Epstein Secrets

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

l dignity, justice and freedom that is not going away. They will have to share more power. The third group I hope will have to pay retail is Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. Under Mubarak, in an odd way, the Brotherhood had it easy. Mubarak made sure that no authentic, legitimate, progressive, modern Egyptian

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

enough to help Iraq. Iraqi’s are worried that an Assad exit will push Iran to double down on Iraq. JS:

untry together. MO: Iraq is most vulnerable to Iran when it is weak and divided and we haven’t done enough to help Iraq. Iraqi’s are worried that an Assad exit will push Iran to double down on Iraq. JS: limit Iran’s influence on Iraq by isolating Iran in region. Reducing Iran’s incluence in region 1s k

role of foreigners. Demographics create pressure on solutions because they need to address distribution of wealth. Administration’s early contacts w Muslim Bro (Muslim Brotherhood) are encouraging. They come from mercantile class. Need to work with them. What to do? Admin has a 4 pillar policy towards Eg

Egypt, Mubarak was in, then deserted. In Iraq, Hussein was in, then deposed. In Libya, Gaddafi was in, then overthrown with US support. In Syria with Assad, it was the same scenario. The instability created by contradictory Western interests has invited far worse atrocities by the new regimes than the cr

by a renewed Russian push. The competition for a caliphate has more contestants than just Iran, including ISIS, of course, as well as Turkey, and the Muslim Brotherhood. As the US withdraws, Russia is taking its place as the non-Arab power player in the Middle East. The chill in US-Russia relations has le

Saudis greatly enhance America's security. Like it or not, the military option most unpopular with America's voters and politicians may be its best. Bashar Assad may well be our only hope in fighting the various terrorist factions that are attempting to form an ISIS state. If America agrees that putting boots