Epstein Secrets

confirmed by intelligence. But what of the President's other Syria `marker'—his August 18, 2011 declaration that "the time has come for President Assad to step aside"? That declaration, although repeated as recently as October 14 by Secretary Kerry, shows no sign of being pursued, EFTA00707181 mu

tary tools of influence that would offer a credible prospect of rescuing what remains of Syria's largely defenseless population from the ravages of Bashar al-Assad's conventional forces. With well over 110,000 killed and an estimated seven million displaced, one third of them overflowing refugee camps in neighbo

orcement powers? Not only that — the fact that even if it had enforcement powers, it would only remove the chemical weapons. But [Syrian President] Bashar al- Assad can continue to kill his people using aircraft, artillery, Scud missiles and other lethal means. This also followed the Chinese and Russia

oxic vapors than by its interest in keeping the Assad regime in power. Having no other major clients for its arms-export industry since the fall of Muammar Qadhafi, no other port of access for its navy in the Levant, and an affinity for a secular regime—however brutal—that bills itself as a bulwark against Sun

as made it difficult to discuss sectarian prejudice in public, which has sometimes kept hatreds bottled up. Some in the Sunni majority perceive the Assads as representatives of their sect and resent the entire community by extension. None of this makes sectarian conflict inevitable. Class and regiona

since the ascension of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey EFTA_R1_02029349 EFTA02689724 17 and Bashar al-Assad's inheritance of the Syrian presidency, relations have dramatically improved. Turkey invested enormous financial and political capital in Syria, esta

political capital in Syria, establishing a Levantine free trade zone and distancing itself from Israel. Erdogan extracted promises of reform from Bashar at the onset of the protests and then watched with increasingly visible consternation as the promises were broken. He warned Syria repeatedly again

ter Erdogan was awarded the Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights. Erdogan refuses to renounce the award, even in light of Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi's horrific human rights abuses. Libya granted Turkey approximately $23 billion in construction contracts. Turkey has, however, supported the NATO m

Those forces have now pushed both the west and Arab governments into taking a much harder line than simply geostrategic logic would dictate against Bashar al-Assad's brutality in Syria, and even (albeit timidly) against torture and killings by the Bahraini government. Social movements are also beginning to resha

ostrategic logic would dictate against Bashar al-Assad's brutality in Syria, and even (albeit timidly)

i K. Simes NYT Cheney Says He Urged Bush to Bomb Syria in '07 Charlie Savage EFTA_R1_02036073 EFTA02693013 Article 1. Scientific American Is Muammar Qadhafi Clinically Psychotic? John Matson August 23, 2011 -- OUT OF TOUCH: The bizarre statements Col. Muammar Qadhafi has made in the past several month

Those forces have now pushed both the west and Arab governments into taking a much harder line than simply geostrategic logic would dictate against Bashar al-Assad's brutality in Syria, and even (albeit timidly) against torture and killings by the Bahraini government. Social movements are also beginning to resha

ostrategic logic would dictate against Bashar al-Assad's brutality in Syria, and even (albeit timidly)

i K. Simes NYT Cheney Says He Urged Bush to Bomb Syria in '07 Charlie Savage EFTA_R1_02036140 EFTA02693070 Article 1. Scientific American Is Muammar Qadhafi Clinically Psychotic? John Matson August 23, 2011 -- OUT OF TOUCH: The bizarre statements Col. Muammar Qadhafi has made in the past several month