Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 29, 2015

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter talks to U.S. troops from the 82nd Airborne Division at the Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq, July 23, 2015.

Sharon Behn, VOA: Defining US Role in Iraq: Combat or Not?

WASHINGTON - After months of skirting the issue of whether American forces are in combat in Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren was clear on Wednesday: “Of course it’s combat.”

Asked about a joint Kurdish Peshmerga-U.S. force raid freeing a number of prisoners from an Islamic State jail in Hawija on October 22, Warren acknowledged it was a “combat action.”

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 29, 2015

Obama fumbles for credibility in Syria as Russia and Iran seize initiative -- Simon Tisdall, The Guardian

The US had no choice but to involve Iran in Syria talks -- Massoumeh Torfeh, Al Jazeera

Iran’s Role in the Syrian Crisis -- NYT editorial

Iran's War on Drugs Shows How It Would 'Help' in Syria -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg

Why the New ISIL Strategy is a Bad Idea -- Robert G. Cantelmo, National Interest

The Other Refugee Crisis -- Joshua Meservey, Real Clear World

Don’t Underestimate Xi Jinping’s Resolve in the South China Sea -- Mu Chunshan, The Diplomat

Beijing's Choice in the South China Sea -- Bloomberg editorial

The Right Way to Enforce Freedom of Navigation in the South China Sea -- James Fallows, Defense One/The Atlantic

China: One Child No More -- Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic

Road to Nowhere? Peace Efforts in the Southern Philippines -- Peter M. Sales, The Diplomat

A Brutal Genocide in Colonial Africa Finally Gets its Deserved Recognition -- Daniel A. Gross, Smithsonian magazine

South Sudan's shattered dream -- Yalda Hakim, BBC

Austria's border fence: Why are more nations building barriers? -- Maddy Crowell, CSM

Colombia: You thought this war was over -- Laura Secorun Palet, OZY