Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 13, 2016

Joshua Keating, Slate: Why the Latest Cease-Fire Deal in Syria Won’t Work Any Better Than the Others

Syria’s latest cease-fire deal, negotiated by the United States and Russia last week, is due to go into effect at sundown Monday night, just a couple hours from now, but there are already reasons to be skeptical about whether it will have any lasting impact on the conflict.

The deal requires the Syrian government, the Russian military, and U.S.-backed rebel groups to halt hostilities for a seven-day period. This will hopefully allow aid groups to finally bring aid into Syria’s embattled largest city, Aleppo, which has seen some of the civil war’s heaviest fighting. The U.S. and Russia will also begin work on setting up a “Joint Implementation Center” to share information on targeting al-Qaida–linked groups and ISIS. The goal is to disentangle the “legitimate” opposition groups supported by the West and other Arab states from the jihadist ones that both sides agree should still be targeted.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 13, 2016

Whether or not the Syrian cease-fire sticks, Putin wins -- Washington Post editoral

The War Doctrine Israel Does Not Talk About -- Ron Tira, War on the Rocks

The timing of North Korea’s latest nuclear test is smarter than it looks -- Andray Abrahamian, Reuters

Why water war has broken out in India's Silicon Valley -- BBC

Afghanistan’s Last Chance: On the Front Lines With the Beleaguered Soldiers Battling ISIS -- Kristina Shevory, Playboy

Why Zimbabwe's Military Sticks With Mugabe -- Philip Martin, Foreign Affairs

From independence to starvation in the world's newest nation, South Sudan -- Tom Gardner, Reuters

Putin Promotes the Next Generation of Ideological Cronies -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Journalists Caught in the Crossfire of the Ukraine-Russia Conflict -- Nolan Peterson, Daily Signal

Is the End in Sight for NATO? -- John Feffer, The Wire

What Is the State of Juncker's Union Now? -- Mark Davis, Euronews

Are we safer 15 years after 9/11? -- A. Benjamin Mannes, The Hill

The Al Qaeda Threat Grows -- Thomas Joscelyn, Weekly Standard

9/11 Saudi Arabia bill opens US to avalanche of lawsuits -- Stephen Kinzer, Boston Globe

The Return of Limited War -- Ian Bertram, The Bridge

Clinton and Trump: Commanders-in-Half -- Gary Schmitt & James Cunningham, RCD