Current Events & Trends: Syria's civil war spills over its borders
Successful containment of any major difficulty normally means a much better chance of concluding it.
But what was a national Syrian conflict has become so prolonged that it now rages well beyond its borders and even threatens yet another major Middle Eastern war. Nations parry and thrust at each other like wild beasts. Verbal threats are all too common. The psalmist asks, "Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?" (Psalm 2:1).
Wrote Patrick Cockburn in the London Review of Books: "Over the last year a military stalemate has prevailed, with each side launching offensives in the areas where they are strongest. Both sides have had definite but limited successes" ("Is It the End of Sykes-Picot?" June 6, 2013). Lately foreign countries (and groups within countries) are intensifying their interventions on either one side or the other. Now Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or the rebel groups could possibly gain the upper hand in the near future.
USA Today reported: "The Syrian civil war is increasingly drawing in nations across the Middle East, a regionwide conflict that threatens to pit world powers against each other" ("Syria's Deepening Sectarian War Bleeds Across Borders," May 29, emphasis added throughout). President Assad and the various rebel groups have their backers. Russia and Iran have delivered sophisticated weapons to Damascus, and Israel has used precision air strikes to destroy some of them. Thousands of Hezbollah soldiers have actively intervened on Assad's side and pulled Lebanon into this brutal civil war.
August peace talks are planned by the United States and Russia, but so far rebel groups have apparently declined to participate. Another USA Today communique (this one from Jerusalem) stated, "Israel warned Thursday that it needed to prepare for a 'new era' of war in the Middle East as the Syrian regime claimed the first shipment of anti-aircraft missiles from Russia had arrived" ("Syria Says It Has Advanced Missiles From Russia," June 1). The Syrian foreign minister warned that Damascus "will retaliate immediately" if Israel strikes Syria again.
The dogs of savage wars bring untold suffering and death to any country so afflicted. "Barbarity is now commonplace in the Syrian war. Some 80,000 Syrians have been killed since the Arab Spring arrived in March 2011, and unknown numbers have been tortured and maimed" (Victor Davis Hanson, "Why Some Wars Are So Savage," The Wall Street Journal, May 29). Meanwhile Jordan strives to cope with some 500,000 refugees from Syria.
Since its inception The Good News has kept abreast of major events in the Middle East and explained their overall meaning in the light of biblical prophecy. This strategic region remains the key to the fulfillment of many end-time prophecies leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ. The United Church of God also publishes a comprehensive Bible study aid exploring the region's historic and prophetic legacy - The Middle East in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: London Review of Books, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: July - August 2013
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
