Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 24, 2015

Nancy A. Youseff, Daily Beast: Sgt. McBride Wasn’t Supposed to Come Home Like This

Six distraught American families will spend this Christmas in misery thanks to a war that was supposed to be over.

NEW CASTLE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Delaware — The six U.S. troops killed this week first appeared amid bright lights and a dusky sky. Their bodies rested in a C-17 aircraft that transported them here, illuminated in the sunset by the lights of the plane, its ramp open for the country to see. It was dark, and rain coated the tarmac—a fitting scene for the somber military ceremony known as the “dignified transfer,” marking a fallen service member’s return home.

The transfer of fallen troops back onto home soil is a solemn moment that has been repeated for decades. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 2,400 transfers happened between 2009 and 2014.

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 24, 2015

Fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan Echoes the 30 Years’ War -- Mark Thompson, Time

Syria's Stalingrad -- Thanassis Cambanis, Foreign Policy

Will the next US president scrap the Iran deal? -- Barbara Slavin, Al-Monitor

Congress and Obama Agree on Something: Iran Should Pay Victims -- Josh Rogin, Bloomberg

Don't Be Complacent About China! -- Linda Jakobson, The Strategist

The Seven Deadly Sins of Russia Analysis -- Michael Kofman, War On The Rocks

Fallout for Europe may be greater if Britain stays in the EU -- John Lloyd, Reuters

Poland’s constitutional crisis goes international -- Jan Cienski, Politico

The Over-The-Hill-Mob: Inside England’s Biggest Jewel Heist -- Nico Hines, Daily Beast

How China’s Meltdown Spooked Global Markets -- Wayne Arnold, Barron's

2016 oil outlook: will an equilibrium price be found? -- Yahoo

When Santa Was a Bank -- Stephen Mihm, Bloomberg

The Year Christmas Died -- Daniel Henninger, WSJ

Jesus’s birthplace is hit by a spate of burglaries -- The Economist

This Christmas brings a full moon for first time since 1977 -- Stav Ziv, Newsweek

Remember what's important on this night -- John Kass, Chicago Tribune