Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 5, 2016

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN: You thought Syria couldn't get much worse. Think again

(CNN)Aleppo's fall to rebels -- back in 2012 a much more moderate bunch than the often al-Nusra-infected alliances we see now -- was a symbolic moment: the commercial heart of Syria turning on the country's own government.

Now, as thousands flee to the Turkish border from Russian airstrikes pounding the city and government forces moving in, the battle for Aleppo is again gaining significance.

The towns of Nubul and Zahraa were reached by government forces late Wednesday and their seizure could mark a turning point in the war in northern Syria. Not because they are significant in themselves, but because to reach the towns, the regime had to cross through towns that mark the main supply route into the rebel-held area of Aleppo.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 5, 2016

The threat to peace accelerates: Chaos in the Middle East invites a clash of the major powers -- Washington Times editorial

Syrian war: Who next to intervene? -- Jonathan Marcus, BBC

Erdogan’s new sultanate -- The Economist

Why Does Saudi Arabia Consider Iran So Great a Threat? -- Heather Murdock, VOA

Why Attacking ISIS Won’t Make Americans Safer -- Peter Beinart, The Atlantic

Eisenhower's Middle East Is No More -- Kevin Sullivan, Real Clear World

Security and Stability in Afghanistan -- Alana Garellek, The Cipher Briefs

China: When $3 Trillion Just Isn't Enough -- Christopher Balding, Bloomberg

This is the latest sign that Xi Jinping is consolidating power -- Armin Rosen, Business Insider

Why China needs to rein in North Korea's hackers -- Taylor P. Brooks, CSM

Breaking the chessboard: the geopolitics of Obama's Asia pivot -- Rosanna Ryan (ABC News Australia)

Combatting the Al Shabaab Threat -- Alana Garellek, The Cipher Briefs

Putin Is a Compulsive Risk-Taker -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Problems rampant as Haiti cannot elect a new president -- Chiara Liguori, Al Jazeera

Canada to expand military mission against Islamic State -- Robert Fife, The Globe and Mail