Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 29, 2016

Joshua Keating, Slate: The U.S. Is Considering New Military Action in Libya, Since It Turned Out So Great Last Time

U.S. officials are currently “looking at military options” to combat the spread of ISIS in Libya, according to a Pentagon spokesman. These options would most likely involve U.S. special forces coordinated with militias on the ground to fight the group, which has established a stronghold around the coastal city of Sirte, also the hometown of Muammar Qaddafi.

The challenges facing any such military intervention are similar to those in Syria—a lack of reliable partners to act as a ground force, and the fact that ISIS’s enemies are also fighting against each other. While there have been no U.S. combat operations in Libya since the fall of Qaddafi in 2011, U.S. military personnel have been paying periodic visits to the country to make contact with potential partners. One incident in December didn’t bode well for this effort. A group of commandos who were making contact with the Libyan army were asked to leave the country after the air force posted a picture of them on its Facebook page, claiming that the visit was unauthorized. The incident was likely a result of a lack of communication between Libya's air force and army.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 29, 2016

Syria peace talks: With few players at the table and too little pressure on Assad negotiations are destined to collapse -- The Independent editorial

Will Growing The Network Of U.S. Military Bases Help Fight ISIS? -- David Vine, Here & Now

How Facebook helps ISIS -- Hossein Derakhshan, Medium

Analyst: Yemen's War Escalates as Sides Seek Negotiating Leverage -- Mohamed Elshinnawi, VOA

Undoing Years of Progress in Turkey -- Abdullah Demirbas, NYT

Israeli-Turkish Relations: Time Not Ripe for Reconciliation -- Eugene Kogan, Defense News

China Can't Postpone the Pain Forever -- Michael Schuman, Bloomberg

Don't expect China to ice North Korea -- Andrei Lankov, Al Jazeera

Is North Korea Preparing to Launch A Long-Range Ballistic Missile? -- Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat

There is still hope for the U.S. relationship with Pakistan -- Lisa Curtis, War On The Rocks

Nigeria’s ex-president Jonathan is finally pushing back at claims of corruption -- Paula Dupraz-Dobias, Quartz

Nigeria is 'poised for a head-on collision' with armed militants and it could shake up the oil market -- Elena Holodny, Business Insider

The plunder of West Africa Ebola funds -- Fisayo Soyombo, Al Jazeera

Sweden Shows Us How Not to Handle the Great Migration -- F. Nelson, Telegraph

Venezuela's state informers: patriots or snitches? -- Diego Ore, Reuters

Russia, Saudi Arabia Ready to Curb Oil Production to Stabilize Oil Market -- Sputnik

How to Fight Zika Virus -- Bloomberg editorial