Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 16, 2016

Nick Danforth, New York Times: Could Different Borders Have Saved the Middle East?

THERE probably aren’t many things that the Islamic State, Jon Stewart and the president of Iraqi Kurdistan agree on, but there is one: the pernicious influence of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, a secret plan for dividing up the Middle East signed by France and Britain, 100 years ago this week. It has become conventional wisdom to argue, as Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. recently did, that the Middle East’s problems stem from “artificial lines, creating artificial states made up of totally distinct ethnic, religious, cultural groups.”

That Western imperialism had a malignant influence on the course of Middle Eastern history is without a doubt. But is Sykes-Picot the right target for this ire?

The borders that exist today — the ones the Islamic State claims to be erasing — actually emerged in 1920 and were modified over the following decades. They reflect not any one plan but a series of opportunistic proposals by competing strategists in Paris and London as well as local leaders in the Middle East. For whatever problems those schemes have caused, the alternative ideas for dividing up the region probably weren’t much better. Creating countries out of diverse territories is a violent, imperfect process.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 16, 2016

Why 100-year-old borders drawn by two Europeans still define the Middle East -- Nicholas Blanford, CSM

The next US victory in Iraq may just mean another crisis -- Judith Miller and Charles Duelfer, New York Post

ISIS ramps up attacks, but U.S. says terror group is 'on the defensive' -- Holly Yan, Jomana Karadsheh and Tim Hume, CNN

What the killing of Mustafa Badreddine means for Hezbollah and the future of the Middle East -- Kim Sengupta, The Independent

Saudi Arabia’s Reform Plan Is Bold, Modern and Likely Doomed -- Ian Bremmer, Time

6 things you need to know about Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps -- Afshon Ostovar, VOX

What happened to billions in US military aid to Egypt? -- Julian Pecquet, Al Monitor

The CIA’s mysterious role in the arrest of Nelson Mandela -- Adam Taylor, Washington Post

Brazil Needs an Ambitious President -- Bloomberg editorial

White male cabinet raises fears of backsliding in diverse Brazil -- Paulo Prada, Reuters

What’s Next For Brazil’s Political Crisis -- Jesselyn Cook, Huffington Post

Venezuela enters critical stage in political crisis -- Alexander Martinez, AFP

Memo to Hillary: Do Not Put Bill in Charge of the Economy -- Rana Foroohar, Time

Why Putin Tolerates Corruption -- Ivan Krastev, New York Times

We’re all paying the costs of corruption -- John Lloyd, Reuters