Acknowledging that "our enemy is far from being defeated," President Bush assured U.S. troops Wednesday that he would come up with a better plan for victory in Iraq. "We're not going to give up. The stakes are too high and the consequences too grave to turn Iraq over to extremists." Speaking directly to the troops, he declared his unshakable commitment to his goals for Iraq. "We're going to give you the tools necessary to succeed," he said, "and a strategy to help you succeed. I will be delivering my plans after a long deliberation, after steady deliberation," the president said. "I'm not going to be rushed into a difficult decision."
Pray for the president to seek the law of the Lord to prevail over our enemies. • "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies; for they are ever with me." ( Ps.119:97- 98)
2. The President And Mrs. Bush Host The White House Summit On Malaria - McClatchy
The goal of Thursday's White House Summit on Malaria is to rally the nation for a mammoth public- health campaign that would rival the effort that defeated polio in the 1960s. If all goes as planned, schoolchildren across America will join corporations, religious organizations, charities and the federal government in a mission to cut Africa's death rate from malaria in half within five years. “We're actually trying to create the 21st-century version of the March of Dimes,” said John Bridgeland of Malaria No More, one of the summit's sponsors. “The last generation wiped out smallpox and polio. This generation's cause celebre can be malaria.”
• Pray for Christian organizations to head this campaign and for Jesus to be presented as the great physician. • "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction ; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies . . ." ( Ps. 103:2-4)
3. Federal Judge Upholds Military Commissions Act - The Washington Post
A federal judge dismissed yesterday a challenge from Osama bin Laden's driver over his more than four years of detention at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, saying a new anti-terrorism law approved by Congress this fall removes the lower court's jurisdiction in the matter. “We are pleased that Judge Robertson agreed that the Military Commissions Act removes federal court jurisdiction over this and similar cases, and that the Military Commissions Act is constitutional,” said Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.
• Thank You, Lord, for Judge Robertson's decision to reject this challenge. • "Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgement to rest for a light of the people." (Is. 51:4)
4. Attorney General Gonzales Considers Civil Commitments For Violent Sex Offenders - USA Today
The initiative, modeled after “civil commitment” laws in 18 states that have kept 2,000 sex offenders locked up for mental health treatment after they served their sentences, will identify federal inmates who authorities think would pose a threat if freed. “We're working with the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to see how we implement the plan,” Gonzales says. Congress has “given us the right to pursue (civil commitments) and we are going to,” Gonzales told prosecutors here last week.
• We pray for the Lord's counsel and instruction of wisdom in each individual case. • "A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end." (Prov. 19:19-20)
5. State Department To Announce Global Human Rights Initiative - Agence France Presse
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will unveil a series of US initiatives to protect human rights activists facing a “global trend” of government crackdowns, the State Department said. The campaign, timed to coincide with International Human Rights Week, will involve several initiatives “to help recognize and then defend human rights workers around the world,” department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said Wednesday. The measures are in response to “a global trend of government crackdowns on non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders,” he said, without providing further details or saying which countries could be targeted.
• Pray for the Lord's will be done in this global human rights initiative. Pray protection be granted to workers that labor for good. • "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of his saints: he delivers them out of the hand of the wicked." (Prov. 2:8)
6. Ban Ki-moon sworn in as 8th secretary-general of the United Nations - USA Today
South Korea's Ban Ki-moon was sworn in Thursday as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations, promising to make his top priority the restoration of trust in the world body that has been tarnished by corruption scandals.
• Lift up Ban Ki-Moon as he assumes his new role in the United Nations. Ask our Lord to guide him always in the way he should go . . . and that he would seek the face of God for that guidance.
• "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." (Psalm 32:8)
