Mr Assad dared to defy him.

ECONOMIST: Turkey��s foreign policy: Growing less mild | The

It should be recalled that the Saudis so feared the rise of a Muslim Brotherhood-ruled Egypt that in February 2011, when US President Barack Obama was publicly ordering then-president Hosni Mubarak to abdicate power immediately, Saudi leaders were beseeching him to defy Obama.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Who ��Lost�� Egypt?

Imad Mugniyah was about to defy the oceans that security officials naively assumed held him back.

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It led him to support foxhunting and to resume smoking in old age, just to defy the ban.

ECONOMIST: John Mortimer