Epstein Secrets

with Secretary of State John Kerry here this week, the =ussian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, hinted that Moscow might finally pressure President Bashir al-Assad of Syria to l=ave office. 2 EFTA_R1_00107015 EFTA01785153 "We are not interested in the fate =f certain individuals," Mr. Lavrov said at a late

y furt=er. Jerusalem, ultimately, has little interest in actively hastening the f=ll of Bashar al-Assad. Israel knows one important thin= about the Assads: for the past 40 years, they have managed to preserve so=e form of calm along the border. Technically, the two countries have always been at war --

e, the Alawite regime in Damascus and Hezbol=ah in Lebanon) is hell-bent on robbing them of their historic place in Iraq, their government's tilt to=ard Bashar al-Assad provided it. 5 EFTA_R1_00107018 EFTA01785156 It was a matter of time before =hese millennial conflicts were given new life by the Syrian civil w

untries have always been at war -- Syria has yet to officially r=cognize Israel -- but Israel has been able to count on the governments of =afez and Bashar Assad to enforce the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1=74, in which both sides agreed to a cease-fire in the Golan Heights, the disputed vantage poin

ely reminder that his country, at the very least, wasnrt going to sit this issue out anymore. 13 EFTA_R1_001 07026 EFTA01785164 Article 7.<=a> The National Interest The Day After a Strike on =ran Marwan Muasher May 10, 2013 -- All eyes are on=what it will take to prevent Iran from getting its hands on a nuclear

stead to the government; and 4) indicated that the Syrian people supported him -- otherwise he would not be in his position. Does this suggest that Bashar is out of touch with political reality? Or -- as he has watched with dismay the fate of his fellow Arab dictators in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen, who

n killed, a worrying sign that the violence is accelerating. Yet, in a remarkable interview this month with ABC's Barbara Walters, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad 1) denied the extent of violence in his beleaguered country; 2) disputed the evidence in a U.N. report charging him and his government with crimes ag

st Israel. In fact, in a rare public appearance this month, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah declared that his party will remain defiant, side with Assad's Syria and never relinquish its arms. If Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah, Syria and Iran (the so-called Resistance Axis), truly intends to reinvent it

r own publications will no doubt reward them for their advanced thinking. Will the rest of our society? EFTA_R1_0 1992703 EFTA02681488 Ankle 2. The National Interest A New Hamas in the Making? Bilal Y. Saab December 20, 2011 -- Jane's, an internationally respected British security and defense risk-analysis fir

program, and now, as a result of November's interim agreement in Geneva, it does not even fear international economic sanctions. Neither the Bashar Assad regime nor Al Qaeda terrorists in Syria see any prospect of material U.S. intervention. And the main pressure being applied in the Israeli- Palestin

eapons program, and now, as a result of November's interim agreement in Geneva, it does not even fear international economic sanctions. Neither the Bashar Assad regime nor Al Qaeda terrorists in Syria see any prospect of material U.S. intervention. And the main pressure being applied in the Israeli- P

suggests that things are so bad Barack Obama has asked for "options." Three years into the war and the president wants a plan. In all probability, Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator, is not cowed by Obama threatening options. He continues to bomb his own people — barrel bombs, cluster bombs — and starve reca

chances are already not helped with the disputed bills that have been sent for approval one after another by Erdogan. Article li. EFTA00684597 The National Interest The Opening of the American Foreign-Policy Mind Robert W. Merry_ February 18, 2014 -- The post-9/11 era in American foreign affairs is dying, a

late the murderous regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Mitt Romney hopes to persuade Americans not onl

already trying to help the Syrian opposition, control which elements of it get foreign military aid, and isolate the murderous regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Mitt Romney hopes to persuade Americans not only that he can fix the economy but also that he can lead at a time of great uncertainty abroad. To

