Epstein Secrets

wn in their lot with the rebellion, and Hamas broke with Assad and left town last year. Even if concerns about chemical weapons or jihadists on the Golan fail to materialize, Israel could find itself living alongside a new, Sunni-led Syrian polity that, if anything, could be even more insistent than

d find itself living alongside a new, Sunni-led Syrian polity that, if anything, could be even more insistent than Assad had been on recovering the Golan, occupied by Israel since the 1967 war — and which Israel has no inclination to give up. When Assad falls, those straight lines on the maps drawn i

Iraq's Sunnis or by their patrons in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Sunni-Shi'ite tensions have simmered across the region, flaring up in Lebanon and Bahrain — but Syria could prove to be a game changer. There are signs that Lebanon's fragile peace may not survive the fall of Assad, with Saudi-backed Sun

ficient cachet with the Damascus dictator. So, rather than pressing Syria to stop its arms deliveries to Hezbollah, it began to press Israel on the Golan. Why Obama thought the Golan Heights could be the big opener in the peace process is anybody's guess. The fact is that the Palestinians do not car

it would be a strong blow to Iran. Up to now, Iran has mainly benefitted from the recent developments in the region. Mubarak's fall, the events in Bahrain, and the pressure on Saudi Arabia worked to strengthen the axis of opposition and also drew international attention away from Tehran's nuclear prog

is somehow part of its campaign of resistance, the group may try to draw Israel into sporadic and contained exchanges along the Lebanese or Syrian (Golan) borders. With a focus on Lebanon's Sunnis and Shiites, David Schenker explains that while the two constituencies have shown remarkable restraint s

servative Sunni Muslim kingdom is at odds with Iran's revolutionary Shi'ite leaders in struggles across the Arab world, including in Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain and Yemen. Most of all, Riyadh sees Iran's open support for Syrian President Bashar al- Assad in fighting a rebellion backed by Gulf states as a for

surmount the blame that the Golan Heights were lost to Israel in the Six-Day War on his watch, when he was defense minister. Unable to recover the Golan, he did the next best thing: he all but came into possession of Lebanon, practically erasing the border between the two countries. He went into Leb

ing. Armed gangs roam in Libya, Salafists win votes in Egypt, and minorities like the Egyptian Copts live in fear -- as does the Shiite majority in Bahrain. The whole "experiment" seems to some critics to be a foolish, if idealistic project that promises to do nothing but wreak havoc in the Middle East

ld necessarily be a clean break in those relationships: an end to the Syrian alliance with Hezbollah and Iran. Otherwise Israel would be giving the Golan, in effect, to Iran—a suicidal act. No Israeli government would do it, which suggests that negotiations with Assad would have no purpose. Assad ma

ip. Despite significant pressure from the Obama administration to remain on the sidelines, Saudi leaders sent troops into Manama in March to defend Bahrain's monarchy and quell the unrest that has shaken that country since February. For more than 60 years, Saudi Arabia has been bound by an unwritten b

t of Patriot missiles. In a new development, the crisis has now hit the occupied Golan Heights. After a number of stray mortar shells landed in the Golan in the past week, Israeli tanks struck a Syrian artillery launcher on November le. This development reinforces the view that the Syrian government

roker a ceasefire alongside other diplomatic efforts, particularly due to the looming specter of a full ground operation by Israeli Defense Forces. Bahrain: On Tuesday, November 6", the Bahraini government arrested four suspects in connection with a bombing that killed two people in the capital Manama.

ould necessarily be a clean break in those relationships: an end to the Syrian alliance with Hezbollah and Iran. Otherwise Israel would be giving the Golan, in effect, to Iran—a suicidal act. No Israeli government would do it, which suggests that negotiations with Assad would have no purpose. Assad may i

ship. Despite significant pressure from the Obama administration to remain on the sidelines, Saudi leaders sent troops into Manama in March to defend Bahrain's monarchy and quell the unrest that has shaken that country since February. For more than 60 years, Saudi Arabia has been bound by an unwritten barg