Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 21, 2016

Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic: The Road to Havana

Nelson Mandela’s funeral opened the way for Obama’s historic Cuba visit.

On Sunday, President Obama will begin his historic visit to Cuba. He will be the first president since Calvin Coolidge to visit the island, and his mission is a prime manifestation of what some people—not me, necessarily—might call the “Obama Doctrine.” Obama has been remarkably consistent over the years in questioning why adversaries of the United States have remained adversaries, and in Cuba, at least, he has an answer: They don’t have to be adversaries, at least not all of them. (The chance of an Obama victory lap in Tehran appears at the moment to be vanishingly small, despite the nuclear agreement.)

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 21, 2016

Analysis: Cuba visit provides a key test of the 'Obama doctrine' -- Gregory Korte, USA TODAY

Castros welcome Obama to Cuba with a slap in the face -- Marc A. Thiessen, Washington Post

Will Barack Obama Meet the Real, Invisible Cubans? -- Christopher Dickey, Daily Beast

Hard Times for Castro's Latin American Heirs -- Fabio Rafael Fiallo, The Compass

The costs of Obama’s Syria policy are apparent to everyone but him -- Jackson Diehl, Washington Post

Is There a US-Russia Grand Bargain in Syria? -- Pepe Escobar, Sputnik

Russia has sent a clear signal to Syria's Assad -- DW

Is Russia Really Pulling Out From Syria? Nyet -- Micah Halpern, Observer

What Russia's military proved in Syria -- Mark Galeotti, VOX

Inside Syria’s war: I went to three cities. This is what I saw. -- Loveday Morris, Washington Post

What is Behind the Rise of ISIS in Libya? -- Tarek Kahlaoui, Newsweek

The EU deems Turkey safe for refugees. It may not be safe for anyone -- The Economist

What if China attacks bases used by America? -- Ricardo Saludo, Manilla Times

Which U.S. Ally Isn't Whining about Being Called a Free Rider? -- Christopher A. Preble, National Interest

A View of ISIS’s Evolution in New Details of Paris Attacks -- Rukmini Callimachi, Alissa J. Rubin and Laure Fourquet, New York Times

As Cuba Rises, Puerto Rico Falls -- James Gibney, Bloomberg

Brazil’s Berlin Wall Falls -- Gabriel De Arruda Castro, NRO

Factbox: Four myths about rape in war -- Alex Whiting, Reuters