Epstein Secrets

ht for our economic interests. We intervene in the name of American values, an elastic rubric that can mean anything from halting a genocide to, in George W. Bush's expansive doctrine, promoting freedom. Senator John McCain, demanding American air strikes to help rebels topple the Syrian government of Bashar al

, promoting freedom. Senator John McCain, demanding American air strikes to help rebels topple the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, adopts the Bush "freedom agenda" rationale: by halting suffering and helping overthrow tyranny, we earn some leverage with the victors, improving the odds that Sy

ar II; it was riding along enthusiastically with President Bush when he invaded Iraq. But public opinion puts a

n anything from halting a genocide to, in George W. Bush's expansive doctrine, promoting freedom. Se

Iron-hard strategic calculations underpin his support for the Syria-Iran axis. Russia is rebuilding its Soviet-era naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus, which allows Moscow to reassert a plausible Mediterranean threat to NATO. Syria also provides Iran with a front line against Israel via Hezbollah

ht for our economic interests. We intervene in the name of American values, an elastic rubric that can mean anything from halting a genocide to, in George W. Bush's expansive doctrine, promoting freedom. Senator John McCain, demanding American air strikes to help rebels topple the Syrian government of Bashar

promoting freedom. Senator John McCain, demanding American air strikes to help rebels topple the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, adopts the Bush "freedom agenda" rationale: by halting suffering and helping overthrow tyranny, we earn some leverage with the victors, improving the odds that Syr

an anything from halting a genocide to, in George W. Bush's expansive doctrine, promoting freedom. S

War II; it was riding along enthusiastically with President Bush when he invaded Iraq. But public opinion puts a

840328 strategic calculations underpin his support for the Syria-Iran axis. Russia is rebuilding its Soviet-era naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus, which allows Moscow to reassert a plausible Mediterranean threat to NATO. Syria also provides Iran with a front line against Israel via Hezbollah

el and the United States. Syria had a narrow escape in 2003-4. Led by the Pentagon's Paul Wolfowitz, the pro-Israeli neo-cons embedded in President George W. Bush's administration were determined to reshape the region in Israel's and America's interest. Their first target was Saddam Hussein's Iraq, seen as a p

-profile surrogates in the Jewish community, such as John Bolton, the former U.S ambassador to the United Nations, and Dan Senor, an adviser to the Bush administration. "Republicans say every four years that Jews are moving away from the Democratic Party, but, if anything, the trend is in the other

pro-Israeli neo-cons embedded in President George W. Bush's administration were determined to reshape

ns that abut it suggest a process of ethnic cleansing to prepare the way. An Alawite coastal ministate that folds in the port cities of Latakia and Tartus, home to the Russian navy's key warmwater port, may not be viable in the long run, but that doesn't mean the regime's core won't try for one. Even

arks the day of the worst attack on American soil since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Putin was once known as the first world leader to ring up George W. Bush and offer his condolences and support on that grim occasion. But 12 years on, the Russian president used the anniversary of 9/11 to issue indirect

Obama that they once had with Presidents George Bush (both father and son) and Bill Clinton, who mana

nown as the first world leader to ring up George W. Bush and offer his condolences and support on th

ng Russian naval ships, likely as an improved backup in the event that the Syrian regime does collapse and Moscow loses its only warm-water port at Tartus. "Tartus is vulnerable and not good enough and the Egyptian ports are perfect for the Russian navy," an unnamed Israeli defense official told the S

ions of dollars in aid and massive Western state-building efforts following the 1995 Dayton Accords. Similarly, the Iraqi exiles who told President George W. Bush that divisions among country's Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish communities could be easily overcome in a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq either underestimated o

des with a recapitulation of the defense of the welfare state made in his 2010 book "Ill Fares the Land," as well as a prolonged castigation of the Bush administration for the Iraq war and rising inequality. In the end, what is striking about this book is the great difference between the 20th-centur

larly, the Iraqi exiles who told President George W. Bush that divisions among country's Sunni, Shiit

tal 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

e report argued, that "undermines human development and is one of the most painful manifestations of lagging political development." U.S. President George W. Bush recognized this stark reality. "Are the peoples of the Middle East somehow beyond the reach of liberty? Are millions of men and women and children

ack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe -- because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty." Bush and the U.N. Development Program's analysis were right, and those who judged that the old regimes could survive forever were wrong. What has been c

ng political development." U.S. President George W. Bush recognized this stark reality. "Are the peop

has signed a $550 million contract to sell Syria 36 combat jets. Two weeks ago, the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov called at the Syrian port of Tartus and, according to reports, dropped off a few tons of ammunitions. The Russians have a stronger stomach for the Syrian's brutality than does the Ar

ons of dollars in aid and massive Western state-building efforts following the 1995 Dayton Accords. Similarly, the Iraqi exiles who told President George W. Bush that divisions among country's Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish communities could be easily overcome in a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq either underestimated

es with a recapitulation of the defense of the welfare state made in his 2010 book "Ill Fares the Land," as well as a prolonged castigation of the Bush administration for the Iraq war and rising inequality. In the end, what is striking about this book is the great difference between the 20th-centu

arly, the Iraqi exiles who told President George W. Bush that divisions among country's Sunni, Shiit

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 relying on military and police force to prevent disintegration promoted by subsets of radical Islam. While it makes a complete mockery of most of George W. Bush's crusade for democracy and of most of the joyous ululations in the early phases of the Arab Spring, the incapacitation of the Arab powers has redu

it makes a complete mockery of most of George W. Bush's crusade for democracy and of most of the joyous

ile it makes a complete mockery of most of George W. Bush's crusade for democracy and of most of the

ntrymen. Russia ignores European and American disapproval and does what's necessary to maintain its Mediterranean naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, and pretends to continue as a rival to the power of the United States Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. The conduct of the United States has been

roughout broad reaches of the country. Nearby Mali has erupted into anarchy -- a situation ignited by regime change in Libya. The administration of George W. Bush decapitated the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, an act that cost perhaps 200,000 Iraqi lives over a few short years, even as Saddam had directly ki

re an implicit deal between the United States and Iran. Iran and the United States have a record of dealing with each other behind the scenes; the Bush administration and the ayatollahs did likewise in Iraq even as they fought each other there. The Iranians, like the Americans, are already looking

ime change in Libya. The administration of George W. Bush decapitated the Saddam Hussein regime in Ir

ent in 2009 by killing hundreds, not thousands.) The Russians require stability in Damascus only partly for the sake of naval rights in the port of Tartus. Syria and Iran are the two remaining levers the Kremlin has in the Middle East. Moreover, the collapse of a pro-Moscow dictatorship in the Middle

d influence in Syria over the last decade. David W. Lesch, professor of Middle East History at Trinit

ded that the United States take military action against Assad to remove him from power. These were the same two voices that lobbied the Clinton and Bush administrations to topple Saddam Hussein's regime. When the United States did exactly as these senators advocated, countless unintended negative c

f the Assad regime would almost inevitably decrease Russian power in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Syria has hosted Russia's naval base in Tartus for several decades and, since 1971, Syria has been Moscow's closest Arab ally. Syria is the largest Arab purchaser of Russian weapons and is seen