Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 10, 2015

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks on a nuclear deal with Iran at American University in Washington August 5, 2015. Obama told U.S. Jewish leaders it was likely rockets would fall on Tel Aviv if the nuclear deal was blocked and military action ensued, one of them said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Max Fisher, VOX: Obama opens up on Iran

What he's learned about war, Republicans, and his own foreign policy

Toward the end of our meeting with President Obama, one of us asked whether the Iran nuclear deal might change the future of that country's poisonously anti-American politics, and Obama drifted from the technical and political details he'd otherwise focused on into something of a more reflective tone.

"I just don’t know," he said, leaning back a bit in his chair for the first time since he'd arrived. "When Nixon went to China, Mao was still in power. He had no idea how that was going to play out.

"He didn’t know that Deng Xiaoping would suddenly come in and decide that it doesn’t matter what color the cat is as long as it catches mice, and the next thing you know you’ve got this state capitalism on the march," Obama said, paraphrasing the famous aphorism by Mao's successor that capitalistic policies were acceptable if they helped China. "You couldn’t anticipate that."

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 10, 2015

How foreign-policy lessons from Iraq inform Obama’s Iran deal -- Fred Hiatt, Washington Post

White House Should Leave Politics Out of Iran Deal -- Michael R. Bloomberg, Bloomberg

Obama's Iran nuclear deal rhetoric troubles American Jews -- Kevin Liptak and Hilary Krieger, CNN

Cheating on Nukes in North Korea -- John McLaughlin, OZY

Civilians in Yemen Face Dengue Fever, Amputations Without Proper Medical Care -- Lucy Westcott, Newsweek

Time is running out for Israelis, Palestinians -- Uri Savir, Al-Monitor

Shadow of Israel's pullout from Gaza hangs heavy 10 years on -- Luke Baker, Reuters

Amid surging violence, Afghan forces stand their ground -- Howard LaFranchi, CSM

Libya’s Return to Barbarism -- Jamie Dettmer, Daily Beast

Russia and the Battle for Ukraine’s Hearts and Minds -- Eugene Chausovsky, Eurasianet.org

A new analysis highlights what Europe gets wrong about Russia — and how it can hurt Putin -- Barbara Tasch, Business Insider

How does Russia view the West? -- Bridget Kendall, BBC

Austerity bites Portugal as much as Greece. Why no populist movement? -- Sara Miller Llana, CSM

For Norway, Oil at $50 Is Worse Than the Global Financial Crisis -- Saleha Mohsin, Bloomberg

China Wants to Dig the Nicaragua Canal -- Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Wall Street Journal

The U.S. Fade Into Isolationism -- Carlos Alberto Montaner, Compass