Epstein Secrets

rtunity the regime once possessed is being jeopardised by its actions. Brutal repression has overshadowed belated, half-hearted reform suggestions; Bashar has squandered credibility; his regime has lost much of the legitimacy derived from its foreign policy. The international community, largely from

t did not have to be so. The protest movement is strong and getting stronger but yet to reach critical mass. Unlike toppled Arab leaders, President Bashar Assad enjoyed some genuine popularity. Many Syrians dread chaos and their nation's fragmentation. But whatever opportunity the regime once possessed is

ss. Unlike toppled Arab leaders, President Bashar Assad enjoyed some genuine popularity. Many Syrians dr

ts Rachel Shabi JULY 13, 2011 -- U.S. President Barack Obama said he believed a Palestinian state could be created by September 2011. Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly in September 2010, he laid down a challenge to formulate an agreement that would make it a reality. That same deadline was set by Palestinian Prime

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

n welcome this development. Whether by openly endorsing Russian rhetoric about an end of the Cold War and the Great Game, as President Obama did at the U.N. General Assembly in September, or by coining new euphemisms for a reluctance to involve itself in regional wars ("leading from behind"), the current administration

oyed no such support. Mubarak's Egypt, Bashar al Assad's Syria, Jordan under the Hashemites and the Gul

anon's political mainstream. Hezbollah benefited from a strong patron in Iran. Hamas, on the other hand, enjoyed no such support. Mubarak's Egypt, Bashar al Assad's Syria, Jordan under the Hashemites and the Gulf monarchies under the influence of the House of Saud all shared a deep interest in keeping Hamas box

again on center stage. The Palestinian president is nowhere to be found. For all the attention paid to Abbas's statehood initiative this month at the U.N. General Assembly, it seems truly irrelevant now. And once again, this is confirmation of the fact that events on the ground determine what's up and down in Israel a

decades and continued to invest in it even after its discovery in 2002. The government is outspoken in its hatred of Israel. It supports President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and extremist groups like Hezbollah. If Iran gets a weapon, other countries in the region may want one, too. But while Israel's defense m

abroad. The current international consensus for sanctions, and the punishments, would evaporate. It would shift international outrage against Mr. Assad's brutality in Syria to Israel. Many former Israeli intelligence and military officials have spoken out against a military attack. And polls show t

rests. This September, New York will be forced once again to host Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will undoubtedly use his speech before the U.N. General Assembly to spew anti- U.S. and anti-Semitic rhetoric. It is time for individual countries to prohibit international institutions from ignoring their own pr

addafi's fate Ed Husain Article 4. The Christian Science Monitor Libya endgame: Lessons for Syria's protesters Bilal Y. Saab Article 5 Foreign Policy Assad's Chemical Romance Leonard Spector Article 6. Washington Post 10 years after 9/11, al-Qaeda is down but not out David Ignatius Article 7. Hurriyet Wh

s. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031916 --- PAGE BREAK --- 5 Article 2. Strattor Israeli-Arab Crisis Approaching George Friedman August 22, 2011 -- In September, the U.N. General Assembly will vote on whether to recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign state with full rights in the United Nations. In many ways, this would ap

ia, there is now a risk of a dangerous moment of western triumphalism. This must be resisted, especially given that the odds of overthrowing dictator Bashar al- Assad are so small. After months of holding his nerve, US president Barack Obama last week succumbed to calls from commentators and Syrian opposition leade

e of the facts on the ground suggest so. With more than 350 killed so far, November has been the bloodiest month since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began last spring. Defections from the army, which started as a trickle, now look like a torrent. In October, the number was around 800. The best tot

A attacked the headquarters of the Air Force Intelligence Agency at Harasta near the capital Damascus. Since Hafez al-Assad, an air-force officer and Bashar's father, seized power in a coup in 1970, the AIA has been the nerve center of the regime's security system. Also this week, reports surfaced of atta

cent of the population. Thus, Syria's is a nationwide revolution against a minority regime. Almost all Syrians agree that the situation is untenable. Assad's policy of rule by massacre has few supporters outside his clan. Judging by the revolution's most popular slogan — "Assad Get Out!" — a majority may

istration confirmed a $5.8 billion package of arms sales for Taiwan that provoked a predictable Chinese backlash. Foreign aid: In his 2010 address to the U.N. General Assembly, Obama announced an overhaul of U.S. foreign aid policies, which he vowed will place them at the center of U.S. foreign policy. In the speech he call

e terrifying scale of Libya's Qaddafi and Syria's Assad nor stifled economic progress with such alacrity.

e Jewish and Palestinian peoples to self-determination, without prejudice to the rights of all citizens and minority groups. Recall, in this context, U.N. General Assembly resolution 181 of 1947 that called for the establishment of a Jewish state and an Arab state. • Acknowledge institutional and security reform, econom

other bureaucracies, and thus had no legitimacy. Marcus Aurelius was one thing; Tunisia's Zine el- Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Syria's Bashar al- Assad, quite another. Certainly, the Arab Spring has proved much: that there is no otherness to Arab civilization, that Arabs yearn for universal values ju