Epstein Secrets

ssue. They fear, I think rightly, that the United States puts a much higher stake on the nuclear issue than on rolling back Iranian power in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and other places that the Saudis are concerned about. So that's a major difference. The United States wants Syrian president Bashar al-Assad

ed that in the 19th century. America does so today and will have to continue to do so even if Putin becomes a vegetarian pacifist. But get a grip, Mandelbaum said in an interview: "Putin is not some strange creature from the past. He is as much a product of globalization as Davos Man." Putin runs a petr

that while global economics does not eliminate geopolitics, it does indeed trump global geopolitics today. It's the key to trumping Putin, too. As Mandelbaum (my co-author on a previous work) explains in his book, it is not either-or. Geopolitics never went away, even as globalization has become more imp

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

ry's political culture and getting age- old adversaries to reconcile. The primary foreign policy tools that served us so well in the cold war, said Mandelbaum, "guns, money, and rhetoric — simply don't work for these new tasks. It is like trying to open a can with a sponge." To help another country change

uperpower confrontation. Post-cold-war foreign policy today is largely about "affecting the internal composition and governance of states," added Mandelbaum, many of which in the Middle East are failing and threaten us more by their collapse into ungoverned regions — not by their strength or ability to p

oving dangerous weapons out of the country. Turkey, which has extensive ties with the Syrian opposition, can play a critical role. Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq could also make important contributions in detecting and intercepting weapons leaking out of Syria. Particular attention should be paid

ide every autocracy is a democracy dying to get out, but that might not be true in the Middle East." It was true in Eastern Europe in 1989, added Mandelbaum, but there are two big differences between Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Many Eastern European countries had a recent liberal past to fall b

moving dangerous weapons out of the country. Turkey, which has extensive ties with the Syrian opposition, can play a critical role. Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq could also make important contributions in detecting and intercepting weapons leaking out of Syria. Particular attention should be paid t

nside every autocracy is a democracy dying to get out, but that might not be true in the Middle East." It was true in Eastern Europe in 1989, added Mandelbaum, but there are two big differences between Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Many Eastern European countries had a recent liberal past to fall ba