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WWW.ISISIRANANDISRAELBOOK.COM
ISIS, Iran and Israel: What You Need to Know about the Current Mideast Crisis
and the Coming Mideast War
Copyright © 2016 by Chris Mitchell
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is
prohibited.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system without express written permission
from the contributing writer or the publisher except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For more information
contact [email protected]
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by
Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Publication date: February 2016
ISBN Print: 978-0-9862233-3-4
ISBN eBook: 978-0-9862233-4-1
ISBN ePDF: 978-0-9862233-5-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016931124
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in
regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the
author or the publisher is not engaged in rendering any type of professional
services. If expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional
should be sought.
1. ISIS 2. Israel 3. Iran 4. Middle East 5. Terrorists 6. Persecution 7. Iran
Nuclear Treaty 8. Russia
I. Mitchell, Chris II. ISIS, Iran and Israel
ISIS, Iran and Israel may be purchased at special quantity discounts. Resale
opportunities are available for sales promotions, corporate programs, gifts, fund
raising, book clubs, or educational purposes for churches, congregations, schools
and universities. For more information contact Mel Cohen:
1000 Pearl Road
Pleasantville, TN 37033
Pleasantville, TN 37033
931-593-2484
Have Chris Mitchell speak at your live event or by videoconferencing. For
information call Mel at 931-593-2484 or email Mel at
[email protected]
Editors: Mel Cohen, Anne Severance
Cover design: Megan Van Vuren
Interior layout: Lynne Hopwood
Photos by Jonathan Goff
Publishing Consultant: Mel Cohen of Inspired Authors Press LLC
www.inspiredauthorspress.com
Publisher: C & L Publishing LLC
ISIS, Iran and Israel Website: www.isisiranandisraelbook.com
Printed in the United States of America
Dedicated to Elizabeth, the “wife of my youth.”
It’s been said, “A good friend listens to your adventures, and a best friend makes
them with you.”
Here’s to our adventures, past, present and future.
Remember, the best is yet to come!
Acknowledgments
Winston Churchill said, “Writing a book is an adventure.” Penning ISIS, Iran
and Israel was no exception… although the companions on the adventure make
all the difference. My wife Elizabeth joined me 37 years ago and, as Winnie the
Pooh said, “As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen.”
Here we are nearly four decades into our friendship, and it’s still true that “a
good friend listens to your adventures; a best friend makes them with you.”
Here’s to this adventure that’s “in the book” and the new ones around the corner.
Thanks for being my best friend and letting me go “around the corner.”
Speaking of around the corner, our young tribe is now “around the world,”
launched out on their own adventures. Philip, Kathleen and Grace inspired ISIS,
Iran and Israel from afar. Now Philip and his best friend, Caitlyn, have birthed a
new generation and are launching out on their own new adventures with their
fellow traveler Simone. My fellow travelers in the Mitchell clan—Kevin, Brian
and Nancy (Clarke) and Jeanne—continue to encourage this sojourner scribe on
his way home. We all remember Rick, whose new Heavenly adventure has
already begun.
My adventure with CBN began more than a quarter of a century ago. Its vision
to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth was a star to which I hitched my
wagon all those years ago. More than a half a century into fulfilling its mandate
to prepare the way of the Lord, Founder Pat Robertson, CEO Gordon Robertson
and so many others are engaged in a labor of love and devotion to the One who
birthed this Heavenly vision. Their faithfulness allows this reporter to step onto
the front lines and find a front-row seat to His story. Behind CBN’s worldwide
team is an army of partners whose steadfast support and prayers make forays
into Kurdistan and other destinations possible. Thank you!
