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The Epoch Point by Spencer Zimmerman is a religious historical conspiracy thriller that follows evil throughout the existence of mankind, revealing the constant conflict between God and the devil, good and evil. Robert Davis is a young Airman fresh out of Air Force basic training who, after being held captive in China, suddenly finds himself unraveling the most immense conspiracy in history. On duty during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he soon uncovers hidden facts suggesting Russian and Iraqi involvement. While exploring abandoned military barracks at Kessler AFB in Mississippi, Davis and his friends discover the diary of Lee Harvey Oswald. Suddenly the Airmen find themselves the target of mysterious agents. As the clues surface, an evil emerges powerful enough to rewrite the entire history of humanity, not to mention kill two of his good friends. Before long the conspiracy takes on a supernatural form, marked by lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes, and volcanoes, the wrath of God. Davis finds himself torn by the unbelievable realization that God has a message for him. Nothing could prepare him for the final suspenseful twist the story takes, a Da Vinci style revelation that reaffirms his belief in Christ.
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Al Qaeda Nostra
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The oil thefts often occur near Mosul and Kirkuk, says Ibrahim Bahriluloum, a former oil minister. Informers alert AQI operatives about oil truck movements, says an Iraqi intelligence officer. Operatives seize the vehicles at checkpoints and drive across the border into Iran. Once there, they put Iranian license plates on the trucks, then drive back into Iraq pretending the vehicles and fuel are from Iran. "They sell the fuel for high prices, because in this area fuel is hard to come by even though we have a lot of oil in Iraq," the intelligence officer says. The government-set price for a barrel of kerosene, for example is $4. AQI sells the kerosene for up to $70 a barrel. "I cannot tell you the exact numbers for the Qaeda groups we arrested, but in general most of the oil-stealing gangs in the west and north of Iraq … belong to the Islamic State of Iraq," says Gen. Hamid Abdullah Ibrahim Hamid, commander of the Interior Ministry's oil police.
Oil profiteering has become increasingly important as diplomatic efforts slow the spigot of money from jihadists in countries like Saudi Arabia and Syria. "There have been historic ties to elements outside of Iraq that have provided funding to Al Qaeda inside Iraq," Smith says. That money helped AQI purchase arms, pay salaries and bribes and stage attacks. But in the last two years the United States "has gone after those finance networks pretty heavily," Smith says. At the same time, many Sunnis who once gave the group moral and material support have "awakened" and defected to form alliances, now called Sons of Iraq, which inform on and fight against the insurgents. Sons of Iraq, previously known as "concerned local citizens" now number 106,000, up from about 80,000 at the end of January.
AQI is hardly a wholly spent force. The group has carried out gruesome retaliations on members of the Sons of Iraq, and attacks in Nineveh, which includes Mosul, have dropped only slightly, from 180 a week to 140 over the last year. "We're just now starting to see a decline, but it remains the area where they are strongest," says a senior U.S. military officer familiar with coalition operations. "We're making this a challenge, but they still have some punch." The power of that punch, though, may be declining as fast as the price on al-Masri's head.
With Omar al-Mansouri and Ahmed Obeidi in Baghdad
© 2008
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