Epstein Secrets

means to deliver it a year or two later. And perhaps Panetta is wrong — perhaps there is less time than he thinks. Or, as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak put it earlier this month, those who advise Israel to wait till later may end up discovering that "later is too late." The choice is clear and sta

n he thinks. Or, as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak put it earlier this month, those who advise Isra

e than he thinks. Or, as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak put it earlier this month, those who advis

s to put down the rebellion there against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad is the remake of a really bad movie that starred Bashar's father, Hafez, exactly 30 years ago this month. I know. I saw the original. It was April 1982 and I had just arrived in Beirut as a reporter for The New York Ti

February in the Syrian town of Hama, led by the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. Word had it (there were no Internet or cellphones) that then-President Hafez al-Assad had quashed the rebellion by shelling whole Hama neighborhoods, then dynamiting buildings, some with residents still inside. That May, I got a visa

elevision. But at the time, very few Israelis even knew who I was, and I felt ’'d done OK. I was surprised, however, when Rabin phoned the next day. “Ehud, I didn’t see it. I was attending some event,” he said. But his wife, Leah, had recorded the program. “I just watched it. I should tell you, I think

my hands — the article accused me of siding with the settlers. If blood was spilled in the weeks and months ahead, the newspaper said, “it will be on Barak’s hands.” Ordinarily, I would have ignored it. But never in my military career had I been similarly attacked on an issue of any importance. I was es

o let the facts get in the way of the “exclusive” it ran in its weekend edition on July 7. Under a banner headline — an undeniably clever Hebrew pun, Ehud Barakh, “Ehud Ran Away” — it accused me of having stood by, paralyzed with shock, when the missiles struck and then, as other officers tended to the wounded

briefed me on the questions I could expect, not just about the Achille Lauro but the wider issue of Palestinian attacks, as well as Syrian President Hafez al- Assad’s efforts to re-equip his air force after his losses in Lebanon. So I came to the interview prepared. I brought audio tapes of the hijacker

r time, we might manage to extricate ourselves from the escalating violence with Hizbollah; reach a land- for-peace deal with the enigmatic President Hafez al-Assad in Syria; and find some form of coexistence with the Palestinians. He also spoke about international politics. I remember one afternoon in the summe

elevision. But at the time, very few Israelis even knew who I was, and I felt I'd done OK. I was surprised, however, when Rabin phoned the next day. "Ehud, I didn't see it. I was attending some event," he said. But his wife, Leah, had recorded the program. "I just watched it. I should tell you, I think

my hands - the article accused me of siding with the settlers. If blood was spilled in the weeks and months ahead, the newspaper said, "it will be on Barak's hands." Ordinarily, I would have ignored it. But never in my military career had I been similarly attacked on an issue of any importance. I was esp

o let the facts get in the way of the "exclusive" it ran in its weekend edition on July 7. Under a banner headline - an undeniably clever Hebrew pun, Ehud Barakh, "Ehud Ran Away" - it accused me of having stood by, paralyzed with shock, when the missiles struck and then, as other officers tended to the wounded

briefed me on the questions I could expect, not just about the Achille Lauro but the wider issue of Palestinian attacks, as well as Syrian President Hafez al- Assad's efforts to re-equip his air force after his losses in Lebanon. So I came to the interview prepared. I brought audio tapes of the hijacker

r time, we might manage to extricate ourselves from the escalating violence with Hizbollah; reach a land- for-peace deal with the enigmatic President Hafez al-Assad in Syria; and find some form of coexistence with the Palestinians. He also spoke about international politics. I remember one afternoon in the summer

s organization an= other terrorist organizations," he said. "If there is a need, the militar= is prepared to expand the operation." Defense Minister Ehud Barak also ad=ressed reporters, saying that Hamas' "consistent provocation in recent wee=s ... forced our hand into acting with both precision and decisiv

nd decisiveness." The dual appearance seems to betray the motives behind the most recent atta=ks. "When the cannons roar, we see only Netanyahu and Barak on the screen =and all the other politicians have to applaud them," wrote the daily Haare=z in a commentary published Thursday. "The assassination o

pared to expand the operation." Defense Minister Ehud Barak also ad=ressed reporters, saying that Hamas

ls against Mr. Assad's Al=wite sect and Syria's other religious minorities is growing every day. Following the rise to power of Mr. Assad's father, Hafez, in 1970, Alawit=s were transformed from a persecuted minority sect to the controlling forc= within the army and government. With a system of perks

