Epstein Secrets

Sticks to His Guns Patrick Seale 21 Jun 2011 -- All those dreaming of -- and working for -- `regime change' in Syria will be outraged by President Bashar al-Asad's speech last Monday, 20 June. They want him out, together with the hate figures around him who have been conducting the brutal repression of the pr

esent evidence, a bloody stalemate that further destabilizes the region. It's distasteful to contemplate dialogue with leaders such as Gaddafi and Assad who, to put it bluntly, have blood on their hands. But this approach is worth exploring if it can foster a transition to a democratic government —

dermine the result by trying to force through reforms before the elections. Their great champion, former U.N. nuclear watchdog (and Nobel laureate) Mohamed ElBaradei, argues that the constitution can't wait for people's elected representatives. The youth leaders agree and are threatening to return to Tahrir Squa

ce that the world has stood idly by as Bashar al-Assad has presided over the deaths of some 100,000 Syr

hone calls from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. And one reason is Syria: Egyptian generals can't help but notice that the world has stood idly by as Bashar al-Assad has presided over the deaths of some 100,000 Syrian citizens. In the Middle East, you can, in fact, get away with murder. The Egyptian military wi

n churches and intimidation of its critics. After the military's actions in the past few weeks, there is no going back. For the US government, for Mohamed ElBaradei, for the Saudis and Emeratis, for everyone who was on board with the interim government, the chance for a settlement between the post-coup regime

s," he insinuated. This is why Tehran reaches for the bomb? Syria, too, will remain a threat "as long as there is no regional peace agreement." The Assad regime is slaughtering its own people for the sake of Palestine? And unless Riyadh "saw the U.S. as moving in a serious manner" on Palestine, Mr.

ncluding cluster bombs, on the city of Misrata with no regard whatsoever for the safety and well being of women, children or the elderly. In Syria, Bashar al-Assad's snipers and soldiers have killed unarmed demonstrators, as well as those attending the funerals of those murdered, in various cities around the co

t. For the fate of the Arab Spring still hangs most of all on what happens in the most populous and culturally powerful country in the Arab world. Mohamed ElBaradei, one of the frontrunners to be Egypt's next president and a leading liberal voice, told me last week: "If we succeed here, then the march towards d

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

d, for reasons that are now public knowledge. To understand why, one only needs read the memoirs of Jack Straw, then British foreign secretary, or Mohamed ElBaradei, then secretary general of the International Atomic Energy Agency — or indeed the memoirs of Rouhani, who was then the chief negotiator of the Ira

lims in Syria and throughout the region feel that Assad's Syria has unduly favored the Alawites, a sect o

A government spokeswoman has hinted that coming reforms will include greater freedom for the press and the right to form political parties. President Bashar al-Assad is due to address the country in the next 48 hours. His speech is eagerly awaited, but it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to defuse the

llenged the fundamentals of Syria's security state, a harsh system of controls over every aspect of society, put in place by the late Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, who ruled for 30 years from 1970 to his death in 2000. By all accounts, the debate HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_030032 --- PAGE BREAK --- 4 about how

es been far from neutral, favoring one community over another in cynical power plays. Many Sunni Muslims in Syria and throughout the region feel that Assad's Syria has unduly favored the Alawites, a sect of Shiite Islam, who constitute some 12 percent of the population but control a vastly greater percen

f Mideast Wholesale Thomas L. Friedman ance 2. | Le Monde diplomatique Is This the End of the Assad Dynasty? Patrick Seale Article 3. NYT _ Books Mohamed ElBaradei, the Inspector Leslie H. Gelb Article 4.) Vanity Fair Hillary Clinton - Woman of the World Jonathan Alter Article 1. NYT End of Mideast Wholesal

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

emplate dialogue with leaders such as Gaddafi and Assad who, to put it bluntly, have blood on their hands

present evidence, a bloody stalemate that further destabilizes the region. It's distasteful to contemplate dialogue with leaders such as Gaddafi and Assad who, to put it bluntly, have blood on their hands. But this approach is worth exploring if it can foster a transition to a democratic government - wh

cases, the insurgents are seen in the West as the "good guys," battling corrupt, autocratic leaders. Personally, I wish that both Moammar Gaddafi and Bashar al-Assad would give up power tomorrow. But that doesn't seem in the cards: Both leaders have shown they're willing to kill thousands of their citizens to hang

undermine the result by trying to force through reforms before the elections. Their great champion, former U.N. nuclear watchdog (and Nobel laureate) Mohamed ElBaradei, argues that the constitution can't wait for people's elected representatives. The youth leaders agree and are threatening to return to Tahrir Square