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In 2007, General David Petraeus said that the "surge" was working to help stem the violence in Iraq. At the time, then-Senator Obama disagreed with the general, calling the surge, "a disastrous foreign-policy mistake." While he openly criticized the job Petraeus was doing in Iraq, Obama's opinions appear to have changed since winning the election. President Obama nominated General Petraeus, and the US Senate unanimously confirmed him to command the Afghan war effort in a 99-0 vote on June 30th. On July 4th, at a ceremony at NATO's Kabul headquarters, General Petraeus made his first public appearance to address the troops and accept the position.

President Obama chose General Petraeus to head up US and NATO forces after firing General Stanley McChrystal for insubordination after McChrystal gave less-than-glowing commentary on Obama, Biden, and the current administration in a highly-publicized Rolling Stone magazine interview. General McChrystal had been commander in Afghanistan for one year.

Who Is General Petraeus?
Fifty-seven-year-old General David Petraeus is a four-star general who has served with the United States Army since 1974. He is the son of Dutch immigrant sea captain Sixtus Petraeus and his American-born wife Miriam. David Petraeus graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree and graduated in the top 5% of his class. He earned his Master of Public Administration and a PhD in International Relations from Princeton University and has has been serving in the US military since his West Point graduation in 1974.  General Petraeus is a highly decorated and respected officer.

In a letter, which he read Sunday in a speech before a small group including Afghan members of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), General Petraeus emphasized that the effort in Afghanistan "is a contest of wills."  He said:

"Our enemies will do all that they can to shake our confidence and the confidence of the Afghan people. In turn, we must continue to demonstrate our resolve to the enemy. We will do so through our relentless pursuit of the Taliban and others who mean Afghanistan harm, through our compassion for the Afghan people, and through our example and the values that we live... We must also continue our emphasis on reducing the loss of innocent civilian life to an absolute minimum... Protecting those we are here to help nonetheless does require killing, capturing, or turning the insurgents."

Petraeus oversaw coalition forces of the Multi-National Force Iraq with the leadership of Ray Odierno, currently Commanding General of the United States Forces - Iraq, and lead the US and her allies to an overall success in the Iraq war in 2007.  While the struggle there has continued, the US helped Iraq to begin a new post-Hussein chapter on a foundation of relative peace. Petraeus was presented with the Defense Distinguished Service Medal for his work in Iraq, which included rebuilding the University of Mosul. Afterward, he jointly oversaw the military staff and writing for Field Manual 3-24 on Counterinsurgency, and developed training exercises and lesson plans for soldiers based on what he saw in Iraq.

In September of 2007, the liberal activist organization Moveon.org took out a full-page ad in The New York Times entitled, "General Petraeus, Or General Betray Us?" questioning whether David Petraeus had accurately represented the efficacy of the troop surge and rebuilding process in Iraq to Congress, accusing him of "cooking the books." The article drew a flurry of heated commentary from media, bloggers, and politicians, but when the dust settled, the skirmish revealed that though critics found fault with General Petraeus' perhaps overly-optimistic views of the surge's immediate results, the proof of his efficacy lay in the fact that troops were able to instill enough order in Iraq for the American military to gradually vacate and leave local leaders in control.  Moveon.org removed the attack on Petraeus from its site this past month as he was selected to replace General McChrystal.  Apparently, his "betray us" status has been updated.

Further Plans For Afghanistan:
In December, Obama signed for an additional 30,000 American troops be sent to the Middle East, and they are now arriving in Afghanistan. June proved to be the deadliest month in the war's nine year history for coalition units, and the hope is that General Petraeus' appointment at this critical period will spark the much-needed turn-around the forces have been needing.

"Not only is Petraeus an expert at turning around failing counterinsurgencies, but he is also extremely knowledgeable about events in Afghanistan," says Max Boot, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations. "The transition to him means minimal disruptions."

Mosab Hassan Yousef can remain in the United States after an immigration judge ruled in his favor on June 30, 2010, calming fears that Yousef might be deported back to the West Bank. Yousef was in danger of execution by the Palestinian Authority after his request for political asylum in the US was initially denied.

Mosab Hassan Yousef, known for his 2010 book "Son of Hamas", is the son of sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of the founders of Hamas who helped lead the First Intifada in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Mosab Hassan Yousef was arrested during that intifada at 10-years-old for throwing rocks at Israeli settlers, and he grew up as an important part of the Hamas organization, expected to follow in the footsteps of his father. In 1996, Yousef was jailed by agents for the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), and during his imprisonment came to the conclusion that he was fighting for the wrong side. The brutality of the Hamas faithful in torturing their fellow Palestinian prisoners and the organization's willingness to sacrifice women and children spurred him to agree to become an informant for Shin Bet.

For ten years, Yousef partnered up with Gonen Ben-Itzhak, his Israeli Shin Bet handler, and worked to protect the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians by informing Shin Bet about Hamas terrorist plots. Yousef's reports led to the arrests of several high-ranking Palestinians. Gonen Ben-Itzhak said of Yousef, "As we worked together to prevent the deaths of hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians, the two of us became friends. We believe that friendships like ours are key to eliminating hate and promoting the liberty that both our peoples so desperately desire."

