Arab Spring Gives Way to Islamic Winter

(Written by Todd Strandberg)
There is no such thing as good news in the Middle East. Any positive move will eventually be followed by a negative consequence. In last week's Nearing Midnight Update, I pointed out the demise of Libyan dictator of Moammar Gadhafi. Some people mistook my comments about his death as being a beneficial sign for Libya. If you have been following my commentary for the past few years, you would know that I see no hope of the Muslim world ever becoming the cradle of democracy.

The Arab Spring uprising had Western leaders and the liberal media giddy for several months. They all cheered as one dictator after another was forced from power. Now that the political process is starting to show that radical Islamists have the upper hand in the region, optimism is starting to fade.

The revolt started in Tunisia, so it's fitting that it would be the first to have free elections. Last week, an Islamic religious party won the lion's share of seats in the Tunisian parliament. The Ennahda party received 41 percent of the vote, giving it 90 seats in the 217-seat assembly. Ennahda says it wants the Koran to be the guideline of Tunisia's legislation.

In Libya, Islamists are already in key positions of control. While NATO was bombing from the air, militants where pouring into the country. Right now, an ex-terrorist once jailed by the CIA is running the country's military. Several political leaders are speaking openly of enacting Islamic law in Libya .

In Egypt, organizers are getting ready for next month's elections. The Muslim Brotherhood is the favorite to win the largest number of seats. A Muslim Brotherhood victory would be a huge disaster for Israel. Officials with the group have issued increasingly hostile rhetoric toward the Jewish state. In an August radio interview with Radio Free Europe, Essam el-Erian said Israel had no right to exist as a Jewish state: “Existence of a state for Jews is against all rules of states all over the world.” The Muslim Brotherhood has already said it would push to annul the landmark 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty.

It now appears that Iraq may join the list of failed opportunities for liberty. By the end of the year, all American troops will be out of Iraq. U.S. diplomats had tried to arrange for a contingency to remain in the country. The reason we offered to leave a policing force is that we want to protect our $700 billion investment in Iraq. Having spent all this money and sacrificed 4,000 soldiers, we don't want to see Iraq become a client state of Iran. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has already become very friendly with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and he has offered words of support for Iran's key ally, Syria.

The key reason the Arab Spring has gone sour is the inability of our leaders to understand the evil nature of Islam. We spend huge resources to save people from brutal dictators, and they turn around and support a system that is even more enslaving. The leader of Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai, would not be in power if American forces had not kicked out the Taliban, an Islamist militant group that has murdered thousands of the Afghan people. Karzai has repeatedly threatened to quit the political process and join the Taliban if he continues to come under pressure to reform his corrupt government.

I don't think it's possible to have a friend in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is regarded to be a dear friend of America, but yet it aids our enemies. Thomas Friedman of the New York Times reports that Saudi donors “still constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide?not to mention the fundamentalist mosques, charities and schools that spawn the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

At some point in the future, we are going to realize that we made a huge mistake in our dealings with the Muslim world. We've been bowing to Islam so long that it would take incredibly drastic steps to turn things around. I still can't believe we let go Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the guy who killed 270 people in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. To shock the Muslims back to reality, we would have to say, "Stop doing that or we'll nuke Mecca."

I often wonder what our leaders would do if they know how bad things will get because of their foolish attempts to placate Islam. The Bible warns that Muslim nations will trigger a series of great battles in the Tribulation hour that will kill tens of millions of people. The most spectacular battle involving the Muslim world will be when the Lord pours His wrath on the Gog armies as they attack Israel .

"And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD" (Ezekiel 38:21-23).