Epstein Secrets

tan. With President Obama and Congress apparently disinclined to push the military to fix itself, it is up to the Joint Chiefs, especially Chairman Martin Dempsey and the heads of the Army (Gen. Raymond Odierno) and the Marine Corps (Gen. James Amos), to do so. It is their duty. Thomas E. Ricks, a former Pos

aid she briefed Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel over weekly lunches. Some priorities were clear. The election of Hassan Rouhani as president of Iran presents the West with perhaps its last good chance to curb its nuclear program. Mr. Rouhani has a mandate to ease sanctions o

ere clear. The election of Hassan Rouhani as president of Iran presents the West with perhaps its last good chance to curb its nuclear program. Mr. Rouhani has a mandate to ease sanctions on Iran and has signaled an eagerness to negotiate. But other goals appear to have been dictated as much as by pers

all of the tools of American power" in a whole-of- government operation. The President also ignored the counsel of his top military advisor, General Martin Dempsey, who had publicly cautioned that in Syria "you need a strategy to tie military options with other instruments of power." It is a rare spectacle to

nd strategic purpose. Some observers—press photographers, at the very least—were disappointed when President Obama's opportunity to greet President Rouhani personally at the UN in September did not materialize. Mr. Obama's telephone call to Mr. Rouhani as the latter headed for the airport to return to

his top national secur=ty officials at that time, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, CIA Director David Petraeus, Joint Chi=fs Chairman Martin Dempsey, and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. His las=-minute decision in August 2013 not to strike Syria after its use of chemi=al weapons was popular in

ties and should not be allowe= to ruin the real prospect of the historic deal before us. 12 EFTA_R1_02111350 EFTA02708703 When current Presid=nt Hassan Rouhani and I were leading the Iranian nuclear negotiating team =lmost 10 years ago, just before the election of former president Mahmoud A=madinejad, I pre