Is a Major War Imminent?

Our mailman jokingly refers to my house as the Israeli Embassy. A telephone repairman was at our house last week and assumed I was Jewish, which I'm not. Others who have passed by our humble abode probably think I'm just nuts. So what is causing all of these people to make such assumptions?

Last year, I erected a commercial-grade 25-foot-tall flagpole next to the house. Instead of hoisting the U.S. flag or the state flag of Georgia, I raised the flag of the nation of Israel and have flown it proudly every single day since.

Since I'm not Jewish and am not a dual citizen of the U.S. and Israel, why the heck would I fly the Star of David?

While Americans have filled their days and nights with American Idol, movies, pro sports and distractions such as Weinergate, the world has changed dramatically the past two years. Go ahead and put me in the nut-job category, but I truly believe we are quickly headed toward a major war in the Middle East. Whether or not the U.S. becomes directly involved militarily, we will definitely feel the impact through disruptions to global trade and especially the price and availability of oil. Things could get very bad here, and I'm of the opinion we should all prepare now.

Shortly after being sworn in as president, Barack Obama traveled to Cairo, Egypt, in 2009 to deliver an address to the Muslim world. Hey, there's nothing wrong with reaching out to the citizens of other nations, but his message then and especially his official actions since have left no doubt the president is no fan of the nation of Israel, which until Obama's election had been our staunchest and closest ally in the Middle East.

Considering the fact Obama attended an anti-Semitic church for more than 25 years and has surrounded himself with many advisers who are not exactly fans of Israel either, it's probably no surprise he has treated Israel and her leaders with disdain. Plus, Obama considers himself more a man of the world than a nationalist, and his background of having a Kenyan father and a childhood spent in Indonesia seems to justify this mind-set.

It's no secret that for the past 50 years every American president, Republican and Democrat, has been forced to maintain tricky relationships with Arab nations and their strongman leaders to keep oil flowing to the United States. Yet, other than Jimmy Carter, these presidents all understood that Israel was a vital ally and the source of economic stability in the region.

Even Richard Nixon, whom many scholars view as having had some anti-Jewish tendencies, risked everything in 1973 to supply Israel with badly needed emergency military supplies to prevent her defeat in the Yom Kippur War. He later publicly stated he felt God had placed him in office to save Israel, which he added was the result of his devout Christian mother's prayers.

President Obama's words and actions have emboldened radicals to begin their long-awaited quest to establish a Muslim caliphate stretching from Tunisia to the Persian Gulf. Arabs respect strength but have perceived Obama as being weak. Many felt, and recent events have confirmed, that Obama would not follow the example of his predecessors, who propped up leaders like Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak decade after decade. Thus revolution is spreading across the Middle East.

While the Obama administration and many in the media have referred to these revolutions as the Arab Spring, and have portrayed them as democratic uprisings, nothing could be further from the truth. In nation after nation, hard-line Islamic radicals are fanning the flames and are taking advantage of the unrest to increase their own power. The recent move by the post-Mubarak Egyptian government to cozy up to Palestinian terror organization Hamas is emblematic of what is awaiting the United States and Israel in the months ahead.

In recent weeks President Obama has ratcheted up the pressure on Israel and even publicly stated the starting point for peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians is for Israel to withdraw to her pre-1967 borders. This also means Israel would have to give more than half of her capital city of Jerusalem to the Palestinians for them to use as their capital. This past weekend, Obama gave Israel 30 days to accept his demands.

The Palestinians smell victory and have thus embarked on a worldwide attempt to have a Palestinian state declared without even negotiating peace with Israel. In September, they will go before the United Nations, hoping the General Assembly will agree. The U.N. Security Council, of which the United States is a member with veto rights, can still stop the plan. Thus Obama is using this fact as leverage to further try to force Israel to roll over.

The pre-1967 borders are militarily indefensible, and there is no way Israel can accept that. Also, it would be impossible politically for Israel's leaders to give up Jerusalem. Over the next few weeks we will witness the ultimate game of who blinks first between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Adding to the pressure will be numerous attempts by the Palestinians and their allies to make Israel look bad in the court of worldwide public opinion leading up to the September U.N. showdown. Expect numerous protests at Israel's borders with activists attempting to cross over. Their hope is that Israel will have to use deadly force to repel them.

Regardless of whether the U.N. recognizes a Palestinian state or the Palestinians unilaterally declare one themselves, there will be war. Iran, Syria and their proxies have supplied Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah with more than 50,000 rockets and missiles, all pointed at Israel. Palestinian territory-based Hamas and Fatah also have enormous stockpiles of weaponry ready to use.

When the conflict comes, Israeli citizens will face such danger that the Israeli military will have no choice except to destroy Hamas, Fatah and Hezbollah. There will be so many civilian casualties in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon that surrounding Arab nations will be drawn into the conflict, and thus Israel may be forced to use nuclear weapons in order to survive.

Whether or not this happens this year, it will occur eventually. Until now, I have always assumed the United States would stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel and help protect her. I no longer have that faith.

The Bible is clear that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse her will be cursed. There are also ample warnings in Scripture to any nation that would seek to divide the land.

John McTernan has published a fascinating book that details when the United States has pressured Israel to give up land for peace; the U.S. is almost immediately hit with a major catastrophe. He truly believes these are judgments from God and is clear in his warnings that America must stand with Israel.

I proudly fly my Israeli flag to proclaim my support of the Jewish nation and my opposition to the foreign policies of the Obama administration. If this classifies me as a nut job, then I humbly wear that label. However, every single person I've given my explanation to so far has either agreed or at least understood where I'm coming from.

If you have an interest in keeping up with Israel and the Middle East, including information you won't typically find on American media outlets, I created a website last year that is updated daily with breaking news and analysis.

I know life is busy and there is so much happening around the nation and world it can be overwhelming to absorb it all. However, events happening in the Middle East in coming months and years may have a very major impact on your daily life. As I learned in the Boy Scouts, be prepared.

Follow me on Twitter @chuckshiflett and also check out my statewide columns at The Backroom Report.