A Horrible Week for the Free World–And a Glimmer of Hope

If you’re an American who believes in peace through strength, steadfast support for Israel and fierce resistance to the growing global jihadist movement, this past week was from hell.

On the other hand, if you believe that Neville Chamberlain was a bold foreign policy visionary, that Israel is the problem, not the solution, in the Middle East, and that the word “Islamic terrorist” should never, ever be uttered, it may very well have been your best week ever.

Things got off to a nightmarish start with the announcement of an Iran nuclear deal that Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum accurately described as “arguably the worst treaty not just in American history or modern history, but ever.”

For the key, gory details of the abomination of a deal that President Obama undoubtedly views as his crowning foreign policy achievement, read this.

Oh, and if you’re an American who thinks “tough break for Israel, but an Iranian nuclear bomb doesn’t affect me,” you may want to know that Iran is currently developing intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBM’s, that could one day reach the United States. You only develop ICBM’s for one reason: to mount them with a nuclear warhead. The kind the Iranian regime is working feverishly to develop. This is the same Iranian regime, mind you, that has practically copyrighted the phrase “Death to America” (chanting it gleefully even as Secretary of State John Kerry was capitulating to its demands in Vienna) and still considers the United States to be the Great Satan and a target for destruction–despite the Obama administration’s surrender in Vienna, as Iran’s Supreme Leader made clear this weekend. Our weakness only makes the mullahs stronger, bolder and more assured that Allah is on their side and victory will soon be at hand. But move along, nothing to see here.

Actually, let’s move on to sleepy Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the buckle of the Bible Belt, where the week came to a close with a jihadist killing rampage that has, of this writing, claimed the lives of five brave U.S. servicemen. At this point, it’s still unclear whether 24-year-old terrorist Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez had any direct connections to ISIS or was inspired by it. But it is brutally clear that Abdulazeez, who had spent time in Jordan and the terror hotbed of Yemen as recently as 2014, was acting in the name of Islamic jihad. And at this point, it’s beyond surreal to see Obama administration officials and the mainstream media continue to wring their hands over his possible motivations. Folks, in the Age of ISIS, when a devout young Muslim male with a Salafi-style beard murders five American soldiers on U.S. soil–the kind of domestic attack on U.S. military members that both Al Qaeda and ISIS have repeatedly called for–well, you do the math.

The truth is that Abdulaziz’s jihadi outburst represents what is becoming the new normal here in the West. In my latest book, “ISIS Exposed” and in blog posts, I’ve warned that ISIS and its large and growing network of followers in the U.S. and Europe seek to create a guerilla war-style atmosphere, with attacks similar to what we’ve seen in Chattanooga, Garland, TX, Paris, Boston, New York City and Ottawa occurring on a regular basis in Western cities.

I know this is a heavy message. But amid all the bad news this past week was a glimmer of hope and a reminder that despite all the evil and madness unfolding around the world, God still sits on the throne. Christians United for Israel (CUFI) held its 10th annual Washington Summit at the DC Convention Center, drawing an energized crowd of over 5,000 Christians and Jews from around the country who heard speakers like CUFI founder Pastor John Hagee, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, the Wall Street Journal’s Bret Stephens, a number of Republican presidential candidates and several members of Congress lay down the gauntlet when it came to Iran and the radical Islamic threat. I was also honored to speak at the Summit–video of my speech to come soon. In the meantime, click here to watch my roundup of the three-day event for CBN News.

Yes, evil is on the march, aided and abetted by feckless Western leaders who are bereft of any sort of moral clarity or courage. History repeats itself.

But take heart: tens of millions of Christians are active, engaged, knowledgeable and ready to stand up and be counted for America and Israel.

And unlike a certain occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, when they say they’ve got Israel’s back, they mean it.

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