Epstein Secrets

the events in Bahrain, and the pressure on Saudi Arabia worked to strengthen the axis of opposition and also drew international attention away from Tehran's nuclear program. Syria is the keystone of the pro-Iran axis. Weakening the Assad regime, to say nothing of its collapse, would be a blow to Iran,

ening his grip on power; it may be that the secret police, long given too much leeway, have been taking matters into their own hands. What's more, anti-Assad elements should be careful what they wish for. Syria is ethnically and religiously diverse and, with the SONY_GM_00078426 JPM-SDNY-00001553 EFTA_

ferating. In fact, one country recently announced that it was creating a new elite "Cybercorps" as part of its military. The announcement came from Tehran. The chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times. This article is adapted from his new book, "Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars a

n affliction from infecting his county — Lebanon is increasingly getting sucked into the intra-Syrian conflict. In addition to the assassination of anti-Assad Lebanese politicians and journalists and the abductions of a score of Lebanon-based Assad opponents, Syrian security forces have regularly staged i

nificant ally, one strategically positioned to enhance Iranian influence in the Levant. Its fall would be a strategic setback for Iran at a time when Tehran is looking to enhance its position with the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Iran, which sees the uprising as engineered by its enemies - the United States

r center of unrest; it was shelled by the Syrian Navy in mid-August. Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city has also seen significant demonstrations. If anti-Assad insurgents take up arms, the chemical sites, as symbols of regime's authority, could become strategic targets. And, if mass defections occur from the