Epstein Secrets

monstrated a willingness to adopt legislation and then enforce it, other countries followed suit first in Eurasia but subsequently in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Governments that adopt such laws seldom if ever shut down the civil society sector entirely. Instead, they deal with NGOs selec

ts, and blue-chip law firms were earning fees paid by a majority of the world's autocracies, dictatorships, and illiberal regimes. Some, especially Middle Eastern monarchies, are American allies. But others are hostile to democracy and regard the United States—and often the EU—as adversaries. The lobbyists a

in sur- rounding countries. Putin has exploited sup- posed discrimination against ethnic Russians and certain other minorities in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and the Baltic states as justification for military intervention or hostile propaganda. Orbin has brought nearby Hungarian minorities into his po

consequences, and President Obama, having stated there will be a cost, must be certain that there is one. That is especially important for those in the Middle East watching the events in Crimea unfold. Presently, they see another example of Russia's readiness to defy international norms and act in the service

-- a currency that is often the only one that matters to most Middle Eastern leaders. They are acute observers of the balance of power. Many of our Middle Eastern The information contained in this communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged, may constitute inside information, and is inte

in former Soviet republics that are not prepared to toe the Russian line, there will be separatist movements that will break away as in the case of Moldova, Georgia, and now Ukraine -- and Russia will support them. It matters not that there is an international agreement -- in this case the Budapest Memo

that Israel's intransigence on settlements, and the U.S. government's failure to do anything about it, was undermining U.S. influence elsewhere in the Middle East. But nothing really changes, and Netanyahu and his allies are well aware of this. In 2010, they humiliated Vice-President Joseph Biden by unveiling

as dead wrong. So, it turns out, was the Brotherhood itself. As Shadi Hamid writes in "Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East," the Islamist group had learned to thrive under decades of autocratic repression and was hopelessly unprepared to rule Egypt. But following the ov

of the Baltic states? Is there a serious move to sign bilateral defense treaties with the endangered states (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus) or to bulk up the US presence in Central Asia? No, there is not, and President Putin knows it very well. The United States is a stronger

ing them is wrong — and dangerous. If, as Mr. Obama said recently at the United Nations, he believes that it is in America's best interest "to see a Middle East and North Africa that is peaceful and prosperous," he needs to make sure the Arabs are part of, and don't lose from, any future bargain with Iran.

s an independent great power, but its foreign policy is often contentious. Russia has invaded neighboring Georgia, and bullied Ukraine, Armenia and Moldova not to sign trade and association agreements with the European Union. Yet Putin lambasts Western intervention in other states. Support of Iran and