Thursday, March 16, 2017

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 16, 2017



Adam Chandler, The Atlantic: What Did the Dutch Election Really Prove?

One vote and the perils of over-interpretation

In January, as Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands, campaigned to stave off a challenge from Geert Wilders and the anti-Muslim, far-right Party for Freedom, he wrote an open letter that ran as full-page ads in several newspapers. In it, Rutte rang up mentions of “the silent majority” and castigated immigrants who “abuse our freedom.” He later added, “If you reject our country so fundamentally, I’d prefer you leave. … Act normal or leave.”

On Wednesday, Rutte and his center-right party outperformed Wilders in Dutch elections, prompting some celebration across Europe. France’s foreign minister praised the Dutch for “stemming the rise of the far-right.”

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 16, 2017

Did Erdogan, Trump hurt Geert Wilders' bid for Dutch power? -- Mike Cordner, AP

The real story in the Netherlands? The implosion of the center-left. -- Anne Applebaum, Washington Post

Trump Has Called the Afghan War a “Mess.” His Generals Want to Escalate It -- Mehdi Hasan, The Intercept

North Asia on a knife's edge: Whose position is strongest? -- Brad Lendon, CNN

Waking up to the North Korean nuclear nightmare -- Chicago Tribune editorial

Can Tillerson Crack North Korea? -- Joel Wit & Richard Sokolsky, National Interest

Trump Is Already Losing to China -- Michael Schuman, Bloomberg

Nothing to see but comfort for Xi at China's annual parliament -- Ben Blanchard and Philip Wen, Reuters

Libya: Russia’s next Mediterranean military intervention? -- Micha'el Tanchum, Hurriyet Daily News

Can Russia resolve the conflict in Libya? -- Barbara Bibbo, Al Jazeera

Whoever wins this second referendum, Scotland loses -- Chris Deerin, CapX

Turkish Referendum Casts Dark Shadow over Germany -- Spiegel Online

What Merkel wants from Trump -- Matthew Karnitschnig, Politico

The resetting of U.S.-Saudi relations -- Bernard Haykel, Washington Times

The limits of ‘America First’ -- Sebastian Sprenger, Defense News

New rules for U.S. military intervention -- Christopher Preble, War On The Rocks

4 comments:

fred said...

Are you hoping for more attacks?
Thus far it seems to indicate that decent governing trumps (pardon) radical hate.

Unknown said...

More attacks are bound to happen.

A lull in jihadi operational tempo is taken by dishonest or clueless 'so called' leaders that their way works.

The lull is due to

- The security service getting stuff right some of the time

- Operations have a tempo. Processes have a reset Lulls should not be taken as proof that nothing more will come down the pike. Inventory systems, production systems, etc reset. Combat operations are the same. It is a series of pulses depending on logistics, planning, fatigue, etc.

-The jihadis have other enemies that take up their time, resources and consideration. It hard for Fred Lapides favorite terrorists Johny 'Skyhook' Jihad to plan, fund and coordinate a terror attack in Europe if the Russians a bombing the snot out of him and his men.

Is Fred just waiting for some new Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi so he can join in and loot a church or history museum?

Unknown said...

"Are you hoping for more attacks?"

And fast Freddy is going through the Liberal Playbook.


Knowing the nature of things and commenting on it is not the same thing as hoping for it.


Fred: "Are you hoping an eagle will swoop down and kill that cute fuzzy little bunny? Gosh, you are a meany"

Observer: "No, I just know that is what they do. The eagle missed his target today, but he will be back tomorrow."

Let's be clear. Fred's lapse of judgment is not because he is an octogenarian ( or close). It is because he is a lib

Unknown said...

In March 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams went to London to negotiate with Tripoli's envoy, ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman (or Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). When they enquired "concerning the ground of the pretensions to make war upon nations who had done them no injury", the ambassador replied:

It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise. He said, also, that the man who was the first to board a vessel had one slave over and above his share, and that when they sprang to the deck of an enemy's ship, every sailor held a dagger in each hand and a third in his mouth; which usually struck such terror into the foe that they cried out for quarter at once.


Liberals like Fred can live the better part of a century and not learn this lesson staring them in the face day in and day out.


Maybe Fred is a Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal?