Iraq: With Friends Like These -- The Guardian editorial
Nouri al-Maliki's visit to Washington at the head of a large delegation is a source of some difficulty for Barack Obama
Nothing demonstrates the inability of the United States to finish what it started in the Middle East more than the continuing bloodshed in Iraq. America's combat role may have ended, but the civil war has not. This year is set to be the bloodiest since 2008, with an average of nearly 70 car bombings a month. Almost 1,000 people were killed in September alone.
The latest Iraqis to be targeted are the Sahwa movement or the Awakening Council, a grouping of Sunni militias formed by the US forces to fight the insurgency. Much of the current tension is a direct result of what an influential group of US senators called the authoritarian and sectarian style of the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. He has all but torn up a political powersharing agreement the Americans negotiated with the Sunnis, and driven many of their number into the arms of al-Qaida. This in turn has led to the remobilisation of Shia militias.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
National security expert: Obama could lose Iraq -- FOX News
The Anti-Surge: How Obama snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq. -- John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Foreign Policy
Senators: What's the strategy in Syria? -- Pauline Jelinek, AP
City of refugees: Syrians in Amman -- Terry Glavin, Ottawa Citizen
Five Reasons Why US Should Change Its Policies Toward Syria’s Kurds -- Amberin Zaman, Al-Monitor
The Kurds Get a Second Chance in Syria -- Fouad Ajami, Bloomberg
Saudi-Backed Salafists Returning To Iran’s Border? -- Meir Javedanfar, Al-Monitor
Israeli City Divided by Religion After Close Vote -- Aron Heller, AP
Outrage Over NSA Spying Spreads to Asia -- Zachary Keck, The Diplomat
Are China’s Banks Next? -- Simon Johnson, Project Syndicate
Analysis: Aquino's Mr Clean image skewered by Philippine pork barrel politics -- Manuel Mogato, Reuters
Overestimating Putin -- Seth Mandel, Commentary
Russia's Spying Craze -- Andrei Soldatov, Moscow Times
Mexico's Theology of Oil -- Enrique Krauze, New York Times
5 Hints Edward Snowden's New Employer Made a Risky Bet -- Susanna Kim, ABC News
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