URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS:
"Syrian Christians Brace for Strike, Ask for Prayer," - by Gary Lane, August 31, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/Syrian-Christians-Brace-for-Strike-Ask-for-Prayer/"As Syrians brace themselves for a possible U.S. military attack, many of the county's Christians are praying for divine intervention. They say military action against the Assad regime will only bring them greater hardship and suffering and they're asking Christians worldwide to pray that God intervenes to bring peace to their nation. They believe the collective prayers of Christians around the world could reverse an escalating conflict..."
"Syrian Christians Brace for Strike, Ask for Prayer," - by Gary Lane, August 31, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/Syrian-Christians-Brace-for-Strike-Ask-for-Prayer/"As Syrians brace themselves for a possible U.S. military attack, many of the county's Christians are praying for divine intervention. They say military action against the Assad regime will only bring them greater hardship and suffering and they're asking Christians worldwide to pray that God intervenes to bring peace to their nation. They believe the collective prayers of Christians around the world could reverse an escalating conflict..."
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
Oct. 14 -"Kenneth Bae, Mom Meet; Release Not Guaranteed" - CBNNews.com, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Mother-Visits-Missionary-Jailed-in-North-Korea/Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"- CBNNews.com, Aug 14, 2013 http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/ - The United States is willing to engage North Korea to secure the release of imprisoned American Christian Kenneth Bae. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States is "willing to consider a number of different options" to bring him home.In a video recently released by a North Korean newspaper, Bae requested the United States send a high-ranking official to North Korea to seek his pardon. It is unclear if he spoke of his own volition in the video. Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for sharing his faith. He suffers health problems such as diabetes and is currently hospitalized.[PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.]
Oct. 14 -"Kenneth Bae, Mom Meet; Release Not Guaranteed" - CBNNews.com, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Mother-Visits-Missionary-Jailed-in-North-Korea/Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"- CBNNews.com, Aug 14, 2013 http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/ - The United States is willing to engage North Korea to secure the release of imprisoned American Christian Kenneth Bae. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States is "willing to consider a number of different options" to bring him home.In a video recently released by a North Korean newspaper, Bae requested the United States send a high-ranking official to North Korea to seek his pardon. It is unclear if he spoke of his own volition in the video. Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for sharing his faith. He suffers health problems such as diabetes and is currently hospitalized.[PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.]
Vigils Mark One Year Imprisonment of Pastor Saeed - CBNNews.com, Thursday, September 26, 2013 - Today marks one-year that American pastor Saeed Abedini has been held in an Iranian prison. He is serving an eight-year sentence because of his Christian faith. It has been a year of torment as he has suffered beatings, physical pain from untreated medical conditions, and separation from his wife and two children... The suffering has not dampened his passion for Jesus. Pastor Abedini has led more than 30 prisoners to Christ during his time in prison. This afternoon, thousands of Americans from coast to coast will pray for his release. Events will be held in 40 states at capitols, city halls, parks and churches. Thousands more will join from 15 nations around the world
PRAY: - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- BOLDly (Beside Our Leaders Daily) for leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release.
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"CAPTAIN PHILLIPS AND BENGHAZI,"by: Betsy McCaughey,10/16/2013; http://www.humanevents.com/2013/10/16/captain-phillips-and-benghazi/
PRAY: - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- BOLDly (Beside Our Leaders Daily) for leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release.
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In 2009, Somali pirates hijacked the Maersk Alabama, a cargo ship flying the American flag and took the ship’s captain, Richard Phillips, for ransom. The United States Navy dispatched three warships, two helicopters, a surveillance drone, and parachuted in the famous Navy SEAL team 6 to rescue Phillips in a six-day feat portrayed in the newly released movie “Captain Phillips.” Anyone watching this real-life thriller will ask: Why wasn’t a similar rescue mounted at Benghazi, Libya, where Ambassador Christopher Stevens and other Americans were attacked on Sept. 11, 2012?
On day six of Phillips’ captivity at sea, Navy SEAL marksmen positioned on the fantail of the USS Bainbridge were given the go-ahead to shoot the three pirates holding Phillips, because one of them had an AK-47 pointed at Phillips’ back. That authorization came from President Barack Obama.
But where was the president on the night of Sept. 11, 2012 [the night of the attack on the embassy at Bengazi]? According to congressional testimony from administration officials, Obama stayed uninvolved. He was told about the attack at 5:15 p.m. during a routine meeting with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. But the president left it up to others to decide what to do and never once in the ensuing hours asked for an update of the fate of the besieged Americans. That’s either a lie or a dereliction of duty.
Ambassador Stevens made two calls for help, as the firefight began. Former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty also called for military assistance. But no military response of any sort was attempted. Panetta later explained to Congress that there wasn’t time to get forces to Benghazi. How did he know there wasn’t time? No one could have known at 5 p.m. how long the fighting would last.
At a hearing earlier this year, Congressman Adam Kinsginger, a former Air Force pilot and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee suggested F-16 planes could have been dispatched from Aviano Air Base in Spain (a three hour flight) to buzz the consulate and disperse the attacking jihadists.
The most damning testimony, which backed up Kinsginger’s view, came from Gregory Hicks, who was deputy chief of mission in Libya. On May 8, 2013, Hicks told Congress that if the U.S. had sent fighter jets after the first incident in what turned out to be an 8-hour deadly ordeal, it would have prevented the mortar attacks on the CIA annex that killed Americans Instead, CNN news network got to Benghazi before military backup.
For over a year, members of Congress have tried to get to the truth about the failure to attempt a military rescue at Benghazi. Where did the order for the military to stand down originate? So far, the administration has stonewalled.
The other festering question is what Hillary Clinton, then secretary of state and Stevens’ boss, knew on the night of the attack and why she failed to protect him and the other Americans serving at the consulate.
In the movie, “Captain Phillips” is a hero. Perhaps not in real life, though. In fact, 11 crew members from the Maersk Alabama are suing, claiming Phillips needlessly exposed them to danger by piloting the ship too close to the Somali coastline.
But the heroism of Phillips’ rescuers is not disputed. Go see “Captain Phillips.” When the USS Bainbridge and the USS Halyburton appear on the horizon and Navy SEALS start parachuting from the sky, you’ll feel proud the Yanks have come to the rescue.
That’s the way it has always been, in the movies and in real life, except on Sept. 11[2012] in Benghazi. Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods’ father, Charles Woods, told a Citizens Commission on Benghazi that “this is the first time in our history that the military hasn’t come to the rescue when called.”
Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. governor of New York and the author of “Beating Obamacare.”
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
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