Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- January 1-2, 2012

Year Of Revolution And Crisis -- Gwynne Dyer, Japan Times

LONDON — Every year brings changes, but some years really are turning points: 1492, 1789, 1914, and 1989, for example. Does 2011 belong in the august company of such Really Important Years? Probably not, but it definitely qualifies for membership in the second tier of Quite Important Years.

Three big stories ran right through the year, any one of which would have qualified 2011 for membership status. The Arab Spring is an epochal event, even if democratic revolutions may fail in some countries in the end. The euro crisis threatens the European Union with collapse and confirms the shift of economic power from West to East. And the struggle to prevent disastrous climate change was abandoned for the rest of the decade.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

2011 Reflections: Suddenly, a new era in the Middle East -- Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor

The Syrians have lost their fear. Is it time for a no-fly zone? -- Paul Vallely, The Independent

Obama and the GOP on Foreign Policy: Reactive vs. Frivolous -- Dimitri K. Simes, National Interest

2012: The Year of Counter-Revolution? -- Leon Hadar, Real Clear World

20 year anniversary of the end of the Soviet Union -- Rick Moran, American Thinker

The West's Cold War Victory 20 Years On -- Dmitry Trenin, Moscow Times

Russia-United States – minimizing the damage -- Fyodor Lukyanov, Russia In Global Affairs

Goodbye, Iraq -- New York Post editorial

The Lies that Europe's Politicians Tell Themselves -- Armin Mahler, Spiegel Online

A Simple Way to Think About the U.S. Debt and Deficit Problems -- Neil Snyder, American Thinker

Is China Ready for 2012? -- Damien Ma, The Atlantic

A Bird Flu Death in China. What it Means — and Doesn’t Mean -- Jeffrey Kluger, Time

Chavez Falls Off The Edge of the World -- Walter Russell Mead, American Interest

The good news is, the news is getting better all the time -- Chris Berg, Sydney Morning Herald

Will 2012 be any better than 2011? -- Rick Moran, American Thinker