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

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 14, 2016. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin

Michael Birnbaum, and Hugh Naylor, Washington Post: Russia surprise withdrawal resonates from battlefield to peace talks

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s snap decision to pull warplanes from Syria on Tuesday rearranged the lines of the grinding conflict — and solidified Moscow’s influence not only on the battlefield but also at the negotiating table.

Russian aviators lifted off from air bases in Syria and arrived in Russia to a hero’s welcome six months after the Kremlin’s stunning decision to send forces to help its key Middle East ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But Russia said it would leave powerful antiaircraft systems in Syria, giving it iron leverage in the region and preserving the option of a speedy return.

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

Why — and how — Russia won in Syria -- Josh Cohen, Reuters

Russia's Withdrawal Is Islamic State's Win -- Noah Feldman, Bloomberg

Analysis: What Russia’s Military Withdrawal From Syria Means for Fight Against ISIS, Assad Regime -- Daniel Trombly, USNI News

The Guardian view on Russia’s Syria U-turn: no kind of victory -- Guardian editorial

Russia drops the mic: Syria pullout comes at perfect moment -- Mark Galeotti, Reuters

Red-Beard Abu Omar al-Shishani Is The Walking Dead ISIS ‘Minister of War’ -- Will Cathcart, Nino Burchuladze, and Tinatin Gogia, Daily Beast

Syrian civil war: West failed to factor in Bashar al-Assad's Iranian backers as the conflict developed -- Robert Fisk, The Independent

Pakistan's New Thinking On Security -- Hussain Nadim, Lowy Institute

A new beginning in Myanmar -- Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu

Flattop Faceoff: China's Pride vs. America's Arrogance -- Peter Navarro, National Interest

Mind the gap - Uganda, Ethiopia show good laws don't always work in practice -- Paola Totaro, Reuters

The Ukraine Example: Nuclear Disarmament Doesn’t Pay -- Andreas Umland, World Affairs

'Regime Change' Alone Won't Fix Brazil -- Mac Margolis, Bloomberg

Justin Trudeau: A leader with no parade -- Margaret Wente, The Globe and Mail

Le Pen To Bernie: Anger Economics Drives Populist Surge -- Nikolaus Piper, Worldcrunch

How New York’s Top Advertisers Are Fighting Terrorist Propaganda -- Kaveh Waddell, The Atlantic