Epstein Secrets

leaving little over for naval warfare. In general, although Israel had excellent harbors and access to wood for shipbuilding, it never was a major Mediterranean naval power. It never projected power into the sea. The area to the north of Israel has always been a maritime power, but Israel, the area south of

rael Let us then turn to the contemporary manifestation of Israel. Israel was recreated because of the interaction between a regional great power, the Ottoman Empire, and a global power, Great Britain. During its expansionary phase, the Ottoman Empire sought to dominate the eastern Mediterranean as well as both

ed and nine years after Marines visited those shores, dispatched by President Jefferson to punish Barbary pirates for attacking U.S. vessels in the Mediterranean, Marines are again in that sea, poised to return. If they are sent ashore, their mission will be to rescue U.S. citizens from the consequences of U.

go affair, things are different. Even the worst mess has its winners. The Kurds, almost a century after missing out on statehood at the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, are the beneficiaries of Iraq's mayhem. Even their relations with their Turkish nemesis have been commerce- smoothed into something approaching war

o in which an old ally takes a bullet. Nor does it want radical Islamists to take over the Arab state that hosts the last Russian naval base in the Mediterranean. Hence, Lavrov says, the Kremlin is not supportive of regime change in Damascus. But it may have no choice. Moscow considers the uprising in Syria

menians, for example, had lived side by side with Ottoman Muslims for some six centuries until the rise of modern nationalism. Similarly, no one in the Ottoman Empire ever suggested that Kurds were actually "mountain Turks" whose true identity should be restored via cultural assimilation. The Ottoman state had i

een seen since the end of WWI and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. • In the Middle East - within three years, the "

VERSIGHT_028903 --- PAGE BREAK --- Israel to provide early warning against long-range missiles, and holds military exercises on our soil and in the Mediterranean, preparing an American response in case Israel has to defend itself against missile attacks from Iran. • We received about $1 billion from the US, by

ourselves at the height of a historic earthquake, in multiple dimensions, the like of which hasn't been seen since the end of WWI and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. • In the Middle East - within three years, the "Arab spring" turned into the "Islamic winter" - borders have vanished and centuries of conflicts bet

s deployed advanced radar systems in Israel to provide early warning against long-range missiles, and holds military exercises on our soil and in the Mediterranean, preparing an American response in case Israel has to defend itself against missile attacks from Iran. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029377 --- PAGE BREAK --- •

any circumstance. However, the area along the coast north of Israel does not present a serious threat. The coastal area prospers through trade in the Mediterranean basin. It is oriented toward the sea and to the trade routes to the east, not to the south. If it does anything, this area protects those trade route

stward, it would move first through the Sinai and then northward along the coastal plain, securing sea lanes to Egypt. When Asia Minor powers such as the Ottoman Empire developed, there was a natural tendency to move southward to control the eastern Mediterranean. The Levant is the crossroads of continents, and Israe