Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 9, 2016

Peter Salisbury, CNN: How U.N.'s decision to drop Saudi from child-rights blacklist could backfire

(CNN)Saudi Arabia's foreign policy has become more and more assertive since King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud ascended to the throne in early 2015.

Under its new ruler, and perhaps more importantly his son, the deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom has entered the fray of Yemen's civil war and has taken a much more visible role in pushing its agenda at an international level.

The new King has reputedly used Saudi Arabia's financial heft as leverage to pressure the U.N. into limiting its criticisms of the conservative monarchy's actions at home and abroad and used its trade and political ties with Western allies, particularly the UK, to convince them to push for its agenda at the U.N. and elsewhere.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 9, 2016

Failing to Reform in Iraq -- Startfor

The World Has Gotten More Peaceful, Except the Middle East -- VICE News and Reuters

Is the West about to repeat its mistakes in Libya? -- Mustafa Fetouri, Al-Monitor

Russians Violating New START Arms Treaty -- Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon

NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg: 'We Don't Want a New Cold War' -- Interview Conducted by Konstantin von Hammerstein and Peter Müller (Spiegel Online)

Putin's European Allies Don't Need His Money -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Ukraine's United Future Depends on Leaving Donbas in Its Divided Past -- Alexander J. Motyl, World Affairs

Macedonia’s Political Mess Lingers Long After Wire-Tapping Scandal -- WPR

Brazil: No Longer the Country of the Future? -- US News and World Report/The Conversation

Why Venezuela Is Feeling No Peer Pressure -- Mac Margolis, Bloomberg

Why We Need Big, Ugly Trade Treaties -- Kevin D. Williamson, NRO

Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy problem -- Amir Handjani, Reuters

Retire the Foreign Policy Elites -- Christopher A. Preble, National Interest

Why The World Hates Silicon Valley -- Kevin Maney, Newsweek

The World’s Deadliest Drug: Krokodil’s Legacy -- Simon Shuster, Time