Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 15, 2017

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with Yahoo News in this handout picture provided by SANA on February 10, 2017, Syria. SANA/Handout/File via REUTERS

Samia Nakhoul, Reuters: After six years, Assad now secure but his country carved up as war thunders on

Six years since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, he is winning on the battlefield but Syria's civil war is far from over, with his once stable country broken into fiefdoms ruled by rebels and warlords.

While few non-partisan observers think the conflict will end soon, fewer still believe Assad can retake the whole country. But since all outside players now seem to have adjusted to his staying, no one expects a peace deal either.

Many foresee, at best, a ceasefire observed much of the time over much of a territory that will be effectively partitioned between competing forces.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 15, 2017

Designating North Korea a State Sponsor of Terrorism -- Joseph DeThomas, 38 North

China Won’t Solve Washington’s Problem with Kim Jong Un -- Minxin Pei, Defense One/The Atlantic

Why the real quarrel between Beijing and Seoul isn’t about THAAD -- Cary Huang, South China Morning Post

Why China Doesn't Want a Trade War With the US -- Newsweek/Reuters

Rex Tillerson walks diplomatic tightrope in Asia -- Srinivas Mazumdaru, DW

Top US diplomat Tillerson faces first major challenge -- BBC

Iceland's Recovery Will Be Tough to Sustain -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Dealing with Russia and drawing red lines -- Steven Pifer, Brookings

Russian Foreign Policy Is Incomprehensible for a Reason -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Russia's Exceptional Diaspora -- Vladislav Inozemtsev, The Russia File

The Russia Insinuation Collapses -- Conrad Black, NRO

Behind Central Europe’s growing contempt for the EU -- John Lloyd, Reuters

The United Nations at a Tipping Point -- Kaitlin Lavinder, Cipher Brief

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