The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Koenig on Trump and Israel

Trump on Middle East

This week President Trump made Israel his priority stop during his first foreign trip as president, a trip notably scheduled quicker than the past five U.S. presidents who visited Israel before him. The original purpose of the trip was to signal tighter US-Israel ties. Trump also wished to erase the acrimony many felt festered between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama.

After eight years of the stormiest relationship with Israel in U.S. history, has President Trump laid the foundation for better days ahead?

This question was asked of Bill Koenig on our television program Christ in Prophecy. Bill has been a White House Correspondent for the last fifteen years. He is president of a news website called World Watch Daily, and he publishes a weekly report called “Koenig’s Eye View from the White House.” Bill is also the author of a telling book titled Revealed: Obama’s Legacy.

[Note: Bill’s answer below has been edited slightly for grammar and clarity.]

New Relations With Israel

Bill Koenig: Chapter 3 of my book is titled, “Israel’s Existence in Danger and Middle East Chaos.” It examines the contemptuous relationship the United States fostered with Israel due to President Obama and the many repercussions since his departure.

At the beginning of Obama’s first term, as soon as Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State, she had this misguided idea of putting the squeeze on Israeli settlement construction. That certainly started the relationship off on the wrong foot. US-Israeli relations fared no better after her while John Kerry was Secretary of State. He didn’t treat Israel well at all.

Right after he took office in January 2009, President Obama went to the Turkish parliament and then on to Cairo, Egypt. On June 4, 2009, he addressed the Muslim world directly, talking about how great Islam was and the importance of Islamic relations here in the United States. One misstep after another after another came out of the Obama Administration in order to appease Islam and pressure Israel.

Obama wouldn’t even entertain a formal press conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu. At one time even, Obama snuck Netanyahu into the White House through the kitchen, leaving him there unannounced, and then went up and had dinner alone with his family. Obama didn’t treat Netanyahu very well.

So, obviously, Netanyahu is very happy about the new Trump Administration. President Trump greeted Netanyahu during his first visit back to the White House with full honors, and held a press conference with him afterwards. I was there to see it in person, and the meeting was fantastic. Spirits were very good!

The Bad Iran Deal

President Obama’s legacy left the Middle East in flames. Take, for example, the Iran Nuke Deal. What a horrible deal! It only made the Middle East even more dangerous than it already is, and it definitely makes things more dangerous for the state of Israel. Much of what was negotiated between Iran and the U.S. was done in secret, and side deals helped to get it approved. Obama shipped plane fulls of bullion and other paper money over to Iran on jets. When all that secret money was made public at the time, Obama’s administration claimed it was for the release of Iranian-held hostages.

#PresidentObama's legacy left the #MiddleEast in flames. Click To Tweet

Imagine instead a Republican president shipping billions of covert dollars over to an enemy state. Why the Media would have absolutely crucified him! A good thing we know is this, a Republican administration would never cut such a lousy deal with Iran.

Iran possessed excellent short range missile capability, and they’ve been firing missiles right and left in utter violation of a UN resolution and the Iran Deal agreement. Iran had been working hard on an ICBM that could put Europe and the United States at risk.

We had Iran up against the ropes! I have a good friend in Israel named Mordechai Kedar. He’s a 27-year student of the Middle East and serves in the Israeli Defense Force in the intelligence area. He reported that Iran was up against the ropes, using a boxing term, but we let them off the hook. What a horrible predicament!

Iran is actually now in charge of the Iraqi military. They’ve increased their strength in Syria. They’re potentially moving weapons of mass destruction into Syria, and are attempting to provide weapons to Hezbollah. All these hostile military advancements have been made possible because Barack Obama completely empowered Iran with the Iran Deal.

The world wonders if Israel will step in and do something about Iranian hostility. Actually, Israel was very close to acting while Obama was in office. As a matter of fact, in October 2008 right before the election, from one of the Pentagon leaks we learned that soon-to-be Secretary of State Clinton told Israel not to respond to anything. At almost the same time, Leon Panetta was telling the world that he’d be surprised if Israel didn’t hit Iran between April and June of 2009. Clinton’s posturing was absolutely inexcusable!

Israel at some point eventually will be forced to wage a pre-emptive strike against Iran. They’ll have no choice. What’s interesting is that Israel and every Sunni country right now lies within the short range missile capability of Iran. That targets every Sunni country that borders the Persian Gulf and puts all those nations at risk. This is a very dangerous time for the Middle East.

Here is the silver lining that came from Obama wanting to get out of the Middle East. The Iran Deal has caused the Sunni’s to work with the Israelis. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan have been working in conjunction with Israel because they know Israel will not put up with Iran, for they couldn’t trust Obama and his administration.

A Shift in Policy

The good news concerning a potential new war in the Middle East is that the Trump Administration is operating the best, most realistic, most pragmatic security team in history. Men like Mattis, McMaster, Pompeo with the CIA, and others are key people who fully understand the number one threat to Israel and to the United States, and frankly to the International community at large, is the state of Iran. They are not afraid to call Iran for what it truly is — an Islamic terrorist state. That’s absolutely a huge shift in our government’s position concerning Islam.

