Epstein Secrets

the M. on Libya; we never even sought them in Syria; and we are now undermining them over Iran. Turkey, under increasingly Islamist prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is closer to the Obama administration than is Israel, America's best friend in the Middle East. The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi came to po

increasingly Islamist prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is closer to the Obama administration than is I

nt in a way that many assumed precluded any role for the Assad family, which has ruled Syria with an iron fist since President Assad's late father, Hafez, seized absolute power in 1970. There has been barely a flicker of agreement within Syria about its future since the country erupted in initially

: the Democrat Party of Adnan Menderes (1950- 1960), the Motherland Party of Turgut Ozal (1983-1993), and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Recep Tayyip Erdogan (since 2002). All these political movements emphasized economic development, democratic politics, and respect for traditional religion. The lates

ic politics, and respect for traditional religion. The latest party in this chain, the AKP, is also the most interesting, for its founders such as Erdogan and Abdullah Gul came from the Islamist line in Turkish politics, but gradually moved toward the center-right. They embraced democratic rule, indiv

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

term extensively in 2009, its usage has continued to increase in frequency, not just among Kurds but among Turks as well, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who also used the term "Kurdistan" in a speech he made on Nov. 16 in Diyarbakir with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani

s as well, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who also used the term "Kurdistan" in a speech

ians do." The Syrian-Russian relationship was always rather complicated, full of mutual suspicion and attempts by Moscow to impose an ideology that Hafez al-Assad didn't much care for, in exchange for military and intelligence assistance that Syria couldn't do without. But Damascus isn't just a resurrected st

ed messages of support over the past 48 hours from the king of Saudi Arabia, the president of Qatar, the emir of Kuwait, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Even the United States sees Assad in a different light to other leaders in the Arab world, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying this we

Kuwait, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Even the United States sees Assad in a differen

U.S. Been So Soft on Bashar Assad? Martin Peretz March 29, 2011 - I don't know where to begin. So let me start with Bashar Al Assad—whose father, Hafez, Jimmy Carter wrote he had higher regard for than any other leader in the Middle East. Barack Obama never said anything quite that hagiographic abo

his development? To the extent that Turkey is a template for how Islamist parties can fit within a secular democratic framework — as Prime Minister Erdogan himself recently argued in a speech in Cairo — should the West support rather than oppose this approach? Brzezinski: I am very much in favor of dr

insula and before it slipped out of the hands of the Arabs into those of the Persians and the Turks. Yet decades earlier, Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafez -- a man of supreme cunning and political skill -- had ridden the military and the Baath Party to absolute power, creating a regime in which power

s mustard gas -- to advanced nerve agents such as sarin and possibly persistent nerve agents, such as VX gas. In the hands of Assad -- and his father Hafez before him -- these weapons have been an ace-in-the-hole deterrent against Israel's nuclear capability. The Assad regime, however, has never openly b

--- 27 Article 7. Hurriyet Why Golda Meir was right Burak Bekdil August 23, 2011 -- It has been more than two and a half years since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told to Israeli President Shimon Peres's face, "You (Jews) know well how to kill." Prime Minister Erdogan has also declared more than a few times tha

alf years since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told to Israeli President Shimon Peres's face, "You (Jews) know well how to kill." Prime Minister Erdogan has also declared more than a few times that the main obstacle to peace in this part of the world is Israel, once calling the Jewish state "a festeri

ast 34 soldiers killed. Yesterday, the FSA attacked the headquarters of the Air Force Intelligence Agency at Harasta near the capital Damascus. Since Hafez al-Assad, an air-force officer and Bashar's father, seized power in a coup in 1970, the AIA has been the nerve center of the regime's security system. Also th

ghbour, may yet prove decisive as Ankara assumes a crisis leadership role. Until the uprising tore apart old certainties, the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had invested considerable capital in improved ties with Syria, with which Turkey almost went to war in the 1990s. A turning point came with the 2004

nt economic leverage. Ankara has already imposed unilateral sanctions and is considering additional measures including a cut in electricity supplies. Erdogan turned the screw again this week, accusing Assad personally of "feeding on blood" after he failed to honour the Arab League peace plan. "No regime ca

have in fact challenged the fundamentals of Syria's security state, a harsh system of controls over every aspect of society, put in place by the late Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, who ruled for 30 years from 1970 to his death in 2000. By all accounts, the debate HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_030032 --- PAGE BREAK --- 4 ab

ions have grown cold. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, have a