Epstein Secrets

s long funded Hamas and Hezbollah; recently, its scope of attempted interference has broadened to include the affairs of Arab states from Yemen to Morocco. This month the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, Gen. Hasan Firouzabadi, harshly criticized Riyadh over its intervention in Bahrain, claiming

eft the southern flank exposed. Therefore, by holding the Levant, an eastern power protected itself against attacks from Mediterranean powers. The Levant was also important to any empire originating to the north or south of Israel. If Egypt decided to move beyond the Nile Basin and North Africa eastw

y over nearly 3,000 years. For convenience, we will use the term "Israel" to connote all of the Hebrew and Jewish entities that have existed in the Levant since the invasion of the region as chronicled in the Book of Joshua. As always, geopolitics requires a consideration of three dimensions: the int

ogress, but what is important is that they did emerge from the societies themselves. You also have the relatively soft monarchies — like Jordan and Morocco — that are at least experimenting at the margins with EFTA00665419 more participatory governance, allow for some opposition and do not rule with

hided the US repeatedly for handing Iraq to Iran on "a silver platter." The brazen attempt by the Al Qaeda—affiliated Islamic State in Iraq and The Levant, ISIL, to seize control of Mosul confirms the Saudis' worst fears about lingering EFTA00665425 instability in Iraq. The Obama administration will

n that Egyptian foreign policy is taking under an Al Sisi presidency. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia made a landmark visit on June 20th en route from Morocco. The aging monarch touched down in Cairo along with his ministers of finance and foreign affairs for a meeting with Al Sisi, which took place on Ab

hborhoods and an attack on Lebanese soldiers carrying out a raid in a Sunni neighborhood in Tripoli. It seems that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which recently renamed itself the Islamic State (IS), and/or its allies have turned their sights on Lebanon. This recent flurry of attacks

ptom of this dysfunction and despair, as were the internal conflicts that have convulsed Algeria, EFTA_R1_02013866 EFTA02687049 6 Libya, Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt itself in the past two decades. Even Iran's so-called green movement today is another manifestation of the phenome

ieldy project. The true beneficiary of these uprisings in a historical and geographical sense is Turkey. Ottoman Turkey ruled North Africa and the Levant for hundreds of years in the modern era. While this EFTA_R1_02013864 EFTA02687047 4 rule was despotic, it was not so oppressive as to leave a la

ither David Ben-Gurion nor Netanyahu. It is a result of a deeply ingrained, political and social structure that, across the huge swath of land from Morocco to Iraq, has been imposed, without a single exception, by dictators. Don't get me wrong: I don't want Israel to operate or control or, for heaven's

Syria, believes that the Syrian recognition of the Palestinian state today means that the al- Assad regime may give up the idea of custody over the Levant, i.e. Lebanon and Palestine, especially as Damascus also previously prevented Lebanon from recognizing the Palestinian state. The Syrian recogniti

topovers. In short, they do not constitute either an official visit or a working visit. On 20 June 2014 this rule was broken. On his way back from Morocco, where he was spending a vacation, to Riyadh, the Custodian of the Holy Places, King Abdullah Ben Abdel-Aziz of Saudi Arabia, made a stopover in C

however important they are on the theoretical level, but rather the territorial integrity and sovereignty of these two pillars of stability in the Levant and the Gulf region. One of the major differences in the positions of Egypt and Saudi Arabia in this respect is how to perceive and deal with Iran

restricting political and personal life than the larger and more modern Islamist parties that have won electoral pluralities in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco since October. For most Arabs, the rallying cry is justice, both economic and political. For Salafis, it is also about a virtue that is inflexible

ping into the EFTA00712951 disillusionment and disorder of transitions. A new Salafi Crescent, radiating from the Persian Gulf sheikdoms into the Levant and North Africa, is one of the most underappreciated and disturbing byproducts of the Arab revolts. In varying degrees, these populist puritans ar

er more than a symptom of this dysfunction and despair, as were the internal conflicts that have convulsed Algeria, EFTA00586529 6 Libya, Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt itself in the past two decades. Even Iran's so-called green movement today is another manifestation of the phenome

ieldy project. The true beneficiary of these uprisings in a historical and geographical sense is Turkey. Ottoman Turkey ruled North Africa and the Levant for hundreds of years in the modern era. While this EFTA00586527 4 rule was despotic, it was not so oppressive as to leave a lasting scar on tod

ither David Ben-Gurion nor Netanyahu. It is a result of a deeply ingrained, political and social structure that, across the huge swath of land from Morocco to Iraq, has been imposed, without a single exception, by dictators. Don't get me wrong: I don't want Israel to operate or control or, for heaven's

Syria, believes that the Syrian recognition of the Palestinian state today means that the al- Assad regime may give up the idea of custody over the Levant, i.e. Lebanon and Palestine, especially as Damascus also previously prevented Lebanon from recognizing the Palestinian state. The Syrian recogniti

has long funded Hamas and Hezbollah; recently, its scope of attempted interference has broadened to include the affairs of Arab states from Yemen to Morocco. This month the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, Gen. Hasan Firouzabadi, harshly criticized Riyadh over its intervention in Bahrain, claiming t

icy over nearly 3,000 years. For convenience, we will use the term "Israel" to connote all of the Hebrew and Jewish entities that have existed in the Levant since the invasion of the region as chronicled in the Book of Joshua. As always, geopolitics requires a consideration of three dimensions: the intern