Epstein Secrets

terview with Ray Takeyh Article 3. RCR The Brotherhood's Walking Korans Hillel Fradkin and Lewis Libby Article 4. Foreign Affairs Alawites for Assad: Why the Syrian Sect Backs the Regime Leon Goldsmith Article 5. Project Syndicate The Paranoid Style in Chinese Politics Minxin Pei Article 6.

Lebanon, and so forth. And when Iranians look at the region, they seem to feel--and increasingly, others are joining them in that opinion--that the Bashar al-Assad regime may prove in fact more durable, that he may somehow survive this insurrection and this wave of protest, and if Assad survives and can someho

me Leon Goldsmith April 16, 2012 -- Since the start of the revolt in Syria, the country's Alawites have been instrumental in maintaining President Bashar al- Assad's hold on power. A sect of Shia Islam, the Alawites comprise roughly 13 percent of the population and form the bulk of Syria's key milita

the White House itself plays in selecting the names that wind up placed on the kill lists. Some U.S. officials have described a secret panel within the National Security Council that keeps a list of targets to kill or capture. The panel, which has no paperwork authorizing its existence, is said to involve top counterterrori

working: The ACLU complained that there was not more conversation about voting rights: A Post columnist noted that Gabbard's history with Syria's Bashar al- Assad needs to be brought up more, especially on the debate stage: A Huff Post political reporter predicted who will get cut before the next de

The ACLU complained that there was not more conversation about voting rights: A Post columnist noted that Gabbard's history with Syria's Bashar al- Assad needs to be brought up more, especially on the debate stage: A Huff Post political reporter predicted who will get cut before the next debate: Can

scrutinize the court-authorized surveillance of a Trump associate has taken on the role of Senior Director of the Counterterrorism Directorate of the National Security Council (NSC), according to two sources familiar with the move. ... Patel drew national attention in early 2018, when Nunes oversaw the production and rele

scribed how ordinary Syrians with no links to the civil war are forced to eat stray dogs and cats to survive a campaign of deprivation waged by the Assad regime. The world already knows that Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons, indiscriminate bombing, arbitrary detentions, rape, and torture aga

o the civil war are forced to eat stray dogs and cats to survive a campaign of deprivation waged by the Assad regime. The world already knows that Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons, indiscriminate bombing, arbitrary detentions, rape, and torture against his own citizens. What is far less well known, a

dent's speech in a way that would have protected us from criticism," said Philip H. Gordon, the coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council. "We were trying to be honest and realistic." Mr. Gordon took part in the Saturday sessions, along with two of Ms. Rice's deputies, Antony J. Blin

will be loud, criticizing Israel and the U.S. and trying to broker Palestinian reconciliation, but its impact will be small. Whatever the fate of Bashar Assad, Syria's capacity to project power on the regional stage has been dramatically reduced. The Assads -- father and son -- always played a weak hand w

egional stage has been dramatically reduced. The Assads -- father and son -- always played a weak hand we

ther issues. Several observers considered this proposal to be the blueprint for a "grand bargain." Flynt Leverett, former Middle East director for the National Security Council, compared it to the diplomatic communications between Beijing and the Washington that paved the way for the opening of relations with China during

ed when I heard a week ago Thursda= evening that the US military launched 59 tomahawk missiles against a Syrian airfield to punish Syria's President Bashar Assad for allegedly usi=g chemical weapons to attack his own citizens. This act was a dramatic reversal from Trump's pledges to limit U.S. invo=vement in

g Syria's neighbors and =he Europeans to sort out the mess. For years President Obama had resisted growing calls to intervene militarily against the Assad regime. President Barack Obama's decision to refrain from engagement in 2013 was crit=cized as feckless at the time and is cited now as one of the r

ather than as a tool to achieve any particular strategy," said Jeffrey Prescott, who served as director for Iran, =raq, Syria and the Gulf States at the National Security Council under Obama from 2015 =c, 2017. "Even days later, they are basking in the glow, but we do not=have a clear sense of why this strike and to what part

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

aghdad — but in Tehran. Steven Simon, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, was the senior director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council from 2011 to 2012. Article 2. The National Interest EFTA00706971 Can Iraq Be Saved? Zalmay Khalilzad June 17, 2014 -- The sudden fall of Mosu

ed that Gabbard's history with Syria's Bashar al-Assad needs to be brought up more, especially on the d

working: The ACLU complained that there was not more conversation about voting rights: A Post columnist noted that Gabbard's history with Syria's Bashar al-Assad needs to be brought up more, especially on the debate stage: Page 13623 EFTA00044134 A HuffPost political reporter predicted who will get cut be

13614 EFTA00044125 authorized surveillance of a Trump associate has taken on the role of Senior Director of the Counterterrorism Directorate of the National Security Council (NSC), according to two sources familiar with the move. ... Patel drew national attention in early 2018, when Nunes oversaw the production and rel

et be a presidential game changer of the kind that everyone knew would surely come. Still, these were chemical weapons launched by a repeat offender, Bashar al-Assad. In any other presidency, such an atrocity would command a considered and, ideally, skillful response. Obama’s consideration had in fact been less th

ying international law, had used chemical weapons. There was video documenting the attack and substantial agreement among intelligence agencies about Assad’s responsibility. The politics were right: Barack Obama failed to act when confronted with a Syrian chemical attack, and now Trump could. The downsid

ofessional behavior, taking control of it. Powell, who had come into the White House as an adviser to Ivanka Trump, rose, in weeks, to a position on the National Security Council, and was then, suddenly, along with Cohn, her Goldman colleague, a contender for some of the highest posts in the administration. At the same time,

cal life and for that of the regime put in place in 1970 by his father, the late President Hafez al-Assad. Forty-one years in power The rule of the Assads, father and son, has now lasted 41 years, a score comparable to that of other long-lasting Arab autocrats, each apparently determined to be a préside

Arab autocrats, each apparently determined to be a président-a-vie. In no other part of the world have so many rulers clung so assiduously to power. Bashar appears genuinely to have believed that the Arab nationalist ideology he inherited, his opposition to Israel and his support for resistance movements

tly financed a London-based network of Bashar’s opponents to the tune of $12m between 2005 and 2010. A continuous whole It is probably fair to view Bashar al-Assad’s term of office and that of his father as a single continuous whole. Not only did Hafez al-Assad decide that Bashar should succeed him, but he also be

Bibi. “She’s indispensable—the only one trusted on all sides [of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict],” says Sandy Berger, who served as Bill Clinton’s National Security Council adviser. Most conspicuously, Hillary has championed what has come to be known as “civil society.” In practice that means moving beyond the usual con