Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 23, 2015

Andrew Bacevich, Real Clear Defense: Need an Iraq Strategy? Washington Has Tons of Bad Ideas

There is a peculiar form of insanity in which a veneer of rationality distracts attention from the madness lurking just beneath the surface. When Alice dove down her rabbit hole to enter a place where smirking cats offered directions, ill-mannered caterpillars dispensed advice, and Mock Turtles constituted the principal ingredient in Mock Turtle soup, she experienced something of the sort.

Yet, as the old adage goes, truth can be even stranger than fiction. For a real-life illustration of this phenomenon, one need look no further than Washington and its approach to national security policy. Viewed up close, it all seems to hang together. Peer out of the rabbit hole and the sheer lunacy quickly becomes apparent.

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 23, 2015

A senior administration official just acknowledged a dark reality between the US and Iran in Iraq -- Jeremy Bender and Michael B Kelley, Business Insider

Is Iraq worth the fight? After years of war and chaos, its people no longer know -- Martin Chulov, The Guardian

Pro-Israel Lobby Prepares to Battle Obama Over Iran -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg

UN report on Gaza war likely to bolster international criminal court inquiry -- Julian Borger, The Guardian

In Taliban's new attacks, a message to the Islamic State -- Howard LaFranchi, CSM

The five most important issues in U.S.-China relations -- William Johnson, Reuters

Why the Arrest of Rwanda’s Intelligence Chief in the U.K. Is Causing Waves -- Tara John, Time

The IMF Bows to Putin in Ukraine -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

The U.S. Should Do More to Counter Putin’s Propaganda -- James J. Coyle, Newsweek

Should the US Deploy New Tactical Nukes? -- Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat

A Canadian federal election unlike any we’ve seen before -- Andrew Coyne, National Post

Greece is Toying With the EU Gods - Telegraph editorial

As Athens Boils and Banks Teeter, the Party Goes On in Mykonos -- Tom Mackenzie, Bloomberg