Fellow companions on these expeditions are an extraordinary CBN News team
from Virginia Beach to Washington DC, led by Rob Allman. Here, in the city of
the Great King, a fabulous bureau—Julie Stahl, Tzippe Barrow, Yehuda
Chamorro, Annika Kopp, Nissim Lerner, Colette Cheramie and Lesly Bertell—
experience the awe of telling the stories of this age from the epicenter. Jonathan
Goff, our intrepid cameraman, shared many of these adventures. His pluck, good
humor, resourcefulness and Godliness got us through many predicaments and
yielded outstanding results. On the field in Kurdistan, Pastor Majeed proved an
invaluable resource, companion, friend and brother to his two sidekicks from the
Holy Land. From America’s heartland, John Waage added his invaluable Middle
East expertise to our coverage.
Throughout the process, unsung, unseen and unheralded intercessors have held
up my hands and heart through their steadfast prayers and intercession. Whether
in the streets of Kirkuk, on the front lines of ISIS or at my computer in
Jerusalem, their cries to the One who hears and answers have protected,
encouraged and inspired this herald. Their prayers breathed life into ISIS, Iran
and Israel. I benefit from those prayers whether whispered in the secret place or
shouted amongst the Body. We all share in the fruit. This side of Heaven, their
full story may never be told, yet He knows.
On the earth: the practical work of publishing lay on the capable, experienced
shoulders of Mel Cohen, our publishing consultant from Inspired Authors Press.
He’s been the penultimate maestro, orchestrating all the various elements to
bring ISIS, Iran and Israel to fruition. Anne Severance’s copy editing guardrails
kept this author from veering off the straight and narrow road of good grammar
and proper punctuation. More importantly, her prayers and belief in this message
and its power to bless inspired this scribe throughout the editing. Lynne
Hopwood added her expert graphic design and creativity.
This tome owes its heart to those brave men and women throughout the Middle
East who have endured unspeakable horrors, yet who remain faithful to their
Lord Jesus. They are the heroes of our age, who stand in the face of terror and
yet lift up their eyes to see their Redemption drawing nigh.
Finally, to the three most important Persons in my life: my Father, under whose
wings I find shelter, who sets my times and seasons and whose Kingdom I long
to see; to Jesus, who found me when I was lost and now steers me through the
shoals of life and to the Holy Spirit, whose still, small voice comforts and
guides. Their love is my beacon, guiding this homesick soul home. Maranatha!
1
A Perfect Storm
“The warfare now taking place in Iraq and Syria is happening against a
background of what the Americans call a ‘perfect storm,’ that is an assortment
of events…whose coming together creates an occurrence far more powerful than
the sum of its parts.”
–Yaakov Amidror, “Perfect Storm: The Implications of Middle East Chaos1
The twin prop plane roared above Israel’s Negev Desert. From the window, I
could see the craggy terrain thousands of feet below. Purple-tinted mountains
bracketed a trough of flat, barren land. Modern Jordan’s border began at the foot
of the mountains to the east where ancient Moab ruled. Other ancients like the
Persians, Assyrians, and Romans once stalked these lands millennia ago. They
came for conquest and war. Now I flew with a planeload of foreign and Israeli
journalists toward Israel’s lavish resort city of Eilat. We hadn’t come for a
holiday. Instead, one theme would resonate through a myriad of news outlets:
after thousands of years, the winds of war still swirl throughout the Middle East.
Israel’s Government Press Office had provided the plane and invited us to see
the latest evidence of how the Islamic Republic of Iran—descendants of those
ancient Persians—is waging war against the modern-day children of Israel. Days
earlier, Israeli commandoes had seized an Iranian ship hundreds of miles away
in the Red Sea. The ship carried a large cache of weapons bound for Hamas and
the Gaza Strip. Israeli and U.S. intelligence tracked the nefarious shipment all
the way from Bander Abbas, Iran’s main port. After a bumpy landing and a short
bus ride to Israel’s naval port, we got to see the contraband for ourselves. Two
Israeli warships—the INS Hetz and Hanit—stood sentry over a dock arrayed
with Syrian-made and Iranian-shipped weapons. Neatly lined across the pier sat
40 long-range missiles, nearly 200 mortars, and 400,000 rounds of ammunition.
Iran hid the booty in the belly of the ship where shipping containers held the
deadly cargo concealed in bags of cement marked “Made in Iran.”
