Epstein Secrets

ate A Deadly Pandemic. • Iran Moves Mock Aircraft Carrier Into Strait Of Hormuz. • Israel Says It Fired On Hezbollah Fighters Who Crossed Over From Lebanon. • Taliban Executes Prison Guard As UN Releases Report On Violence Against Civilians. • China Takes Control Of US Consulate In Chengdu. • Russian

57eab5bcb097> (7/27, Gambrell) reports satellite photos released Monday show that Iran "has moved a mock aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with the United States." The AP describes the move as a signal that Iran "soon plans to use it for live-fire drills." Whil

war has spread. Turkey has become more and more belligerent toward Syria and even seems spoiling for a fight. Related fighting may have erupted in Lebanon — it's hard to tell the cause — but ultimately Assad will start trouble there. (That's Page 2 of the Syrian playbook.) Jordan is worried sick about

4. The Washington Post Obama and Romney's empty talk on Syria Richard Cohen Article 5. Spiegel Iran's Secret Plan to Contaminate the Strait of Hormuz Erich Follath Article 6. The Christian Science Monitor NATO must offer Turkey military support in Syria crisis Jorge Benitez Article 7. NYT N

ate A Deadly Pandemic. • Iran Moves Mock Aircraft Carrier Into Strait Of Hormuz. • Israel Says It Fired On Hezbollah Fighters Who Crossed Over From Lebanon. • Taliban Executes Prison Guard As UN Releases Report On Violence Against Civilians. EFTA00150382 • China Takes Control Of US Consulate In Cheng

rmuz. The AP (7/27, Gambrel]) reports satellite photos released Monday show that Iran "has moved a mock aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with the United States." The AP describes the move as a signal that Iran "soon plans to use it for live-fire drills." Whil

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

leaders on all sides say they are fully prepared to employ force if the peace talks fail. For the Iranians, this means blocking [34] the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel through which one-third of the world's tradable oil passes every day. The United States, for its part, has insisted that it wil

morally credible argument against intervention—by someone. Leaving Syria to descend into the kind of sectarian violence that devastated neighboring Lebanon in the 1980s would condemn hundreds of thousands to premature, violent death. Syria is five times the size of Lebanon. The risks of leaving it to d

70 percent of its total consumption. Most of that imported energy comes through a handful of vital marine bottlenecks: principally, the straits of Hormuz and Malacca and the Suez Canal. Yet China contributes almost nothing to stability in the oil-producing heartland of the Arabian deserts and barely

liban and other terrorist groups; and, through Syria, is a leading supplier for Hamas and Hezbollah. These groups threaten not only Israel but also Lebanon. Meanwhile, Gulf states fear Iranian designs — either on their territories or their regimes. Iran also targets Azerbaijan. In 2001, Iranian forces

t would lead to a much wider conflict. US air power would be used to knock out Iranian retaliatory capacity. Any Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be swiftly challenged by the US navy, with some token European support. While the Gulf states could never support an Israeli attack on Iran,

h state until its peace treaty with Egypt. A secure periphery defined the second, which lasted until recently and focused on the Palestinian issue, Lebanon and the rise of radical Sunni Islamists. The rise of Iran as a regional power and the need to build international coalitions to contain it define t

. More important, Israel cannot strike Iran without U.S. permission because Israel cannot guarantee that the Iranians would not mine the Strait of Hormuz. Only the United States could hope to stop the Iranians from doing so, and the United States would need to initiate the conflict by taking out the

el should not attack Iran: 1. The Iranians would retaliate with great fury, closing the Strait of Hormuz and unleashing the dogs of terror in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iraq. EFTA00687003 2. The entire region would be set ablaze by irate Muslims; the Arab Spring would turn into a frigid Islamist winter. 3.

ghts. There are five reasons (I am told) why Israel should not attack Iran: 1. The Iranians would retaliate with great fury, closing the Strait of Hormuz and unleashing the dogs of terror in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iraq. EFTA00687003 2. The entire region would be set ablaze by irate Muslims; the Arab S

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

leaders on all sides say they are fully prepared to employ force if the peace talks fail. For the Iranians, this means blocking [34] the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel through which one-third of the world's tradable oil passes every day. The United States, for its part, has insisted that it wi

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

nd to launch such an attack. And it is not clear that such an attack would succeed. It is also not clear that the Iranian counter at the Strait of Hormuz wouldn't leave Israel in a difficult political situation, and above all it is not clear that Egyptian and Syrian factions would even be impressed b