Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 8, 2017

James McBride, Council on Foreign Relations: What's at Stake in the UK Elections?

As the United Kingdom recovers from a string of terror attacks, the country’s parliamentary elections could determine the course of its Brexit negotiations, trade and economic policy, internal borders, and foreign relations.


Introduction

Prime Minister Theresa May called early elections for June 8, staking her Conservative government on a chance to gain seats in Parliament and strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations with the European Union. But opinion surveys ahead of the vote showed her main opponent, the Labour Party’s Jeremy Corbyn, gaining traction by advocating a more pro-EU approach and presenting an ambitious platform of health, infrastructure, and other social spending. The United Kingdom has suffered a string of terror attacks in the lead-up to election day, and the candidates have offered competing visions of how to address security, immigration, and foreign policy.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 8, 2017

How Theresa May Screwed Up the Election She Called For -- Daniel Politi, Slate

The biggest political divide in Britain is age -- Economist

Qatar Finally Goes Too Far -- Michael Brendan Dougherty, NRO

In Qatar v Saudi Arabia, the West Can't Afford to Pick a Side -- Peter Salisbury, Chatham House

U.S. Getting Dragged Into the Fight for Syria's South -- Suha Maayeh, Foreign Policy

'Iran cannot portray itself as victim of terrorism' -- Shamil Shams, DW

The Middle East’s Oil-Price Problem -- Ishac Diwan, Porject Syndicate

China working to gain soft power but perceptions it is trying to stifle free speech linger -- Matthew Carney, ABC News Online

Pentagon: China Militarizing Disputed Islands in Bid to Control Asian Seas -- Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon

The Wickedness of China -- Mark Thomson, The Strategist

Across the frontlines in Eastern Ukraine -- Roman Goncharenko, DW

The EU Isn't Raising an Army -- Yet -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Canada Is Now Openly Questioning the Future of U.S. Leadership -- Uri Friedman, The Atlantic

ANALYSIS: Trump vindicated? President gets from Comey what he wanted all along -- Devin Dwyer, ABC News

Did Comey Violate Laws In Leaking The Trump Memo? -- Jonathan Turley

Comey confirms that I'm right - and all the Democratic commentators are wrong -- Alan Dershowitz, FOX News