Epstein Secrets

w and dramatic proposal for humanitarian aid to all needy Syrians inside Syria. Of course, the latter would require agreement and participation by Damascus. It might also be a good way to lay the groundwork EFTA_R1_00441451 EFTA01964612 for future negotiations. Obama has tried every which way to avo

ing democracy; the so- called Deauville Partnership never got much beyond the stage of rhetoric. I'm told a more ambitious proposal for a concerted Arab Spring initiative was debated within the Obama administration in 2012 but was rejected because it might have been a distraction from President Obama's all

olitical reconciliation and economic growth. There was a halfhearted effort led by France in 2011 to create a sort of collective support system for Arab Spring democracy; the so- called Deauville Partnership never got much beyond the stage of rhetoric. I'm told a more ambitious proposal for a concerted Ara

Assad hit squads, U.S. officials said. Anti-government activists reported renewed shelling by government tanks on Friday in the city of Douma, near Damascus, as well as snipers firing at protesters from rooftops. Intelligence assessments, meanwhile, show scant progress by Assad toward implementing any

on has taken. Said Sadek, a political sociologist who participated in the protests that brought down Mubarak last year, says in retrospect, Egypt's Arab Spring was "a mix of a popular revolution and a military coup." "Egypt is in the surgery room at the moment, and in surgery you see ugly things," said Sa

7 war by capturing the Golan Heights. With that high ground the Israelis could comfortably gaze into Syria, and on a clear day they could even see Damascus. The Israelis were confident of their air superiority over the Syrian air force given the results of their air battles in 1982, in which Israel dow

. Despite those military feats, the foundations of Israeli security have cracked and crumbled rapidly since 2011 and the onslaught of the so-called Arab Spring. Notwithstanding Israel's military prowess, the country's security is growing more precarious on a numerous fronts, and the Israelis are gravely co

among the armed rebels has overshadowed the bigger fight against Assad, allowing his forces to gain the upper hand and make tactical gains in Homs, Damascus and even the rebel stronghold Aleppo. Emboldened, Assad and his henchmen, with the backing of Iran and Russia, have repeatedly reminded the opposit

a transitional period after the revolution. Compare our situation to other countries in a similar situation — Libya, Syria, Yemen, Egypt and other Arab Spring countries. Tunisia is obviously faring much better. It is the last candle still shining in the Arab Spring despite all the winds that are blowing a

Larsen < IIMI> Subject: January 24 update Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:19:06 +0000 24 January, 2012 Article 1. Wall Street Journal What Moscow and Damascus have in common Editorial Article 2. The Daily Beast syria: The Lost Bequest of Hafez Assad Fouad Ajami Article 3. The National (Abu Dhabi) A

es that neoconservatives were right all along Elliott Abrams EFTA00660812 January 23, 2012 -- There is a sour mood nowadays about the so-called Arab Spring. 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 Bah

guaranteed access to U.S. markets. The Iraq War was designed to "shock and awe" that nation's ruler and to convince other opponents of the U.S., in Damascus and Tehran, especially, that they could be next. Meanwhile, it was hoped that once a pro-Western, democratic Iraq stabilized, it would give the U.

py about the current state of affairs. U.S. credibility and its image in the Middle East have taken a real beating. And our policy on the so-called Arab Spring, or what's left of it, is pretty much at sea, largely because we can't shape the internal dynamics of these societies. Still, on many things that

of sanctions and warmongering. To be sure, the earlier sensible effort to have friendly relations with Syria backfired, but not until the regime in Damascus started the massive shooting of its citizens and refused to meet the demands of its people for far reaching reforms. Arguably, the same reversal o

omes violence, and at best, will result in continuation of the revolution. In this way, one year after the Egyptian revolution, and the so- called Arab Spring, the state of affairs have changed in an unprecedented manner which is not likely to reoccur in the future. What we came to know is that the early