Epstein Secrets

n and Rene Pfister Article 3. Foreign Affairs Barak's Last Battle: An Israeli Lion in Winter Jonathan Tepperman Article 4. The Financial Times Netanyahu: tactical genius, strategic idiot Gideon Rachman Article 5. The New York Times Hypochondria: An Inside Look Woody Allen Anicic I. Project Synd

cic 4. The Financial Times Netanyahu: tactical genius, strategic idiot Gideon Rachman January 14, 2013 -- In a normal time, in a normal country, Benjamin Netanyahu would be a political giant. He is already the second-longest serving prime minister in Israel's history. Next week, when the country goes to the po

arak's eyes light up with real affection when he speaks about his former lieutenant; he describes Netanyahu (known in Israel almost exclusively as "Bibi") as "capable of deep thought and possessing a deep sense of history," explaining their relationship this way: Israel is not a nation of 300 millio

he two-decade-long occupation of Lebanon. It's hard to EFTA00693044 overstate the audacity of this triple bank shot. Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. State Department adviser who worked with Barak on the peace process, described it, with only a little hyperbole, as "a wacko agenda that bordered on the megalomania

s, has provoked unprecedented criticism of US policy from two of its strongest Middle East allies: Israel and Saudi Arabia. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has called on his ministers and his supporters in the US to lobby Congress to oppose the agreement. Meanwhile, Saudi officials have accused the US

Benjamin Netanyahu, who traveled to Moscow to lobby the Kremlin to stop the Geneva deal from going forward. This may have been wishful thinking on Netanyahu's part, but he evidently thought it worth a try. "The Russians have already surprised us in the past," one senior Israeli official told YNet, "and

it in him. We all envy him." When Putin traveled to Israel in June 2012, he was the guest of honor at an unveiling ceremony in the coastal city of Netanya. What was unveiled was the first monument to the Red Army ever to be constructed since the fall of the Soviet Union. This memorial, which underscor

of Soviet-born Israelis, and may even stand a chance someday of being elected prime minister—all this without even trying. Indeed, according to a U.S. State Department cable published by WikiLeaks, in June 2009 Lieberman traveled to Moscow where, in the assessment of one Israeli diplomat present, he comported hims

Benjamin Netanyahu's consideration of a military strike. Despite this internal Israeli split, Republican candidate Mitt Romney has strongly endorsed Netanyahu and chided President Obama for taking an independent U.S. position, saying at a campaign rally Monday: "The president throwing Bibi Netanyahu unde

y endorsed Netanyahu and chided President Obama for taking an independent U.S. position, saying at a campaign rally Monday: "The president throwing Bibi Netanyahu under the bus was totally unacceptable. Him negotiating for Israel, our friend, totally unacceptable, in my view." Here's the situation

nging markets? Don't be -- at least not yet. Think 2013. If Israel can't get assurances that the U.S. is prepared to use force, then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will act later this year or early next. But for now, there will be no war and certainly no deal over the nuclear i

ar this week in the United Church of Canada's vote to boycott products from Israeli settlements. This was in contrast to the exhortations by former U.S. State Department and White House official Dennis Ross — a stalwart of the pro-Israel scene from his post at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy — that the

er Barak left labor he has no political influence in the coalition," a Spanish diplomat said. "In political matters we will talk with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Lieberman, and when our defense minister visits Israel she will meet with Barak and discuss with him security issues pertaining

illary Clinton In what could be seen as yet another sign of the deterioration of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's international standing, the official U.S. State Department schedule failed to mention a meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the defense minister. Barak, who arrived on an official U.S. vi

er Barak left labor he has no political influence in the coalition," a Spanish diplomat said. "In political matters we will talk with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Lieberman, and when our defense minister visits Israel she will meet with Barak and discuss with him security issues pertaining

ary%20Clinton> In what could be seen as yet another sign of the deterioration of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's international standing, the official U.S. State Department schedule failed to mention a meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the defense minister. Barak, who arrived on an official U.S. vi

er Barak left labor he has no political influence in the coalition," a Spanish diplomat said. "In political matters we will talk with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Lieberman, and when our defense minister visits Israel she will meet with Barak and discuss with him security issues pertainin

illary Clinton In what could be seen as yet another sign of the deterioration of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's international standing, the official U.S. State Department schedule failed to mention a meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the defense minister. Barak, who arrived on an official U.S. vi