the

TRUMPETweekly

greece PAGE 3 america PAGE 5 royal navy PAGE 7 weather PAGE 8 fragile PAGE 10
A DIGEST OF SIGNIFICANT WORLD NEWS FROM THE PHILADELPHIA TRUMPET STAFF FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 12-18, 2011

The nation that once ruled
the waves now cant
sustain even a tinpot
operation in Libya.
The pundits will say
European unication
is dead . Dont
listen to them!
Chinas digital bombs
pose as grave a threat
as an act of war.
Wherever you look,
the climate appears
to be in overdrive.
Debt has a death
grip on America. Dare
to be different.
H
eres a statement with prophetic
reverberations. It was uttered
by Americas top military offcer,
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, to students at Fort
Bliss back in March: I actually think the
biggest threat to our national security is
our national debt (emphasis mine).
Militaries cost money, and none
more than Americas. The U.S. has spent
more on defense than any nation in his-
tory: close to a billion dollars a day, every day, for over six
decadesmore than the rest of the world combined.
But the times they are a changin. America is getting
crushed by debt, and such spending is simply no longer
sustainable. And while this reality has hardly slowed the
current U.S. administration from continuing to spend itself
sick virtually everywhere else, the one area it seems eager
to make cutbacks is within the military.
As a result, the nations best war leaders are being forced
to divert more and more of their energies into boosting
effciency and cutting costs.
What will be the effect on historys most powerful mili-
tary? Admiral Mullen is one of many observers who fear
the possibilities. But biblical prophecy gives us the answer.
The truth is that the defense budget getting squashed by
a bloated debt is only a symptom of a far greater problem.
In the past two years, more than 30 defense-related
programs have been canceled, capped or ended, Defense
Secretary Robert Gates recently acknowledged. Among
them: plans for a long-range bomber; the F-22 program;
the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk; two Pentagon agen-
cies. The nations nuclear stockpiles are to be reduced by
30 percent; the missiles, subs and bombers used to deliver
them, halved. The ranks of admirals and generals have
been thinned. Hundreds of military bases have closed.
Earlier this year, Secretary Gates announced $78 billion
more in long-term military spending cuts and an additional
$100 billion in reallocations. The Navy axed the U.S. Sec-
ond Fleet, which trains all strike groups before deployment.
The Army canceled a missile system. The Air Force consoli-
dated three numbered Air Force staffs. The Marine Corps
got rid of its expeditionary fghting vehicle. The Army and
Marines agreed to shrink their numbers.
Then in April, President Obama set a target to slash an
additional $400 billion in defense spending over the next
12 years on top of the cuts already planned. And to replace
Gates as defense secretary next month, he chose Leon
Panettathe man who oversaw the last major round of
defense cuts during the Clinton administration. It appears
the president made this choice because he needs a good
pitchman for further cuts.
Even as the world grows more volatile, more explosive,
less predictableeven as other major nations deliberately,
substantially boost their defense spendingAmerica has
passed the apex of its power militarily.
And economic constraints are certain to accelerate its
descent. In fact, the armed forces are getting dragged down
by the same millstone that is pulling the nation under: en-
titlements. Even if the defense budget remained level, rap-
idly rising personnel and health-care costs are swallowing
an ever larger percentage of defense-allocated dollars. As
Secretary Gates recently pointed out, the militarys health-
care costs alone have soared from $19 billion just a decade
ago to $52.5 billion today.
The whole thing is being driven by the U.S. defense bud-
get and the defciencies in the American budget as a whole,
says defense analyst Charles Heyman. As politicians and
military commanders face off, he says, The politicians are
always going to be right because they hold the purse strings.
At some stage in the next 18 months to two years were go-
ing to see a real ax taken to the American defense budget.
A real ax? Already, the 18 combat divisions the Army had
in the 1980s now stand at 10. The Navys 600 ships have
been reduced to less than half thatfewer than at any time
since the First World War. The Air Forces tactical air wings
have dropped from 37 to 20. Its planes are now fewer and
older than at any time in its history. The useful life of the
tanks, artillery, planes, ships and missiles that date to the
Reagan buildup is ending, and the cost of replacing them is
now far greater than it was back then, writes former Army
offcer Jeff Lukens. Many of the Armys weapons have
already missed several rounds of modernization. Many of
its soldiers are on their fourth or ffth tour of duty in Iraq or
Afghanistan. And the Army Reserves have been on repeat-
ed deployments overseas since 9/11 as well.
Being a superpower is incredibly expensive. And
see THREAT page 10
JOEL HILLIKER
COLUMNIST
the Biggest threat to
americas national Security
Middle east
T
urkeys ruling Justice and Development Party (akp) won a resound-
ing victory in parliamentary elections on June 12 with 50 percent
of the vote, but did not gain the supermajority it hoped for in order
to change the constitution unilaterally. This means the status quo in
Turkey remains much the same, with the Islamist-rooted akp remain-
ing in power as the most powerful party in the country. Islamist Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan now has a renewed mandate to rule
the country for a third consecutive four-year term. Since Erdogan frst
came to power in 2002 elections, he has slowly taken the secularist
country in a more religious direction, seeking to bring Islamic culture
into the public and political spheres. Barry Rubin, director of the Global
Research in International Affairs Center, says the elections in fact mark
an Islamist revolution by stealth. The Trumpet wrote back in Novem-
ber/December 2007: Any shift within Turkey away from secularism
and toward Islam could help alter the balance of power in the Middle
Eastmost notably, in favor of Iran. Watch as Turkey treads a course
that prophecy reveals will ultimately be deadly for Israel and America.
Five months after the Lebanese government disintegrated with the
walkout of pro-Hezbollah factions, Prime Minister Najib Mikati an-
nounced his new cabinet Monday. Unsurprisingly, it is dominated by
allies of Hezbollah, the most powerful terrorist group in the Middle
East. The Jerusalem Post reports that the majority of the cabinet posts
are held by the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition, which helped bring
down the government back in January when members of the govern-
ment quit over a UN-backed tribunal investigating the murder of for-
mer Prime Minister Rafk Hariri. The tribunal was expected to indict
several members of the terrorist group. Five months later, Hezbollah
has effectively hijacked the Lebanese government. As Reuters reports,
Shiite Hezbollah and its Christian and Druze allies secured 18 posts in
the new government, up from 11 under Hariris coalition, enabling them
to pass or block decisions more easily. In holding majority sway within
parliament, Hezbollah is now free to pursue its terrorist agenda within
the bounds of democratic rule in the Lebanese government.
