Turkey begins assault in Syria, plus made a deal with Russia to bypass SWIFT

Ras al-Ayn, Syria (VOA)

Turkey began a military assault in northern Syria:

October 9, 2019

A planned Turkish military operation in northern Syria has now begun, the country’s president announced Wednesday, as Kurdish fighters say warplanes are already bombing civilian areas in the region.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted that the maneuvers being carried out against Syrian Kurdish forces …

A small group of Turkish forces first entered northeastern Syria Wednesday morning near the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, Bloomberg reported. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency later said Turkish artillery units have been shelling suspected Syrian Kurdish targets in Tal Abayd, while two mortar shells fired from Ras al-Ayn struck the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar. No injuries were reported in the latter attack.

The developments come after the Kurds called on their people Wednesday to move toward the border with Turkey and “carry out acts of resistance. …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Washington of playing “very dangerous games” with the Syrian Kurds saying that the U.S. first propped up the Syrian Kurdish “quasi-state” in northeastern Syria and is now withdrawing its support. https://www.foxnews.com/world/turkey-syria-kurdish-troops-military-assault

After getting criticism for making statements that sounded like the he was abandoning the Kurds to Turkey in northern Syria (see US looks to be betraying Kurds as it permits Turkey to advance in Syria), Donald Trump warned Turkey against taking certain steps in the region:

As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019

Turkey has faced negative economic matters from the US president before (see US threatening more sanctions against Turkey: Could this lead to the rise of the Beast and the end of the USA dollar?). Turkey has pushed against US dollar dominance of world trade in the past (see Turkey repatriates gold and denounces US dollar dominance).

Donald Trump made more statements today:

October 9, 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday over sharp criticism of his decision to pull back U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, insisting he is focused on the “BIG PICTURE” that doesn’t include American involvement in “stupid endless wars” in the Middle East.

“Fighting between various groups that has been going on for hundreds of years. USA should never have been in Middle East,” Trump said in a series of morning tweets. “The stupid endless wars, for us, are ending!”

Turkey launched its offensive Wednesday against Kurdish fighters in Syria, who have helped the U.S. against the Islamic State. Turkey views the Syrian Kurdish fighters as terrorists, and Trump’s decision to pull back U.S. troops leaves them vulnerable to the military onslaught. …

Graham said Congress “will push back” against Turkey. He had said earlier this week that he was working on a bipartisan bill to sanction Turkey if they invade Syria, but he did not mention the proposal during Wednesday’s interview.

“We’re not giving Turkey a green light in Congress and we’re not going to abandon the Kurds,” he said. “If the President does so, we won’t.” https://www.apnews.com/538d33700e7845ffa6bb60c43329b424

October 9, 2019

Throwing more confusion on the situation in Syria, US President Donald Trump released a statement saying the US “does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea.”

Here is Trump’s full statement:

This morning, Turkey, a NATO member, invaded Syria. The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea. There are no American soldiers in the area. From the first day I entered the political arena, I made it clear that I did not want to fight these endless, senseless wars—especially those that don’t benefit the United States. Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place—and we will hold them to this commitment. In addition, Turkey is now responsible for ensuring all ISIS fighters being held captive remain in prison and that ISIS does not reconstitute in any way, shape, or form. We expect Turkey to abide by all of its commitments, and we continue to monitor the situation closely. https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/syria-turkey-military-offensive-dle-intl/index.html

October 9, 2019

Late into the night local time, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced a full ground operation has commenced. Turkish armored vehicles and tanks were seen crossing into Syria alongside Turkish-backed Syrian ‘rebel’ forces, advancing into towns just south of the border frontier area.

And following this in a late afternoon White House press briefing Trump issued a statement reiterating he’s prepared to “wipe out” Turkey’s economy if America’s Kurdish partners are hurt, after earlier in the day calling the operation “a bad idea”.

The president told reporters Turkey will pay a “big economic price” if the Syria operation done is done “unfairly”. Reuters reports of the new statements:

Asked by a reporter if he was concerned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will wipe out the Kurds, Trump replied: “I will wipe out his economy if that happens.”

The president also for the first time indicated he’s ready to support Sen. Lindsey Graham’s call for economic sanctions on Turkey, adding he would support something “tougher” than sanctions should Erdogan not abide by all prior commitments. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/watch-turkish-troops-tanks-travel-syria-us-backs-away

Partially in anticipation of US economic threats, Turkey made a deal a few days ago with Russia:

October 8, 2019

Turkey and Russia signed an agreement to increase the use of local currencies — Turkish Lira and Russian Ruble — in bilateral trade, the Russian Finance Ministry announced on Oct. 8.

Turkish Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak and his Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov signed the agreement on Oct. 4.

Within the scope of the agreement, commercial institutions’ demand for two currencies will be raised and a proper finance structure will be established.

The agreement will also enhance the use of Russia’s National Payment Card (MIR) and Financial messaging system of the Bank of Russia (SPFS), which is an alternative of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) — in Turkey. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/russia-turkey-to-increase-trade-in-local-currencies-147293

Here is some information about SWIFT:

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) provides a network that enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment. SWIFT also sells software and services to financial institutions, much of it for use on the SWIFTNet network, and ISO 9362. Business Identifier Codes (BICs, previously Bank Identifier Codes) are popularly known as “SWIFT codes”.

