He is known to have in times past assisted North Korea, Iran and Libya in acquiring nuclear components on the weapons black market. Danielle Pletka, a spokesperson for the American Enterprise Institute who is well briefed on the Mideast nuclear situation, said that "the United States government has consistently outlined our concerns with regard to Syria's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. We are very interested to learn the scope of the A Q Khan network, but we are not in a position to say with certainty that Syria has centrifuges" ( The Sunday Times, July 4).

Also, Steven Cooke of the Council of Foreign Relations stated that "it's no secret the Syrians have historically sought an answer to Israel's overwhelming conventional superiority and have an active biological and chemical weapons programme. If they could acquire a nuclear option, it would shift the strategic situation in the region" (ibid.).

All this information (including the article about Iran above) makes columnist Gerald Seib's comments all the more interesting. In his piece "While US Politics Focuses Elsewhere, Atomic Threat Stews," he says: "If Iran keeps moving toward a nuclear weapon, Israel may launch a pre-emptive strike to stop it . . . If Iran crosses the finish line anyway, Egypt and Saudi Arabia . . . may decide they also need nuclear arms" ( Wall Street Journal Europe, Aug. 11). The same could apply to Syria.

The Middle East is a very unstable area in an uncertain world. One can see why so much of end-time biblical prophecy is focused on this part of the globe. To understand the real significance behind today's dangerous developments, request or download our free booklets The Middle East in Bible Prophecy and Are We Living in the Time of the End? All of these events and trends add to the solid indicators that we are living in what the Bible calls the latter days. (Sources: The Sunday Times [London], The Wall Street Journal Europe.)