Epstein Secrets

ran's extraterritorial special operations is a secretive unit embedded within the powerful IRGC, if not necessarily answerable to it. The Qods (or "Jerusalem") Force appears to focus on exporting the Islamic revolution by, among other things, fostering militant movements, creating deterrence and EFTA_R1

Ali Akbar Salehi, who paid a surprise visit to Ankara to discuss Syria and seek Turkish help for the release of 48 Iranians abducted by members of the Free Syrian Army on Saturday. Davutoglu said he had explained all of this to Salehi in a "frank and friendly manner." A visibly irked Erdogan also had harsh words

negotiations has failed, and he calls for changing it by including Arab and international sides in negotiating the most important dossiers, such as Jerusalem, the refugees, and security. The following is the full text of the interview: EFTA00660172 [Asharq Al-Awsat] I would like to start with the two-s

come from traditional communities and the radicalism of those associated with the global jihadi movement, said Joseph Holliday, who is researching the Free Syrian Army at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington and believes extremists are a small minority. "While there are elements [in the opposition] tha

t been growing closer to each other for several years, with small gestures of mutual accommodation. Israel agreed to return the Sergei courtyard in Jerusalem to Russia in 2008, a small strip of land in a religiously and ethnically divided city that had been sold in 1964 for a load of oranges. It then hal

Front. And that brings us to the situation in Syria today: a civil war among four main factions, in which the group supported by the United States, the Free Syrian Army of Gen. Salim Idriss, appears to be the weakest. Last weekend, the headquarters and main warehouse of the FSA were overrun by troops of the Saudi-f

-- of the U.S.'s troubles in the Muslim world. Before I go on, the usual caveats: The settlement project -- especially those settlements far from Jerusalem that have been planted in the middle of thickly populated Palestinian areas -- is a strategic and moral disaster for Israel. The settlements should

n 100 Free Syrian Army fighters. It also controls key areas along the Turkish- Syrian border, where it lies in wait for kidnap victims. Idriss said the Free Syrian Army is trying to fight a two-front war, battling al-Qaeda fighters at 24 locations over the past six months and fighting Assad's army. The CIA is said

e effective areas: • Those that are relatively certain to remain part of Israel, such as Ma'ale Adumim, Gilo and other areas close to the center of Jerusalem. • Those that are relatively certain to become part of a Palestinian state, such as Ramallah, Jericho, Jenin and the vast majority of the heavily

ia-friendly Lebanese intelligence agents of Shadi al-Mawlawi, a Sunni Lebanese anti-Assad activist allegedly involved in the trafficking of arms to the Free Syrian Army, and the killing by similarly friendly Lebanese Army personnel of Sheikh Ahmad Abdul- Wahed, a Sunni anti-Assad cleric who apparently did not heed t

lawmakers. The perils of such unconditional solidarity were addressed by Germany's new president, Joachim Gauck, during his first official visit to Jerusalem last Tuesday: "I don't want to imagine every scenario that could get the chancellor in tremendous trouble, when it comes to politically implementi

urkey and Jordan have the military capability to defend such zones from the Syrian army, and there are indications that Turkey, which already hosts the Free Syrian Army, might be willing to do more if it received American support — which hasn't been forthcoming so far. In addition, the U.S. and our NATO allies coul

ng an Oxford companion to the Arab-Israeli conflict was first presented to me in 2005 by Markus Bouillon, who served for me both in my UN capacity in Jerusalem and at the International Peace Institute (IPI) in New York. Nur Laiq laboriously and faithfully collected most of the relevant documents and contrib-

y President Abbas and Hamas leader Meshal sign a reconciliation agreement, which calls, inter alia, for elections in 2012. 29 July 2011 Formation of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). 2 September 2011 — Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident. 18 September 2011 Chair’s Summar

Salim Idriss, the new commander of the opposition Free Syrian Army. In a letter dated Feb. 4, he seeks U.S. assistan

e sole outlet to Rawabi sits off a dizzying two-lane highway flanked by round, scraggly hills. In this part of the West Bank, just north of where the Jerusalem suburbs thin into a dry, granite- gray wilderness, the mountains seem to aid in the illusion that Israeli and Palestinian spheres of authority can re

Salim Idriss, the new commander of the opposition Free Syrian Army. In a letter dated Feb. 4, he seeks U.S. assistan

e sole outlet to Rawabi sits off a dizzying two-lane highway flanked by round, scraggly hills. In this part of the West Bank, just north of where the Jerusalem suburbs thin into a dry, granite- gray wilderness, the mountains seem to aid in the illusion that Israeli and Palestinian spheres of authority can re