Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 15, 2014

Sydney Siege: How The Siege Came To A Bloody End -- Anthony Klan, The Australian

THE hostage crisis at Sydney’s Lindt cafe ended at 2.10am when three gunshots rang out in quick succession, followed by a volley of gunfire.

Armed police stormed the premises and a number of injured hostages were immediately rushed to hospital.

The 16-hour siege ended following a day of frenzy, when more recently an eerie calm had fallen over Sydney’s business heart; throngs of onlookers and gawkers had mostly vacated, and police officers and rescue workers milled silently about the city’s cordoned streets.

A man was seen running with his hands up before a crowd of hostages following fleeing from the cafe just after 2am.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And editorials -- December 15, 2014

ISIS Casts a Shadow Over the Sydney Hostage Crisis, Connected or Not -- Karl Vick, Time

Here’s Why Australia Has Become the Latest Target for Extremists -- Naina Bajekal, Time

Embedding With the Women Who Are Kicking ISIS Ass -- Susannah George, Daily Beast

Iraq's new premier battles to unite a fractured nation -- Dominic Evans, Reuters

Turkish politics: Raids and rivalry? -- Inside Story/Al Jazeera

Japan's snap election result: Shinzo Abe wins easily, but with a weak mandate from voters -- The Economist

Historians say China twisting its history to justify military buildup, aggression -- Wyatt Olson, Stars and Stripes

Can Ukraine’s New Technocrat Elite Make Their Economy Work? -- Adam Swain, Epoch Times

Ukraine needs tough, not unconditional, love -- Victor Pinchuk, Financial Times

Venezuela’s Maduro Must Adapt to Survive. He Won’t. -- Juan Cristóbal Nagel, Foreign Policy

Oil-poor and on the brink of default: Is change imminent in Venezuela? -- Carl Meacham, CSIS

Torture Report Message: Let Pakistan Handle It -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg

Can Potential Terrorists Be ‘Rehabilitated’? -- Jesse Singal, NYMag

Will Obama close Gitmo alone? -- Martin Matishak, The Hill

OPEC isn't scared of $40 oil -- Gregory Wallace, CNN

Sony Hackers Threaten to Release a Huge ‘Christmas Gift’ of Secrets -- Kim Zetter, Threat Level/Wired