While jihadists continue to wreck havoc in the Middle East, President Obama admits “We don’t have a strategy yet.”  Hamas (primarily in the Gaza Strip), al-Qaeda (in Syria and elsewhere), ISIS (in Syria and Iraq), and Islamic Jihad (in Gaza and elsewhere) are various terrorist groups with common goals:  annihilate Israel, then come after America.  Each day that our national leaders fail to determine and implement a strategy is a day closer to Islamic radicals unleashing terror on Israel and the US.  It is no coincidence that the radicals call Israel the “little Satan,” and the United States the “great Satan.”  We must wake up!  Former senator and presidential candidate, Rick Santorum, and others have introduced strategies for dealing with the jihadists. Let’s pray that our president and his staff come up with a strategy…and very soon.

Meanwhile, while the truce with Hamas in the Gaza Strip is seems to be holding for now, things are heating up on the border with Syria.  Jabhat al-Nusra (aka al-Qaeda in Syria) has taken over the single border crossing into Israel, and Syrian rebels have kidnapped 43 UN peacekeepers who were stationed in the demilitarized zone.  Thus, the Syrian civil war has advanced to within 200 yards of Israel’s border.  Mortar fire and shelling into Israel are becoming routine occurrences and the IDF is on high alert.  Below is a picture of the UN encampment on the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria.

ISIS is also active in Syria, recently executing at least 250 Syrian soldiers in northern Syria, after killing over 600 Syrian soldiers on August 19 while taking over a Syrian air base.  Meanwhile, ISIS continues to overrun Iraq while ruthlessly murdering Christians who refuse to convert to Islam.

The ultimate goal of Islamic radicals is to take over the world and set up a universal caliphate…a world ruled by Islamic sharia law.  Indeed, friends, if our nation’s leaders delay in developing and implementing a strategy, America is in significant jeopardy of jihadist activity rising up in our land.  They are already implanted in our cities and towns, and have made their intentions very clear.  Check out the map below to see what terrorist groups are in your area.  (This map from 2002 is the most recent I have found.  Rest assured, the terrorist network is much greater today.)

As believers, it is our responsibility to pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2).  May God grant them wisdom to be as the sons of Issachar, understanding the times and having knowledge of what they should do.  (1 Chronicles 12:32)