Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 3, 2014

Ebola Isn’t The Big One. So What Is? And Are We Ready For It? -- The Guardian

Humanity is locked in a millennia-old battle to the death with diseases. The current outbreak of Ebola reminds us that as our cities get bigger and international travel easier, the risks in an outbreak grow even higher.

The Black Death swept into Europe on boats from the East in the 14th century and killed as much as half the population of the continent, somewhere between 75 and 200 million people.

The Spanish flu of 1918, carried around the world by soldiers bound for or returning from the butchery of Europe’s battlegrounds, killed between 50 and 100 million people – many more than died in the First World War itself, and maybe more than have died in any war.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 3, 2014

Meet a Disease Detective Hunting Ebola in Dallas -- Alex Altman, Time

Obama’s Mixed Messages on War -- Jonah Goldberg, NRO

Beheadings as Terror Marketing -- Polly Mosendz, The Atlantic

ISIS Has Begun To Spread Beyond The Middle East -- Benjamin Barthe, Worldcrunch

In Syria, the United States is bombing friend and foe alike -- Mohammed Alaa Ghanem, Washington Post

Foreign nations’ proxy war in Syria creates chaos -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

How the Obama Administration Disowned Iraq - Christopher Hill, Politico

What ISIS Could Teach the West -- Nicholas Kristof, NYT

To get back on its feet, Iraq’s ‘rotten’ army needs leadership -- Alan Philps, The National

Will China Crush the Hong Kong Protests? -- Orville Schell, WSJ

Clashes in Hong Kong as support for protesters shows cracks -- Kenneth Kaplan, CSM

Hong Kong protests: This torrent of humanity to Tiananmen -- Ma Jiang, The Guardian

The Way Ahead in Hong Kong -- Chris Patton, Project Syndicate

U.S. Balks at Bills for Afghanistan’s Treacherous Salang Tunnel -- Nathan Hodge, WSJ

US loosens arms embargo on Vietnam. Why now? -- Michael Holtz, CSM

Marina Silva Speaks to TIME as Brazil’s Presidential Race Enters the Homestretch -- Dom Phillips, Time