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

Kofi Annan, the special envoy to Syria for the United Nations and the Arab League. All it has done is give Russia, China and some other members of the United Nations Security Council six more weeks to excuse their inaction. On Thursday, Mr. Annan told the Security Council that the savagery will increase without concerted intern

defense budget has doubled over the same period. Few would believe that these arms have been merely gathering dust in Syrian army warehouses. The Kremlin's Middle East policy is also looking self-defeating in the case of Iran. This might not be apparent on first glance. Moscow has been acting as a me

President Obama has treated the bloody turmoil, first and foremost, as an opportunity to strengthen the idea that America should subject itself to the United Nations Security Council. In the 16 months since the revolt began, the Obama administration has neither promoted humanitarian "safe zones" on Syria's Turkish border, nor p

Middle East Michael Weiss December 13, 2013 -- Russia is back. At least that's what they say— especially the Russians. 2013 marks the year that the Kremlin reasserted its power abroad in ways not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and nowhere has this reassertion been more obvious than in the

overnment decided to vent its anger with the Obama Administration's Syria policy by issuing statements in the Western press and by refusing to join the United Nations Security Council as a rotating member (after two years of lobbying vigorously for the post), Riyadh tried an alternative method of advancing its interests in the Le

October 28, 2013 -- That Russia and the West are cooperating to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons has caused surprise. It should not. Despite the Kremlin's rejection of Western liberal values, some practical cooperation takes place. To make more headway, America, Europe and Russia must interact in ne

e United States on certain issues. That came just days after Saudi Arabia stunned even some of its own diplomats when it refused a rotating seat on the United Nations Security Council, citing its anger over the world's failure to respond to the crisis in Syria. This spat reflects the Arab world's deepening frustration with Americ

or does it want radical Islamists to take over the Arab state that hosts the last Russian naval base in the Mediterranean. Hence, Lavrov says, the Kremlin is not supportive of regime change in Damascus. But it may have no choice. Moscow considers the uprising in Syria to be, to some extent, the handiw

the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem; that track has proved harder than expected. Last September, Mr. Abbas was unable to get enough members of the United Nations Security Council to vote yes for recognizing Palestine as a state. He did gain membership in Unesco, a United Nations agency, but that led the United States to cut