Epstein Secrets

with Secretary of State John Kerry here this week, the =ussian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, hinted that Moscow might finally pressure President Bashir al-Assad of Syria to l=ave office. 2 EFTA_R1_00107015 EFTA01785153 "We are not interested in the fate =f certain individuals," Mr. Lavrov said at a late

y furt=er. Jerusalem, ultimately, has little interest in actively hastening the f=ll of Bashar al-Assad. Israel knows one important thin= about the Assads: for the past 40 years, they have managed to preserve so=e form of calm along the border. Technically, the two countries have always been at war --

e, the Alawite regime in Damascus and Hezbol=ah in Lebanon) is hell-bent on robbing them of their historic place in Iraq, their government's tilt to=ard Bashar al-Assad provided it. 5 EFTA_R1_00107018 EFTA01785156 It was a matter of time before =hese millennial conflicts were given new life by the Syrian civil w

untries have always been at war -- Syria has yet to officially r=cognize Israel -- but Israel has been able to count on the governments of =afez and Bashar Assad to enforce the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1=74, in which both sides agreed to a cease-fire in the Golan Heights, the disputed vantage poin

/2013=03-24/world/37989851_1maliki-iranian-flights-state-john-f-kerry> in Damascus. But in western Iraq, the Sunni strongholds of Anba= province and Mosul have been stirred up by the Syrian rebellion. The same=tribes straddle the border between the two countries. Smugglers and traders, and now Sunni w

bate is taking place in the Iranian establishment over whether its regional policies—backing Shi'a and Shi'a-friendly forces like Hezbollah and the Assad and Maliki governments to the hilt in brutal civil wars-is working. According to The Wall Street Journal, Iranian doves are pointing to the recent

Bye, Bye, Sykes-Picot." In other words, they are out to bring down not only the Syrian and Iraqi regimes but also the Arab system itself. President Bashar Al-Assad had said, in an interview with a Lebanese paper two weeks ago, that Damascus has received messages from Western governments lately. The Saudi roy

idely changing regional landscape. Ten days before the Egyptian- Saudi meeting, Iraq, the Middle East and the whole world was jolted by the fall of Mosul, the second largest Iraqi city, to the group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The threat of the territorial disintegration of I

e past five years. And Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda in Iraq's front group in Syria. is attempting to hijack the secular resistance to Syrian President Bashar al•Assad. These developments threaten not only to unravel the gains made since Page I 1 of 2 EFTA_R1_01956110 EFTA02674570 2007, but also to energize the

secular resistance to Syrian President Bashar al•Assad. These developments threaten not only to unravel

es are gathering former insurgents and preparing to fight. Violent incidents have already taken place, with more than 40 people killed in one day in Mosul alone. This has the gravest implications for Iraq's security and stability. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has already begun to reestablish itself in areas that

ther than avoiding war, it's hard to know what Obama wants. I know what he says, but actions always speak louder than words. For instance, he wanted Bashar al- Assad to cease using chemical weapons. His language was strong, nearly warlike: "Assad's government gassed to death over a thousand people, incl

t said, it's unlikely that Mr. Maliki will have the stomach to retake the Sunni- majority areas of western Iraq anytime soon. The rump Iraq, like the Assad regime in Syria, will be ever more in thrall to Iran, and committed to domestic policies that make the reconstitution of the country via a politica

. 1 Richard Cohen Article The National Interest ISIS Challenge in Iraq: Why America Should Work with Iran 4. Payam Mohseni Article NYT Take Mosul Back 5. Roger Cohen Article The Washington Post Obama's foreign policy of retreat 6. George F. Will Article 7. Foreign Policy Why the New

US continues to struggle with the decision whether to provide military support to the moderate faction of the Syrian rebels fighting to topple the Assad regime, the Saudis suggest that they see Syria as a defining moment — an opportunity to stop what they see as Iranian "meddling" in the region by r

communique noted then how sophisticated the attack was, combining car bombs, suicide bombers and coordinated mortar fire. When ISIS swept through Mosul this month, the group freed another 2,000 to 3,000 veteran fighters from a prison outside the town. Though the U.S. official describes Baghdadi as

American reliability among all =.S. allies in the region and beyond. That Iran has appea=ed far more determined to win in Syria, defined as keeping Assad in power,=than the United States has appeared in achieving its stated goal (that Ass=d must go) similarly shakes confidence in U.S. power and willpo

icious groups in chaotic conditions.<=span> ISIS is a threat fo= both Turkey and Saudi Arabia, but its easy conquests over the past week=97including Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city—were made possible by gove=nments hobbled by years of insurgency and opposition aided by those two countries and like-m

seen in other North African states, such as Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. I think it is likely to happen before too long. TB: What about Syria? DP: Assad's power is steadily diminishing and I cannot see how his regime will remain long in power. TB: Should the United States get involved there? DP: No

Fallujah and Samarra. Three days after that, a large protest closed the highway from Baghdad to Syria and Jordan. The popular resistance spread to Mosul on Dec. 27. These protests erupted during a constitutional crisis and as an expanding Arab-Kurd conflict has become increasingly militarized. Iraq

cent of the Golan Heights, it still fell short of Assad’s demand for a return to the 4 June 1967 lines, a

Resolu- tions 425 and 426. 18 June 2000 The UN Security Council confirms Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in a Presidential Statement. 10 July 2000 Bashar al-Assad is elected President of Syria in a nationwide referendum. 11-25 July 2000 Camp David II negotiations between Ehud Barak and Yasir Arafat. 25 July 2

rian peace deal that was not to come. Despite Barak offering Syrian President Hafez al-Assad 99 per cent of the Golan Heights, it still fell short of Assad’s demand for a return to the 4 June 1967 lines, and the Syria track subsequently crumbled. This put Arafat on the spot: how could he now, in front of

happen before too long. TB: What about Syria? DP: Assad's power is steadily diminishing and I cannot see

i, Fallujah and Samarra. Three days after that, a large protest closed the highway from Baghdad to Syria and Jordan. The popular resistance spread to Mosul on Dec. 27. These protests erupted during a constitutional crisis and as an expanding Arab-Kurd conflict has become increasingly militarized. Iraqi P

IGHT_028748 --- PAGE BREAK --- states, such as Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. I think it is likely to happen before too long. TB: What about Syria? DP: Assad's power is steadily diminishing and I cannot see how his regime will remain long in power. TB: Should the United States get involved there? DP: No, A

i, Fallujah and Samarra. Three days after that, a large protest closed the highway from Baghdad to Syria and Jordan. The popular resistance spread to Mosul on Dec. 27. These protests erupted during a constitutional crisis and as an expanding Arab-Kurd conflict has become increasingly militarized. Iraqi

HT_027122 --- PAGE BREAK --- states, such as Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. I think it is likely to happen before too long. TB: What about Syria? DP: Assad’s power is steadily diminishing and I cannot see how his regime will remain long in power. TB: Should the United States get involved there? DP: No,