Epstein Secrets

ly manageable for the Arabs and the West. Now all of that is gone. Within a year -- a stunningly inconsequential unit of time in the grand sweep of Middle Eastern history -- these three Arab states have gone off line. In the case of Iraq, this has been in the works for some time now. EFTA_R1_00229384 EFTA018

markets should enable firms to reap greater economies of scale, increase returns to investment and adopt more new technology. Just as important in the Middle Eastern context, more open trade would begin the process of dismantling over-centralised states and create a constituency for further economic change. Of

ic. I leave it to psychiatrists to decide whether the recent bellicose talk of those in power—threats to close the Strait of Hormuz and remarks by Ayatollah Khomeini that Iran would "support and help any nations, any groups" fighting against Israel—is merely brave talk to cover up weak knees or the talk of a min

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.

n is the great deceiver, whose deception of Adam and Eve marked the beginning of human history as we know it. After the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini named America "the Great Satan." Now, 35 years later, when Wendy Sherman says deception is part of Iranian DNA, this is really a tit-for-tat react

st Ba=k cities of Ramallah or, as has been mooted, Jericho. The message will be =hat, for all the talk of a Washington foreign policy pivot to Asia, the Middle East is still a US priority and t=e Palestinian issue has not been forgotten. The prestige of a presidential=visit will strengthen those Palestinians who

th th=t the rule of the moderates in times of revolutions is always undone by the ascendancy of the extremists. (Think of the libera=s who rode with Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979—so many of them were cut down=by firing squads.) It was no surprise that the Egyptian liberals and secularists q=arreled among themselves a

, say, $70 per barrel) is about 45 billion barrels, or 10% of the total North American oil in place. This would exceed the magnitude available from the Middle East. Over time, it would yield a shift in global oil-market power from the traditional producers (OPEC, Russia) to consumers (such as Germany, Eastern

an narrative goes — have sought to "dictate" to Iran. During the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran and replaced him with the Ayatollah Khomeini, crowds walked through the streets carrying banners of Mossadegh and chanting "Margh-bar Amrika" (Death to America). The 1953 coup, already iconic

e Middle East. We created reality; others watched, baffled, paralyzed, afraid. In 1989, Americans gloated as the Soviet Union, our former rival for Middle Eastern supremacy, retreated ignominiously from the region. When Saddam Hussein tried to challenge us from within, we thrashed him in the Gulf War. Throug

ing of a pan-Arab redeemer—and they put the word out that Sadr might have made his way back to Iran for the unfolding struggle between the shah and Ayatollah Khomeini. Sectarianism, rancid and vicious, hung over the affair: A self-styled Bedouin Sunni ruler doing in a turbaned Shiite cleric, and a Persian at tha

o the idea that the best hope of a breakthrough may lie in bilateral U.S.- Iranian talks -- perhaps even a summit meeting between President Obama and Ayatollah Khomeini. For such a summit to be successful the United States would have to change its approach. Iran’s supreme leader has made clear that Iran will not neg

mers and foreign donors, for the creation of a social and economic existence in the West Bank that's de-coupled, insomuch as currently possible, from the Middle East's tense and labyrinthine politics. It would also help solidify the benefits of the current cessation in hostilities. Indeed, Palestinian leader Mahmou

o the idea that the best hope of a breakthrough may lie in bilateral U.S.- Iranian talks -- perhaps even a summit meeting between President Obama and Ayatollah Khomeini. For such a summit to be successful the United States would have to change its approach. Iran's supreme leader has made clear that Iran will not nego

mers and foreign donors, for the creation of a social and economic existence in the West Bank that's de-coupled, insomuch as currently possible, from the Middle East's tense and labyrinthine politics. It would also help solidify the benefits of the current cessation in hostilities. Indeed, Palestinian leader Mahmoud