Epstein Secrets

plot behind every popular democratic uprising. Artick 2. The Daily Beast Syria: The Lost Bequest of Hafez Assad Fouad Ajami January 23, 2012 -- Bashar, son of Hafez Assad, has a son by the name of Hafez. But as the defiance and bloodletting in £yria would seem to suggest, Bashar needn't worry abou

dispatched to prisons. The young inheritor was his father's son. A year ago, when the political hurricane known as the Arab Spring hit the region, Bashar al-Assad proclaimed his country's immunity to the troubles. He was young, the rulers challenged by their people were old, he was anti- American and anti-Isra

reign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week rejected any talk of new U.N. sanctions or arms embargo on Syria. He even defended Moscow's right to arm Mr. Assad as he kills more civilians. The business daily Kommersant reported yesterday that Russia has signed a $550 million contract to sell Syria 36 combat

n the general panic at the electoral success of the Muslim Brotherhood. The operation in Libya was a success. The growing international pressure on Basha al-Assad in Syria is encouraging -- but eventually the United States will have to do more. More generally, Obama has made steady moves in support of democra

, and in Moscow Vladimir Putin won't abandon the son of the Soviet Union's favorite Arab tyrant, Hafez Assad. Far from it. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week rejected any talk of new U.N. sanctions or arms embargo on Syria. He even defended Moscow's right to arm Mr. Assad as he kills more civil

3 only drama playing out there. Syria is also a highly tribalized and sectarian-divided country. Its Shiite-leaning Alawite minority — led by the Assads and comprising 12 percent of the population — dominates the government, army and security services. Sunni-Muslim Syrian Arabs are 75 percent, Chris

n ever. The regional balance of power is shifting against Tehran, in no small part because of its ongoing support for the beleaguered government of Bashar al- Assad in Syria. The Assad regime is failing, and in time, Iran will lose its only state ally in the Arab world and its conduit for arming the m

an continued its support for the Assad regime and backed his brutal crackdown on civilians. The Syrian uprising has become a zero-sum game: Either Bashar al-Assad will win, or the demonstrators will triumph. Likewise, it has become a proxy war between Tehran and Ankara, in which there will be only one winner.

nd they're opposed to that. The Russians have close relations with the Syrian government. Is that a major factor too? Absolutely. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was fairly clear about that when he talked about the role that Russia's played in protecting Syrian interests over the years. But the overriding f

From: Office of Terje Rod-Larsen ‹ > Subject: June 9 update Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:35:09 +0000 9 June, 2012 Article 1. NYT Assad, the Butcher Editorial Article 2. The Washington Post syrian intervention is justifiable, na d'List Anne-Marie Slaughter Article 3. Bloomberg

helicopter gunships since the anti-Assad protests began 16 months ago. Despite his claims that the violence is the work of "terrorists," President Bashar al-Assad has a lot to hide. On Thursday, Syrian troops and pro- government supporters barred the monitors from Qubeir, and the monitors were fired upon. The

eing on the wrong side of history, especially if Assad were to fall. The alternative would be based on an idea recently invoked by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, namely that in civil conflicts, the incumbent government bears a much larger responsibility than its opponents do. Had he really wanted a peace se

le, including by the repeated use of chemical weapons, and yet has remarkably culminated in the re- legitimization of the person responsible for it, Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian civil war— particularly the White House's inept and improvisational response to it—has accidentally transformed Putin into a major powe

military aid to moderate groups in the Syrian opposition, enough to raise their hopes but not enough to ensure success on the battlefield. And when Assad used chemical weapons against civilian neighborhoods, Obama threatened military action — only to back off, again dashing the hopes of pro-U.S. fact

docked at the port of Alexandria—the first time a Russian warship has done so in twenty years —amid the announcement that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu would be traveling to Cairo that same week for talks with their Egyptian counterparts on "military-technical" c

said to be American-supplied. This humiliating defeat shows the rise of the Islamist rebels, most of whom oppose political dialogue with President Bashar al-Assad's regime and call for the establishment of a Qur'anic-based state. It also demonstrates the near-collapse of the FSA, which the west had hoped would