Two weeks after Yemens President Ali Abdullah Saleh was taken to
Saudi Arabia for medical treatment after being injured in an explosion on
June 3, it is still unclear what his departure means for the future leader-
ship of the country. Offcials in his regime say he will return to Yemen,
while other onlookers believe that unlikely. In the meantime, violent
clashes continue and opposition parties and the international commu-
nity are hoping to force a power transition in Yemen without the country
falling to civil war. On Tuesday, large-scale protests were held in nearly
every city in the country, with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators
calling for Salehs family and close aides to be brought to trial and for a
transitional governing council to be formed. Wednesday, Islamist mili-
tantsreportedly including al Qaeda membersattacked the southern
city of Houta, seizing control of several neighborhoods. If the security
and governance situation in Yemen further deteriorates, the failed state
will provide an even greater haven for al Qaeda and also Iranian-linked
operatives. With the country critically situated at the opening of the Red
Sea from the Gulf of Aden, a crucial shipping lane, the stakes are high.
Government forces in Syria continue to violently quash uprisings
throughout the country, with the military this week sending tanks and
soldiers into eastern Syria and the northern town of Maarrat an Numan.
The northern province of Idlib has been under military siege for over
a week as Syrian President Bashar Assads military seeks to crush the
popular uprising. In recent days, thousands of Syrians have fed their
homes. Nearly 8,500 are in camps across the border in Turkey. Despite
ongoing protests, however, a U.S. State Department spokesman said that
no cohesive opposition to the Syrian government has yet formed.
Eight retired F100 fghter jet engines have reportedly been stolen
As we see Saudi Arabia and the other GCC
member states seek to incorporate more
allies to protect themselves from Iran, also
watch for them to begin reaching out to
Germany and the Europeans for protection.
theTrumpet.com, May 31
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY June 18, 2011 2
in recent months, the confict between the
Gulf states and Iran has escalated, culminat-
ing in February-March 2011, when the Gulf
states claimed that Iran was behind Shiite
protests in Bahrain calling for the ouster of
the regime there, and that it was encourag-
ing Shiite protests in Saudi Arabia. Offcials
from the Gulf states, chiefy from Saudi Arabia,
accused Iran of meddling in the affairs of
the Gulf states in order to topple their Sunni
regimes and to spark unrest throughout the
Gulf region.
On May 10, as a result of this escalation,
leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (gcc)
member states announced, at the conclusion
of an advisory summit in Riyadh, that they
welcomed Jordans request to join the coun-
cil, and invited Morocco to join as well. This
announcement came as a surprise to the Arab
and Islamic world. Saudi and Jordanian
newspapers did not hide the fact that includ-
ing Jordan and Morocco in the gcc is aimed
at strengthening the Gulf states military
capabilities .
Further evidence that the move is aimed
at strengthening the Sunni alignment against
the Shiite enemy is the fact that the gcc invited
geographically distant Jordan and Morocco,
which are manifestly Sunni and lack any sig-
nifcant Shiite presence, rather than to proxi-
mate Iraq, which has a Shiite majority and a
Shiite-led government, and is also subject to
increasing Iranian infuence.
Some interpreted the decision to add Jor-
dan and Morocco to the gcc as a move directed
against Egypt, aimed at isolating it in light of
Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Al-Arabis
statement that his country wished to turn over
a new leaf in its relations with Iran, and that
Egypt did not consider Iran to be an enemy.
Suleiman Goda, editor of the Egyptian daily
Al-Wafd and journalist wrote in [an] article
published in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat: What caused
the six Gulf states to come up with this move
was a sense of danger in light of Irans inces-
sant provocations of the Gulf, and due to the
Egyptian position [on relations with Iran] .
a new Sunni-arab
alignment
against iran

MEMRI | June 15
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY June 18, 2011 3
from an Israeli air base. Investigators quoted by the Maariv newspaper
said each engine weighed several tons and could only have been taken
away on large trucks, prompting speculation that the thieves had help
from inside the base. The story here is not that technology may have
been stolenair force offcials think the engines may have been stolen
for scrap metalbut the fact that such theft can occur from a military
base in one of the most security-conscious nations on Earth. This raises
the possibility of much more dangerous military items being stolen
and falling into much more dangerous hands.
europe
E
uropes economic and political crisis continued this week as Greek
Prime Minster George Papandreou offered on June 15 to resign
to pave the way for a unity government. His offer came as tens
of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Greek parliament
building to protest against plans for even tougher austerity measures. At
least 10 were injured as they clashed with the police and threw pet-
rol bombs at the Finance Ministry. The day before, eurozone fnance
ministers failed to agree on a second bailout for Greece. Germany wants
Greece to begin a controlled defaulta restructuring of its debt. The Eu-
ropean Central Bank, backed by France, wants Greece instead to pay the
debt back, but a few years later than scheduled. Since June 13, Greeces
credit has been rated cccthe lowest rating in the worldby Standard
and Poors. Europe is still searching for a solution to its economic crisis.
Germany will phase out nuclear power by 2022, German Chancel-
lor Angela Merkel announced June 3. A week earlier, Switzerland made
a similar decision. Italy followed suit on June 13, voting overwhelm-
ingly to reject nuclear power in a national referendum. These countries
will almost certainly have to replace their nuclear power with natural
gas, at least in the short term. It is readily available and less polluting
than coal or oil. The International Energy Agency recently predicted a
golden age of gas. The only problem is where Europe gets most of its
gas from: Russia. Last year, Russia supplied 25 percent of Europes
gas. Russia demonstrated the power this gives it, when it cut Ukraines
gas supply off in the winter of 2006. Very quickly, all of Europe felt the
pressure. This shift toward natural gas only extends Russias power.
