Epstein Secrets

onale for taking military action now — "a shot across the bow" to halt future chemical attacks, he told PBS — pose risks of their own. If President Bashar al-Assad emerges from a few days of Tomahawk missile barrages relatively unscathed, he will be able to claim that he faced down not only his domestic oppone

arged is the secret hand behind the uprising. In the words of one recently departed senior adviser to Mr. Obama, "the worst outcome would be making Assad look stronger." How did Mr. Obama find himself in this trap? Partly, it was an accident of history: in the early, heady days of the Arab uprisings,

e first to follow suit after Egypt in early July, beginning with a nationwide signature drive. Mandi Saaied, spokesperson for Tamarod Tunisia, told Ahram Online that Tamarod Tunisia aims at reaching two million signatures, with 1,600,000 gathered by 26 August. Though the signature drive mirrors that of Egyp

licies because they aim to scrap a true liberation movement which only belongs to the people," Qais El-Baroudi, spokesperson for Tamarod Gaza, told Ahram Online. The Gaza campaign began with a marginalised group of youth — four of which were later arrested — who were fed up with Hamas fostering, in their v

which has descended into violence and ethnic strife. Not wanting to take EFTA00671800 sides and unwilling to express support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, Meshaal has been shopping for a new permanent base in Jordan, Egypt or Qatar, so far with little luck. "Before Meshaal was considered the radical

price he must pay. He can't continue with the same old rhetoric if he wants to be in Cairo, Doha or Amman." Unhappy with Meshaal's refusal to back Assad, Iran has reportedly reduced its funding to Hamas, dealing a blow to Meshaal's image as the group's international liaison and controller of the pur

ime minister appointed by Hosni Mubarak and was widely considered the generals' preferred candidate. Preliminary results published in the state-run Ahram Online news site showed that, with nearly 3.5 million ballots counted, Morsi was ahead with almost 55 percent of the vote. About 50 million Egyptians were

ts former secretary-general. The latest failure of the U.N. dream was Annan's mediating mission to Syria. For months, he tried to cajole President Bashar al-Assad into stopping the killing and starting a political transition that would avert civil war. To which he received the standard answer to well-meaning

Abdullah of Jordan back in 2004 of the danger of a Shia Crescent that would extend from the coast of Lebanon to Afghanistan. Hezbollah in Lebanon, Assad in Syria, and the Shia- controlled government of Iraq form the links in the chain. When the Arab Spring reached Syria, the leaders in Riyadh were gi

community, learning about the tribal judiciary system and ensuring the long-term equitable development of Sinai," the middle-aged tribal judge told Ahram Online from his remote desert villa in Shabana village just 4 kilometres from the Israeli border. Socio-economic dynamics Inhabitants from North Sinai li

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

— rather than a mixed parliamentary-presidential one — is best for the country until it stands on its own feet and recovers stability." He also told Ahram Online that "because there was consensus among members that the constitution should reflect the January 25 Revolution's ideals on freedoms and liberties,