Monday, February 8, 2016

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 8, 2016

Reuters

Alexander Kudascheff, DW: Endgame in Syria?

While plans are being made for more talks in Geneva, Russia and Assad are creating facts on the ground by attacking Aleppo. But one player in particular will emerge the winner, says Alexander Kudascheff.

Syria's conflict appears to be approaching an endgame. Bashar al-Assad is regaining the upper hand - with Russian help, partly in the guise of massive air support, and probably also with massive logistical and technical assistance for the Syrian army on the ground. The struggle for Aleppo has taken on the character of a decisive turning point. If Assad's troops recapture the city completely, the Syrian despot will have won more than just a battle: He will again become the all-dominant factor in a Syria that is burning and devastated. Syrian citizens, however, would still only have the choice either to flee, to conform or to die.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 8, 2016

Battle for Aleppo: Who's fighting on what side and why this siege could be a turning point in Syria -- Samuel Osborne, The Independent

Syria’s Peace of the Grave -- Wall Street editorial

What does Russia want in Syria? 5 reasons Putin backs Assad -- Matthew Chance, CNN

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

North Korea’s Mystery Bomb -- Jeremy Bernstein, New York Review Of Books

Why China won’t punish North Korea for its rocket launch -- Christopher Green, The Guardian

China Struggles for Balance in Response to North Korea’s Boldness -- Jane Perlez & Choe Sang-Hun, NYT

Why does China continue to protect North Korea? It has a lot less to do with communism than you’d think -- Mark Beeson, The Independent

To protect Chinese investment, Pakistan military leaves little to chance -- Syed Raza Hassan, Reuters

Libya Winning Race for Site of Obama’s Next War? -- Amercain Interest

The Horrors of Boko Haram -- NYT Editorial

Will Poland ever uncover the truth about the plane crash that killed its president? -- Alex Duval Smith, The Guardian

Russia having success in hybrid war against Germany -- Lucian Kim, Reuters

10 maps that explain Russia's strategy -- George Friedman, Business Insider/Mauldin Economics

Dueling data blur Venezuelan murder rate -- Jim Wyss, Kansas City

Will it be Paris or Calgary, Mr. Trudeau? -- Rex Murphy, National Post

3 comments:

Jay Farquharson said...

WNU Editor,

"Massive support",

42 Combat aircraft and 4,000 troops isn't the least bit massive compared to OIR's over 20,000 ground forces and over 1,000 combat aircraft.

They should have substituted "effective" for "massive" as a descriptor.

Don Bacon said...

Kudascheff is mostly full of Scheißer. "The entire West, and in particular the US - i.e. Barack Obama - is watching on helplessly, but above all passively." True.

"It knows that a military intervention will not change anything." Wrong. Protecting the Syrian state will change the entire western plan which was to break up the Middle East and hurt Iran.

"The all-decisive question is: Who would rule Syria after a negotiated peace is reached? An opposition that has no one behind it? Assad - with Russian bayonets at his back?...The Western helplessness has created the power vacuum which the terror militias and Putin and Assad were able to muscle into in the first place." Let the Syrians decide. Actually it is the illegal and wrong western support for foreign agents who want to overthrow the Syria government that has caused the problem.

RRH said...

And now Aleppo is in a state of humanitarian crisis because of a "regime forces" blockade and "Russian bombing". Naturally, funneling weapons to "moderate" head choppers, "standing idly by" while the means to produce things are looted and hauled off to Turkey, and bombing the electrical power generation gear have nothing at all to do with it.

Can you eat a TOW missile?