Haaretz by Jack Khoury and Haaretz (excerpts):  Russian warships are due to arrive at Syrian territorial waters, a Syrian news agency said on Thursday, indicating that the move represented a clear message to the West that Moscow would resist any foreign intervention in the country's civil unrest.  The Arab League suspended Syria earlier this week over its deadly crackdown on an eight-month-old uprising.  The 22 member body has proposed sending hundreds of observers to the country to try to help end the bloodshed.  The report came a day after a draft resolution backed by Arab and European countries and the United States was submitted to the United Nations General Assembly, seeking to condemn human rights violations in the ongoing violence in Syria.  Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia were among the Arab states that joined Germany, Britain and France to sponsor the draft submitted to the assembly's human rights committee.  In Washington, the State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the US would sign on as a cosponsor of the resolution.  The draft demanded an end to violence, respect of human rights and implementation by Damascus of a plan of action of the Arab league.  The move comes as clashes escalated in Syria and after Russia and China used their veto in October to block a Security Council resolution that would have condemned the Syrian government of president Bashir for the violence.  The UN says that more than 3,500 people have been killed since unrest erupted in the spring against Assad.      

Commentary:  In that the United States has already committed to "sign as cosponsor" the resolution presented by the Arab League, it is extremely preemptive that Russia would make such a move as send warships to Syria - unless there is an ulterior motive.  Russia has already issued strong warnings against possible US intervention against Iran's nuclear progress [with Iran's threats against Israel].  It appears that Russia may have a much weightier reason than to just "watch over" Syria with warships at this time.  Russia denies the allegations, but intelligence reports have implicated the Russian scientist, Vyacheslav Danilenko, in assisting Iran with technology necessary to build a nuclear weapon.  They deem the current situation in Syria a viable excuse to send warships to Syrian waters, but it is flimsy at best.  The Word of God tells us in Ezekiel 38, that a "large company from the North, Magog (modern Russia), will come against Israel in the latter days," but that God will defend His people.  No one can say how quickly this battle will move forward, but it is a certainty, according to the Word of God, and this is the start of a prophetic presence in the Middle East, which should peak all of our interests.  We are living in the last days before the return of the Lord.  All of the prophetic signs were foretold by Jesus in Matthew 24.  "Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places" Matthew 24:7 (there is much more to read in Matthew 24 about the signs of the return of Jesus).