EU OBSERVER | July 6
Poland Seeks new Status
in eU arena
P
oland hopes that its upcoming EU presidency will complete its
transformation from a prickly newcomer to an established mem-
ber of the EU elite. As the biggest of the eight post-Communist
countries to join the club in 2004, Poland has long nurtured ambitions
to lead EU policymaking alongside France, Germany and the UK.
The goal has proved elusive due to prejudice from Western countries
and the corrosive diplomacy of previous Polish administrations. Former
French leader Jacques Chirac in 2003 famously told the EU aspirants
to shut up about the Iraq invasion. And former Polish Prime Minister
Jaroslaw Kaczynski in 2007 told Germany to give it more EU votes in
return for World War ii.
Polands current leader, the emollient Donald Tusk, has in the
past few years moved away from the defensive, veto-wielding politics
greece on the
Precipice, again
its hard to focus on Greece
passing into fnancial ruin
when your own nation is
barreling into the jaws of
the same beast. But watch
Greece we must.
On Monday, Standard
& Poors yet again slashed
Greeces credit rating by
three notches, indicating the growing percep-
tion that Athens is likely to soon experience de-
faults. Across the world, stock markets plunged
on fears that Greece was coming undone. On
Monday, Nouriel Roubini warned that if things
continue, the euro will move towards disor-
derly debt workouts, and eventually a break-
up of the monetary union itself, as some of the
weaker members crash out (emphasis added).
On Tuesday, Harvard historian Niall Fergu-
son stated that it is now 100 percent certain
that Greece will default on its debt. The same
day, Christian Noyer, governor of the Bank of
France, warned that should Greece default on
its debt, the eurozone would end up having to
fnance all of Greeces economy. The European
Central Bank warned this week that Europes
most pressing concern was that the contagion
could spread to the rest of the eurozone.
Meanwhile, in Athens Greek lawmakers
gathered to discuss further austerity. But while
the politicians conversed inside, more than
20,000 angry Greeks wreaked havoc on the
streets of Athens. By Thursday evening the
Greek government was on the brink of collapse.
Outwardly, Europe looks like a fnancial
and political basket case. Behind the anarchy
and confusion, however, there is evidence
that this fnancial crisis is actually forging
further integration! Financial Times col-
umnist Wolfgang Munchau wrote this week
that the EU and the imf will eventually settle
on rescue schemes for Greece, Ireland and
Portugal. When they do, he wrote, these
will favor a closer political union in the long
runwith a European treasury secretary, a
centralized banking resolution policy and a
eurozone bond.
Watch closely, warned Trumpet editor in
chief Gerald Flurry earlier this year, Germany
will use this crisis to force Europe to unite
more tightly. In the process, some eurozone
countries will be forced out of the union. When
that happens, the pundits will say European
unifcation is dead . dont listen to them!
Watch Greece and Europe. When the dust
settles, as Mr. Flurry warned, Europe will
be more stable, more streamlined, more in-
fuential, and more terrifying than anything
any human has ever seen!

BRAD MACDONALD | COLUMNIST
of Warsaws early EU membership period. He has vastly improved
relations with Germany and adopted a less confrontational stance
toward Russia.
As a sign of its confdence,
Poland already last year
indicated it would prioritize
EU defensea policy area
famed for the persistent dis-
crepancy between talk and
action. It got Germany and
France onboard and all three
signed up to a letter of intent
on defense in December last
year. The goals are to get the
EU battlegroups to deploy-
able stage, the setting up of permanent EU civilian and military crisis
management structures and more intra-EU defense cooperation. The
capacity to do tactical lifting as well as ready-to-go battlegroups are
essential, [Polish Europe Minister Mikolaj] Dowgielewicz [said].
PRESSEUROP | June 15
europe Doesnt have the
firepower
N
ow that they are involved in Libya, Europeans have discovered
that they do not have the means to achieve their ambitions. And
without the backing of military means, EU diplomacy will not
be credible in a strategic region for Europe. This is the logic behind the
need for common defense programs.
It was an American who spilled the beans. The reason why a major-
ity of European countries are not participating in air support opera-
tions for the Libyan uprising is not because they disagree in principle
with this strategy, but as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently
pointed out, because their military budgets are too limited.
What the boss of the Pentagon said was true, but it was not the whole
truth. Not only do many EU countries lack any real military capac-
itythey have relied on America since the beginning of the Cold War,
and the disappearance of the Soviet threat has only led them to further
reduce their military spendingbut even the major European powers,
even Paris and London, have only a very limited capacity to project
military force.
France and Great Britain have the frepower to take charge of the
Libyan operation, but as they are already committed elsewhere, and in
particular in Afghanistan, they are hampered by dwindling stocks of
munitions and a lack of men and equipment at a time when these prob-
lems will certainly be made worse by budgetary diffculties.
No doubt this news is likely to solicit a chorus of approval from those
Europeans who believe that their countries have no business being
involved in Kabul, Misrata or Abidjan. But if we look beyond the debate
on the legitimacy of these military campaigns, it is clear that any power
that deprives itself of military means is condemned to accept that it will
have no political existence.
To be heard and carry weight in the international arena, it must have
the necessary capacity to take action or react to events, and there are
two reasons why this is particularly true for the European Union at the
start of the 21st century.
The frst of these is that even those Europeans who believed that mil-
itary dependence on the United States was the best means of guaran-
It now looks entirely feasible that Yugoslavia
may be included in this revived ROMAN EMPIRE.
Also the popes native Poland and Romania,
and possibly Hungary. Add Austria, Germany,
Italy, Spain, Portugal and France. There will
be a union of 10 nations in the general area
of the medieval Roman Empire in the NEW
UNITED EUROPE.
Herbert Armstrong, Co-Worker Letter,
June 10, 1980
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY June 18, 2011 4
why Debt rescues
Boost Scenario of a
closer Union
last week, I promised to give further details
for my end-game scenario for the eurozone
crisis. My premise was that the eurozone will
eventually agree another Greek loan this sum-
mer. Despite an incredible amount of noise,
I still expect the European Union member
states to reach a deal. They usually do.
