WORLD AT WAR: 10.14.16 - This is the DEFCON Warning System. Alert status for 8 P.M., Thursday, October 13th, 2016. Condition code is YELLOW. DEFCON 3.

This is the DEFCON Warning System. Alert status for 8 P.M., Thursday, October 13th, 2016. Condition code is YELLOW. DEFCON 3.

There are currently no imminent nuclear threats against the United States at this time, however the situation is considered fluid and can change rapidly.

Tensions between Russia and the United States have reached levels beyond the cold war in the recent week.

The situation between Russia and the United States is extremely fluid at the moment. In all likelihood as dynamic as at times during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Mainstream media has taken a very serious tone concerning the change from diplomatic to military options between NATO and Russia. CNN stated, �It�s not a new Cold War. It�s not even a deep chill. It�s an outright conflict.� On October 10th Former Soviet Premier Gorbachev is quoted as saying, �I think the world has reached a dangerous point.�

There are signs of a potential growing large scale conflict in nearly every geopolitical hotspot including Syria, Yemen, Ukraine, and the Philippines. Syria is seen as one of the trigger points to the renewed tensions between the United States and Russia. The United States has also accused Russia of a cyberattack and meddling with the US Presidential Election. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest promised on Tuesday that the U.S. would deliver a �proportional� response to Russia�s alleged hacking of American computer systems. The US and Britain are also expected to weigh into Syrian military options on Friday. This could increase tensions between the two superpowers to a greater extent.

Moreover, Houthi rebels on the South Coast of Yemen fired one anti-ship missile at the U.S.S. Mason on Sunday, and another on Wednesday. The Pentagon responded by firing 5 TLAM missiles at radar stations inside Yemen. Around this same time, Iran dispatched a fleet of ships to the area. The U.S.S. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group has also been dispatched to the area.

At this time, the DEFCON Warning System feels that an increase to DEFCON 3 would be a prudent move. The situation is currently fluid with diplomatic ties strained and military threats coming from both sides. Russian media is reportedly telling its citizens to prepare for nuclear war. Russia has recently conducted civil defense drills and completed inspections of underground areas to house government officials and some civilians in the event of nuclear war. This is a very sensitive situation which has the potential to spiral out of control. It is recommended that all citizens learn the steps to be taken in the event of nuclear war. We will continue to bring updated information as we receive it.

The DEFCON Warning System is an analytical reporting organization which focuses on nuclear threats against the United States and offers an alert code to the public based on current events. It is not affiliated with any government agency and does not represent the alert status of any military branch. The public should make their own evaluations and not rely on the DEFCON Warning System for any strategic planning. At all times, citizens are urged to learn what steps to take in the event of a nuclear attack.

If this had been an actual attack, the DEFCON Warning System will give radiation readings for areas that are reported to it. Your readings will vary. Official news sources will have radiation readings for your area.

For immediate updates, go to www.defconwarningsystem.com. Breaking news and important information can be found on the DEFCON Warning System message board and on the DEFCON Twitter feed DEFCONWS. You may also subscribe to the YouTube channel DefconWarningSystem and the DEFCON Warning System mailing list. Note that Twitter and YouTube updates may be subject to delays. The next scheduled update is 6 P.M. Pacific Time, October 20th, 2016. Additional updates will be made as the situation warrants, with more frequent updates at higher alert levels.

This concludes this broadcast of the DEFCON Warning System.

 

Russia Prepares for War - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=723

 

Ominous signs continue to emerge out of Russia as media sources in Russia report that state officials and government workers were told to bring back their children studying abroad immediately, even if means cutting their education short and not waiting until the end of the school year. 

 

The reason for the instruction was not clear, but the two suggested possibilities by most analysts: Russia is preparation for war against the West, or President Vladimir Putin is displaying his domination over the country's oligarchs and forcing those with children studying in the US and Europe to bring them home.  

 

Taken in isolation such actions may not seem that troubling, however mounting tensions between Russia and the United States, as well as other NATO block countries have been a source of concern for months now.

 

Many experts fear that Russia has begun to accelerate to a war footing. From direct warnings to the United States in Syria to thinly veiled threats of invasion in Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania and Norway, Russia is making its intentions clear while at the same time positioning warships, anti-aircraft missiles, nuclear weapons and divisions of its military in preparation for war. 

