Epstein Secrets

Iraq, where the Islamic State of Iraq and al- Sham (ISIS) has routed government forces since June 10, have sent reverberations across the region. In Lebanon, the ISIS victory has sparked fears of increased attacks against Hezbollah for its role in propping up Bashar al-Assad. It has also shifted the ord

ir less experienced allies, who are now decamping for home. Since late December, Shia militiamen have returned to Iraq to defend the government of Nouri al-Maliki against the ISIS-led insurgency in the country's west. Given the lightening-speed advance of ISIS this month, threats to destroy Shia holy sites, a

logical and stubborn actors in the Middle East have been forced to adjust to the new political realities created by the Arab uprising. Hezbollah in Lebanon, for example, has been feeling increasingly vulnerable and isolated lately because of the escalating civil conflict in Syria and the threat that po

e Washington Post In Iraq, a return to old enmities Editorial December 21 -- PRESIDENT OBAMA struck a "mission accomplished" tone when he greeted Nouri al-Maliki at the White House last week, heaping praise on the Iraqi prime minister and declaring that he "leads Iraq's most inclusive government yet." It di

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,"

er or later, honest liberals will have to admit that Obama's Iraq policy has been a disaster. Since the president took office, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has grown ever more tyrannical and ever more sectarian, driving his country's Sunnis toward revolt. Since Obama took office, Iraq watchers—includin

making than with the blurring 4 the lines drawn in Arab sands decades ago. On the map, Tripoli, on the Med=terranean Sea, lies within the borders of Lebanon and is the country's s=cond-largest city. But Tripoli, staunchly Sunni, with an Alawite minority, has always been within the orbit of the S=rian cit

l against an Alawite minority, has been a boon t= the Sunnis of Iraq. The Sunnis have bottomless grievances against the gov=rnment of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. To them, Maliki, who spent a qua=ter-century exiled in Syria and Iran, is an agent of the Iranian theocracy. So even though the regime in S=ria di

n of Iraq in 2003. Photo: Youtube/Brown Moses Governments and bor=ers are under siege elsewhere, as well. For more than a year, Shiite milit=as from Lebanon have moved into Syria and operated as a virtual arm of the=Syrian government. Meanwhile, so many Syrian refugees have gone in the opposite directio

http://topics.wsj.com/person/O/Obama/4328> administration. The U.S. is weighing more direct military assis=ance to the government of Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki, the White House said Thursday, and officials hinted that =id might include airstrikes on militants who have edged to within a half-h=ur's drive of

airo in January. There was no reaction in Washington to this report. If there is going to be a resolution of the Syrian crisis without a decade of Lebanon-style war, then allies of the US will have to speak to someone of the calibre of Gen Suleimani, a far more important figure than Mr Ahmadinejad. Co

e flow of oil to the global market. While tensions have risen over the past two years, the triggers for recent eruptions are clear. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, had the bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi, who is Sunni, arrested for alleged terrorist activities on Dec. 20 — almost ex

Cairo in January. There was no reaction in Washington to this report. If there is going to be a resolution of the Syrian crisis without a decade of Lebanon-style war, then allies of the US will have to speak to someone of the calibre of Gen Suleimani, a far more important figure than Mr Ahmadinejad. Coul

ree flow of oil to the global market. While tensions have risen over the past two years, the triggers for recent eruptions are clear. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, had the HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_027116 --- PAGE BREAK --- bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi, who is Sunni, arrested for alleged te

d Cairo in January. There was no reaction in Washington to this report. If there is going to be a resolution of the Syrian crisis without a decade of Lebanon-style war, then allies of the US will have to speak to someone of the calibre of Gen Suleimani, a far more important figure than Mr Ahmadinejad. Coul

free flow of oil to the global market. While tensions have risen over the past two years, the triggers for recent eruptions are clear. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, had the HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_028742 --- PAGE BREAK --- bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi, who is Sunni, arrested for alleged ter