The news from the Middle East seems upbeat these last few weeks, in regards to the Islamic State (IS).
Iraqi forces are on the verge of exterminating the last militant fighters from Mosul. Forces are now encroaching on the IS capital city of Raqqa. The money flowing to IS is only 20% of what it was at its peak. It would seem IS is on the decline.
Daniel 7:4-5 tells us Daniel was watching the lion being forced to stand, and then, behold, the bear being told to eat. We are to watch the lion, and then the bear. We saw the lion being forced to stand in 2005 and it is still standing through the subsequent elections. Iraq is still there, with its capital city Baghdad, its democratic government, and its sovereign territory being won back in the north part of the country.
IS is a preview of things to come. It was also a testing ground for Iran’s IRGC battleground tactics training.
The Signposts continue.
Iraq, the lion, is still standing.
Iran, the bear, and its mauling and running about, is still next.
As far as we know.
Categories: In The News, Signpost #1: Iraq, The Signpost Perspective
THE FOUR SIGNPOSTS 
I wonder if Iran will make some kind of move into Syria as the cease fire gives them an opportunity
The Lion is still standing?
“Iran Dominates in Iraq After U.S. ‘Handed the Country Over’”
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/15/world/middleeast/iran-iraq-iranian-power.html
This recent NY Times article can be summarized by stating that we only see the skin of a dead lion, which barely covers a very much alive and kicking bear…
Adamant,
We will have to disagree. When the bear runs amok, Iraq will then cease to be – and its parliamentary form of government and its sovereign territory will be “consumed” by Iran. As will Syria, Saudi Arabia, etc.
You are right of course if you look at the formal, internationally recognized Iraqi government, no matter how Iran-controlled that may be. My idea is that when Iran will be unleashed, it will be not only from Iran itself, but also from Iraq, where at that moment it probably will have considerable forces.
The Iraqi Shiite militia, the PMU, is formally embedded in the Iraqi army but actually controlled by Iran, and filling the power vacuum after the defeat of ISIS:
“Understanding IRGC’s long-term goals in Iraq”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2017/07/19/Understanding-IRGC-s-long-term-goals-in-Iraq.html
If the Iraqi government is both willing and capable to stop this, as the author hopes, then the Iraqi lion is alive and kicking. Which will probably provoke a full blown invasion of Iraq by Iran or at least a coup d’etat by the PMU. If the Iraqi government is not willing and capable to stop the PMU, it is just a figurehead, and then Iraq is just one of the bears paws, so to say.
The following might be the trigger for the second signpost, but probably just one more phase in getting Iraq even more under Iranian control and even more filled with the IRGC and its allies:
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guard begins recruitment for war against Iraqi Kurdistan”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2017/07/19/Iran-s-Revolutionary-Guard-begins-recruitment-campaign-for-war-against-Iraqi-Kurdistan.html
Poor Kurds! They might get between the hammer Iran and the anvil Turkey…