Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- February 11, 2014



Syria: The Wages of Inaction -- Julie Lenarz and Michael Miner, National Interest

The unrest in Syria has quickly spiraled beyond a sectarian civil war and into a regional crisis. Two million refugees have poured into Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey at a rate surpassing several thousand a day, with more than 6.5 million displaced overall. Iran and Saudi Arabia are doing battle through proxy forces. Iraq is experiencing the worst eruption of violence in recent years with the resurrection of Al Qaeda. According to the United Nations, 84 percent of the 733 people killed in January were civilians. Hezbollah’s support for the Assad regime has led to a series of deadly suicide bombings in Lebanon by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades in an attempt to draw the country deeper into Syria’s bloody war. An Al Qaeda surge is viewed with great concern in Israel, and while the country has always been an integral part of the terrorists’ narrative, this escalating regional crisis puts Israel in the firing line.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Analysis: By agreeing to peace talks, Assad plays for time as troops wear down rebels -- FOX News/AP

Games in Sochi, Siege in Homs -- George Packer, New Yorker

Should the U.S. intervene in Syria? What Iraq can't teach us -- Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz

On revolution's anniversary, Iranians ask: Is this what we were promised? -- Scott Peterson, Christina Science Monitor

To See the Progress in Afghanistan, Stop Viewing the Country Through a Western Lens -- Sam Schneider, The Daily Beast

Who's Going To Be Afghanistan's Next President? -- NPR

A Good Time for that “Pacific Pivot” -- Max Boot, Commentary

Central African disaster -- DAWN editorial

Debate intensifies over possible German army training mission in Somalia -- Deutsche Welle

Petty Corruption Has Killed the Great Russian Athletic Machine -- Julia Ioffe, New Republic

Letter from Sochi: The Olympic Debut of New Russia -- Benjamin Bidder, Lukas Eberle and Maik Grossekathöfer, Spiegel Online

Looking on the bright side of the euro crisis -- Andre Wilkens, EU Observer

How the White House Is Blowing Off Europe -- Patrick Smith, Fiscal Times

Is France's Hollande taking over Britain's role as America's best friend? -- Pierre Haski, The Guardian

Obama, Hollande declare U.S. and France bosom buddies again -- Lesley Clark and Anita Kumar, McClatchy Washington Bureau

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