The majority of international interbank messages use the SWIFT network. As of 2015, SWIFT linked more than 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories, who were exchanging an average of over 15 million messages per day (compared to an average of 2.4 million daily messages in 1995). (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. Wikipedia, retrieved 04/01/19)

Basically, most international cross-border payments seem to use SWIFT.

Because of US sanctions and threats of sanctions, and its pressure on SWIFT, many nations have been developing ways to bypass it.

Turkey has been upset with the US for some time.

It and Russia have been looking at ways around US sanctions and the US dollar. Russia recently made a deal to sell oil and gas to the EU for Euros in a move that bypasses the US dollar (see ‘US: Nord Stream 2 to Boost Russian Influence on EU’ ‘Russia dumps U.S. dollar … chooses euro’).

We made a couple of videos related to this:

Is Donald Trump pushing Europe to Russia?

A recent headline was “Is Trump Pushing Germany to Russia?” There have been comments by German and Russian leaders that they have aligned interests that Donald Trump opposes and need to take financial, military, and other steps to assist Europe. Russia and the EU (European Union) still support the Iran nuclear deal, Paris Climate accords, and the World Trade Organization, despite Donald Trump’s actions against them. Have there been comments to replace the USA’s SWIFT system by the Russians and Germans? What is Russia’s MIR payment system? What about talks for the EU to have trade and other arrangements with the EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union)? Did the old Radio Church of God foretell of the development of a Russian and German plan to eliminate the USA? Has Russia indicated that it wants Alaska back? Is the giving of USA territories to Russia by a coming European leader consistent with a prophecy in the Book of Daniel? Here is a link to our video: Is Donald Trump pushing Europe to Russia?

15:19

US Sanctions and Tariffs leading to New World Order?

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said new US sanctions would be a declaration of economic war. Iran, North Korea, China, Europe, and Turkey are also upset about USA sanctions and tariffs. A Turk asserted “Somebody must find a solution and stop the USA.” The BRICS nations see US sanctions and tariffs as helpful to their objectives to trade without the USA. Are “unintended consequences” of USA policies threatening the current Anglo-American world order and leading to a New World Order? What has ‘Lord’ Jacob Rothschild and Russian President Vladimir Putin stated? Does Bible prophecy say that a confederation of Turks, Arabs, and Europeans pose a real threat to the USA and UK? Is the final time of the Gentiles coming? Will it be worse than people imagine? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to our video: US Sanctions and Tariffs leading to New World Order?

US sanctions and trade policies are factors that will lead to the loss of the USA dollar as the world’s premier reserve currency. We are seeing this with Russia, China, and other nations.

The USA ‘benefits’ in many ways by having the world’s predominant reserve currency.

The days of the US dollar’s dominance are numbered. US sanctions and tariffs are helping lead to its demise.

This status for the USA will not continue.

Do not think that the USA will continue to be number 1. The USA will ultimately be eliminated according to biblical prophecies (e.g. Daniel 11:39; Isaiah 10:5-11)–and financial reasons will be part of why (cf. Habakkuk 2:6-8).

There is a cost to USA sanctions and financial bullying tactics.

They are pushing the Gentile nations to come up with something that the USA will not like.

One day the USA dollar will be worth no more than the scrap value of the cotton-paper it is printed on.

Total de-dollarization will happen in the future. Not only is that consistent with various biblical prophecies, many nations are currently working to make this happen.

This modified ‘Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges’ (INSTEX) that the Europeans have will also provide a major alternative to the main US dollar-dominated financial systems. I call it modified, because originally the USA was involved in parts of its development.

US President Trump’s tough talk in various areas (like trade and banking sanctions) are encouraging the EU, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, North Korea, and Venezuela to take steps to protect themselves from aspects of his threats.

Dethroning the US dollar will cause massive economic problems for the USA. Much more than almost anyone believes. The standard of living in the USA has been raised/subsidized for decades because of the status of the US dollar. That status is weakening. This will ultimately severely hurt the USA.

What will happen to the economy of the USA will be much worse than what happened to the UK when the pound sterling lost its status as the world’s primary reserve currency.

We are getting closer to the great tribulation (Matthew 24:21; see also When Will the Great Tribulation Begin?) and final time of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24) that Jesus spoke of.

Gentiles are taking steps that the Anglo-American nations will one day regret.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The End of US Dollar Dominance Is the USA losing its economic status? What about the petro-gold-yuan? A related video is also available: US Dollar being challenged by Gold-Petro-Yuan.
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Turkey in Prophecy Do you know the Turkish people descended from? Did the Ottoman Empire possibly fulfill a promise in Genesis? Will Turkey support the European King of the North or Arabic King of the South? Will it betray one of them? Will Turkey be involved in the encouraging the destruction of Israel? Is Turkey going to become Catholic? Is Turkey mentioned in Psalm 83, Daniel 11, and elsewhere in the Bible? A related video is also available: What Should You Know About Turkey in Prophecy.
Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end? There is also a video sermon available: Russia in the Bible and in Prophecy and a video sermonette available: Ukraine in Prophecy?
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Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Quién es el Rey del Occidente? ¿Por qué no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profecía del tiempo del fin? A related sermon is also available: The Bible, the USA, and the King of the West.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be: Are Chinese threats against Australia for real?
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Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2027 or 20xx? There is also a video titled 6000 Years: When will God’s Kingdom Come? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
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