Epstein Secrets

r themselves abroad). Meanwhile, the gaps between rich and poor widen. STORY NO. 3 Last week, the offi

head into the Christian neighborhoods of Cairo. Episodes of mass violence and killing of religious minorities throughout the former territories of the Ottoman Empire — from the Danube to the Euphrates and the Nile — have been all too common in the last 150 years. Sometimes the victims have been Muslims (most rec

outside of their sphere of influence, notably oil-rich Kirkuk. Skepticism persists, however, regarding

d the Levant (1511) announced the establishment of a caliphate, referring to the system of rule that ended almost a century ago with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and changed its name to "Islamic State." The group of Islamic extremists designated its chief Abu Abakr al-Baghdadi as caliph and "leader for Musl

primary channel is directly westward, toward the rich cities of the northern Levantine coast, with whi

rael Let us then turn to the contemporary manifestation of Israel. Israel was recreated because of the interaction between a regional great power, the Ottoman Empire, and a global power, Great Britain. During its expansionary phase, the Ottoman Empire sought to dominate the eastern Mediterranean as well as both

are still determined to defend tax cuts for the rich and undo desperately needed financial regulations

ns and Christian intellectuals, it sought to reform political life, separate religion from politics, emancipate women, and move past the debris of the Ottoman Empire. Fittingly enough, that great movement, with Beirut and Cairo at the head of the pack, found its chronicler in George Antonius, a Christian writer

f attention." This is because in "an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth

go affair, things are different. Even the worst mess has its winners. The Kurds, almost a century after missing out on statehood at the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, are the beneficiaries of Iraq's mayhem. Even their relations with their Turkish nemesis have been commerce- smoothed into something approaching war

een seen since the end of WWI and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. • In the Middle East - within three years, the "

and right. Jews and Arabs. Secular and religious. Rich and poor. Center and periphery. Old and new. This

ourselves at the height of a historic earthquake, in multiple dimensions, the like of which hasn't been seen since the end of WWI and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. • In the Middle East - within three years, the "Arab spring" turned into the "Islamic winter" - borders have vanished and centuries of conflicts bet

and right. Jews and Arabs. Secular and religious. Rich and poor. Center and periphery. Old and new. This

back to its tribal past. The search for a solution to this chaos requires a clear understanding of how we got here in the first place. For centuries, the Ottoman Empire had neutralized the historically rooted sectarian divisions within Islam. Those divisions stem from its ancient political legacy as a "caliphate," a

he America is finally doing right in teeming, oil-rich desert lands where it did wrong for decades. Thom

primary channel is directly westward, toward the rich cities of the northern Levantine coast, with whic

stward, it would move first through the Sinai and then northward along the coastal plain, securing sea lanes to Egypt. When Asia Minor powers such as the Ottoman Empire developed, there was a natural tendency to move southward to control the eastern Mediterranean. The Levant is the crossroads of continents, and Israe