 

A treaty agreement with Syria that authorizes an open-ended Russian troop presence passed the Russian Duma on October 7th. The treaty follows both the heaviest Russian bombing of the rebel-held Aleppo thus far in the war and the collapse of a cease-fire backed by both Russia and the United States. 

 

Last Thursday, just one day before signing the treaty that would allow an indefinite Russian presence at the Khmeimim air base in Syria, Russia warned the US that its air-defense missiles would fire upon any foreign power attempting to fly over Syrian airspace, including US warplanes should they try to interfere in Assad's brutal oppression. 

 

Russian S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft missiles now cover Russian troops spread throughout Syria and any US strike on ISIS or the Assad regime runs the risk of either hitting Russian personnel or being downed by Russian air defense, either of which would pull Russia and the US into direct conflict.

 

At a time when the United States is reducing its nuclear arsenal, Russia has announced plans both to modernize and to expand its own nuclear capabilities. Russia's 1,796 currently deployed nuclear warheads represents a 246 warhead breach of the treaty limit (1,550) established in 2011. 

 

Russia currently leads the United States by 429 warheads and that gap is likely to grow in the near-term with Russia's announced plans to expand nuclear deployment this week. Of particular interest are claims that the Russian short-range SS-25 ballistic missile, a road-mobile nuclear strike vehicle capable of hitting targets across Europe, has been recently deployed despite a 1987 treaty ban.

 

Inside Russia, near St. Petersburg, a series of missile drills with Iskander missile systems has created concern in nearby Finland and Estonia. The military exercises of the Leningrad missile brigade simulate a preemptive missile strike against enemy infrastructure. This follows after a simulated Russian nuclear strike and invasion of an enemy that looked qfuite suspiciously like Sweden last year. 

 

Neighboring countries have been preparing for Russian invasion for the past several years, but most recently Sweden has followed Norway's example in reinstating conscription, this time of both men and women, in the face of the looming Russian threat. The presence of Iskander-M missiles in Kaliningrad, between Poland and Lithuania, is positioned as a direct threat to NATO countries. 

 

Attempts by the United States to protect Poland and Romania with anti-missile defenses has been decried by Russian diplomats as a provocation that would render these countries as targets in the event of a Russian strike. The Russian intention to position offensive strike capabilities while bullying its neighbors into weakening their defenses cannot be more transparent. 

 

Within Russia, in addition to the construction of massive nuclear bunkers in major cities and strategic military sites, the past week saw a national drill involving 200,000 emergency responders and 40 million civilians. 

 

 

The 4-day long exercise practiced a national response to a simulated nuclear strike on Russia by the US and represented a civil defense drill unprecedented in its scope. No small feat, in addition to the 40 million civilians and 200,000 emergency personnel, the effort involved an estimated 50,000 pieces of military equipment as well.  

 

Russian media, in a campaign to incite national fervor against the West, accompanied the national nuclear defense drill with rhetoric blaming nuclear escalation on US "schizophrenics" hungry for war. 

 

Understanding the possible consequences of a Russian invasion of Europe or open war with the US, Russia is taking steps to prepare its people for a nuclear counter attack, both psychologically and through drilling its citizenry and hardening its infrastructure.

 

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov briefly mentioned this week the possibility of re-establishing military bases in both Vietnam and Cuba, both of which had been closed in 2002 in an effort to scale-back Russian military presence around the world. Also this week, Russia sent additional warships into the Mediterranean to join the fleet already positioned there. 

 

The most recent warship, the Mirazh missile cruiser, follows after Wednesday's arrival of two more Black Sea Fleet missile corvettes, the Serpukhov and the Zelyony Dol, both of which carry a complement of Kaliber long-range missiles. 

 

Russian Navy representative Nikolay Voskresensky announced that these would add to the permanent Russian presence that is being used to conduct strikes within Syria and will be ready to respond to any threats. 

 

With such a series of Russian actions, including military buildup, large-scale aggressive exercises, massive civil defense drills, global expansion and even direct threats to NATO countries, there is little wonder that officials are concerned. 

 

Tensions have ratcheted higher and the possibility exists for a single bomb or missile to trigger war on a scale that the world hasn't seen for more than half a century. 

 

One Russian official recently summed up such fears by stating that if a US plane were seen as a threat to Syrian or Russian troops, there would be no time for a red-phone hotline call before it would be shot down by anti-aircraft missiles. That a wider war would inevitably follow is a foregone conclusion.