umvent these joint judgments of reality. One tactic is to convince us the costs of war won't be so great. Just the other day your defense minister, Ehud Barak, tried to minimize the aftershocks: "There will not be 100,000 dead or 10,000 dead or 1,000 dead. The state of Israel will not be destroyed." He sh

rom Israeli Defense EFTA00687006 Minister Ehud Barak that the Iranians would soon enter a "zone of im

ngs from Israeli Defense EFTA00687006 Minister Ehud Barak that the Iranians would soon enter a "zone

ly wrong: Assad's is an oppressive, minority-Alawi regime. It came to power via a 1970 coup. In 1982, the current dictator's father, then president Hafez al- Assad, brought artillery and killed over twenty thousand Islamist rebels in the town of Hama. The son is less efficient and likely to lose powe

/ BARAK / 15 By November, even his Foreign Minister, David Levy, was making noises about quitting. He said it would be a waste of time to stay in the cabine

ed his no-confidence resolution, he came to see me in my office in the Knesset. He was worried. Not about the vote, but about what would come after. “Ehud, I’m sure we can topple the government,” he told me. “But only you know whether we’re ready — whether you ’re ready — to defeat Bibi in an election.”

effective end of the peace process. Even though Arik assured me privately that he understood my determination to reopen peace efforts with Arafat and Hafez al- Assad, I knew Arik. The path toward peace agreements, assuming they were even possible, would be tough. Sooner or later — and certainly if we fac

giously motivated ideologues, were Labor supporters. And almost no Israel, of any political stripe, 331 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011802 / BARAK / 46 viewed Hafez al-Assad as a natural partner for peace. For years, he’d been a constant, sneering presence on our northern border, denouncing not only Sadat but any Arab lea

/ BARAK / 15 By November, even his Foreign Minister, David Levy, was making noises about quitting. He said it would be a waste of time to stay in the cabinet

ed his no-confidence resolution, he came to see me in my office in the Knesset. He was worried. Not about the vote, but about what would come after. "Ehud, I'm sure we can topple the government," he told me. "But only you know whether we're ready - whether you're ready - to defeat Bibi in an election."

effective end of the peace process. Even though Arik assured me privately that he understood my determination to reopen peace efforts with Arafat and Hafez al- Assad, I knew Arik. The path toward peace agreements, assuming they were even possible, would be tough. Sooner or later - and certainly if we fac

igiously motivated ideologues, were Labor supporters. And almost no Israel, of any political stripe, 331 HOUSE _OVERSIGHT_028179 / BARAK / 46 viewed Hafez al-Assad as a natural partner for peace. For years, he'd been a constant, sneering presence on our northern border, denouncing not only Sadat but any Arab lea

cing severe sanctions, so it's not a "freebie." Are there still tensions between the United States and Israel on this? Just before these meetings, Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, gave an interview in which he said it is imperative for Iran to stop producing 20 percent enrichment and close the F

and Israel on this? Just before these meetings, Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, gave an int

s Alawites and Sunnis under one banner. Although Sunnis initially tolerated the growing clout of the Alawite community, resentment resurfaced when Hafez al-Assad, an Alawite and the father of the current president, seized power in 1970. When he proposed a new constitution three years later that mandated a se

. When she got there, she realized I had gone missing. Retracing her steps, she found me standing in front of a rock in the middle of the dirt path. “Ehud,” she said, “why didn’t you come with us?” I apparently replied: “I’m thinking: which side of the rock should I go around?” Still, important though

ed us. I knew the drill: the same thing had happened when I had come tantalizingly close to finalizing a peace deal with Syria’s then-dying dictator, Hafez al-Assad, a few months earlier. Yet these three dedicated men — Gili, who was by training a lawyer; Shlomo, an academic; and Danny, a former Mossad chief — ha

. When she got there, she realized I had gone missing. Retracing her steps, she found me standing in front of a rock in the middle of the dirt path. “Ehud,” she said, “why didn’t you come with us?” I apparently replied: “I’m thinking: which side of the rock should I go around?” Still, important though

ed us. I knew the drill: the same thing had happened when I had come tantalizingly close to finalizing a peace deal with Syria’s then-dying dictator, Hafez al-Assad, a few months earlier. Yet these three dedicated men — Gili, who was by training a lawyer; Shlomo, an academic; and Danny, a former Mossad chief — ha