Epstein Secrets

rivate "slush funds." Beyond that, Libya has also reportedly offered Russia a naval base in Benghazi while Syria has offered Moscow a naval base at Tartus. These events suggest that in return for arms sales host states are being pressured to give Moscow access to foreign bases. We have also seen this

hmadinejad's insubordination; privately, however, he unleashed jackals that had long been salivating for the president's comeuppance. The powerful Revolutionary Guards — who helped engineer Ahmadinejad's contested 2009 reelection — swiftly declared their devotion to Khamenei, and several of the president's adviser

al areas around the city of Lattakia -- where, incidentally, the last remaining Russian military base outside the former Soviet Union, the port of Tartus, happens to be located -- are their strongholds. Indeed, during the French Mandate period, there was a separate Alawite state based on these territ

s influence throughout the region. Neither Iran nor Hezbollah in Lebanon would welcome those developments. Already there are reports that Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah fighters have supported the pro-Assad forces, and both would have strong incentives to back an Alawite insurgency against a Sunni-dom

he United States lacks after letting the Mubarak regime go down quickly. The real question is whether Russia will keep the Soviet-era naval base in Tartus on Syria's Mediterranean coast. While the disagreement on Libya led to Russia's abstention in the Security Council and was soon forgotten, the spa

ntain some significant element of surprise—a known unknown. What could that be? Here's a hint: Gen. Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, recently warned that "any place where enemy offensive operations against the Islamic Republic originate will be the target of a reciprocal attack.