Epstein Secrets

n between our troubles with Syria and Iran is pretty straightforward. The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad is Iran's closest ally, and its link to the Arab Middle East. Syria has provided the land bridge for the transport of Iranian weapons and militants to Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Without Syria, Iran's pretens

kely see Israeli- Palestinian negotiations as a bottomless pit for diplomatic energy rather than as a priority. If Obama is reelected, he will have no Middle East hands to whom he can turn. Mideast advisor Dennis Ross has left; Jeffrey Feltman, assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, departed for

ill in all likelihood leave when a new secretary of state is appointed or a few months later. In January 2009, Obama appointed Mitchell as special Middle East envoy on his second day in office. That kind of priority will not be assigned to the "peace process" in January 2013 -- no matter who wins. The ne

uraging precedents. Several senior Clinton officials involved in the 1997 deal now work for Obama, including Jacob Lew, Obama's chief of staff, and Gene Sperling, the head of the National Economic Council. "You have a dynamic that is similar to the nineteen-nineties," one White House official said. "There a

nt Jimmy Carter and in every administration since (except George W. Bush's), Dennis Ross has played a bigger role in setting American policy toward the Middle East than perhaps any other official who didn't occupy the Oval Office. Most recently, Ross was special assistant to President Obama and the National Se

ministration in Washington has taken on the aura of a Clinton alumni association. Obama's chief of staff, Jacob Lew, and his main economic adviser, Gene Sperling, were top Clinton aides. Bruce Reed, formerly Clinton's chief domestic-policy adviser, and Steve Ricchetti, Clinton's deputy chief of staff, now wo

ope, and then the Western Hemisphere. And that reflects a bipartisan consensus. ... They are just being extremely purposeful to not get dragged into the Middle East." In Third Attack In A Week, Three Rockets Land Near US Embassy In Baghdad. Politico (2/22, Seligman, 6.73M) reports three Katyusha rockets landed

propriations Committee who is "currently waiting for a confirmation hearing in the Senate to be deputy OMB director, may still face competition from Gene Sperling, who has the distinction of twice leading the National Economic Council." Haaland Commits To "Strike The Right Balance" On Oil, Natural Gas. The A