Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- March 1, 2012

Members of the Free Syrian Army take positions at al-Bayada, Homs, February 29. Syrian troops launched a ground attack in Homs on Wednesday in an apparent attempt to overrun the rebel-held Baba Amr neighborhood. Reuters

Is Assad Scared Of A War Crimes Trial? Assault On Homs Suggests Not. -- Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor

Diplomats critical of Syria are using terms such as 'crimes against humanity' and 'war criminal.' But the Homs assault suggests Assad sees defeating the rebels as more vital for his survival.

Bashar al-Assad’s pull-out-the-stops assault on civilians holed up in the city of Homs Thursday offers an answer to questions about how much the Syrian leader fears international threats to charge him with crimes against humanity: apparently not much.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Syria: Be Careful What You Wish For -- Ted Galen Carpenter, The National Interest

Syria’s crisis: Into the meat-grinder -- The Economist

Two different versions of the North Korea deal -- Isaac Stone Fish, Foreign Policy

Why the North Korea nuclear moratorium means next to nothing -- Christian Whiton, FOX News

Talking to North Korea, Again -- new York Times editorial

Israel’s Last Chance to Strike Iran -- Amos Yadlin, New York Times

Fantasy and reality in Afghanistan -- Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post

The Limitations of Apologizing to Karzai -- John Hudson, The Atlantic

Yemen’s peaceful transition -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

In China's parliament, a long list of millionaires -- Ananth Krishnan, The Hindu

South African ruling party expels Malema, but what's next? -- Scott Baldauf and Savious Kwinika, Christian Science Monitor

Sudan: Oil Risks, Juba And Khartoum Gamble With The Future -- Eurasia Review

Will Putin Victory Affect US-Russia Relations? -- Andre de Nesnera, Voice of America

What will Cameron and Merkel do if Sarkozy loses? -- Joshua Keating, Foreign Policy

Germany's approach to crisis lost in translation -- Derek Scally, Irish Times

Nice Oil Imports You've Got There. Shame if You Lost Them.Why Americans need to be more grateful to Canada. -- Vaclav Smil, Foreign Policy

Victory, and defeat, in the war on drugs -- William C. Rempel, L.A. Times