Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- July 24, 2013

U.S. Marines exit a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter after an operation on Camp Bastion in Helmand province, Afghanistan, July 18, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ashley E. Santy

Leaving Zero Troops In Afghanistan? It's A Serious Option, Pentagon Says. -- Anna Mulrine, Christian Science Monitor

Pentagon officials say leaving zero troops in Afghanistan after 2014 would not be good strategy, but if Afghanistan doesn't give US troops legal immunity, it's the likeliest outcome.

Following through on the so-called “zero option” for Afghanistan – in which no US troops would remain in the country past 2014 – would be a dangerous way forward for the Pentagon, warn some lawmakers who say they are increasingly concerned about the prospect.

Yet US officials nonetheless continue to use the threat of such a move in an effort to gain leverage over Afghan officials who refuse to grant US forces the legal immunities that the Pentagon insists they need to remain in the country, adds Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

White House Concedes: Assad Won’t Go -- Walter Russell Mead, America Interest

Qatar’s Geopolitical Gamble: How the Gulf State May Have Overreached -- Viviene Walt, Time

How Yemen Chewed Itself Dry -- Adam Heffez, Foreign Affairs

My Week in North Korea -- Michael Malice, Reason

Egyptian general’s call for protest raises fears of something worse -- Max Fisher, Washington Post

The Struggle for Egypt's Future Plays Out in the Pages of Its Newspapers -- Vivian Salama, The Atlantic

Misstep in Egypt -- Daily Star editorial

Europe Still a Mess -- Milton Ezrati, National Interest

Between Crime, Separatism, and Racial Tensions, Can Spain Pull Through? -- Malcolm Beith, The Atlantic

Rajoy's Successor? The Most Powerful Woman in Spanish Politics -- Helene Zuber, Spiegel Online

Basta 'La Casta': No End in Sight to Italy's Economic Decline -- Hans-Jürgen Schlamp, Spiegel Online

As Poland's fracking future turns cloudy, so does Europe's -- Sara Miller Llana, Christian Science Monitor

Change by Attrition: The Revolution Dies Hard In Cuba -- Antonio G. Rodiles, World Affairs

Speaking frankly about US Foreign Policy -- Taylor Dibbert, The Commentator

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