Epstein Secrets

of acceptance by Tel Aviv, but collapsed when challenged by the internal opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu led by the super-hawk foreign minister, Avigdor Liebermann, now under indictment for fraud. What this brief overview argues is that Turkey has consistently tried to avert recourse to intervention and war in

rity Sunni population takes power, the minority groups that did well under the Assad dynasty will be targeted. The troubling slogan, "Christians to Beirut, Alawis to the coffin" that has been heard from time to time at opposition rallies is not particularly reassuring. Nor can either group take comfor

e of acceptance by Tel Aviv, but collapsed when challenged by the internal opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu led by the super-hawk foreign minister, Avigdor Liebermann, now under indictment for fraud. What this brief overview argues is that Turkey has consistently tried to avert recourse to intervention and war in

ity Sunni population takes power, the minority groups that did well under the Assad dynasty will be targeted. The troubling slogan, "Christians to Beirut, Alawis to the coffin" that has been heard from time to time at opposition rallies is not particularly reassuring. Nor can either group take comfor

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

rio thus is a Balkanized Syria, with an Al Qaeda safe haven, huge displaced populations, and an occasional stream of car bombings from Damascus to Beirut. As for Iran, while the administration thinks it has bought six months of "wait and see," the reality is that, when the clock stops ticking, the W

ill make uncomfortable reading for Bibi. But very little of it will surprise him, or his own Likud rivals further to the right, like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the Economy Minister, Naftali Bennett. I have said almost all of it to them behind closed doors in the past few years, more than once. When I fin

ted plan — a raid by helicopter into a Fatah-dominated area in southeastern Lebanon, during one of Arafat’s intermittent, morale-boosting visits from Beirut — to assassinate him. My immediate superior, the army’s head of operations, was all for our doing it. But the chief of military intelligence said no.

ill make uncomfortable reading for Bibi. But very little of it will surprise him, or his own Likud rivals further to the right, like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the Economy Minister, Naftali Bennett. I have said almost all of it to them behind closed doors in the past few years, more than once. When I fin

ted plan — a raid by helicopter into a Fatah-dominated area in southeastern Lebanon, during one of Arafat’s intermittent, morale-boosting visits from Beirut — to assassinate him. My immediate superior, the army’s head of operations, was all for our doing it. But the chief of military intelligence said no.

Times, found that the Israelis had indeed used excessive force but that the Gaza embargo was legal. On the Israeli side, hard-line foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman at every turn tried to prevent a negotiated outcome from being finalized. Turks did not make it easier either by taking inflexible positions that mad

sts. To understand America’s current standing in the Arab world 10 years after 9/11, it’s instructive to visit Obros, a coffeehouse-cum-nightclub in Beirut. The place is a tribute to Kennedy-era “American kitsch,” and its 35-year-old proprietor Joulan El Aschkar displays a sophisticated touch, from Pierr