Epstein Secrets

as held his fire in the face of great slaughte=, and truth be known, congressional and popular opinion have given him a p=ss. America has wearied of Middle Eastern wars. Syrian rebels sure that the Ame=ican cavalry would turn up after this or that massacre have been bitterly =isappointed. It's the tragic luck

ave the opp=site effect, enabling Egypt to pursue its goals of consolidating the military's authority at home and e=hancing its influence throughout the Middle East. Egyptian and Israeli leade=s must recognize that the ongoing struggle to secure the Sinai Peninsula =96 which the treaty established as a demilita

is the country's s=cond-largest city. But Tripoli, staunchly Sunni, with an Alawite minority, has always been within the orbit of the S=rian city of Horns. So it is no mystery that a deadly conflict now rages in=Tripoli between Sunni and Alawite neighborhoods, rendering the place ungov=rnable. Sunni j

well. Fully fifty senators signed on before President Obama sent word that he would veto the measure, given the country's growing aversion to more Middle Eastern wars; AIPAC quickly backed down. It seems reasonable that the lobby's executives considered a timely retreat far preferable to a full blown defeat

icant counterweight to China? Why should we care who runs the government of Ukraine? Why would we want to be involved in the hornet's nest that is the Middle East these days? What would be the most deft, sophisticated and effective way for us to respond to China's growing assertiveness in East Asia? What kin

rican intelligence official, said the Assad government was using Russian-supplied Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters to carry out the barrel-bomb attack in Horns. Russia, he said, is most likely providing spare parts such as engines, transmissions and rotors, which may explain Mr. Kerry's specific reference

d their sympathizers) -- has hurt Israel, but has it actually, as Brzezinski alleges, "contributed significantly to the general mess we now have in the Middle East"? Let's look at the Middle East as it is today. Here is a partial catalog of phenomena that plausibly illustrate the idea that the Middle East is a

ho face the threat of starvation this winter. Negotiations have focused on providing supplies to civilians trapped in three areas: the old city of Horns, in central Syria; the town of Darayya, about six miles southwest of Damascus; and the town of Moadamiyeh, about eight miles southwest of the capit

d the second-largest percentage of young people in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa -- has been a "huge factor" in this year's revolutions across the Middle East and North Africa, says Larry Diamond, an expert on democratization at Stanford University. About two-thirds of Arabs are 30 or younger -- a percent

nority. The latest grim warning came on Sunday and Monday, when the United States estimates that 15 to 30 Syrians were killed in ethnic fighting in Horns. A White House official called those reports "really worrisome." The strategic stakes are high in Syria partly because Assad is allying himself ev

r's Al Udeid Air Base is the forward headquarters of the United States Central Command, which oversees a vast area of responsibility extending from the Middle East to North Africa and Central Asia. CENTCOM forces are deployed in combat roles in Afghanistan as well as at smaller bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, the Un

dia showed staged footage of arms being found in a mosque in Dara'a, the southern city where protests first broke out, and warned that a sit-in in Horns ... was an attempt to erect a mini-caliphate. This manipulation of Syrians meant the regime was confident that the threat of civil war would force

power to civilians. As for human rights, though, just what do Egyptians have to celebrate? Not all that much — a sad commentary on the uprising in the Middle East's most populous country, one that is a reference point for regional politics despite its poverty and EFTA_R1_00234086 EFTA01845140 stagnation. Yes

s and the mountain villages and coastal towns that make up the Alawite strongholds. The violence in the Syrian uprising has been most pronounced in Horns, the country's third-largest city, because of its explosive demographics -- two-thirds Sunni, one-quarter Alawite, one- tenth Christian. Sectarian

tal to regional dominance, or fear that their neighbours will. Some experts argue that nuclear-armed states tend to behave responsibly. But imagine a Middle East with five nuclear powers riven by rivalry and sectarian feuds. Each would have its fingers permanently twitching over the button, in the belief tha

ange of groups opposing Mr. Assad, the council has yet to seriously address melding itself with the increasingly independent internal alliances in Horns and other cities across Syria trapped in an uneven battle for survival, they said, warning that the council runs the risk of being supplanted. "Th