Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 28, 2016

Militant Islamist fighters in military vehicles parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. (Reuters)

Dominic Tierney, The Atlantic: ISIS and the ‘Loser Effect’

Could the Islamic State's recent failures signal its demise?

In 2014, ISIS racked up a series of stunning successes as it pushed through Iraq and Syria, gaining momentum and new recruits with each victory. But in recent weeks, Syrian government forces liberated the city of Palmyra from ISIS, signifying a broader retreat for the extremist group over the past year. Can ISIS survive the label of loser?

Who could have foreseen that within a decade, between 2004 and 2014, the terrorist group al-Qaeda in Iraq would transform into ISIS, outline an apocalyptic vision of the End Times, reintroduce slavery, embrace war without limits, take on the world’s greatest powers, and conquer a mini-empire spanning swaths of Syria and Iraq—with spin-off affiliates infiltrating Libya, Nigeria, and elsewhere?

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 28, 2016

Israel nuclear reactor defects spark secrecy dilemma -- Joe Dyke, AFP

Saudi Arabia’s post-oil future -- The Economist

The Taliban three years after Mullah Omar -- Catherine Hirst, Interpreter

U.S. may Lift Vietnam Arms Embargo On Abama's Asian Trip -- Prashanth Parameswaran, Diplomat

Momentum builds for Pakistan to act against corruption -- Tom Hussain, Al Jazeera

China's Long March Into Central Asia -- Stratfor

Al-Qaeda: 5 years after the death of Osama bin Laden -- Huffington Post

Special Operations: The Tunisian Revelations -- Strategy Page

East vs. West in the Arctic Circle -- Jochen Bittner, New York Times

Putin's Space Debacle Blasts Off -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Why the Spanish may be better off without a government -- James Bartholomew, The Spectator

Power matrix: Ranking Europe’s leaders and ambassadors: Here’s who’s really in charge in Brussels. -- Ryan Heath, Politico

Drudge, Koch, Soros, Bezos: These 4 non-politicians will determine the next president -- Brendan Gauthier, Salon

Why Facebook Is Killing It—Even When Nobody Else Is -- Julia Greenberg, Wired

Am I a global citizen? Majority of world's people say 'yes' -- Peter Ford, CSM