Epstein Secrets

have become key factors in the fighting, and Mr. Assad's triumph would dramatically affirm the power and prestige of Shiite Iran and Hezbollah, its Lebanon-based proxy — posing a direct threat both to the Sunni Arab states and to Israel. But a rebel victory would also be extremely dangerous for the Un

A_R1_00441191 EFTA01964443 answered, "At least $200 a barrel." But it's half that — for a reason: "We now use 60 percent less energy per unit of G.D.P. than we did in 1973," explained the energy economist Philip Verleger. "If the trend continues, we will use half the energy per unit of G.D.P. in 20

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

, collapse. But Ireland, which has done everything the austerity crowd wanted, is in terrible shape too, with unemployment near 15 percent and real G.D.P. down by double digits. Portugal and Spain are in similarly dire straits. And austerity in a slump doesn't just inflict vast suffering. There is gr

Iran's closest ally, and its link to the Arab Middle East. Syria has provided the land bridge for the transport of Iranian weapons and militants to Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Without Syria, Iran's pretensions to regional hegemony, and its ability to challenge Israel, would be crippled. It follows tha

precipitate drop in government spending would equal an economic contraction of more than five hundred billion dollars, more than three per cent of G.D.P. The impact could send a fragile economy back into a recession. "It's two to three times bigger in negative terms than even the biggest year of the