Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 16, 2016



Michael Clarke, The Guardian: If the Syria ceasefire fails, Isis will be the least of the west’s problems

The prospect of Russian and Iranian forces putting a vengeful Assad back in control of a broken country is now all too real

The military campaign against Islamic State is being reduced to a vicious sideshow as the Syrian civil war enters a new make-or-break phase. Russian military involvement has been a game-changer – saving Bashar al-Assad’s forces from near collapse, blatantly attacking western-backed opposition forces, and supplying T-90 tanks to Assad’s army closing in on Aleppo. For the western allies, time is running out. The agenda is being shaped by Russia, Assad and Iran, which have formed a de facto alliance to maintain the old Syria and – despite the supposed ceasefire agreed by the big powers in Munich last Friday – are not dissuaded by the death and destruction involved.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 16, 2016

Saudi Arabia’s Master Plan Against ISIS, Assad and Iran in Syria -- Nawaf Obaid, National Interest

The current chaos in Syria may help the Islamic State -- Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post

Allegations—and Denials—in the Syrian Conflict -- Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic

Russia’s Grim Pattern in Syria -- Dennis Ross, WSJ

Analysis: How Russia keeps piling pressure on Turkey -- Justin Bronk, Al Jazeera

One of the Obama administration's biggest gambles in Syria is completely backfiring -- Natasha Bertrand, Business Insider

After the Geneva Talks: Re-Setting US Strategy for Western Syria -- War On The Rocks

To Purge or Not to Purge: China’s Anti-Corruption Campaign -- Leo Lin, The Diplomat

China's giant telescope represents its big ambitions for science -- Tim Radford, The Guardian

No Good News: Afghan Civilian Casualties Still Increasing -- Catherine Putz, The Diplomat

Eurasia's Coming Anarchy -- Robert Kaplan, Foreign Affairs

Whack-a-Terrorist in Libya -- Paul Pillar, National Interest

The Problem with Poland -- Jan-Werner Müller, New York Review Of Books

Learning the Lessons of the Argentine Debt Crisis -- Bloomberg editorial

Can George W. Bush Save Jeb? -- David Graham, The Atlantic

Oil’s fall may be democracy’s rise -- CSM editorial

1 comment:

RRH said...

One time, a teacher called my sister stupid in front of the whole class over a mathematics problem. My sister came home and told our Mother. Our Mother went to the school the next day; to the very classroom my sister was in. She called out the teacher in front of the whole class. Called him stupid and asked him how he liked it.

At the end she said "the next time I come here, I'm not going to say $#'+." We knew when our Mom was quiet that was when she was most dangerous. Apparently, the teacher figured it out too.

This is how Assad should handle the hyenas arrayed against Syria. Don't say $#-+. Just beat their a$$es.