Once they agree a debt rollover for Greece,
second loan packages for Ireland and Portu-
gal will surely follow. I argued why this would
favor a closer political union in the long
runwith a European treasury secretary, a
centralized banking resolution policy and a
eurozone bond.
The good news is that the Lisbon Treaty
makes this relatively easy, procedurally. It
allows members of the monetary union to
establish eurozone-specifc institutions to im-
prove the coordination of their policies while
remaining under the legal umbrella of the
EU. Only the member states of the eurozone
themselves would take part in the vote, and
they can do so by a qualifed majority.
The miniature fscal union I describe
will involve some loss of political control. You
cannot have total control and total coordina-
tion at the same time. If the EU were to
choose a small fscal union, would electorates
accept? If you posed the question today, the
answer would almost certainly be no. But
nobody is asking the question today. If we go
down the route of permanent debt rollover, we
will sooner or later arrive at a point where the
periphery countries default . At that point,
the creditor countries have to transfer billions
of euros to the periphery. When that happens,
I expect the pressure for greater centralization
to come from the creditor countries.
Whether electorates and their parliaments
will accept a fscal union will depend on their
perceptions of the available alternatives.
Clearly, there is a difference if your perceived
choice is one between integration or a break-
up, or whether it is simply between more
integration or less integration. The political
process will hinge on these perceptions.
A similar type of choice will also apply
to the more immediate decision to roll over
Greek debt. The German Bundestag and the
Finnish parliament are not about to vote on
whether they are happy to give another loan
to Greece. I strongly suspect that their per-
ceived choice will be between another loan,
or a messy default. But with each rollover,
you will have to be progressively bold to vote
no. This is why I believe that a debt rollover
favors a political union in the long run.
FINANCIAL TIMES,
WOLFGANG MNCHAU | June 12
teeing cohesion among the Western powers were obliged to revise their
position when the Americans did not lift a fnger to provide support for
Georgia in its confict with Russia. In August 2008, the most Atlanticist
Europeans suddenly discovered that America was prepared to priori-
tize the stabilization of its relations with Moscow over one of its most
faithful European allies and assert its own interest to the detriment of a
solidarity that Europe had believed to be unshakable.
As a result, even Poland embraced the idea of a common European
foreign and defense policy and this development was all the more
timely inasmuch as it was immediately followed by the crash on Wall
Street. Having already decided that it was not going to allow a minor
European confict to undermine its international interests, America
was obliged to inject so much public money into measures to rescue its
economy that even the Pentagon had to participate in the drive to shore
up federal fnances.
The United States is no longer willing to fund European defense,
and there is hardly any reason to expect that this will change anytime
soon. That was the perfectly explicit sense of Robert Gatess message,
which is already evident in the Americans deliberate strategy of leaving
Europeans in the front line in Libya. Now that they have been forced to
shoulder most of the burden of this operation, European states must be
aware that they will have to increase military spending, especially in
the context of the Arab Spring and a prolonged period of instability in a
region that extends from Rabat to Sanaa.
asia
C
hina criticized the U.S. on Tuesday after a senator said Washing-
ton should get involved with the intensifying territorial disputes
in the South China Sea. Beijing, which claims the entire sea and
all of its islands, recently warned the Philippines and Vietnam not to
search for oil in the disputed waters. On May 26, Chinese naval ves-
sels allegedly severed a Vietnamese research boats survey cable and,
on June 9, frustrated the operations of another Vietnamese boat. The
Philippines says, in recent weeks Chinese craft have hindered the
operations of its exploration boats, launched jets into its airspace, and
illegally unloaded materials to construct an oil platform in disputed wa-
ters. Last year, Chinas aggressive actions in Asian waters culminated in
a public reprimanding from the U.S., after which Beijing restrained its
aggression for a time. Now, China is returning, once again, to bully-
ing its weaker neighbors, and it doesnt want the U.S. to interfere. We
hope countries not related to the disputes over the South China Sea
will respect the efforts of directly related countries to resolve the issue
through direct negotiations, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
Hong Lei on Tuesday. But the weak-willed U.S. had already said on Sat-
urday that it does not plan to side with any party in conficts in the area,
which means the Philippines cannot rely on its most powerful ally if the
rising tensions escalate into confict. The shifting tides in Asian waters
do not bode well for any of Chinas neighbors that resist its ascension,
whether those neighbors list America among their allies or not.
China, together with Russia, also opposes U.S. interference in the
uprisings in the Arab world. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday signed a declaration that calls
for an end to outside interference, at a time when the West seeks to
apply more pressure on Syria. The sides believe that the search for set-
tling the situation in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa
should take place in the legal feld and through political means, said
the statement signed by Hu and Medvedev. Outside forces should not
interfere in internal processes in the countries of the region.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (sco), a regional security
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY June 18, 2011 5
chinas cyberassault
on america
if we discovered Chinese explosives laid
throughout our national electrical system,
wed consider it an act of war. Chinas digital
bombs pose as grave a threat.
[I]n the realm of cyberspace, the admin-
istration is ignoring its primary responsibil-
ity to protect its own citizens when they are
targeted for harm by a foreign government.
Senior U.S. offcials know well that the gov-
ernment of China is systematically attacking
the computer networks of the U.S. govern-
ment and American corporations. Beijing is
successfully stealing research and develop-
ment, software source code, manufacturing
know-how and government plans. In a global
competition among knowledge-based econo-
mies, Chinese cyberoperations are eroding
Americas advantage.
Some, like Google, have the courage
to admit that they have been the victims
of Chinese hacking. This month Google
renewed its charge against China, noting that
the Gmail accounts of senior U.S. offcials had
been compromised from a server in China.
The targeting of specifc U.S. offcials is not
something that a mere hacker gang could do.
In the so-called Night Dragon series, attack-
ers apparently in China went after major oil
and gas companies, not only in the U.S. but
throughout the world. The German govern-
ment claims that the personal computer of
Chancellor Angela Merkel was hacked by the
Chinese government.
And this month, the largest U.S. defense
contractor, Lockheed, was subject to cyber-
espionage, apparently by someone using the
stolen rsa data. Cybercriminals dont hack
defense contractorsthey go after banks and
credit cards. Despite Beijings public denials,
this attack and many others have all the hall-
marks of Chinese government operations.
In 2009, this newspaper reported that the
control systems for the U.S. electric power
grid had been hacked and secret openings
created so that the attacker could get back in
with ease. There is no money to steal on the
electrical grid, nor is there any intelligence
value that would justify cyberespionage: The
only point to penetrating the grids controls is
to counter American military superiority by
threatening to damage the underpinning of
the U.S. economy.
What would we do if we discovered that Chi-
nese explosives had been laid throughout our
national electrical system? The public would
demand a government response. If, however,
the explosive is a digital bomb that could do
even more damage, our response is apparently
mutedespecially from our government.

WALL STREET JOURNAL | June 15
bloc dominated by China and Russia, celebrated its 10th anniversary
in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The milestone summit gave sco member
states the opportunity to review their decade of progress and to chart
out a path for the future. Over the past 10 years, sco member nations
have signed over 100 cooperation agreements and have greatly expand-
ed cooperation in economics, politics, security, culture and other areas.
Now the sco is on the verge of further expansion, with observer states
Mongolia, Iran and Pakistan all having voiced keenness to become
members. India also expressed its desire to gain full membership, an
addition that would add a population of 1.19 billion to the scos area of
infuence. Although China and Russia are the regional behemoths driv-
ing the unifcation of the East, the sco may well be a vehicle they use to
reach that destination.
PEOPLES DAILY | June 16
chinese President arrives
in moscow to Boost
cooperation
C
hinese president Hu Jintao arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for
a state visit aimed at deepening pragmatic cooperation between
China and Russia. Hu said in a statement released upon his
arrival at the airport that his visit intends to inject fresh impetus into
the sustained, healthy and stable growth of the China-Russia strategic
partnership of cooperation.
In the Russian capital, Hu will meet with President Dmitry Medve-
dev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The two sides will exchange
views on planning for the development of China-Russia relations in the
next decade and on major regional and international issues.
Hu expressed Chinas willingness to work with Moscow to focus on
deepening the China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation in an
all-round way. Noting that this year marked the 10th anniversary of the
signing of the China-Russia Treaty on Good-Neighborliness, Friend-
ship and Cooperation, Hu said the two countries should always adhere
to the principles of the treaty and advocate the idea of friendship from
generation to generation.
He said China is ready to work with Russia to make new and greater
contributions to the sustainable growth and comprehensive rejuvena-
tion of the two countries, as well as to the benefts of their peoples and
to world peace and development. In the past decade, the develop-
ment of China-Russia ties has made remarkable progress. Political and
strategic mutual trust between the two nations have deepened continu-
ously. The two countries have established mechanisms for high-level
exchange of visits and all-round cooperation. The two nations have be-
come each others major trading partner, and have coordinated closely
in dealing with major world and regional affairs.
africa
A
s the South African anc Youth League meets this week, frebrand
youth leader Julius Malema looks set to win a reelection. All nine
provincial sections named Malema, age 30, as their candidate for
the Youth League presidency. While under Malema, the anc Youth League
has campaigned for the nationalization of mines, banks and land. The
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY June 18, 2011 6
Strategic implications
of the coming oil
Shortage
everybody feels the pain
of price hikes at the pump.
The supply of oil is not end-
less.
As well-known energy
expert Dr. John Rutledge
once said, God only made
a limited amount of dinosaurs, and theyre all
dead. Were running out of dead dinosaurs
thats the big problem (Rutledge Capital,
Oct. 5, 2005).
One day it will all simply run out. Anticipat-
ing that day, and doing something about it now,
is the challenge presently facing mankind.
The world recognizes that without a con-
tinual supply of energy-producing oil, the U.S.
would descend rapidly from the worlds leading
economic and military power. This all creates
geopolitical tension in todays high-priced oil
market.
The worlds largest goods exporter is Ger-
many. Unlike the U.S., Germany has linked
itself to a ready supply of oil and gas through
a mutually dependent relationship with a
huge developing supplierRussia. Berlin has
supplied the capital and technology; Moscow
supplies the product. To each, this agreement
has tremendous strategic advantages.
The U.S. has opted for the Middle East as
one of its suppliers to fll the gap as its own oil
reserves dry up. This is hardly friendly terri-
tory. It would thus be natural for relationships
to form among those who wish to work for
Americas demise, to restrict orat a strategi-
cally convenient timeeven cut off, the U.S.
from its sources of energy.
China, the developing Islamic alliance led
by Iran, and the European Union through its
Franco-German leadership, have all expressed
an interest in working to see the U.S. toppled
from its perch.
Iran could infuence opec to simply turn off
the tap of oil supply to the U.S. China could
shut the gates, preventing supplies from other
sources entering America. A German-led EU
content with its guaranteed source of energy
supply and with its eastern borders secured by
a convenient alliance with Russiawould be
ideally placed, with the U.S. thus blockaded,
to simply de-energize the U.S. and cripple its
economy.
Sound far-fetched? Not to any geopolitical
strategist.
Watch Germany, and watch the oil issue!
The two, in tandem, are destined to have great
impact on the future of America and, indeed,
the whole world economy.

RON FRASER | COLUMNIST
Youth League argues that South Africas mining industry does not beneft
the poor because it is controlled by whites and foreigners. Mining inves-
tors say that that the nationalization of South Africas mines will have
the same effect as the nationalization of Zimbabwes farmlandnamely a
catastrophic decrease in productivity and the loss of tens of thousands of
jobs. In any event, expect South Africa to continue its economic decline
as it moves toward becoming an anc-dominated police state.
anglo-aMerica
O
n June 10, a Chinese ratings agency accused the United States of
defaulting on the massive debt it owes China. Three days later,
pimco bond manager Bill Gross said Americas fnancial condi-
tion is worse than that of Greece and other debt-saturated European
nations. Then, the following day, a Gallup poll was published showing
that Americans confdencethe current keeping the beleaguered dol-
lar afoatis plummeting. If you are following economic developments
closelypayrolls, railway loadings, housing market, banking sector,
foreign exchange markets and gold priceyou know that America is
heading back into a recession. And if analysts like Jim Rogers are right,
it will be a lot worse than the one it supposedly emerged from.
