It is difficult to value something when its worth is unknown. The adage of one child being given a toy only to leave it out in the rain to rust, never understanding the toy’s worth, while another child-made to earn the same toy-is found to take care of it, valuing its worth, is a fitting analogy. This basic truth applies to our American heritage and the continued welfare of our nation.

As a Middle East expert, I daily see material from Arab and Islamic sources containing hair-raising threats against America, Israel and the West, as well as media reports on the details of horrendous terrorist attacks. But this item in a British newspaper may be the scariest sentence I ever read.

Keith Ellison is a Muslim. He was sworn in last month to serve in the House of Representatives as a United States Congressman after being elected last November from the 5th district of Minnesota.

For students of Bible prophecy, even the title of this communique should set off alarm sirens. I just received some electrifying intelligence data - first, from the DEBKA-Net-Weeklys briefing, and second, from some personal intelligence sources (which I carefully guard) that confirm Debkas report.

Even while Americans focus on things like war, Iran, and high gas prices, its good to know that there are some positive things happening in America. For decades, conservatives have battled things like abortion, teen pregnancy, and a faulty education system.

This year marks 230 years since our Founding Fathers gave us our National Birth Certificate. We continue to be the longest ongoing Constitutional Republic in the history of the world. Blessings such as these are not by chance or accidental. They are blessings of God.

Quick! Name all the Islamist regimes in the Middle East. Most likely you said Iran and the Palestinian Authority. But there's a third country that should also be on this list: Sudan.

On April 1st, 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran was born under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini. The Ayatollah returned to Iran at the end of the Islamic Revolution, after having spent 14 years in exile.

President Bush's trip to India last month showcased that country's sizzling rise to become a top producer in the global marketplace: India has the second fastest-growing major economy in the world over the past 15 years and in recent years trails only China and the United States in its contribution to global gross domestic product (GPD) growth.

The original birth of civilization began in the Middle East and migrated westward - to Greece, to Rome, and then to the nations of northern Europe. And, as Henry Luce so aptly quipped in 1941, ''The twentieth century was the American Century.''

The landslide victory of the Islamist group Hamas in the January 25th Palestinian elections marks the collapse of the Palestinian national movement. Before talking about what Hamas will do now, it is important to assess what went wrong for the long-dominant Fatah group, which has led for almost 40 years.

In February 2004, Woo-Suk Hwang made world headlines when he claimed to have cloned human embryos using a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer, and then to have derived a line of stem cells from the embryos that could be used for medical research.

a major miracle, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will most likely not return to politics. Sharon is currently emerging from a drug-induced coma after suffering a massive stroke. He has shown signs of improvement, but it will be several days or even weeks before doctors know the full extent of the damage.

Consider the heinous, gruesome crimes and atrocities of the past century: How can this human depravity and vile sin be explained?

We tend to presume linearity in our environment: we assume that tomorrow will be like yesterday; next month like last month, etc. It's understandable and it makes a workable hypothesis for most of the practical priorities we face in life.

As Bible students, we all are aware of the allusions to the "Kings of the East" in the prophetic scenario:

We have just returned from the most impressive trip we have ever taken: an inside look at Israel's security and their battle against terrorism! Our trip included briefings by top-level leaders from the Shin Bet, the Mossad, and the Israel Defense Force. This was all arranged by Shurat HaDin, the Israel Law Center.

In the not-too-distant future, wars will be fought over natural resources. Last year China consumed nearly half of the world's cement, 2/3 of total world consumption of copper, nearly 1/3 of the world's coal, and 90% of the world's steel (plus huge quantities of nearly every other commodity).

Hal Lindsey called it "the greatest betrayal of Israel committed by any American president in history."

The dispute over Iran's nuclear program has held a prominent place in the news in recent months - and for good reason. It is a considerable threat to our national security and will most likely have disastrous consequences in the Middle East.

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), triggered by a high-altitude detonation of a nuclear weapon, poses a considerable threat to our national security and is one of a small number of weapons that could be used to bring the whole of America to its knees. An EMP attack would strike what has become the United States' Achilles heel - its relatively unprotected, yet vital, technological infrastructure.

Six years ago we experienced a practical test of our epistemology (the study of knowledge, its scope and limits): the apparent threat of a widespread computer calendar "bug" known as "Y2K." Was it real or an imaginary tempest in a teapot? Among many misinformed, the debate continues to this day. In many ways, the entire issue was a "laboratory course" in the use of our epistemological tools.

What do people and governments in the Arab world really think about Israel, and what are the practical implications?

As we enter the New Year we also enter a profoundly changed administration, perhaps reflecting a profoundly changed population - even more changed than most people can imagine.

The European Commission has recommended "opening talks" on the admission of Turkey to the European Union-but Ankara must yet meet stiff conditions. The final decision on opening talks with Turkey rests with the leaders of all 25 EU member states in December, with ultimate accession years away.

We have grown accustomed to hearing that we are a democracy; such was never the intent. The form of government entrusted to us by our Founders was a republic, not a democracy.1 Our Founders had an opportunity to establish a democracy in America and chose not to. In fact, the Founders made it clear that we were not, and were never to become, a democracy:

The most important city in Iraq is not Baghdad, and you probably have never heard it mentioned on the 10 o'clock news. It is mentioned over 300 times in the Bible (and it is even found three times in the family tree of our Lord Jesus Christ). This is, of course, the fabled Babylon.

Over the last few years we have watched closely as the European Union has emerged as a growing world power. The value of the Euro has surpassed that of the dollar, and in May the EU will welcome 10 new members, increasing its influence in the UN and expanding its potential for growth.

Despite much activity and wishful thinking about diplomatic progress, the real question is whether there will be a formal cease-fire. Even this cannot be taken for granted. Still, the intifada seems to be winding down.

In previous articles we reviewed the Biblical basis which led scholars to anticipate, over the many centuries, a reemergence of the Roman Empire. Clearly portrayed in Daniel's several prophecies, the sequence of conquering empires from Babylon, to Persia, to the Greeks, and ultimately to Rome have each followed the Biblical scenario.