Epstein Secrets

t and effective, the regime could endure. Although they continue to function, neither appears intact any longer; their control of key areas such as Damascus and Aleppo is in doubt, and the reliability of their personnel, given defections, is no longer certain. We had thought that there was a reasonable

a disturbing signal of prospects for stability after Assad goes. Western and Arab powers have spent more than a year trying to turn the exile-based Syrian National Council into a legitimate alternative national leadership, to no avail. It remains divided and EFTA00701760 ineffectual, and lacks legitimacy among popul

n's key ally, Syria. Hezbollah is in danger of losing its Syrian backers, and Lebanon is in danger of slipping into another civil war exported from Damascus, which would keep Hezbollah preoccupied. The balance of power tilts decisively toward Israel, which is a success story of American diplomacy. Every

vously identified as the "Shia crescent." Washington is assuming that the Muslim Brotherhood, the most influential party within the Istanbul-based Syrian National Council, would end the Iran-Syria alliance if it came to power. The organization's deputy secretary, Mohammed Faruk Tayfur, told The Washington Times on Ja

amas's leadership has not gone public with its decision, it is worth noting that the majority of its external political staff has already evacuated Damascus, where it has a key office managed by Meshal. Their next destination is likely to be Cairo and Doha, where leaders there have committed to sponsor

's current strategic position in the region that is the fruit of two decades of hard work and billions of dollars. Burhan Galyoun, the head of the Syrian National Council that groups all main opposition forces has already stated that the first order of business for the nex government of a Syria after Assad will be to

reas Hamas, repositioning itself in internal Palestinian politics following the Fatah-Hamas unity government agreement and the closing of the Hamas Damascus office, has much to lose in a military confrontation with Israel. Syria: The March 21 UN Security Council Presidential Statement on Syria, approved

erce battles between the Assad Government and the mobilized popular opposition EFTA_R1_00225443 EFTA01840548 forces. Politically, the opposition Syrian National Council operating outside of the country remains divided and is marked by serious internal dissent; in contrast, the internal opposition groups seem more o

ip grew more distant. After the Persian Gulf War, Saudi Arabia, along with Egypt and Syria, banded together in hopes of creating a new Arab order. Damascus, no ally of Ankara at the time, was able to frame many of its narrow fights with Turkey as pan-Arab concerns. Down the Euphrates from Turkey, for

and supported creating buffer zones and humanitarian corridors between Turkey and Syria. Turkey also houses one of the biggest opposition groups, Syrian National Council, as well as the FSA. Although Saudi Arabia and Turkey share a common goal in Syria, there are some tensions between their positions. First, for T