Epstein Secrets

hat "our goal is ... a democratic transformation." Clinton has left the door open slightly for reformers within the Assad regime. Last Saturday in Istanbul, she urged "an opposition that can provide a pathway, hopefully in peaceful cooperation with the government, to a better future." The administratio

f Israel as a Jewish state, something they have long refused. Last week, the United States tried to build support for such a quid pro quo from the Quartet, a Middle East peacemaking group that also includes the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. Winning the Quartet's endorsement would have

he Syria-Iraq frontier. The silence of President Obama on the matter of Syria reveals the general retreat of American power in the Middle East. In Istanbul some days ago, a Turkish intellectual and political writer put the matter starkly to me: We don't think and talk much about America these days, he

d to talk peace. The world would be confronted, he seemed to be saying, by a "Greater Israel with gas!" Some Palestinians called for the toothless Quartet to be dismantled altogether and replaced by enhanced UN involvement. Some Israelis conceded that their country had made strategic errors in expand

m in office this June by a larger-than-ever majority, Erdogan portrayed himself as a neo-Ottoman savior. "Believe me, Sarajevo won today as much as Istanbul, Beirut won as much as Izmir, Damascus won as much as Ankara!" he told cheering crowds at a victory speech in the capital. "The West Bank and Jerus

on Mr. Netanyahu, who has used any excuse to thwart peace efforts). But the best path to statehood remains negotiations. The United States and its Quartet partners (the European Union, the United Nations and Russia) should put a map and a deal on the table, with a timeline for concluding negotiations

hat "our goal is ... a democratic transformation." Clinton has left the door open slightly for reformers within the Assad regime. Last Saturday in Istanbul, she urged "an opposition that can provide a pathway, hopefully in peaceful cooperation with the government, to a better future." The administratio

f Israel as a Jewish state, something they have long refused. Last week, the United States tried to build support for such a quid pro quo from the Quartet, a Middle East peacemaking group that also includes the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. Winning the Quartet's endorsement would have

legitimacy in a potent new international coalition. The UN Secretary-General coined the phrase the “Middle East Quartet” for this informal group. The Quartet met both at principals level and at the level of special envoys. A novel approach to the imbroglio of Middle East peacemaking was launched: multilat

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