Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 16, 2014

What Do The Pakistan Taliban Want? -- Laura Smith-Spark and Tim Lister, CNN

(CNN) -- The scene was horrifying. Gunmen stalked through the school, shooting children as they cowered under benches and booby-trapping buildings with homemade explosives.

When the siege finally ended, Pakistan was left reeling and the world wondering: Who would do such a thing? And what do they hope to achieve?

The identity of the group behind the massacre at the army-run school in Peshawar is no mystery.

The Pakistan Taliban -- who have long conducted an insurgency against the Pakistani government as they seek to overthrow the authorities and bring in Sharia law -- were quick to claim the attack.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 16, 2014

Pakistan school attack: Why children are becoming a more common terror target -- Howard LaFranchi, CSM

Sydney siege gives Australians a wake-up call on terrorism -- Robyn Dixon and Andrea Booth, Los Angeles Times

Despite setbacks, there is still hope for Afghanistan -- Shaukat Qadir, National Interest

Keeping the dream of a Palestinian state alive? -- Farah Stockman, Boston Globe

What is behind Hamas-Iran rapprochement? -- Fatima Ahmad Alsmadi, Al Jazeera

Nuclear extension, oil price rattle Iranian markets -- Al Monitor

The EU's Day of Reckoning: Italy Is Too Big to Bail Out -- Scott MacDonald, National Interest

Looking for Truth in Ukraine -- James Estrin, New York Times

A Look Back At How The Ukraine Crisis Erupted And What To Expect In 2015 -- Greg Satell, Forbes

What is Putin doing in the skies over Baltics? -- Colin Freeman, The Telegraph

Is Russian economic malaise Putin's biggest challenge yet? -- Sergei Guriev, BBC

Putin Now Faces 'One Of Those Guns Or Butter Moments' -- Armin Rosen, Business Insider

Can Moscow stop the rouble's free fall? -- Inside Story/Al Jazeera

In 2015, Vladimir Putin may witness his empire’s death knell -- Strobe Talbott, Reuters

Fall of Russian ruble injects uncertainty into global economy -- Mark Trumbull, CSM

Why oil is down by half, what it means for you -- Jonathan Fahey, AP

Oil spill: As the oil price plunges, gloom and ill-will, oddly, abound -- Economist

What do falling oil prices mean for the global economy? -- Inside Story