Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 17, 2016

Kimberly Dozier and Nancy Youssef, Daily Beast: CIA Chief Warns ‘Formidable’ ISIS Plots More Paris, Orlando-Style Attacks

Nearly two years into the Obama administration’s war on ISIS, CIA Director John Brennan says the group’s ‘terrorism capability and global reach’ are undiminished.

The CIA says the so-called Islamic State is undiminished by almost two years of war, and will step up terrorist attacks worldwide as it loses territory in Iraq and Syria.

Calling ISIS a “formidable, resilient” enemy, CIA director John Brennan said the group will likely switch to guerrilla tactics as it is driven off the battlefield and will send more of its Western operatives to attack Europe and beyond, while using social media to groom future lone wolves like U.S.-born Omar Mateen, 29, who killed 49 people Sunday in Orlando.

“Our efforts have not reduced the group’s terrorism capability and global reach,” Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee in grim testimony Thursday, just days after the gay nightclub attack, apparently inspired by ISIS.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 17, 2016

How 51 American diplomats are determined to stop Assad -- Howard LaFranchi, CSM

The death of the Syria peace process -- James Denselow, Al Jazeera

The Home of Syria’s Only Real Rebels -- Sam Heller, Daily Beast

Iran Sows the Seeds of War in Iraq -- Max Boot, Commentary

Is Israel a Pariah? Not According to Its New Friends -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg

A failed coup and Facebook: the story of Burundi's elections -- Nigel Watt, The Guardian

In South Sudan, It’s Hard to Tell the Soldiers From the Criminals -- Nick Turse, The Intercept

'They were psychopaths': how chaos in Libya fuels the migration crisis -- Patrick Kingsley, The Guardian

5 Common Myths about China's Power -- Bonnie S. Glaser and Matthew P. Funaiole, National Interest

China ups ante in East China Sea -- Katsuji Nakazawa, Nikkei Asian Review

How Europe bungled its way to the Brexit -- Ryan Cooper, The Week

Rumors of a Military Buildup Amass in Ukraine: Analysis -- Stratfor

The Plot to Stop Donald Trump -- David Graham, The Atlantic

As food supplies dwindle in Venezuela, children feel sharp pinch -- Whitney Eulich, CSM

What a Military Coup Might Mean for Venezuela -- Michael Sheetz, The Street

Canada Flirts With the Petrostate Trap -- Noah Smith, Bloomberg