Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- July 30, 2014

The Sykes-Picot agreement. (Creative Commons)

In 10 Years’ Time, The World’s Borders Will Look Totally Different -- Frank Jacobs, Washington Post

Border-watchers are the seismologists of geopolitics. And lately, we’ve begun to notice a lot of fault lines.

The boundaries that separate states are shifting and dissolving at an accelerating rate. Take, for example, the establishment of an “Islamic State” astride the Syrian-Iraqi border, which forebodes a major realignment in the Middle East. In a slick propaganda piece titled The End of Sykes-Picot, a triumphant ISIS fighter shows us a now-defunct border post between Syria and Iraq.” We do not recognize this so-called border of Sykes-Picot,” he explains. “We’ve broken borders before and insh’allah we’ll break other borders also.”

There are rumblings in other parts of the world, too. Russia’s annexation of Crimea was a breathtaking piece of bravado; China is pouring sand and concrete into the South China Sea to shore up its territorial claims. The Korean DMZ could go the way of the Berlin Wall: almost impenetrable one day, completely vanished the next.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- July 30, 2014

Israel’s dilemma: Topple Hamas, or again come to terms with it -- Elhanan Miller, The Times of Israel

Israel's Big Decision: Time to Take Hamas Out? -- Matthew S. Cohen, National Interest

The US and Israel: A strained relationship? -- Inside Story/Al Jazeera

No Gaza cease-fire: Dramatic shift in Egypt deprived Kerry of vital tool -- Howard LaFranchi, CSM

The Children of War: A Humanitarian Catastrophe Unfolds in Gaza -- Julia Amalia Heyer, Spiegel Online

John Kerry learns humility -- Dana Milbank, Washington Post

Old Asian Wars Play Pivotal Role in Battle for Regional Supremacy -- Rowan Callick, The Australian

As famine and violence loom, is this South Sudan's last chance for peace? -- Jason Patinkin, CSM

The West Has Cornered Putin—and That's When He's Most Dangerous -- Julia Ioffe, New Republic

Rebels and oligarchs: 7 key players in eastern Ukraine -- Lydia Tomkiw, CSM

Clashes with Russia point to globalization’s end -- Mark Leonard, Reuters

Russia’s dangerous Arctic adventurism -- Stephen Blank and Aurel Braun, Washington Times

Obama needs to work on his foreign policy, not his golf game -- Max Boot, L.A. Times

US policy reflects America’s lack of interest in the world -- Michael Young, The National

What Ebola on a Plane Means for the U.S. -- Kent Sepkowitz, Daily Beast

What would happen if Ebola came to the United States? -- Susannah Locke, VOX