Epstein Secrets

t Iraq war and then head of the CIA; and Hillary Clinton, now Secretary of State. During a series of early trips to the US as Defense Minister, I met Gates, Hillary and other senior figures in the administration both formally and informally. In part because they were aware I favored agreeing to a settlem

vant-garde of a half-century earlier. The rise of Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party was the latest sign, alo

srael" and opposed to any Palestinian state - had become the 21"-century equivalent of the kibbutz avant-garde of a half-century earlier. The rise of Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party was the latest sign, alongside a move rightward within the Likud itself. For Bibi to say yes to a settlement freeze would mean

t Iraq war and then head of the CIA; and Hillary Clinton, now Secretary of State. During a series of early trips to the US as Defense Minister, I met Gates, Hillary and other senior figures in the administration both formally and informally. In part because they were aware I favored agreeing to a settlem

ent. We went down six seats, to 13. The big gainer was a far-right, stridently anti-Arab party called Yisrael Beitenu, led by a former Likudnik named Avigdor Lieberman. Tzipi’s attempt to form a coalition became less a political process than a contest between rival stalls in a Middle Eastern bazaar. Bibi was holding

srael” and opposed to any Palestinian state — had become the 21*-century equivalent of the kibbutz avant-garde of a half-century earlier. The rise of Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party was the latest sign, alongside a move rightward within the Likud itself. For Bibi to say yes to a settlement freeze would mean

al leaders utilize strategy. Portraying Obama as the Inspector Clouseau of foreign policy may pump Strachan's book sales. (After all, it worked for Gates.) But his assessment seems a bit off the mark. Since the start of his second term, Mr. Obama has exhibited a pretty clear idea of what he wants to

calculations . . . the possibility that they will be left to their own devices in managing crises". Even Israel is adjusting. Its foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, recently remarked: "Ties between Israel and the US are weakening . . . The Americans today are dealing with too many challenges." The Israeli anal