Epstein Secrets

led dictatorship that was held together by an iron fist under Baathist ideology. And, for me, the lesson of Iraq is quite simple: You can't go from Saddam to Switzerland without getting stuck in Hobbes — a war of all against all — unless you have a well- armed external midwife, whom everyone on the gro

edded 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 potential threat to Israel. Had the United States been successful in Iraq, Syria would have been next. Neither Iraq nor the United

America's interest. Their first target was Saddam Hussein's Iraq, seen as a potential threat to Israel. Ha

TA00701760 ineffectual, and lacks legitimacy among popular local opposition organizations on the ground. Nor does the SNC have any authority over the Free Syrian Army — itself a catch-all term for a wide array of localized military structures — or other insurgent groups, many of them openly sectarian. The absence

ngs on whom America depended to help protect its interests. They were constant, if not always agreeable, companions. Egypt's Mubarak, Jordan's King Hussein, Tunisia's Ben Ali, Yemen's Ali Saleh, Morocco's King Hassan II, Saudi Arabia's kings Fand and Abdullah. The PLO's Yasir Arafat rounded out the gr

ghts abuses, authoritarian behavior, and faux reforms. Then there were the adversarial authoritarians. Here, a smaller group photo featured Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Syria's Assads (father and son), and Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi. America sought to check and constrain their power, even removing one through inva

nstrain their power, even removing one through invasion. But at times, the United States found common ground with them too. (See: cooperation with Saddam against the Iranian mullahs, and dancing with Assad on the peace process.) As pure and unadulterated dictators, however, they were incorrigible, be

re confusing and opaque. Insurgencies are by definition loosely organized. But the relationship between those armed elements doing the fighting and the Free Syrian Army, nominally headquartered in Turkey, is not at all clear when it comes to chain of command or formal affiliation. And we know very little about fore

act. Was the dream of nuclear second-strike capability lost? By no means. In January 1991, the US air force attacked Iraq, and then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein reacted by firing modified Scud missiles at Tel Aviv and EFTA00712606 Haifa. The bombardment lasted almost six weeks. Gas masks, some of which ca

air force attacked Iraq, and then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein reacted by firing modified Scud missiles

ce attacked Iraq, and then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein reacted by firing modified Scud missiles at Tel A

urkey and Jordan have the military capability to defend such zones from the Syrian army, and there are indications that Turkey, which already hosts the Free Syrian Army, might be willing to do more if it received American support — which hasn't been forthcoming so far. In addition, the U.S. and our NATO allies coul

, as Muhammad Sahimi wrote in Tehran Bureau, the reason that the Qods Force was established in the 1980s: to train Iraq's Kurds (and Shia) against Saddam. Interestingly, noted the same author, Soleimani and his generation of fellow IRGC commanders never got over the fact that the West (and indeed the

Ali Akbar Salehi, who paid a surprise visit to Ankara to discuss Syria and seek Turkish help for the release of 48 Iranians abducted by members of the Free Syrian Army on Saturday. Davutoglu said he had explained all of this to Salehi in a "frank and friendly manner." A visibly irked Erdogan also had harsh words

icana. Despite Putin's well-known opposition to the Iraq War, he is also cultivating a strong military and energy-based relationship with the post- Saddam government in Baghdad. Gazprom and Rosneft have moved in to capitalize on Iraq's increased oil and gas outputs. Last summer, contracts were signed

Front. And that brings us to the situation in Syria today: a civil war among four main factions, in which the group supported by the United States, the Free Syrian Army of Gen. Salim Idriss, appears to be the weakest. Last weekend, the headquarters and main warehouse of the FSA were overrun by troops of the Saudi-f

. "If authorities build a lake, it will destroy the tunnels facilitating illegal trade, but Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood do not want to," said Hussein, a local Bedouin journalist. Demographic dynamics Other issues ensuring continued instability, by-products of the peninsula's geographic location,

's death. The Saudis and their Qatar and United Arab Emirate allies have pledged $100 million to pay wages to the fighters. Many of the officers of the Free Syrian Army are from tribes connected to the Gulf. In effect, the payment of wages is paying members of associated tribes. Here, the United States is not a wel

nisters in seven months, who are Ibrahim Amoush, Hussein Majali, Salim Al Zoubi, Ibrahim al-Jazi, and Khal

andard SeeingSyria Clearly Lee Smith June 15, 2012 -- The Wall Street Journal reports that the White House is helping to coordinate logistics for the Free Syrian Army, but not providing arms. "U.S. intelligence operatives and diplomats have stepped up their contacts with Syrian rebels in part to help organize the

ayel. 17 September 1982 UN Security Council Resolution 520 (Lebanon). 17 May 1983 Israel and Lebanon sign a peace agreement. 19 February 1986 King Hussein of Jordan severs ties with the PLO. 11 April 1987 London Agreement. 21 May 1987 Lebanon’s parliament abrogates the 1969 Cairo agreement with the PL

y President Abbas and Hamas leader Meshal sign a reconciliation agreement, which calls, inter alia, for elections in 2012. 29 July 2011 Formation of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). 2 September 2011 — Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident. 18 September 2011 Chair’s Summar

he PLO had been financially dependent on the states of the Arab Gulf and the Communist bloc. The collapse of the Soviet Union and Arafat’s support of Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War of 1991 resulted in the collapse of funding for the PLO and an end to remittances to Palestinian families in Gaza and the West Ba

lapse of the Soviet Union and Arafat’s support of Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War of 1991 resulted in t