Mideast on Fire: ~ Chris Mitchell CBN

Mideast on Fire: 

Jerusalem the Center of a Coming 'Perfect Storm'

02-08-2016

Chris Mitchell

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Since the dawn of what is known as the
Arab Spring in 2011, the Middle East has gone through profound
and historic changes, killing hundreds of thousands of people and
forcing millions of others from their homes.

Some believe the region could be on the verge of regional war with
global consequences.  

In just the past three years, the ISIS terror army conquered huge
areas of Syria and Iraq, Iran struck a landmark nuclear deal with
the rest of the world, Russia made its biggest military move into
the Middle East in decades, and  two main rivals within Islam -
- Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran -- appeared on the brink of war.

Israel's former national security advisor describes what is happening
in the Middle East now as a "perfect storm."

He believes a series of events are converging that will create a
situation far more dangerous than the individual events themselves.
Sitting right in the center of the Middle East storm is the nation of
Israel and the city of Jerusalem.

In the Blink of an Eye

Middle East expert and best-selling author Joel Rosenberg told
CBN News he believes this chaos portends a gloomy picture for
the year ahead.

"The state of the Middle East is a catastrophe right now. The Middle
East is on fire," Rosenberg said. "2016 is going to be a very dangerous
year because you are watching the complete catastrophic failure of
American foreign policy under President Obama."

"You're watching the Russians and the Iranians trying to rush into the
vacuum of the American retreat," he continued. "You're watching the
Islamic State on offense. You're seeing Iran being rewarded for its
belligerent behavior and now has two ways to nuclear weapons."

"This is a disaster in the making," Rosenberg warned.

Some are convinced that one of those disasters in the making is the
nuclear deal with Iran. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., calls it one of the worst
diplomatic agreements in U.S. history.

"Even if Iran follows the deal to the letter, they're going to be a nuclear
threshold state in a mere 10 or 15 years, which Prime Minister
[Benjamin] Netanyahu says is a blink of an eye in the life of nations,"
Cotton explained. 

He said it could lead to a Middle East nuclear arms race and put the
region on the brink of a nuclear holocaust.

"We are at risk of entering a second nuclear age and the loss of life,
not in the tens, not in the thousands, not in even the hundreds of thousands -
- but in the millions," Cotton warned.

"And that loss of life could include American life because Iran is also
developing a ballistic missile program and they also have shown they are willing
to kill Americans," he added.

Iran vs. Saudi Arabia

Another storm cloud on the horizon is the growing battle between Sunnis
and Shiites, led by Saudi Arabia and Iran. The feud began to boil when the
Saudis recently executed a top Shiite cleric.

Although Middle East analyst Michael Barak doesn't expect a direct war
between two
of the region's giants, proxy wars around the region could intensify.

"Executing this guy is meaning like a declaration of war against Iran," Barak
said. "Actually, we are already witness to the clash between the Shia and Sunni
in Yemen and Iraq and Syria. It will get worse, of course." 

Enter the Russian Bear

Russia's actions have generated yet another storm cloud.
When it entered the Syrian civil war, it formed an alliance with Iran.

That unprecedented coalition fuels a greater danger to Israel, according to Rosenberg.

"The alliance between Moscow and Tehran is a match made in hell," he said.

"And so what you have now the two countries are now operating in Syria supposedly
against the Islamic State. But it puts them dangerously close to Israel," Rosenberg cautioned.

"And the United States under President Obama is just throwing up our hands and say, 'Well,
whatever, why don't you guys take care of the problem?'" he said.

"We are ceding the Middle East over to Moscow and Tehran," he warned.
"This has dangerous implications for the United States, for the world, and for
Israel like we have not seen in generations."