s no military solution for Syria, although that may be self-evident, I do not believe that every player in this game believes that. Does President Assad believe that? President Assad believes that at the end of the day you need a political solution. But I believe that those who are pushing for a U.S

isting sanctions. Iranian concern was eased, Zarif said, after his contacts last week with Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the chief European Union negotiator, Lady Catherine Ashton. "What I have heard from Secretary Kerry and Lady Ashton is that they are committed

an Oil, Mining, And Construction Projects. The Washington Post (5/20, 10.52M) says that "as the fighting winds down across much of Syria, President Bashar al-Assad's two main backers, Iran and Russia, have been competing for influence and the spoils of war." According to the Post, "Both have been vying for contra

s down across much of Syria, President Bashar al-Assad's two main backers, Iran and Russia, have been co

e Biden would go ahead, but hailed talks between the two countries' top diplomats as a positive signal." Reuters adds that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of State Blinken's "talks in Iceland on Wednesday were their first in-person meeting." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov "said the talk

The Islamic State has not replaced its black flag with a white one= nor has it shrunk appreciably in size. Obama's attempt to unsea= Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has not produced much either, other than in=reased violence and chaos in the poor, benighted country. The Pentag=n's effort to train and re-insert

The Rus=ian government claims that it is targeting the Islamic State, but many of =he air strikes appear to have hit other rebel groups fighting the Assad re=ime. And in the 11 EFTA_R1_00006487 EFTA01732892 short period that the air strikes have taken place, =hey've predictably generated the usual

ve already attempted: bombing a broken country back=into shape. At what point will the Russian leader write a confidenti=l note to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to confess that their strategy of="strategic bombing" has yielded "zilch"?=/span> Is ego and acceptance as the other world superpower =oing to be wo

s maw. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week sent a few subtle signals that the Kremlin might be trying to distance itself from Syrian President Bashar Assad, but to no avail. Assad turns to Russia for support, and the Kremlin involuntarily obliges. Russia has become a captive of the situation that it ha

avrov last week sent a few subtle signals that the Kremlin might be trying to distance itself from Syrian President Bashar Assad, but to no avail. Assad turns to Russia for support, and the Kremlin involuntarily obliges. Russia has become a captive of the situation that it has created itself. This b

Alexander Shumilin 04 June 2012 -- The Syrian problem has become a vicious vortex sucking the Russian ship downward into its maw. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week sent a few subtle signals that the Kremlin might be trying to distance itself from Syrian President Bashar Assad, but to no avail. Assad

monitors of committing massive atrocities against its civilian population. The Obama administration, backed by Western alies, accuses the regime of Bashar al-Assad of launching a large-scale chemical weapons attack on August 21 that mocked Obama's "red line" rhetoric and finally elicited a White House threat o

e its relevance in an age of WMD. On Syria, the president will likely cite the thorough UN inspectors report as providing indisputable evidence of Assad's use of chemical weapons (CW). Echoing the marker laid down by Secretary of State John Kerry, he will demand that the UNSC pass a robust resoluti

sent chemical weapons east toward Iraq and west toward Lebanon. Sakat said planning for these movements began just before Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's Sept. 9 proposal for international control of Syrian chemical weapons, when Hafez Makhlouf, the Syrian chief of intelligence, met with representa

Mike Pompeo meeting with Taliban delegation in Qatar in September 2020 Trump ordered missile strikes in April 2O17 and in April 2018 against the Assad regime in Syria, in retaliation for the Khan Shaykhun and Douma chemical attacks, respectively.[S9'1[392] In December 2018, Trump declared "we have

- Wikipedia were imposed that same day; Flynn later resigned in the midst of controversy over whether he misled Pence.15631 Trump told Kislyak and Sergei Lavrov in May 2017 he was unconcerned about Russian interference in U.S. elections.[5641 Trump and his allies promoted a conspiracy theory that Ukraine, r