Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 2, 2015

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Donna Abu-Nasr, Bloomberg: Why Islamic State Keeps Winning

When Islamic State seized Iraq’s largest northern city of Mosul almost a year ago, tribal leader Hekmat Suleiman was sure the extremist militants wouldn’t expand further into his hometown.

“We bet Islamic State won’t have what it takes to last,” Suleiman said in October during a visit to the Iraqi Kurdish city of Erbil, smoke rising from his shisha water pipe. “We’ve reached the beginning of the end of extremism.”

He was wrong. His hometown of Ramadi fell last month, three days before Islamic State captured Palmyra, a 2,000-year-old UNESCO world heritage city on the Syrian side of its territory.

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 2, 2015

Don't Aid ISIS: How to Interpret the Victory in Ramadi -- Bridget Moreng and Nathaniel Barr, Foreign Affairs

Why Saudi Arabia Is Vulnerable to the Islamic State -- Bruce Riedel, US News and World Report/Al-Monitor

West 'Sticking Their Fingers in the Dirt' Over Failing Anti-ISIL Strategy -- Sputnik

The New Iranian Hostage Crisis -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg

Obama Assures Iran It Has Nothing to Fear -- Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary

Libya divided: How can you talk peace when each side is resolved to win? -- Dominique Soguel, CSM

The bizarre dispute over Turkish President Erdogan’s alleged ‘gold toilet’ -- Adam Taylor, Washington post

China is not the only country reclaiming land in South China Sea -- Walter Pincus, Washington Post

Averting a Deepening U.S.-China Rift Over the South China Sea -- Michael D. Swaine, National Interest

Is China Repeating Korea's Mistakes? -- William Pesek, Bloomberg

The darker side of Buddhism -- Charles Haviland, BBC

Russia Sees More Pragmatic U.S. Ties After Ukraine Crisis -- Ryan ChilcoteHenry Meyer, Bloomberg

Macedonia Becomes Latest Stage for Russian Tensions With the West -- Valentina Pop, WSJ

How Colombia plans to turn 32,000 ex-jungle-dwelling guerrillas into useful members of society -- Jack Aldwinckle, Quartz

If FIFA were a country it would be Russia -- Rob Cox, Reuters

Sepp Blatter's resignation: Key questions -- James Reevell BBC News