Epstein Secrets

and Salafist acculturation. At least seven Middle Eastern states are now beset by bitter, and increasingly violent, power struggles; states such as Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen are dismantling. Western states no longer trouble to conceal their aim of regime change in Syria, following Libya

. Though Americans saw the embassy seizure as a strike against the United States, within Iranian political circles it was seen as a clever step by Khomeini and his fellow mullahs to get rid of the Iranian exiles who had taken over the Iranian government in the wake of the 1979 revolution. There is ano

used nuclear reactor fuel as part of a multibillion-dollar deal to purchase American nuclear power plants. After 1979, according to Mousavian, the Khomeini revolutionary government decided against many power plants and the enrichment facility. The Bushehr nuclear power plant, EFTA_R1_02203686 EFTA027

liamentary seats in post-revolution elections. Brotherhood leaders say they have been reaching out to Syria's neighbors, including Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon — as well as to U.S. and European diplomats — to reassure them that they have no intention of dominating a future Syrian political system or establ

r goal of "exporting the Islamic revolution" would not succeed. No doubt that Arafat's close ties with Saddam Hussein, a nemesis of both Assad and Khomeini, and his concession to recognize Israel also widened the chasm between the PLO and the Islamic Republic. From Assad's standpoint, Arafat's relation

S about eight months ago. "We have participated in battles in [Syria], and in a few days we will go to Iraq and will fight them and will even go to Lebanon and Jordan, wherever our sheik [Baghdadi] wants to send us." "Send us, we are your sharp arrows. Throw us at your enemies, wherever they may be,"

that appears under the eye-catching headline, "The Man Who Broke the Middle East." The man in question is not Sykes or Picot or Nasser or Saddam or Khomeini or George W. Bush or Noun al-Maliki, but Barack Obama. I often agree with Elliott, but I could not let this one go by without a response. Don't wor

history of vying for influence. Iran is particularly keen on maintaining its sway in Syria because of that country's strategic location neighboring Lebanon and Israel. And although Turkey and Iran are major trading partners, they keep a wary eye on each other. "They dance together with poison daggers

in the last years of the shah manifested a striving for local hegemony that transcended the country's strongest alliances with the U.S. and Israel. Khomeini's regime went on to reveal how even messianic ideologies can bow to long-established imperatives and dramatically different security environments.

re probably linked with the survivability of al Assad's regime. But his removal might well hasten the slide into chaos within Syria and in adjacent Lebanon, rather than slow it. Al Assad's departure could even ignite a disintegration of the Syrian power structure into various gangs and militias. After

nctions, corruption and mismanagement, oil exports are down by almost a half and production is nearing twenty year lows. Before the late Ayatollah Khomeini announced that "economics is for donkeys" Iran's oil production stood at close to six million barrels per day. Today, after thirty- two years of "th

e because of his disclosures. U.S. officials appear to be skeptical of allegations that chemical weapons have been moved outside Syria, to Iraq or Lebanon, as claimed by Sakat and others. So it's best to treat those reports with caution. But Israeli officials are said to believe that the EFTA_R1_0220

broke out in 1999 was crushed without mercy. Recalling Khatami Khatami was either a man powerless to defend the movement or a faithful son of the Khomeini order who was given leeway by the regime's powers that be. He couldn't defy the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or run afoul of the Islamic

liamentary seats in post-revolution elections. Brotherhood leaders say they have been reaching out to Syria's neighbors, including Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon — as well as to U.S. and European diplomats — to reassure them that they have no intention of dominating a future Syrian political system or estab

r goal of "exporting the Islamic revolution" would not succeed. No doubt that Arafat's close ties with Saddam Hussein, a nemesis of both Assad and Khomeini, and his concession to recognize Israel also widened the chasm between the PLO and the Islamic Republic. From Assad's standpoint, Arafat's relatio

and Israel, and Egypt had a government that did not want that arrangement to break. Israel still faced a formally hostile Syria. Syria had invaded Lebanon in 1976 to crush the Palestine Liberation Organization based there and reconsolidate its hold over Lebanon, but knew it could not attack Israel by

onversely, views the world as essentially hostile, and many hardliners argue for a national security policy based on the most atavistic elements of Khomeini's worldview: international institutions and diplomacy are symptoms of an inequitable world, and a farce — self-reliance is the only option. And if

g and murder of a luminary of the Shiite religious class, Imam Musa al- Sadr, and two of his companions. In the summer of 1978, Sadr, the leader of Lebanon's Shiites, and two companions went to Libya to take part in a celebration of Gadhafi's military revolution. The charismatic cleric, who had all but

egan to dawn on foreign observers and commentators. Some had their misgivings from the beginning, remembering Foucault's misguided enthusiasm about Khomeini and the Iranian revolution. But, they argued, Cairo was not Tehran—which is indeed undeniable. Articles began to appear arguing that revolutions ar

l, for their editing contribution. Miklos Pinther, former chief UN cartographer, who in 2000 oversaw the delineation of the Blue Line between Israel, Lebanon and Syria, compiled and produced the maps in this volume. Finally, my executive assistant, Jilla Moazami, gave invaluable administrative support. Wit

leaves Iran after months of domestic turmoil. 26 March 1979 Signature of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in the White House. 1 April 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini proclaims the Islamic Republic of Iran after a national referendum. 2 April 1979 Prime Minister Begin visits Cairo. February 1980 Israel and Egypt