 

A New Cold War - Todd Strandberg - http://raptureready.com/rap16.html

 

Ties between Russia and the U.S. have greatly deteriorated in the past few years. The down- turn started in 2012 when Russian General Nikolay Yegorovich Makarov said that there is a possibility of a preemptive strike on new missile defense sites in Eastern Europe. Also that year, nuclear armed Russian forces began shadowing the American border.

 

Relations between the two nations went into a nose dive in 2014 when Moscow annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea on the basis of a referendum. Over the next two years, six rounds of sanctions were imposed on Russia. The first three rounds targeted individuals close to Putin by freezing their assets. The other three sanctions cut off Russian corporations from Western financing.

 

Another strain has been a series of hacking attacks by Russian agents. In October 2014, Russian hackers exploited a software bug to spy on computers used by NATO, the European Union and Ukrainian energy companies. Hackers linked to Russian intelligence services stole and leaked 20,000 emails from the Democratic National Committee. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, warned Russian not to "interfere with our democratic processes."

 

Edward Snowden, the contractor for the United States government who copied and released hundreds of thousands of pages of secret government documents has added to the strain. He fled to Hong Kong and then to Russia; in July of 2013 Russia granted him political asylum

 

The Syrian civil war is the current source of tension between Washington and Moscow. The government of Syria receives technical, financial, military and political support from Russia, while the U.S. favors several rebel groups. The U.S. blames Russia for indiscriminate bombings that have killed civilians.

 

The mistrust is taking its toll on previous treaties. Last week, Putin cited Washington's "unfriendly actions" as the reason for him ending a pact on the disposal of nuclear material. Under the agreement, Russia and the U.S. each were to destroy 34 metric tons of plutonium, enough material for about 17,000 nuclear warheads.

 

I find it strange that Obama would be at odds with Vladimir Putin. In his nearly eight years in office, he has made friends with nearly every dictator on the planet. He even refuses to directly condemn Islamic terrorists. I guess it is just fitting of his destructive nature that he would choose to lock horns with a guy who controls thousands of nuclear weapons.

 

The liberal media has given very little coverage to the souring of the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Since the press operates under the idea that Obama is a faultless president, a return to the Cold War under his watch is unthinkable.

 

It should have been obvious to all that Obama and Putin hate each. They were engaged in a death stare as the two leaders met at the G-20 summit in China. Our former Cold War presidents had many meetings with their Soviet counterparts during some trying times, but I've never seen footage of one that looks like it was about to turn into a boxing match.

 

The Russian press has no delusions about the rising tension. Several news organizations in Russia have issued a chilling warning that war with the West could be imminent. Zvezda, a nationwide TV service run by the country's Ministry of Defense, said last month, "Schizophrenics from America are sharpening nuclear weapons for Moscow."

 

Obama may hate Putin, but he has avoided getting into armed conflict with him. Many members of his administration have called for action that would put Russia and the U.S. in direct conflict with each other. The New York Times recently published the audio of Kerry in which he says he had "lost the argument" for the use of force against the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

 

"I think you're looking at three people, four people in the [Obama] administration who have all argued for use of force, and I lost the argument," Kerry said. "I've argued for the use of force."

 

The strain between Russia and the U.S. would get even worse if Hillary Clinton were to win next month's election. She has a much deeper hatred for Putin and she is a war hawk. When Clinton was secretary of state, she pressured Obama to take more aggressive military action in a variety of conflicts, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, and Syria.

 

Bible prophecy tells us that Russia will someday lead an attack against Israel. The growing hostility between the U.S. and Russia may not be the catalyst. But if Putin did have any hesitancies about upsetting America, that is clearly no longer a factor.

 

"After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

 

Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought" (Ezekiel 38:8-10).

 

 

The Hook in the Jaw - By Mike Ecklund - http://raptureready.com/soap2/ecklund13.html

 

By now, the many readers who frequent the Rapture Ready site are familiar with Ezekiel prophecy about Russia and her European and middle-eastern allies attacking Israel.  The players are aligned at present; the troops are moving into place.  The "hook" with which God uses to forcibly bring them into war has now become obvious.

 

Wars are as much fought because of economic reasons as opposing ideologies.  In the case of Russia and its allies, it will be a combination of political and religious differences of her middle-eastern allies and a desire to plunder the newly found natural gas wealth of Israel.

 

Russia relies heavily on gas exports to Europe and other countries such as Turkey, all of which are in negotiations to import the newly found Israeli gas that will cut into Russian shares.  Central to those hopes are plans for new a pipeline, the East Mediterranean Pipeline proposal presented by the Greek Public Gas Company (DEPA) as well as an interest in building from Turkey. 

