Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 25, 2016

Masoud Popalzai, Euan McKirdy, Tim Lister and Tim Hume, CNN: Taliban's new leader 'natural choice' to unite group, say analysts

(CNN)The Taliban has named a senior religious cleric from its founding generation as its new leader, in a decision the Afghan militant group hopes will avoid succession disputes, analysts say.

Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada was the "natural choice" to succeed Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, who was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan Saturday, said Thomas Ruttig of the Afghanistan Analysts' Network.

"He was already the senior deputy to Mullah Mansour. It's a clever choice because he is a religious scholar from the founder generation of the Taliban, and was close to Mullah Omar," said Ruttig, referring to the one-eyed mujahedeen commander who led the group from its inception in 1994.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 25, 2016

New Afghan Taliban leader was compromise candidate: sources -- Jibran Ahmad, Reuters

New Taliban leader's daunting task: uniting group as officials seek peace -- Sune Engel Rasmussen, The Guardian

New Taliban Leaders May Mean More Attacks on U.S. Targets -- Josh Meyer, NBC News

Who are the leaders of the Taliban? -- Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

ISIS or the Kurds? Some Arabs wonder which is worse -- Ben Wedeman, CNN

Did ISIS attack Russian military equipment at key Syrian base? -- Joshua Berlinger, CNN

A new formula in the battle for Fallujah -- Michael Knights, Al Jazeera

The Madness of Turkey’s ‘Sultan’ Erdogan -- Maajid Nawaz, Daily Beast

Dilma Rousseff and Brazil'e horrible year -- Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker

Putin Is the Loser in Prisoner Swap With Ukraine -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

The Russian Threat: NATO Struggles to Recover after Years of Budget Cuts -- Konstantin von Hammerstein, Spiegel Online

New Deal Aims to Forget Greece, Not Forgive It -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

What's coming up at the G7 summit in Japan -- Kirk Spitzer, USA TODAY

U.S. lifts arms embargo on Vietnam. Its former enemy is now a bulwark against the threat of China -- Kelly McParland, National Post

This Just In: The Vietnam War Is Still Over -- Fred Kaplan, Slate

Saudi Oil Policy Is Set in Stone -- Matthew Bey, Startfor

China's Huawei 'Growing Up' To Become The World's No. 1 Smartphone Brand -- Wade Shepard, Forbes