By the end of this week, Empire, Nevada, will have become a ghost
town. Gone is one of the biggest mines in Americaand along with it the
mineral production, the jobs, and the families it supported. After more
than 100 years and two world wars, the Empire gypsum mine is eerily
silentnot because the gypsum ran out (there is plenty of it still there
waiting to be dug), but because America is no longer growing like it once
was. Gypsum is the primary ingredient in drywall and other masonry
products. If homes are not being constructedif offce complexes are no
longer being built, if cities like Detroit and Las Vegas and Stockton are
shrinkingwho needs wallboard? Empire, Nevada, is the latest victim of
a country that is no longer building; a nation that is no longer expanding.
DAILY MAIL | June 15
royal navy is
in a Shambles
T
he royal Navy is in a shambles and the war in Libya has been
cobbled together because of cuts, senior sailors have claimed.
They said Adm. Sir Mark Stanhope did not go far enough when he
warned that the Navy would have to poach ships from home waters if
the war drags on for another three months.
Retired commanders also demanded ministers reopen the Strategic
Defense Review after the First Sea Lord criticized the decision to axe
Britains last aircraft carrier and the Harrier jump jets . And they
warned that the nation that once ruled the waves now cant sustain
even a tinpot operation in Libya. Rear Adm. Chris Parry said Colo-
nel Qadhaf would already have been driven from power if the Harriers
were still available to lead ground attacks on the dictators forcesand
called for them to be brought back into service.
The Navy has just four ships in operations off Libya, the helicopter
carrier hms Ocean, a Trafalgar class submarine, a destroyer and a mine-
sweeper. He said the defense review got it disastrously wrong and
warned that if the Argentinians seized the Falklands now, and America
refused to help the UK, the Falklands would be stuffed.
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY June 18, 2011 7
end game
economic data over the past weeks, punc-
tuated by last weeks dismal employment
reports, confrm the diminishing impact
of the stimulus efforts orchestrated by the
Obama administration and the Federal
Reserve. In what must be a huge disap-
pointment the record doses of both
monetary and fscal narcotics did not
produce the desired results. In fact, the
size and scope of the recovery of the past
two years was weaker than would have
been expected in a typical business cycle
recovery without any stimulus whatsoever.
Indeed our current recovery is the weak-
est on record, despite the biggest jolt of
government stimulus ever administered.
But despite the gathering gloom Austan
Goolsbee, the chairman of the Presidents
Council of Economic Advisors, argued
over the weekend that the economy is on
the right track and that the recent salvo of
horrifc economic reports were not signif-
cant. The poor numbers, he said, resulted
from external factors like the Japanese
earthquake and the downgrade of Euro-
pean sovereign debt. I dont know if he
really expects anyone to buy his story, but
admitting you have a problem is the frst
step toward recovery.
In a sign that Mr. Goolsbee may have
been getting increasingly uncomfortable
with his job of economic propagandist, he
abruptly resigned this week. Im sure
he is hoping to avoid blame for the coming
economic train wreck.
[T]he parallel between drug addiction
and the reliance on economic stimulus
is just too strong to ignore. And as with
drug addition, an economy builds up a
tolerance. Each time the government suc-
cessively stimulates with printed money
or defcit spending, ever larger doses are
needed to achieve the same result. Lest we
forget, coming into the Crash of 2008, the
economy had been on the receiving end
of years of over-stimulus. President Bush
and Alan Greenspan never fully weaned
the economy of their shock treatments
that followed the dot-com crash and the
shock of September 11.
This time around, the stimulus-fueled
recovery is so mild that the economy is
already relapsing into recession before the
Fed has even begun to tighten. This puts
Bernanke in a very diffcult position. He
either follows through on his loudly trum-
peted plans to end quantitative easing this
summer, or abandon those plans in favor
of more stimulus. Both choices are unap-
pealing.
EURO PACIFIC CAPITAL,
PETER SCHIFF | June 15
GUARDIAN | June 13
warning: extreme
weather ahead
T
ornados, wildfires, droughts and foods were once seen as freak
conditions. But the environmental disasters now striking the
world are shocking signs of global weirding.
Drought zones have been declared across much of England and
Wales, yet Scotland has just registered its wettest-ever May. The warm-
est British spring in 100 years followed one of the coldest UK winters in
300 years. June in London has been colder than March. February was
warm enough to strip on Snowdon, but last Saturday it snowed there.
Welcome to the climate rollercoaster, or what is being coined the
new normal of weather. What was, until quite recently, predictable,
temperate, mild and equable British weather, guaranteed to be warm-
ish and wettish, ensuring green lawns in August, now sees the seasons
reversed and temperature and rainfall records broken almost every
year. When Kent receives as much rain (4 mm) in May as Timbuktu,
Manchester has more sunshine than Marbella, and soils in southern
England are drier than those in Egypt, something is happening.
Sober government scientists at the center for hydrology and ecology
are openly using words like remarkable, unprecedented and shock-
ing to describe the recent physical state of Britain this year, but the
extremes we are experiencing in 2011 are nothing to the scale of what
has been taking place elsewhere recently.
Last year, more than 2 million square kilometers of eastern Europe
and Russia scorched. An extra 50,000 people died, crops were devas-
tated and hundreds of giant wildfres broke out. The price of wheat and
other foods rose as two thirds of the continent experienced its hottest
summer in around 500 years.
This year, its western Europes turn for a mega heat wave. Vast
areas of Europe have received less than half the rainfall they would
normally get, temperatures have been off the scale for the time of year,
nuclear power stations have been in danger of having to be shut down be-
cause they need so much river water to cool them, and boats along many
of Europes main rivers have been grounded because of low fows.
