVeigh, convicted bomber of a federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that killed 168 people.



European politicians have expressed widespread disgust concerning capital punishment in the United States and the deep American suspicion about international authority. The countries of the European Union appear to have more of a willingness to accept the growing trend of more powerful international law, even if it challenges a nation's capacity to maintain its own right of sovereignty.



Sources : New York Times, The Washington Post .

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