Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 15, 2015

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Jeffrey Lewis, Foreign Policy: This Satellite Image Leaves No Doubt That Russia Is Throwing Troops and Aircraft Into Syria

It also shows just how screwed America’s Syria policy is.

Over the past year, evidence has steadily emerged of a growing Russian military presence in Syria. As Bashar al-Assad’s armies have failed him in the field, he has increasingly relied on outside help. Initially, that help came from Hezbollah and Iran, but now it appears to be Moscow’s turn. And Washington may finally be waking up to what looks like a substantial Russian intervention in Syria.

New satellite images, obtained by Foreign Policy, of construction at an air base near Latakia leave little doubt that U.S. policy toward ending the conflict in Syria, such as it is, is now in total disarray. As they say, seeing is believing.

Admittedly, there has long been a Russian military presence in Syria. When opposition forces overran a Syrian listening post in October last year, the images revealed that it was staffed by the Russian military. More recently, analysts have noted pictures and videos that seem to confirm the presence of Russian combat forces fighting in Syria. Russian military vehicles have been sighted, while Russian soldiers have posted images and comments on Russian social media sites like VKontakte and the California-based LiveJournal, detailing their service in the war-torn country. (Some of the best open-source analysis has been on Bellingcat’s website.)

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 15, 2015

Don’t Trust Putin on Syria -- Andrew Foxall, NYT

Will Putin Exchange Donbass for Syria? -- Georgy Bovt, Moscow Tiimes

Assad is staying -- Hussain Abdul-Hussain, NOW

How can the war in Syria be stopped? -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN

The Shady Family Behind America’s Iran Lobby -- Alex Shirazi, Daily Beast

Viewpoint: N Korea nuclear boast aims to instil fear -- Andrea Berger, BBC

Trouble in Tajikistan -- Cholpon Orozobekova, The Diplomat

Why Merkel changed her mind -- Matthew Karnitschnig and Florian Eder, Politico

Do new border checks threaten Europe's free movement? Not yet. -- Sara Miller Llana, CSM

Europeans ‘not grasping’ the importance of Ukraine -- John Lloyd, Reuters

Greece's Tax-Evading Professionals -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Who lost Ukraine? -- Daniel W. Drezner, Washington Post

How Guatemala's anti-corruption drive is shaking its political elite -- Whitney Eulich, CSM

Venezuela's President Starts to Look Desperate -- Mac Margolis, Bloomberg