Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 15, 2016

Devika Krishna Kumar, Reuters: Oil plunges below $29 on prospects of more Iran crude, China worries

Oil prices crashed 6 percent on Friday to close below $30 a barrel for the first time in 12 years, resuming this year's breathtaking rout as Chinese stock markets fell further and traders braced for an imminent rise in Iran's exports.

After closing higher for the first time in eight sessions on Thursday, U.S. and Brent crude futures plumbed new lows, taking this year's losses to more than 20 percent, the worst two-week decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 15, 2016

The Real Price of Oil Is Far Lower Than You Realize -- Grant Smith, Bloomberg

Living Under the Sword of ISIS in Syria -- Marwan Hisham, NYT

America’s ‘Iraq War Syndrome’ -- Rick Richman, Commentary

Israel Quietly Courts Sunni States -- Rory Jones, WSJ

A New Era of Brinkmanship in the Middle East -- Payam Mohseni, National Interest

Jakarta Attack May Signal Revival of Bloody Campaign in Indonesia -- Thomas Fuller, NYT

A new year of turmoil for China -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

China's Strategic Calculations And North Korea's Nuclear Gambit -- Miles Maochun Yu, Hoover Institute

Balancing Security and Human Rights With North Korea -- Olivia Enos, National Interest

Russia's Plan for the Middle East -- Maxim A. Suchkov, National Interest

Could 2016 see Ukraine crisis resolved? Russian moves hint yes. -- Fred Weir, CSM

Putin's Pointers for U.S. Democracy -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

5 reasons Germany’s influence is fading -- Florian Eder, Politico

Mexico's beleaguered president seizes on El Chapo's arrest to lift gloom -- David Agren, The Guardian

Obama’s Not Bluffing on Closing Gitmo -- Josh Rogin & Eli Lake, Bloomberg

This Analyst Is Predicting the Worst Stock Market Crash in Decades -- Chris Matthews, Time/Fortune