Epstein Secrets

ore glorious alternatives to the Turks. Whereas Turkey could appear too Oriental and too religious in Brussels or Paris, when viewed from Cairo or Tunis, it looked like an ideal Muslim bridge to the democratic West and economically dynamic Asia. Moreover, Turkey could play some powerful cards, owing

was a sense of superiority vis-à-vis the Arab world. The collapse of the Soviet Union awakened "neo-Ottoman" Turkish ambitions in the Caucasus and Central Asia, and revolution in the Middle East seemed to offer the heirs (if not orphans) of a long-dead empire an opportunity to avenge its loss. If a lazy an

nclude the recent turmoil over prayer space and the wearing of the niqab (veil) by women which occurred on the campus of Manouba University outside Tunis and riots in the capital that forced the government to impose a curfew on a few major cities for several days in mid-June. In addition, reflecting c

intention to open a small office of the Special Adviser on Yemen for one year to support the implementation of the Transition Agreement. South and Central Asia Pakistan: After months of mounting legal pressure, the Supreme Court's June 19 verdict holding Yousuf Raza Gilani in contempt of the court led to h

the helpless people of Horns, the Friends of Syria squirm and hope to be delivered from any meaningful burdens. Still, they are meeting Friday in Tunis to discuss their options. But Syrian dictator Bashar al- Assad needn't worry. The Tunisian hosts themselves proclaimed that this convocation held on

ab world, especially to the rise of Islamist parties. If these parties turn out to be extreme, they risk inflaming Muslims in Russia itself and in Central Asia. Professor Vitaly Naumkin -- the man who sits at the summit of oriental studies in Russia -- declared that "I believe democracy will come to the Ar