Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 3, 2016

Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar town, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate, August 11, 2014. REUTERS/Rodi Said

Peter Apps, Reuters: Why the Syrian war will define the decade

Many decades have a war that defines them, a conflict that points to much broader truths about the era — and perhaps presages larger things to come.

For the 1930s, the Spanish Civil War, the three-year fight between Fascists (helped by Nazi German) and Republicans (armed by the Soviet Union) pointed to the far larger global disaster to come. For the 1980s, the Soviet battle to control Afghanistan, a bloody mess of occupation and insurgency, helped bring forward the collapse of the Soviet Union and set the stage for 9/11 and modern Islamist militancy.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 3, 2016

Iran’s election wasn’t about moderation or democracy. It was about how Iran will re-engage with the world. -- Amir Hossein Mahdavi, Washington Post

Could Saudi pressure tip Lebanon's political balance? -- Nicholas Blanford, CSM

N. Korea sanction loopholes give China room for manoeuvre: analysts -- Ben Dooley, AFP

Why China is fighting with its own ally North Korea -- Max Fisher, VOX

Will China Enforce UN Sanctions Against N. Korea? -- Brian Padden, VOA

North Korea's Reaction To Crushing UN Sanctions Remains A Perilous Unknown -- Tyler Rogoway, Foxtrot Alpha

Naming Xi as China's 'core' may reflect power and weakness -- Christopher Bodeen, AP

China's leadership sessions: decisions, political theater and at times 'outrageous speech' -- Jonathan Kaiman, L.A. Times

China Closes In On Philippine Islands As Russia Did With Crimea -- Gordon G. Chang, Daily Beast

Ukraine and the Russia-West Standoff (Video) -- Real Clear World

The fear and despair of Spain’s young jobseekers -- Tobias Buck, Financial Times

Brazil's Recession: "I've Never Seen Anything Like This" (Video) -- Real Clear World

From Whitewater to Benghazi: A Clinton-Scandal Primer -- David Graham, The Atlantic

GOP hawks declare war on Trump -- Michael Crowley, Politico

Bill Gross: Negative Rates Are Finance Economy’s Last, Dying Gasp -- Paul Vigna, WSJ

What Happens When Global Trade Goes Virtual -- Justin Fox, Bloomberg