Clearly, I’m rather optimistic that U.S. relations with Israel will continue to improve under a Trump presidency, without a doubt. They started off from the first day on the right foot to improve significantly. The Sunni countries are even excited about the Trump Administration’s security team, because they already have had a good working relationship with Mattis, McMaster, and the other generals. These men are true warriors. We had the warrior mentality taken out of the Pentagon during Obama’s time in office, but the warrior mentality has returned and is back in charge of the Pentagon. The warrior mentality is vital to our national security and is key to our national defense, and also helps protect our good friend Israel.

U.S. relations with #Israel will continue to improve under a #Trump presidency. Click To Tweet

General Mattis, the Secretary of Defense, went on his very first trip over to South Korea and Japan. While there he said that the United States would stand and defend our allies. It was a veiled message to North Korea and China. China has been usurping islands within Japanese territory, and Mattis made it clear that the U.S. was going to defend them. His next trip was to NATO, and while meeting with the NATO leaders he conveyed that the U.S. was committed to NATO, but stipulated that every nation needed to pay their fair share. It was a great meeting!

Mattis is incredibly popular. He even was approved 98 to 1 in the Senate, which gives you an idea of his clout. The Media gave Mattis the nickname Mad Dog, which he doesn’t fully appreciate, but the guy’s a warrior and an intellect. He’s read probably 5,000 or 6,000 books on history. The man truly understands history.

McMasters’ strength is being an out-of-the-box thinker. Pompeo’s got a proven track record as a great Christian congressman and now head of the CIA. He was probably the most outspoken member of Congress about the bad Iran Deal. He’s already been over to the Middle East before. Good things will be happening with these guys!

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

6 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • This is a tremendous article!! Yes, Koenig was on your program, but it changed times in my area and I missed most of it. I wish Bill would’ve said what I say now, that we can thank that spineless wonder, Jimmy Carter, for the terrorist state of Iran. Had he the backbone to defend the Shah, our proven ally, we wouldn’t be worried about Iran today. But, prophecy must be fulfilled and we already know Iran’s role there (Ez. 38-39). That may not have happened under the King.

  • Theres no doubt in my mind that President Trump is God’s messenger and was put in office for this specific time in History, ( he Has Israel’s Back.) President Trump is standing up to terrorism, and getting other Middle Eastern leaders onboard. There millions of people and leaders who want better lives and the military to take on these terrorist who are killing innocents. I remember a speech by one of the ladies in Saudi Arabia saying, “What gives these terrorists the right to think they can just go on killing whoever they feel like?” Words of Wisdom.

    The Reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 1 John 3:8.

    In contrast, “the children of the devil” continue to sin unchecked. They do not do what is right, nor do they love their brother and sister. Their lives embody the habits of sin, hatred, and disobedience rather than purety, confession, and love.

  • Thank you. This excellent article keeps me in proper perspective, and encourages me to look to our SAVIOUR’s return for us and for HIS beloved Israel.

  • I’ll have to read this whole article again and concentrate better {more coffee}!! In my opinion, Obama was a jerk-face and President trump in on the right track! If he succeeds in moving the U.N. Embassy to Jerusalem, what a deal ! Any one who doesn’t supports God’s Chosen people is a fool!

  • I just think our President, as good as his intentions may be, needs to be extremely careful with someone like Mahmoud Abbas.

  • I want to take the evangelestic approach and say man is a sinner in need of a Savior– Jesus Christ– Jesus has the power and is willingly available to forgive anyone of their sins but one must receive the pardon which is the greatest free gift for all mankind. Without the Jesus or (Yeshua)man is lost. Well, come off your own throne onto His throne. Man cannot save himself. There is accountability and God the Father sent His only begotten Son to destroy the works of the Devil! Therefore be reconciled to Him. How do you become reconciled? Believe that Jesus died on a cross which He made, was buried and arose the third day. Don’t be blinded by the prince and power of the air (Satan) and place your trust or belief in Jesus. Have you received Him yet?Once you confess your sins God forgives and forgets and throws them over His back to remember them no more and empowers you through The Holy Spirit to live for Hiim. ( the third person of the triune God). Folks, Jesus alone is worthy! No other person,place or thing. Will you establish a relationship with your creator? You do have a morale conscience and know right from wrong. It you need help and power from God to live out the belief in Jesus then acknowledge Him for He cares for you! God .God wouldn’t lie to you. If you don’t believe what I am saying find a Holy Bible and look up these verses.John 3:16. Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23. Ephesians 2:4–10. 1 Corinthians 15:verses 1-4.( the gospel). Then talk to God which is called prayer; He will give you peace in any circumstance especially when you start talking to Him because by doing so you are exercising your Faith even when you don’t understand, He will help you to understand.

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