Epstein Secrets

In addition, various political figures and commentators have praised or come to the defense of despotic rulers including Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Bashar al-Assad. 6. Modem authoritarians can be expected to dou- ble down on their drive to neuter civil society as an incubator of reformist ideas and political

o defend embattled allies like Syria's 8ashar al-Assad. There is also growing replica- tion of what migh

ism, America's international broadcasting entities were the crown jewels of U.S. soft power. Indeed, in some countries, such as Poland or Romania, Radio Free Europe functioned as the opposition press, and clearly had a greater audience and more influence than the censored government press. In the post—Cold War

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

asion of Ukraine. Russia Trying To Freeze Radio Free Europe's Bank Accounts Over Unpaid Fines. The New York Times (5/20, Verma, 20.6M) reports that Radio Free Europe, "which is funded by the U.S. government, has entered a standoff with the Russian government. The battle revolves around a Russian law requiring th

n, Gadhafi used heavy weapons from the start, but Assad hasn't. SPIEGEL: Yet tanks have been deployed in

a key position in the region. What happens there has a direct impact on Lebanon and Iraq. In addition, Gadhafi used heavy weapons from the start, but Assad hasn't. SPIEGEL: Yet tanks have been deployed in Hama, Homs and Latakia for some time. Elaraby: When I flew to Syria 10 days after taking office, t

feat in a subsequent round of fighting in 2006. In a poll of Arab public opinion taken in 2008, the three most popular leaders were Hassan Nasrallah, Bashar al-Assad and Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, in that order. But this sense of inexorable ascendancy in which the Iran-led bloc liked to cloak itself has fallen victim to