Epstein Secrets

imension to the Syrian drama. Now it's accused of protecting the "butcher of Damascus," while China withdraws into its shell. To the leaders of the Kremlin, this looks unfair. To start with, Russia doesn't count Assad as an ally -- he's merely a business client. Russia did lean on Assad, persuading him

Annan plan. Nevertheless, it's clear that Putin is losing the argument internationally. Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, hinted after the Houla massacre that the U.S. might go outside the Security Council to take tougher action, thus circumventing the Russian and Chinese vetoes. What can Ru

omberg Syria Could Unite Russia and China Against the U.S. Dmitri Trenin Jun 7, 2012 -- The massacre of more than 100 men, women and children at Houla has buried the peace plan for Syria promoted by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. Soon, the regime and its opponents will get to

angerous. Precisely because the White House recognized that the Cubans could become a wild card, it cut them out of the game. Kennedy informed the Kremlin that it would be held accountable for any attack against the United States emanating from Cuba, however it started. Today, the threat of an Israeli

00712535 On the other hand, there's growing pressure on the Hill, led by Senator John McCain, to arm the Syrian opposition, and in the wake of the Houla massacre, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called for the same. With the body count in Syria soaring, it is getting more difficult for

A recent report from a German newspaper contends that it was the opposition, rather than Assad's forces, that was responsible for the massacre at Houla. On this reading, it wasn't Sunnis who were killed en masse, but Alawites and other minorities. The facts are otherwise. As this list of casualties

become a vicious vortex sucking the Russian ship downward into its maw. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week sent a few subtle signals that the Kremlin might be trying to distance itself from Syrian President Bashar Assad, but to no avail. Assad turns to Russia for support, and the Kremlin involunt

ikely, this means that Russia will probably continue its reckless course of supporting the Assad regime — until there are a few more massacres like Houla. EFTA00712578 Alexander Shumilin is the director of the Center for the Analysis of Middle East Conflicts at the Institute for U.S. and Canadian S

captive of the situation that it has created itself. This became clear immediately after the tragic massacre of civilians in the Syrian village of Houla on May 25 that left about 116 civilians dead, including dozens of children. Lavrov cannot deny the evidence presented by the United Nations that th