Epstein Secrets

claims on what former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the "West Philippine Sea." In this enviro

ons on almost every issue -- getting out of old wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, avoiding new ones (Syria), avoiding interventions in lands visited by the Arab Spring, and resetting his relationship with Israel -- reflect a general attitude of risk aversion in the region. And yet, the president himself doesn't s

Obama administration, Gates was keenly aware of the tensions between the State and Defense departments built up during the war in Iraq. He invited Clinton to his Pentagon office, and the two ate lunch at a table that belonged to Confederate President Jefferson Davis back when he was U.S. secretary of

acy. Marcus Aurelius was one thing; Tunisia's Zine el- Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Syria's Bashar al- Assad, quite another. Certainly, the Arab Spring has proved much: that there is no otherness to Arab civilization, that Arabs yearn for universal values just as members of other societies do. But

ary of State Hillary Clinton's blunt statement on July 11 that Assad had "lost legitimacy" and that "our goal is ... a democratic transformation." Clinton has left the door open slightly for reformers within the Assad regime. Last Saturday in Istanbul, she urged "an opposition that can provide a pathw

t Plotting a post-Assad road map for Syria David Ignatius July 21 -- As the Obama administration steps up its support for regime change in Syria, the Arab Spring is moving into what could be its hottest phase. The puzzle is how to help the Syrian opposition gain power without foreign military intervention —

ary of State Hillary Clinton's blunt statement on July 11 that Assad had "lost legitimacy" and that "our goal is ... a democratic transformation." Clinton has left the door open slightly for reformers within the Assad regime. Last Saturday in Istanbul, she urged "an opposition that can provide a pathw

t Plotting a post-Assad road map for Syria David Ignatius July 21 -- As the Obama administration steps up its support for regime change in Syria, the Arab Spring is moving into what could be its hottest phase. The puzzle is how to help the Syrian opposition gain power without foreign military intervention —