Friday, June 14, 2013

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- June 14, 2013



Syria’s Civil War: The Regime Digs In -- The Economist

President Bashar Assad and his forces have won a new lease of life.

“YA GHALI,” says a driver greeting the soldier manning a checkpoint of concrete blocks painted with the Syrian flag and plastered with pictures of Bashar Assad in regime-controlled central Damascus. This salutation was never in use in the capital before the war but is now standard at checkpoints. “Ghali”, or precious, is used in the coastal homeland of the Alawites, the sect from which Mr Assad hails. It is a sign both that the president is in control here and that, for all its talk of a state for all of Syria’s communities, his regime has been largely reduced to a sectarian militia, though the most powerful in the country.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Viewpoints: Arming the rebel groups in Syria -- BBC

US military aid to Syria rebels: Why Obama is starting with the minimum -- Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor

Peace untenable with Al Assad around -- Khalid Saleh, Gulf News

Peace in Syria? Talk to Iran -- Banafsheh Keynoush, Special for CNN

Iran elections: there's room for surprise, but the system will win out -- Michael Axworthy, The Guardian

Turkey’s agony – how Erdogan turned a peaceful protest into a violent nightmare -- Claire Berlinski, The Spectator

The reluctant hegemon: If Europe’s economies are to recover, Germany must start to lead -- The Economist

Nicaragua still thinks it can build a better canal than Panama after 200 years of trying -- Simone Foxman, Quartz

The ‘Cubanization’ of Venezuela -- Jose R. Cardenas, Washington Times

Can the NSA convince Americans to surrender privacy concerns? -- Aliyah Frumin, MSNBC

James Clapper’s ‘least untruthful’ answer -- Ruth Marcus, Washington Post

Edward Snowden's worst fear has not been realised – thankfully -- Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian

As public concerns grow, Congress spooked over spying -- David Lightman, McClatchy Washington Bureau

Why America's Shale Oil Boom Could End Sooner Than You Think -- Christopher Helman, Forbes

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