How Kushner forged a bond with the Saudi crown prince

03/20/2018 One year ago, two young princes began to forge a friendship at a lunch meeting in the White House’s regal State Dining Room. A snowstorm had kept away President Donald Trump’s scheduled guest that day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel – giving the president and his advisers, including son-in-law Jared Kushner, more time to spend with the visiting son of Saudi King Salman. Kushner and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, both in their 30s, had met before, but this would be their first formal sit-down since Trump’s inauguration, and a bond developed between the two men, according to people familiar with …

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RUSSIAN THREAT BECOMING ‘MORE UNPREDICTABLE AND MORE AGGRESSIVE,’ MILITARY LEADER WARNS

03/20/2018 Russia is becoming “more aggressive,” a NATO leader warned Sunday Russia is becoming more “unpredictable and more aggressive” but to avoid war Western European allies must show force while continuing to neutralize the threat by other means, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. The concern is that Russia will continue to build up its nuclear weapons and invest in its military capabilities, he added.   Russia is becoming more “unpredictable and more aggressive” but to avoid war Western European allies must show force while continuing to neutralize the threat by other means, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg …

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Kurdish militants vow to make Afrin a ‘nightmare’ for Turkey

Ankara’s army and Syrian rebels celebrated taking over the once peaceful town, where armed Kurdish fighters say they are lying in wait and poised to strike  Monday, 19 March, 2018,  Turkish forces pillage Syrian city after expelling Kurdish fighters 18 Mar 2018 MIDDLE EAST Assad visits army troops near front in eastern Ghouta, Syria 18 Mar 2018 MIDDLE EAST Thousands more Syrians flee their homes as battles rage on Kurdish militants have vowed to wage a guerilla war against the Turkish military and their Syrian rebel proxies after the latter swept into the northern Syrian city of Afrin, seizing control …

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A Czar is born. Now that Putin has consolidated all Russian power in his hands, what must President Trump & his team do to counter the rising Kremlin threat? (My new column for Fox News.)

(Ft. Myers, Florida) — The following are excerpts from my new column for Fox News: 03/19/2018 Vladimir Putin didn’t simply secure re-election on Sunday, winning 77 percent of the vote in a rigged election. He has consolidated all power in his hands and emerged as a modern-day Czar. He has also set his country on a collision course with the West, one that could prove catastrophic. A close look at Putin’s record and rhetoric reveals a man consumed with re-creating a totalitarian state, expanding the country’s borders and rebuilding the glory of Mother Russia…. In the face of such a grave and …

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Becoming Fit for Glory

Becoming Fit for Glory “The LORD will give grace and glory” (Psalm 84:11). Grace is what we need just now, and it is to be had freely. What can be freer than a gift? Today we shall receive sustaining, strengthening, sanctifying, satisfying grace. He has given daily grace until now, and as for the future, that grace is still sufficient. If we have but little grace the fault most lie in ourselves; for the LORD is not straitened, neither is He slow to bestow it in abundance. We may ask for as much as we will and never fear a refusal. …

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What Does It Mean to Be “Saved”?

We cannot make ourselves righteous, so Jesus offered His blood to pay our sin debt. Our part is to believe it. What Does It Mean to Be “Saved”? Psalms Chapter 25 1 (A Psalm of David.) Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. 3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. 4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 5 Lead me in thy …

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Syria prepares against a US offensive

03/19/2018 The Syrian regime is preparing countermeasures against a possible American military offensive, the London-based Arabic-language Asharq al-Awsat daily reported this morning citing Western diplomats.   As part of these measures, Russian military forces were deployed in “sensitive targets” of the regime in order to deter the United States from striking there.   One of the diplomats said that Syrian President Bashar Assad met last Saturday with the heads of the army and defense establishment, and decided to take a series of precautions, including calling on Russia and Iran to provide Syria with protection. Ynet

What does Turkey’s seizure of Afrin mean for Syria war?

Ankara may move refugee populations back over border after taking control of Kurdish area, enlarging its territory By AFP/03/18/2018  — The capture of Afrin from the Kurds by Turkish-led fighters on Sunday could have major repercussions for Syria’s protracted war. Here we look at what it means for Turkey, the Syrian regime, and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia who were in control of the city. Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top storiesFREE SIGN UP What has Erdogan won? Forces led by Turkey launched an offensive on January 20 to retake the …

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