Repeating The Same Mistake

Let's examine the facts:

President Barack Obama and Vice-President Biden presided over the devastating withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq in 2011. Biden boasted at the time that pulling the troops out of Iraq "could be one of the great achievements of this administration," and thanked President Obama "for giving him the chance to end the Iraq war."

However, the war in Iraq was far from over, and in reality the withdrawal rejuvenated the terrorists that had been decimated by the presence of American troops. The vacuum resulted in the Islamic State capturing territory in Iraq and Syria that was the size of the country of Britain. The atrocities that they committed included not only terrorizing the local population but over 140 attacks in over 25 countries. Yet we can determine from Biden's statements on record that as late as 2013 he felt "happy" and fulfilled" with the decision to withdraw the troops from Iraq. 

Fast forward 2 1/2 years and the Obama administration relented and sent U.S. forces back into Iraq to deal with the terrorists they had allowed to prosper. Incredibly, we have to jump to 2020 to finally see an admission from Biden that the decision to withdraw all the troops from Iraq "was a mistake." And  during the presidential campaign of 2020, Biden even pointed fingers at President Trump's decision to withdraw a small force of U.S. troops from Syria saying, "when we leave a vacuum, like he's leaving it, it creates significant opportunities for difficulty." 

You think?

And yet . . . 

Just Come In

 

C.S. Lewis Quotes on Heaven

"Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind."

"Joy is the serious business of heaven."

"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."

"To every soul, God will look like it's first love because He IS its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it - made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand."

"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."

"The fact that our heart yearns for something Earth can't supply is proof that Heaven must be our home."

"The good things even of this world are far too good ever to be reached by imagination. Even the common orange, you know: no one could have imagined it before he tasted it. How much less Heaven."

"If we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell."

"Heaven is reality itself. All that is fully real is Heavenly. For all that can be shaken will be shaken and only the unshakeable remains."

Prayers For Afghanistan

"Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)

Even with the restraining force of a U.S. military presence, Afghanistan was listed by Open Doors as a land where “persecution is only very slightly less oppressive than in North Korea.” Christian converts faced dire consequences if their new faith was discovered. As Open Doors notes, they either had to flee the country or they would be killed. “How we survive daily only God knows,” says one secret Afghan believer. “He knows because he has been kind to dwell with us. But we are tired of all the death around us.”

Today, as U.S. troops rapidly exit the country, followers of Christ in Afghanistan have become even more exposed to persecution. Girls and women will also suffer, as will those who helped Western forces for the past 20 years. We need to diligently pray for these vulnerable populations, and ask that God will protect them from the suffering to come.