Yousef became a Christian in 2005 and two years later moved to California. In the fall of 2009, Homeland Security denied his request for political asylum. He was told he would be deported because of his background with a terrorist group, even though the work he did as an informant helped stop many terrorist plots, including suicide bombings.

Yousef and his advocates warned that he would be executed if he were sent back to the Palestinian territories. Deeply concerned, Ben Itzhak revealed his own identity to testify on Yousef's behalf.  At an Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) dinner before the hearing, Ben-Itzhak spoke up for his friend Yousef.  "He risked his life every day in order to prevent" violence, Ben-Itzhak declared. "I need to come to the courthouse in San Diego and tell the judge the truth … And the truth is Mosab always prevented killings." 

Ben-Itzhak signed an affidavit, describing Yousef's character. That testimony made a big impact.   Three letters that Sarah Stern, president of EMET, managed to procure and get entered as evidence in the case also "made all the difference," according to Yousef’s lawyer, Steven Seick.  In one letter, the chairman of Israel’s Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee thanked Yousef for acting with “resolute determination … personal courage, reliability and dedication” to save lives. In a second letter, US Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), along with 21 others from the House of Representatives, sent Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano a letter impressing on her the significance that Yousef had cooperated "with Shin Bet at significant risk to his own safety and life."   In the third letter, former CIA director James Woolsey  urged the US to stop the deportation proceedings, which would "set us back years in the war on terrorism" by discouraging other potential informants from cooperating.
 
Homeland Security decided to drop the charges, and on June 30th, Judge Rico J. Bartolomei ruled that Yousef could remain in the US pending a background investigation. Yousef called Sarah Stern immediately after the ruling and said, "Sarah, we won!"  

Many people may not realize that there are at least three prophets in the Old Testament that were called specifically to prophesy regarding the Gentiles. Obviously, most of the Bible deals with history - both past and future - through the "lens" of Israel. But there are three short books that focus on Gentile history and each has specific application to you and me today.

Two of them were from Galilee! (The wag in John 7:52 hadn't done his homework...)

"They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet."  -John 7:52

Both Jonah and Nahum came from the Galilee area: in fact, Capernaum (Caper Nahum) means the "Village of Nahum."

The Biggest Miracle:
Perhaps one of the biggest miracles in the Old Testament is in the Book of Jonah - and it wasn't the big fish story! God called Jonah to minister to Nineveh, which had served as the capital of the world for several centuries. It was the enemy of Israel, and Jonah was not attracted to the assignment until God explained it to him a bit more clearly!

When Jonah finally did go there, he didn't present a polished, "seeker friendly" sermon! God had declared that the city was 40 days from being destroyed. Jonah went through town proclaiming, "Forty days and you get yours!" He was hoping they would get wiped out. In fact, his biggest fear was that God might have mercy (he went up on a hill and pouted when God did spare them).

It is interesting that Jonah didn't preach repentance. He simply announced their impending doom. It is astonishing to realize that within those 40 days, the king speculated that, just maybe, if they repented God might change His mind. They did, and God did. From the king on down, they put on sackcloth (the traditional ritual for repentance). They even put sackcloth on the cattle!

The repentance of Nineveh is astonishing when you think about it. Forty days from "ground zero." And they were given another century.

When Nations Die:
Nations and empires actually do have "life cycles." This has been studied by many historians throughout the years and they all have come to about the same conclusion: a lifetime of about two centuries. Nations all seem to go through the same life cycle: "from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependence back again into bondage."  - Alexander Tyler, 1750

Where are we in this cycle? We, too, have gone from bondage to spiritual faith; from faith to great courage which established our precious liberty, which, in turn, has given us unprecedented abundance that has made us the envy of the world. That abundance, however, has led to complacency and apathy. If you ask the average person, "What is the biggest problem in America? Is it ignorance or is it apathy?" They will probably respond, "I don't know; and I don't care!"

This apathy will ultimately lead to dependency and then return us to the very bondage that this nation was founded to deliver us from. Robert Bork was right when he said:

"The only hope for America is a grass roots revival."

Slouching Toward Gomorrah:
Is America ripe for judgment? Billy Graham quipped many years ago, "If God doesn't judge America He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!"

Thomas Jefferson summed it up well in 1781 when he said, "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; and that His justice cannot sleep forever."

The story of Nineveh in The Book of Jonah is the only case I am aware of in which this typical cycle was broken! They were given an additional century, until another prophet from Galilee had to announce their fall! The Book of Nahum was, literally, Ninevah's final chapter.

Israel's Enemies:
The enemies of Israel are in the front pages of every newspaper and newscast. It may surprise you to learn that they are also summarized - and prophesied over - in the shortest book of the Bible: The Book of Obadiah.

Although specifically directed against Edom, the scope of this little book may surprise you. In fact, our review of this book covers far more than simply some ancient tribal animosities:

•What is the prophetic role of Ammon, Moab, and Edom (now known as Jordan)?
•Why do they escape the rule of the Antichrist?!
•What is the purpose of the Great Tribulation?
•Where does Jesus return? On the Mount of Olives? Or in Bozrah?

To find out more, listen to our audio commentaries on these not-so-minor prophets. God always rewards the diligent. Good hunting!

[This article was originally published in the September 2004 Personal Update NewsJournal.]