 

It would bring gas supplies from Israel to Cypress and eventually into Europe.  After Turkey   shot down a Russian military jet in November of last year, it was painfully reminded of its dependence on Russian energy resources after which it subsequently began negotiations with Israel. 

 

Reconciliation depends on Israel easing restrictions on Gaza and supplying Turkey with weapons to fight PKK rebels in its southern regions and protect the borders from ISIS rocket attacks.  However, reconciling Hezbollah, Gaza or Iran (Russia's newest BFF) to Israel is in fact an impossibility because they have all decided long ago that they would be satisfied with nothing short of Israel's complete obliteration.

 

It is with this scenario that Turkey will accept an offer to join Russia in simply taking the Israeli gas fields by force; a solution that will make all parties happy; accept for Israel and her few allies.

 

As the war in Syria continues to erode the USA's influence in the region and relations with Russia, the chief antagonist identified as Tarshish and her allies Sheba and Dedan (Saudi Arabia, Oman and others) in Ezekiel 38:13 are also apparent.  (See my previous article "Judgment Day for the USA"). 

 

It is clear that Russia and her armies are destroyed by God, leaving only a fifth part to return. It is also a very real possibility that those whom God rains fire on that "dwell securely in the coastlands" includes a nuclear strike against the United States and Britain. 

 

The power vacuum left after our demise leaves the European Union out of necessity, united into the revived Roman Empire.  The Antichrist, who should arrive shortly there-after signs the peace agreement with Israel to secure her from future attacks.  The other main power sphere, the Kings of East led by China are like-wise in place for the last seven years until Christ's return.

 

The thought of such horrors occurring to us in the near future is sobering.  We might deny such a thing is possible; that God would allow Christians who live in an otherwise ungodly country to suffer with the rest.  One only has to read the Old Testament passages regarding Daniel and other prophets who were led away to captivity with their countrymen when Israel failed to heed warnings to turn back to God.

 

In present history, Christians are being persecuted, displaced and murdered in several countries around the world.  Should we have to face what so many of our brothers and sisters have already endured, let us do it with the light of God shining through us and the words of the gospel message coming from our lips that salvation may yet come to those around us.

 

For those of you reading this article who have not yet grasped the truth of what is happening before your eyes, the Bible was written to testify to the love and grace that God gave us.  He made THE WAY of reconciliation to himself by the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ for our sins against Him. 

 

The only thing you must do is acknowledge that you have sinned (sin is not relative to what you think it is; that is why he wrote them down) and turn away from them.  You simply accept that Jesus paid for that by dying in your place and trust that He will raise you to be with Him forever.  We don't know how much time we have left on earth.  We only see that it's now much less than it was before.  Even so, come Lord Jesus!

 

 

Russia says U.S. actions threaten its national security - http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-usa-idUSKCN1290DP

 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday he had detected increasing U.S. hostility towards Moscow and complained about what he said was a series of aggressive U.S. steps that threatened Russia's national security.

 

In an interview with Russian state TV likely to worsen already poor relations with Washington, Lavrov made it clear he blamed the Obama administration for what he described as a sharp deterioration in U.S.-Russia ties.

 

"We have witnessed a fundamental change of circumstances when it comes to the aggressive Russophobia that now lies at the heart of U.S. policy towards Russia," Lavrov told Russian state TV's First Channel.

 

"It's not just a rhetorical Russophobia, but aggressive steps that really hurt our national interests and pose a threat to our security."

 

With relations between Moscow and Washington strained over issues from Syria to Ukraine, Lavrov reeled off a long list of Russian grievances against the United States which he said helped contribute to an atmosphere of mistrust that was in some ways more dangerous and unpredictable than the Cold War.

 

He complained that NATO had been steadily moving military infrastructure closer to Russia's borders and lashed out at Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis.

 

He also said he had heard that some policy makers in Washington were suggesting that President Barack Obama sanction the carpet bombing of the Syrian government's military air fields to ground its air force.

 

"This is a very dangerous game given that Russia, being in Syria at the invitation of the legitimate government of this country and having two bases there, has got air defense systems there to protect its assets," said Lavrov.

 

Lavrov said he hoped Obama would not agree to such a scenario.

 

Russia suspended a treaty with Washington on cleaning up weapons grade plutonium earlier this month in response to what it said were "unfriendly acts" by the United States.

