Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 22, 2016

A worker pulls a storage bin in the Olympic Park a day after the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly

Paulo Prada, Reuters: With Games gone, hard reality sets in for Brazil

Until now, people in Brazil had something to look forward to.

Despite deep recession, a presidential impeachment, and a corruption scandal ensnaring the political and corporate elite, the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro shone on the horizon like a sliver of light from a sunnier era, when Brazil appeared to have its act together.

But that was extinguished with the Olympic flame at Sunday's rainy closing ceremony. Now, Latin America's largest country, its dreams shattered, once again finds itself falling far short of its economic and political potential.

"There is nothing left to disguise the hard reality that we now face," says Roberto Romano, a philosopher, author and commentator on Brazilian society. "This grandiose idea that many believed in until recently has nothing to support it anymore."

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 22, 2016

In Syria, Russia and the United States fight for the Middle East -- Peter Apps, Reuters

Russian Bombers in Iran Are a Symbol, Not a Strategy -- Mark Katz, National Interest

Analysis: Turkey’s potentially momentous shift on Assad -- Dan Perry and Zeina Karam, AP

Why the Ayatollah Thinks He Won -- Jay Solomon, Wall Street Journal

Saudis expect little from next US leader -- Bruce Reidel, Al-Monitor

The Syria "What If" That May Haunt Obama -- W. Robert Pearson, Real Clear World

Putin's ever-shrinking circle shows a return to Soviet politics -- William E. Pomeranz, Reuters

Vladimir Putin’s Plan Trumps Obama’s Scolding -- Paul D. Shinkman, US News and World Report

U.S. Searches For New Venezuela Strategy As Maduro Hangs On -- Franco Ordonez, Miami Herald

There’s one group of minority immigrants in the US that is surprisingly pro-Trump -- Renuka Rayasam, Quartz

Who Would Work for Trump? -- Joe Gould, Defense News

Making Sense of Trump and His National Security Critics -- Rebecca Gordon, Tom Dispatch

A Clinton Win Means An Expanded War in Syria -- Daniel Larison, American Conservative

Is Obama’s Drone War Moral? -- Matt Peterson, The Atlantic

Obama Unlikely to Change U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy -- Michael Knigge, Real Clear World/DW