Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 7, 2015



Scott Peterson, CSM: Russian strikes changing landscape of Syria battlefield, anti-Assad rebels say

Russia says cruise missiles launched from the Caspian Sea Wednesday were aimed at Islamic State sites, but anti-Assad rebels say they, not jihadists, are Moscow's primary target.

GAZIANTEP, TURKEY — Russia stepped up its military strikes against anti-regime rebels in Syria Wednesday, launching 26 cruise missiles from ships in the Caspian Sea some 900 miles away as part of its bid to reshape the battlefield to favor President Bashar al-Assad.

The week-long series of Russian air and sea strikes has been criticized by the US and Western governments for targeting moderate rebels in western Syria – many of them clandestinely backed by the United States – while leaving Islamic State (IS) and other jihadist groups relatively untouched.

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 7, 2015

Analysis: Is Russia flexing its missiles in Syria? -- Justin Bronk, Al Jazeera

Russia's Half-Baked Air War in Syria -- Dave Majumdar, National Interest

Does China Approve of Russia’s Airstrikes in Syria? -- Shannon Tiezzi, The Diplomat

Why ISIS's reign of fear has worked, and how it can be countered -- Anna Mulrine, CSM

Facing impossible choices, refugees return to Syria -- Molly Jackson, CSM

Senate Democrats hold up arms sales for Saudi war in Yemen -- Julian Pecquet, Al-Monitor

The Hajj Tragedy Triggers a Saudi-Iranian Confrontation -- Bruce Riedel, Newsweek

Obama got his Iran deal and the rest of us got a bloody mess in the Middle East -- Michael Goodwin, FOX News

Afghanistan Struggles to Contain the Taliban -- Daniel R. DePetris, The Diplomat

The Fall of Kunduz -- Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker

It’s Not a New Cold War, It’s Worse -- Noah Rothman, Commentary

Russia Complicates US Pivot to Asia -- Li Bao, VOA

How China Is Changing the UN -- Janka Oertel, The Diplomat

The Pacific Trade Stakes -- Wall Street Journal editorial

Who deserves the Nobel Peace Prize? -- Inside Story/Al Jazeera

No comments: