Epstein Secrets

ions along with Saddam Hussein. As a cautionary tale, Kissinger and others point not only to Iraq but also to Libya. Kissinger lumped Libya in with Yemen, Somalia and northern Mali as a "blank space" on the map "denoting lawlessness." Yet political scientist Juan Cole, who recently visited Libya, wh

ers into their own hands. Raghuram Rajan is a professor of finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. He previously served as the International Monetary Fund's youngest-ever chief economist, and was Chairman of India's Committee on Financial Sector Reforms. He is the author of Fault Lines: How Hidden Fract

homeini. Why has the Arab awakening produced so few new leaders? Partly because the electoral process is still playing out in places like Egypt and Yemen, and partly because it hasn't even begun in places like Libya and Syria. But these are technical explanations. There are deeper factors at work. On

d, because it had oil to buy off all the contradictions. Ditto Saudi Arabia. Egypt and Tunisia have very little oil, and both need loansharking from the International Monetary Fund. In order to secure those loans, their rising Islamist politicians are going to have to cut subsidies and raise taxes. But they are used to giving t

homeini. Why has the Arab awakening produced so few new leaders? Partly because the electoral process is still playing out in places like Egypt and Yemen, and partly because it hasn't even begun in places like Libya and Syria. But these are technical explanations. There are deeper factors at work. O

ni Land, because it had oil to buy off all the contradictions. Ditto Saudi Arabia. Egypt and Tunisia have very little oil, and both need loans from the International Monetary Fund. In order to secure those loans, their rising Islamist politicians are going to have to cut subsidies and raise taxes. But they are used to giving

s liberals need to organise fast in response and to prepare for elections. As for the west, it cannot afford to let the dramas in Libya, Syria and Yemen lead to the neglect of Egypt. For the fate of the Arab Spring still hangs most of all on what happens in the most populous and culturally powerful

eign reserves are falling, as the central bank struggles to support the currency. Some fear that Egypt is heading for a balance-of-payments crisis. An International Monetary Fund-style austerity regime in an already poor country will not be a great advert for the post-Mubarak order. Despite all this, there is still plenty o

seven Middle Eastern states are now beset by bitter, and increasingly violent, power struggles; states such as Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen are dismantling. Western states no longer trouble to conceal their aim of regime change in Syria, following Libya and the "non-regime-change" chang

e of the restrictive terms. Borrowing from international organizations may not come easy either. For the past six months, Egypt has negotiated with the International Monetary Fund for a $3.2 billion loan without being able to close the deal. Lack of internal political consensus over the loan (a condition set by the IMF) is sa

old Muslim Brotherhood. Salafis are a growing influence in £yria's rebellion. And they have parties or factions in Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Yemen and among Palestinians. Salafis are only one slice of a rapidly evolving Islamist spectrum. The variety of Islamists in the early 21st century reca

ects the U.S. to grow by just 2 percent in 2012. China will grow four times faster EFTA00712965 than that; India three times faster. By 2017, the International Monetary Fund predicts, the GDP of China will overtake that of the United States. Meanwhile, the fiscal train wreck has already initiated a process of steep cuts