Epstein Secrets

will be loud, criticizing Israel and the U.S. and trying to broker Palestinian reconciliation, but its impact will be small. Whatever the fate of Bashar Assad, Syria's capacity to project power on the regional stage has been dramatically reduced. The Assads -- father and son -- always played a weak hand w

egional stage has been dramatically reduced. The Assads -- father and son -- always played a weak hand we

range of areas, but today's announcement reflects important, if limited, progress in addressing some of these," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in a statement. Article S. Los Angeles Times Welcome to the new Middle East Aaron David Miller March 1, 2012 -- For the better part of the last

rs the uprising in Syria to be, to some extent, the handiwork of the United States and its European allies. This perception is fundamentally wrong: Assad's is an oppressive, minority-Alawi regime. It came to power via a 1970 coup. In 1982, the current dictator's father, then president Hafez al- Assad

akes in Muslim Brotherhood, Salafi and even al-Qaeda- affiliated factions. Despite President Obama's "reset" policy, Russia continues to support [4] Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime. But in a rare admission of reality, a senior Middle East hand acknowledged that Russia must step back. Mikhail Margelov, chair of th

ition, especially with Congress, according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The State Department's spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, said that Palestinian reconciliation was "an internal matter" for the Palestinians but added that the administration would expect any Palestinian

ves and diplomats have stepped up their contacts with Syrian rebels in part to help organize their burgeoning military operations against President Bashar al-Assad's forces, according to senior U.S. officials." This would certainly be promising news—except it is the third time in the last month administration

uld have little trouble finding suitable recipients. It hasn't because the White House isn't eager to act. The question is, will moral revulsion at Assad's crimes finally force it off the sidelines? It's understandable why a conflict that by some estimates has already cost the lives of more than 14,

dinated in part by the United States, according to opposition activists and U.S. and foreign officials." The next day, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland clarified that the administration had no intention of arming the rebels. As for coordinating arms shipments, presumably from Gulf Arab states like

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

e of increased assertiveness in the world -- a shift that followed intense German interest in Ukraine. This week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, in a now-famous cell phone conversation, declared her strong contempt for the European Union and its weakness and counseled the U.S. ambassador to