Epstein Secrets

may push Syria to the brink of sectarian conflict. President Assad continues to side with the hard-liners in his inner circle, including his brother Maher—who commands the Fourth Armored Division—and his brother-in law Assef Shawkat—the military intelligence chief—who believe that giving in to protest

h his Syrian counterpart; during the conversation the two presidents complained about a "conspiracy to undermine the stability" of Yemen and Syria. Bahrain Manama has complained in a letter to the UN Secretary-General that the Lebanese party Hizbullah is conniving to overthrow the ruling Khalifah famil

to lack the forceful character necessary to succeed his father, would replace him. Indeed, some family members looked to Bashar's younger brother, Maher, who more closely resembled his father and eldest brother in his aggressive personality. In the end, though, Hafez chose Bashar as his successor, g

and Kurds, the secular and religious, Muslims and non-Muslims, can live together and share power. As you can see in Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Libya and Bahrain, this is the issue that will determine the fate of all the Arab awakenings. Can the Arab world develop pluralistic, consensual politics, with regul

l-Assad's brother, Rifat, killed 10,000 (some say 20,000). As a showdown intensifies a generation later, it is another pair of brothers, Bashar and Maher, poised to do the same, against demonstrators lightly armed or weaponless but willing to look EFTA_R1_02032813 EFTA02691196 35 death in the eye

de is built Shiite/Sunni antipathy; and upon both is loaded national competition for regional influence. Their tensions recently came to a head in Bahrain, when the majority Shi'ite population arose to protest felt discrimination by King Isa Al-Khalifa and his Sunni elite advisors. Fearing that the me

o aggressively pursue a secure withdrawal option. The second group that will have to pay retail for stability is the Arab monarchies — Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Morocco. These governments have for decades bought stability with reform wholesale — by offering faux reforms, like reshuffling cabi

eady have lost authority to men like his brother, Maher al-Assad, commander of the regime’s Republican Gu

nse often seemed like a giant game of whack-a-mole, with a new problem popping up daily, was inevitable. And so was the variety of U.S. responses. In Bahrain, where the United States had established the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, and in Yemen, where counterterrorism is king, interests trump

She doubtless needed a green light to go ahead with the interview, one that required some measure of approval by Makhlouf and Assad's younger brother Maher, both of whom have taken an eradication approach to the protests. Makhlouf, in turn, needed no authorization whatsoever. What Shaaban said was likely