The United States Secretary of Defense, Panetta, has warned Iran that it should not interfere with the rebuilding of war torn Iraq in light of the withdrawal of US troops and he said that the United States will maintain a significant military presence in the Middle East.
The Secretary of Defense said that the United States mission in Iraq has always been to develop an Iraq that could govern and secure itself and the United States will maintain a long term relationship with Iraq. No one, most particularly, Iran, should miscalculate US intentions to the continuing commitment to Iraq's going forward into the future.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective
The withdrawal of US soldiers from Iraq may send mixed signals, however, it sets the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
After many years of debate over the United States military being in Iraq and the deaths of thousands US soldiers, the United States decided to pull all of the US personnel out of Iraq. The stated mission for a US presence in Iraq has always been to help rebuild this war torn nation. Even as the United States troops pulled out, the Iraqi government is very unstable with an ever increasing tension between the three parties of the Iraqi body politic; the Kurds in the North, the Shiites in the South, and the Sunnis, the former ruling party.
This situation in Iraq, however, is in reality setting the stage for the end times scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy. Though Iran has a key role prophetically, that role does not necessarily include Iraq, according to Ezekiel 38:5. Iran will be off the scene by the time Iraq, Biblical Babylon, comes to power. Revelation 18 is the prophetic passage that speaks of the Iraqi factor in Bible prophecy and it reveals that it will be the economic center of the world.
Babylon will rule in the affairs of all of humankind on earth. From Babylon, the Antichrist will cause all who want to buy or sell any and all necessities of life to take an identification mark in order to do so, Revelation 13:16-17.
Iran aside, Iraq does play a role in the future.