olicy Brian Katulis Article 4. Foreign Policy 10 thing you don't know about Africa's booming economy Susan Lund, Arend Van Wamelen Article 5. The National Interest The GOP, China and Sheldon Adelson Robert Keatley Articles. SPIEGEL How China's Leaders Steer a Massive Nation Sandra Schulz Article I Wall S

from the start, then, the feeling is, it did little to show it was taking the matter seriously. The appearance is of an Ankara that was so fixed on Bashar al-Assad's departure that other matters were never considered properly. The sad fact in all this that Turkey is nowhere nearer today than it was 10 or 15 yea

nal state ally is Syria, but President Bashar al-Assad would not be able to direct his armed forces to

tution Gamal Essam EI-Din Article 4. Hurriyet Daily News Kurdish issue becomes Turkey's main fallout from Syrian crisis Semih Idiz Article 5. The National Interest The China Challenge Robert W. Merry Article 6. Project Syndicate Eyesight for Israel's Blind Dominique Moisi Article 7. Guardian The abuse of

er Beinart May 16, 2011 -- Why did thousands of Palestinians yesterday converge upon Israel's borders? Partly because Syria's war-criminal leader, Bashar al-Assad, and his ally, Hezbollah, wanted them to. But there's more to it than that. Palestinians also marched from Jordan and Egypt, whose governments did

ere was violence at the Lebanese and Syrian borders. This fact alone makes it clear that what happened was mostly manufactured by Hezbollah and the Assad regime. The king of Jordan was opposed to trouble, so there were demonstrations but no border breaches or violence along the Jordan River and its

or fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is co-chair of the Hoover Working Group on Islamism and the International Order. EFTA00586651 Artick 7. The National Interest Another Revolution Betrayed Walter Laqueur May 16, 2011 -- IT IS DIFFICULT to predict revolutions. George Rude, the leading left-wing historian o

ing Saudi, the kingdom is nervous of what might be next. Similarly with Syria, where, with a second refugee camp being built in Jordan and with the Assad regime looking like exerting control again, that would leave hundreds of thousands of refugees permanently in Jordan, which is already vulnerable.

ve to America Faisal Al Yafai Article 5. The Washington Post Obama tends to create his own foreign policy headaches David Ignatius Article 6. The National Interest Could the Ukraine Crisis Spark a World War? Graham Allison Article I. Newsweek Israel Won't Stop Spying on the U.S. Jeff Stein May 6, 2014 --

surrection of Al Qaeda.According to the United Nations , 84 percent of the 733 people killed in January were civilians. Hezbollah's support for the Assad regime has led to a series of deadly suicide bombings in Lebanon by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades in an attempt to draw the country deeper into Syria

ges of Inaction Julie Lenarz, Michael Miner Article 5. Stratfor New Dimensions of U.S. Foreign Policy toward Russia George Friedman Article 6. The National Interest Five Futuristic Weapons That Could Change Warfare J. Michael Cole Ankle I. NYT Israel's Big Question Thomas L. Friedman February 12, 2014 -- I

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

supplies are healthier than they seem lan Bremmer Article 6 Newsweek Robert Gates: America is losing its grip John Barry and Tara McKelvey Article 7. The National Interest The Good Autocrat Robert D. Kaplan HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_032171 --- PAGE BREAK --- 2 Article 1• NYT Building Boom in Gaza's Ruins Belies Misery That Rema

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

ce with respect to the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and a stabilizing force with respect to keeping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in place in the absence of any attractive alternatives. Syria would not have made as much progress in pushing back ISIL and the rebels without Russia

ost Country $1.37 by 2020: Study,” CNBC, March 8, 2016. Zalmay Khalilzad, “America eeds a Bipartisan Foreign Policy. Donald Trump Can Make tHappen,” National Interest, December 21, 2016 Geoff Dyer, “Trump’s CIA ominee Mike Pompeo Promises to Roll Back Iran Deal,” Financial Times, ovember 18, 2016. General (Ret.)