Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- November 4, 2015

Howard LaFranchi, CSM: What message Obama is sending in Syria

President Obama’s decision to send up to 50 Special Operations Forces to Syria isn't a huge statement. But it's something.

WASHINGTON — No military power, not even the United States, can change the course of a civil war in some distant land by putting 50 pairs of boots on the ground.

But what such a small deployment can accomplish is to send messages.

In that sense, President Obama’s decision to send up to 50 Special Operations Forces to northern Syria to work with Kurdish and Arab opposition groups in their 4-year-old bid to oust the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is essentially a political statement.

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- November 4, 2015

America’s Vital Interests in Syria -- John Cassidy, New Yorker

How Putin Is Wooing America’s Closest Syrian Allies -- Reese Erlich, Politico

Is There a Sunni Solution to ISIS? -- Lisa Blaydes and martha Crenshaw, Defense One/The Atlantic

8 Months Into Its Bloody Offensive, Saudi Victory Remains Elusive in Yemen -- Sputnik

Iran's defense hawks prepare for worst after nuclear deal -- Sam Wilkin and William Maclean, Reuters

Can the US Military Help the White House and Israel Move Beyond Iran? -- Jeffrey Goldberg, Defense One/The Atlantic

Innocent passage: Did the US just fumble its South China Sea strategy? -- Euan Graham, Real Clear Defense/Lowy Institute

How China Views the South China Sea: As Sovereign Territory -- Dean Cheng, National Interest

China initiates Taiwan meeting as South China Sea tensions rise -- Simon Tisdall, The Guardian

China, Taiwan and a Meeting After 66 Years -- Jane Perlez and Austin Ramzy, NYT

Is China using historic talks to prop up Taiwan's pro-Beijing ruling party? -- France 24

Why Maldives is under a state of emergency -- Maddy Crowell, CSM

Bangladesh on the Brink -- Tahmima Anam, NYT

South Africa in midst of 'epic drought' -- Azad Essa, Al Jazeera

Putin's Fortress Russia Takes Its Toll -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Here's the Real Legacy of the Kirchners in Argentina -- Charlie Devereux, Bloomberg