But for real extremes in 2011, look to Australia, China and the south-
ern U.S. these past few months. In Queeensland, Australia, an area the
size of Germany and France was fooded in December and January in
what was called the countrys worst natural disaster. In China, a
once in a 100 years drought in southern and central regions has this
year dried up hundreds of reservoirs, rivers and water courses, evapo-
rating drinking supplies and stirring up political tensions.
Meanwhile, North Americas most deadly and destructive tornado
season ever saw 600 twisters in April alone, and 138 people killed in
Joplin, Missouri, by a mile-wide whirlwind.
Arizonans were this week fghting some of the largest wildfres they
have known, and the greatest food in recorded U.S. history is occur-
ring along sections of the Missouri river. This is all taking place during
a deepening drought in Texas and other southern statesthe eighth
year of exceptional drought there in the past 12 years.
Wherever you look, the climate appears to be in overdrive, with
stronger weather patterns gripping large areas for longer and events
veering between extremes.
Skeptics argue that there have always been droughts and foods,
freak weather, heat waves and temperature extremes, but what con-
cerns most climate scientists and observers is that the extreme weather
events are occurring more frequently, their intensity is growing and the
trends all suggest long-term change .
Killer droughts and heat waves, deeper snowfalls, more widespread
[U]nless or until the United States as a whole
repents and returns to what has become a
hollow slogan on its dollars: In God we trust,
the United States of America has won its last
war!
Herbert W. Armstrong, Plain Truth,
October 1961
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY June 18, 2011 8
all our recent wars
have gone worse
than expected
victory has proved more expensive, time-
consuming, and elusive than advocates
predicted for the conficts in Afghanistan,
Iraq and Libya. Afghanistan, Iraq, and
Libya. What do these conficts have in
common beyond U.S. involvement, at great
expense? A trio of news stories published
today hint at one signifcant similarity.
Item one: The hugely expensive U.S.
attempt at nation-building in Afghanistan
has had only limited success and may not
survive an American withdrawal, accord-
ing to the fndings of a two-year congres-
sional investigation. Item two: The State
Department is preparing to spend close to
$3 billion to hire a security force to protect
diplomats in Iraq after the U.S. pulls its
last troops out of the country by years
end. Item three: British and French at-
tack helicopters struck for the frst time
inside Libya over the weekend, signifcant-
ly ramping up natos operations. The
intensifed air strikes raise the question of
whether nato is sticking rigidly to its UN
mandate to protect civilians.
Do you see what I see? Despite the dif-
ferences in these wars, all are proceeding
in ways that were unanticipated by their
most prominent backers. In every case,
the unwelcome surprises are so signifcant
that they totally change the nature of the
confict. And had Americans had bet-
ter forecasts about what would actually
be involved in these military operations,
opposition to launching them might have
been far more widespread.
These realities are reinforced almost
every time that Iraq, Afghanistan and
Libya are in the news. And that ought to
impart a lesson to elected offcials and to
the electorate: Wars generally go much
worse than expected. The folks who plan
for them are regularly wrong and even
when theyre right, that doesnt mean the
politicians in charge are going to heed the
advice theyre given.

ATLANTIC | June 8
foods, heavier rains, and temperature extremes are now the new
normal, says Nikhil da Victoria Lobo of the giant insurance frm Swiss
Re, which last month estimated losses from natural disasters have risen
from about $25 billion a year in the 1980s to $130 billion a year today.
Globally, what were seeing is more volatility, he says.
It is abundantly clear that weather-related disasters have been in-
creasing and this increase cannot be explained fully by better ways of
counting them, says Steve Jenning.
I think that global weirding is the best way to describe what were see-
ing. We are used to certain conditions and theres a lot going on these days
that is not what were used to, that is outside our current frame of refer-
ence, says climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University.
MONEY NEWS | June 12
Perfect Storm may rock
world economy by 2013
A
perfect storm of fscal woe in the U.S., a slowdown in China,
European debt restructuring and stagnation in Japan may
converge on the global economy, New York University professor
Nouriel Roubini said.
Theres a one-in-three chance the factors will combine to stunt
growth from 2013, Roubini, who predicted the global fnancial crisis,
said in a June 11 interview in Singapore. Other possible outcomes are
anemic but okay global growth or an optimistic scenario in which
the expansion improves.
There are already elements of fragility, he said. Everybodys kick-
ing the can down the road of too much public and private debt. The
can is becoming heavier and heavier, and bigger on debt, and all these
problems may come to a head by 2013 at the latest.
Elevated U.S. unemployment, a surge in oil and food prices, rising
interest rates in Asia and trade disruption from Japans record earth-
quake threaten to sap the world economy. Stocks worldwide have lost
more than $3.3 trillion since the beginning of May, and Roubini said
fnancial markets by the middle of next year could start worrying about
a convergence of risks in 2013.
In the U.S., a failure to address the budget defcit risks a bond mar-
ket revolt, Roubini said. Were still running over a trillion-dollar
budget defcit this year, next year and most likely in 2013, Roubini
said in a speech in Singapore on June 11. The risk is at some point, the
bond market vigilantes are going to wake up in the U.S., like they did in
Europe, pushing interest rates higher and crowding out the recovery.
NEW YORK TIMES | June 14
U.S. Students remain
Poor at history,
tests Show
A
merican students are less profcient in their nations history than
in any other subject, according to results of a nationwide test
released on Tuesday, with most fourth graders unable to say why
Abraham Lincoln was an important fgure and few high school seniors
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY June 18, 2011 9
before there was a nation, there was a na-
tional debt. Alexander Hamiltons wisdom,
endorsed by George Washington, was that
public debt was not a bad thinghe called
it the price of liberty. More important, he
persuaded the Founding Fathers that the
United States should pay its debts.
In making the case for public borrow-
ing, he recognized this reality: Govern-
ments love to spend. The accumulation
of debt, he wrote, is perhaps the natural
disease of all governments.
Today, were at a critical moment. The
natural disease that Alexander Hamilton
foresaw is out of control. The federal gov-
ernment continues to spend $3 for every
$2 it collects, and borrows the rest. That
amounts to $1.4 trillion in new indebted-
ness in 2011, bringing the nations total
indebtedness to just shy of the current
legal limit of $14.3 trillion. The annual in-
terest on that debt, $206 billion this year,
is the ffth-largest and the fastest-growing
expense in the federal budget.
That brings us to the Hamilton bur-
denhis insistence that we repay our
debts. The creation of debt should always
be accompanied with the means of extin-
guishment, he wrote in 1790. As the
president and Congress wrestle with how
to accommodate the natural disease and
raise the legal debt limit for the 13th time
since 1995, they are also trying to system-
atically close the budget gap.
Should a target be set tying spending
and/or tax revenues to a certain percent-
age of the gross domestic product? Should
there be an automatic, across-the-board
cut triggered if spending targets arent hit?
What about a balanced budget amend-
ment? Or an independent board empow-
ered to make cuts in Medicare if spending
passes a specifc threshold?
Theres a more fundamental discussion
to be held. Underlying the entire debate
over appropriate taxing, spending and
debt levels is the central question of what
Americans expect of their government.
With a $14.3 trillion debt outstanding,
serious discussion is long overdue. We are
learning where the politicians stand. We
are also learning the details and dimen-
sions of the choices they face. This is
a serious moment. After all, the clock is
ticking. In February 1790, at Hamiltons
direction, the new nation took out its frst
loan, a grand total of $19,608.81. Today,
the federal government increases its debt
by that much every 3/10 of a second.
Paying off the
nations Debt

AARP, JIM TOEDTMAN | June 1
America is about to fnd itself priced out of the market.
But the nations economic woes are not the cause of its problems.
They are a symptom that points to the cause. They themselves have a
far greater cause that must be understood.
Herbert W. Armstrong explained the reason for Americas rapid de-
cline in his landmark book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.
There is a reason! he wrote. It is bound up with history and divine
promises pertaining to Israel.
Americas massive and growing problemsepic indebtedness, im-
possibly expensive entitlement programs, unwinnable nation-building-
type military projectsall stem from the nations having turned its
back on the Source of its prosperity and broken His immutable laws.
Just as Herbert Armstrong warned, Americas fnancial predomi-
nance is disappearingand with it, its military predominance. Now,
he continued, the American nation is slated to go down even more
suddenly [than Great Britain] to utter ignominy and loss of all national
wealth, greatness and power!
As the U.S. struggles to determine the best uses for its dwindling re-
sources, one area it is scrutinizing intensely is Europe. For decades it has
committed itself to helping defend the Continent and devote resources to
the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance. In recent years, though, America has
grown insistent that Europe step up and take responsibility for its own
defense. It has been taking steps to draw down its forces there; base clo-
sures on the Continent have saved the Army $8.6 billion in the past eight
years. Of the 213,000 U.S. troops stationed in Europe in 1989, only about
42,000 remain. Plans are to shrink that number to 37,000 by 2015and
many wonder whether that reduced force will survive future trimming.
Even as Robert Gates has been overseeing Americas defense cuts, he has
been vigorously lecturing Europe about how it needs to boost its military
spending and upgrade its war-making capability.
For students of biblical prophecy, this is bitterly ironic. Why?
Because of what Scripture reveals to be, in fact, the biggest threat to
Americas national security!
That is, a militarily dominant, unifed european superstate!
able to identify China as the North
Korean ally that fought American
troops during the Korean War.
Over all, 20 percent of fourth
graders, 17 percent of eighth grad-
ers and 12 percent of high school se-
niors demonstrated profciency on
the exam, the National Assessment
of Educational Progress. [F]ewer
than a third of eighth graders could
answer even a seemingly easy
question asking them to identify
an important advantage American
forces had over the British during
the Revolution, the governments
statement on the results said.
Students were given an ex-
cerpt including the passage, We
conclude that in the feld of public
education, separate but equal has
no place, separate educational
facilities are inherently unequal,
and were asked what social prob-
lem the 1954 ruling was supposed to correct. The answer was right in
front of them, Ms. Ravitch said. This is alarming.
Students as young as fourth grade
are having trouble with history.
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY June 18, 2011 10
JUPITER IMAGES
THREAT from page 1
are you financially
fragile?
if you were to face an
unexpected emergency
in the next month, could
you come up with $2,000?
Would you have to sell
something? Go to a payday
loan company? Ask your
parents for money?
If you couldnt, you are
not alone. A recent study published by the
National Bureau of Economic Research
found that just over half of people said they
would either be certainly unable or prob-
ably unable to come up with the money.
Another 25.1 percent said they thought they
could, but couldnt totally be sure.
Wow. Around 75 percent of Americans
arent totally sure if they could come up
with $2,000 in the case of an emergency.
If you cant scrape together $2,000 for
an emergency, the authors say you are liv-
ing on the fnancial edge.
Here is the problem. America is a
nation loaded up with debt. It is the one
thing that everybody has, but nobody
wants. Federal, state, municipal, corporate,
personalAmericans have more debt than
any country in the history of the world.
Debt has a death grip on America.
Dare to be different.
Well-known commodity investor Jim
Rogers warns that America is in a very
precarious position. Rogers says that
America faces a staggering debt cri-
sis that will be worse than 2008 when
Lehman Brothers failed.
The economy is slowing down, warned
Rogers last week. Were going to have
another recession in the U.S. in late
2011 or 2012 or 2013, and its going to be
worse than the last time around, because
America has shot all of its bullets, printing
money and spending money we dont have.
Be very careful.
In a defationary collapsewhich is
what debt collapses arepaying off debt
and ramping up savings becomes progres-
sively more diffcult.
Take the time now to reevaluate your
fnancial condition. If the economy defes
logic and heads into a period of recovery,
you have lost nothing. But if America is
on the cusp of another major crashthere
isnt a better time to prepare.
Ultimately, we all need to look to God
for protection. Only God can protect you
from the coming economic collapse. But at
the same time, God demands that we do
our part.

ROBERT MORLEY | COLUMNIST