 

Lavrov said both countries had the right to pull out of the treaty in the event of "a fundamental change in circumstances".

 

"The treaty was concluded when relations were normal, civilized, when no one ... was trying to interfere in the (other's) internal affairs. That's the fundamental change of circumstances," said Lavrov.

 

 

Russia to upgrade Syria naval facility to permanent base - https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-upgrade-syria-naval-facility-permanent-095018058.html

 

Russia's defense ministry said Monday that the country was poised to transform its naval facility in the Syrian port city of Tartus into a permanent base.

 

"In Syria we will have a permanent naval base in Tartus," Russian news agencies quoted deputy defense minister Nikolai Pankov as saying.

 

The announcement represents the latest move by Moscow to bolster its forces in Syria as tensions with the West have surged over Russia's bombing campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

 

The defense ministry said last week it had deployed its S-300 air defense missile system to Tartus and warned Washington it would halt any attempted US strikes in Syria.

 

Moscow also sent three missile ships to reinforce its naval forces off the coast of the conflict-wracked nation.

 

Pankov did not provide a timeline for turning the Tartus naval facility -- which dates back to the Soviet era -- into a permanent base.

 

He said the main purpose of the S-300s was to protect the Tartus naval facility.

 

Russian lawmakers on Friday ratified a deal with Syria on its "indefinite" deployment of air forces to the country, a move seen as paving the way for its jets to stay long-term.

 

The deal, signed between Moscow and Damascus in August 2015, allowed Russia to establish its Hmeimim airbase to launch operations last year.

 

Tensions have soared since Washington pulled the plug on talks with Moscow aimed at reviving a Syria truce deal, citing Russia's brutal bombing campaign.

 

Russia on Saturday vetoed a UN draft resolution on stopping Russian and Syrian regime air strikes on the war-ravaged city of Aleppo, with the United States calling for a war crimes probe into the carnage.

 

 

Iran Warns "Any US Attack Against Assad Regime Will Be Suicidal" - By Patrick Goodenough - http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/iran-any-us-attack-against-assad-regime-will-be-suicidal

 

A senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader warned Sunday that any U.S. military strike against Syria's Assad regime would be "suicidal."

 

"If the Americans take military action in Syria, it will be a suicidal action," said Ali Akbar Velayati, a former foreign minister who serves as foreign affairs advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

 

U.S. military action in Syria would result in the third consecutive "defeat" in the region, after the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, Velayati said, adding that the defeat in Syria would be even "stronger" than in the other two cases.

 

His remarks were quoted by Iran Daily, a paper published by the official IRNA news agency.

 

Iran's was the latest response to reports indicating that the Obama administration is mulling a "kinetic" option in a bid to end the assault by the Assad regime and its Russian allies aimed at recapturing rebel-held parts of Aleppo, Syria's biggest city.

 

Earlier, Russia's defense ministry spokesman noted that any attack against Syrian regime military targets would put its military personnel in danger too. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov underlined Russia's deployment of sophisticated surface-to-air missile defense systems and implicitly threatened to retaliate against any U.S. strike.

 

Like Russia, Iran is heavily involved in the campaign to fight off a broad rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad. Russia launched an airstrike campaign a year ago, claiming to be targeting terrorists but - according to the U.S. - focusing much of its attention on other rebel groups including those supported by Western and Arab nations.

 

In Iran's case, it has provided millions of dollars of military aid, deployed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officers and troops on the ground, and is also sponsoring Shi'a militia fighting on behalf of the regime, including those from its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

 

Sunday's threat comes from a man who is not only close to Khamenei but has himself been accused of direct links to international terror,

 

Velayati served as Iran's foreign minister from 1981 to 1997, both under Khamenei (who was Iran's president until elevated to the supreme leader's post in 1989) and his successor, President Hashemi Rafsanjani.

 

Velayati and Rafsanjani are among eight senior Iranians accused by the Argentine government of a role in plotting the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in which 85 people were killed. Argentina issued arrest warrants for the eight almost a decade ago, but all are still at large.

 

A ninth man accused by Argentina of a key role in the bombing, Hezbollah terror chief and an  FBI "most wanted" terrorist, Imad Mughniyah, was assassinated in a bomb blast in Damascus in 2008. Khamenei sent Velayati as his representative to Mughniyah's funeral in Beirut.

 

The U.S. State Department says Iran remains the world's foremost state sponsor of terror.