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PASTOR GENERAL'S
REPORT
TO THE MINISTRY OF THE
WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD
VOL.l N0.2
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
THE YEAR THAT WAS
AND
THE YEAR NOW BEGINNING
by Herbert W. Armstrong
DECEMBER 27, 1979
We are ending one of the most significant, evil, and hap ss years in
the world, and one of paradoxical persecution and at the same time success
ful and productive years in God
1
s Work.
In the world there
the Middle East between
epidemics of starvation
ended with the American
small nation Iran.
were wars here and there
Israel and Egypt. There
men, women and babies
GIANT being held hostage
amid efforts for peace in
was one of the greatest
in history. And the year
by the comparatively
A mob of angry Iranian militants has been able to put the most power
=ul nation on earth behind the eight ball, leaving the United States help
less! The principal U.S. objective is to free the 50 hostages of the'u.s.
Embassy alive. President Carter has said he has several options. But not
one of them will work.
If the U.S. uses military invasion, that will defeat the whole
American purpose, for the terrorists would kill all hostages before the
invasion would reach the outskirts of Tehran. If the U.S. uses a naval
blockade, Mr. Carter would have to allow oil shipments to go out to coun
tries in the Russian orbit and Japan, which would keep Iran prosperous, and
also allow medicines and certain foodstuffs to go in. Such a blockade
would not hurt Iran for a long time.
Mr. Carter has planned to ask the UN for economic sanctions. The
indication has been that the Kremlin and China would abstain from voting
and America would have to get three or four third world nations to join in
--meaning Arabs, and it appeared up to Christmas day to be impossible to
get them. Besides, all these options endanger the U.S. peace with the
Soviets. The U.S. cannot risk a nuclear World War III with Russia!
Already the International Court of Justice at The Hague has rendered
the unanimous verdict in U.S. favor, but Khomeini ignores that, and
has no means of enforcing its verdict--so it was useless.
The Iranians are "sitting pretty," and the U.S. is "a sitting duck,"-
helpless to do anything. All this, so far, has skyrocketed Mr. Carter•s
popularity with the voters--but the Ayatollah sneers that he is doing it
for personal political reasons. Chances are, before e ction time the
Carter popularity will skid down again when American voters wake up to the
fact he has succeeded at NOTHING.