Epstein Secrets

FP reported that a border crossing near Turkey had been taken over by some 150 foreign fighters proclaiming themselves loyal to al-Qaeda. Libya and Yemen are recent examples of how the EFTA00701761 collapse of an authoritarian political order presents opportunities for jihadists to revive their for

TA00701760 ineffectual, and lacks legitimacy among popular local opposition organizations on the ground. Nor does the SNC have any authority over the Free Syrian Army — itself a catch-all term for a wide array of localized military structures — or other insurgent groups, many of them openly sectarian. The absence

to help protect its interests. They were constant, if not always agreeable, companions. Egypt's Mubarak, Jordan's King Hussein, Tunisia's Ben Ali, Yemen's Ali Saleh, Morocco's King Hassan II, Saudi Arabia's kings Fand and Abdullah. The PLO's Yasir Arafat rounded out the group photo. America's arran

re confusing and opaque. Insurgencies are by definition loosely organized. But the relationship between those armed elements doing the fighting and the Free Syrian Army, nominally headquartered in Turkey, is not at all clear when it comes to chain of command or formal affiliation. And we know very little about fore

an, however, go deeper and are more complex. At their heart is Iran's interference in internal Arab affairs, particularly in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Bahrain. Although Iranian-Saudi enmity dates back many decades, it became acute after the 1979 Islamic Revolution when Iran's Supreme Leader,

Front. And that brings us to the situation in Syria today: a civil war among four main factions, in which the group supported by the United States, the Free Syrian Army of Gen. Salim Idriss, appears to be the weakest. Last weekend, the headquarters and main warehouse of the FSA were overrun by troops of the Saudi-f

ulate in Benghazi. It is difficult to imagine how a settlement freeze on the West Bank would stabilize Libya. 8. The proliferation, from Somalia to Yemen to Syria to Pakistan, of al- Qaeda-affiliated and -inspired groups. Settlements have not "contributed significantly" to persistent al-Qaeda activity

n 100 Free Syrian Army fighters. It also controls key areas along the Turkish- Syrian border, where it lies in wait for kidnap victims. Idriss said the Free Syrian Army is trying to fight a two-front war, battling al-Qaeda fighters at 24 locations over the past six months and fighting Assad's army. The CIA is said

f failed states and intervention in them by international organizations to prevent them turning into breeding grounds for terrorism as Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan did. Given Russia's domestic terror problems, amply publicized at the recent winter Olympics, it should be possible to deal wit

ing that word anywhere in the Middle East), are now awaiting events, fatigued by ineffective internecine combat. It is hard to figure out who is in the Free Syrian Army, Supreme Military Council, and the Syrian Revolutionaries' Front and where each ends and the other begins. The Islamic Front, with around 50,000 pa

Islamic Republic of Iran. Syria is to be the next battlefield, but here, there is a critical difference from what were minor skirmishes in Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere. The Saudis, with the aid of Qatar and the UAE, are striking at the core interests of Tehran, and they have through their tribal netw

's death. The Saudis and their Qatar and United Arab Emirate allies have pledged $100 million to pay wages to the fighters. Many of the officers of the Free Syrian Army are from tribes connected to the Gulf. In effect, the payment of wages is paying members of associated tribes. Here, the United States is not a wel

to come — just when economic sanctions are increasingly posing a challenge to its survival. No one can predict the timing, but Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen have shown that unpopular regimes that cannot last, don't. "People putting bread on the table, bearing the pressure, they have a limit," said a bus

andard SeeingSyria Clearly Lee Smith June 15, 2012 -- The Wall Street Journal reports that the White House is helping to coordinate logistics for the Free Syrian Army, but not providing arms. "U.S. intelligence operatives and diplomats have stepped up their contacts with Syrian rebels in part to help organize the

012 -- The remarkable uprisings across the Arab world in the past 16 months have ousted or imperiled leaders in several countries, including Egypt, Yemen, and Syria. None of these movements, however, has been successful in its goal of creating a new political system let alone a democratic one. Old ru

urkey and Jordan have the military capability to defend such zones from the Syrian army, and there are indications that Turkey, which already hosts the Free Syrian Army, might be willing to do more if it received American support — which hasn't been forthcoming so far. In addition, the U.S. and our NATO allies coul