A cache of e-mails leaked to CNN is giving extraordinary insight into the life of Syria's first family during the regime's move to crush a now-year-long civilian uprising.
The e-mails were obtained by CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" from a source in the region after the e-mail accounts were hacked. They appear to show a family often occupied with YouTube videos and shopping while the brutal crackdown continued, and they also apparently reveal some of Iran's influence over Syria's president.
Just before Bashar al-Assad delivered a speech January 10, an aide apparently e-mailed him, saying a political adviser to the Iranian ambassador encourages Assad to use "strong and violent" language.
In that speech, al-Assad then promises to strike the opposition with an "iron fist."
There are also e-mails from a man named Hosein Mortada, who - according to his Facebook page - is the Damascus bureau chief for two Iranian news networks. Mortada twice offers advice to the president's aide, who passes it on to Assad.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Keeping Them Honest • Syria |
The controversy over contraception is elevating the issue of women's health in the presidential race.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: 2012 Election • Raw Politics |
Anderson Cooper thinks Kathie Lee and Hoda, of The Today Show, are national treasures. Say otherwise and you'll earn yourself a spot on the RidicuList.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: The RidicuList |
Guns used to kill a U.S. agent are traced to an illegal purchase in Texas. The family of the agent questions whether the U.S. government is covering up an operation that allowed weapons to cross the border. CNN's Drew Griffin investigates.
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Post by: Drew Griffin Filed under: Crime & Punishment • Fast and Furious |
Anderson Cooper talks with Fouad Ajami and Paul Conroy about the Syrian leader's personal e-mails.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Syria |
Anderson Cooper talks with Rep. Darrell Issa about similarities between "Fast and Furious" and weapons linked to Texas.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Fast and Furious |
Journalist Anita McNaught describes the violence she witnessed while in Syria.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Syria |
Reporter's Note: Each day, President Obama arises and tells his staff to bring my latest dispatch to the White House. At least I like to think so…
Dear Mr. President,
One of my favorite movie lines of all time, and not surprisingly one of my credos, is spoken by Mickey Rourke’s character in Body Heat. He plays a small time criminal who is being asked for some advice by his attorney, William Hurt. It becomes clear that the lawyer is contemplating a hard core crime, to wit: murder and arson to wants to make it all look like an accident.
Rourke’s character thinks it over with obvious skepticism and asks, “What are you doing? Any time you try a decent crime, you got fifty ways you're gonna mess up. If you think of twenty-five of them, then you're a genius.” Actually the language is more colorful and the line a bit longer, but out of respect to the Oval Office and your time, I’ve tamed it and cut it back a tad. Still, you get the point.
Even the most smart, calculating, clever, quick, intellectual, educated, cunning person can run into unexpected problems. Random events, accidents, chance encounters, forces of nature, planetary alignments; all sorts of things can change the paths that we lay out for ourselves. Most of us like to believe that we are masters of our own fate, and…here comes a caution, we are most likely to believe that when things are going well.
Part of the reason is that we are constantly reverse engineering “cause and effect” sequences in our minds. For example: a) Bill Gates is the guy in charge of Microsoft, and b) Microsoft is a huge success, therefore c) Bill Gates is a genius who saw the path to greatness.
Truth be told, there have probably been legions of people over the past few decades with similar or even better ideas who encountered circumstances that, for one reason or another, kept them from becoming the Bill Gates of our time. Maybe they obtained funding from a bank that was less generous or forgiving with the loan. Maybe they were targeted by a competitor at a critical time in a way that Microsoft was not. Maybe they relied on a supplier that looked completely solid, but ran into some strange trouble that interrupted the inventory chain. In any event, the forces that kept them from dominating the field may have been utterly beyond their control.
I mention all of this, because as this election season plays out, you must make every effort to run your best race for re-election, just as your challengers must make their best run at unseating you. And I suspect the winner may well encounter some unexpected obstacles along the way, most of which we can not even imagine now.
A terrible storm may strike a critical state. A distant war may erupt. Gas prices could run wild. A close ally might become embroiled in scandal.
There is really no way to be ready for such things, but still…it is good to be at least mentally ready. Remember, there is only one way for things to go right for anyone who wants the presidency, and that is to win. And there are many, many, many ways for a presidential dream to go wrong.
Call if you have a moment. Would love to chat for a while.
Regards,
Tom
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Filed under: Letters to the President • Opinion • President Barack Obama • T1 • Tom Foreman |
Private emails leaked to AC360 shed light on the luxuries enjoyed by Assad's family while Syrians were massacred. In this preview, Anderson Cooper discusses the disturbing emails with Fouad Ajami, Sr. Fellow at Stanford University. At 8 and 10 p.m. ET, watch the complete conversation with Mr. Ajami and photojournalist Paul Conroy who recently escaped from Syria.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Syria |
CNN Legal Analyst Sunny Hostin says the man who shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin should be charged.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Crime & Punishment • Trayvon Martin |
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with AC361°