Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 29, 2016

Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic: Turkey's Kurdish Offensive

The U.S. has criticized strikes on villages controlled by a group Washington supports in Syria.

The U.S. says fighting between the Turkish military and Kurdish fighters in northern Syria is “unacceptable.”

The Turkish military, and its allies in the Free Syrian Army, struck villages held by the Syria Democratic Forces, a U.S.-backed group that is led by the Kurdish Popular Protection Units, or YPG. That comes after last week’s development in which Turkish troops and their allies, backed by U.S. airstrikes, forced ISIS out of the Syrian city of Jarablus. The U.S. Defense Department was quick Monday to dissociate itself from Monday’s strikes on nearby Kurdish villages.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 29, 2016

Turkey's dislike of the Kurds will push the country into Assad's arms -- Faisal Al Yafai, The National

The destiny of Syria is now in Russia’s hands: analyst -- Hunter Stuart, Al Bawaba

Syria: No End In Sight -- Robert Richer, Cipher Brief

Is the Iraqi army ready to liberate Mosul? -- Inside Story/Al Jazeera

NATO Must Act to Halt Turkey's Freefall Into Putin's Arms -- Matthew Bryza, Newsweek

Putin and the Ayatollah: A Bromance to Watch -- David Patrikarakos, Moscow Times

Russia’s quest for great-power status, by way of Syria -- Robert Fulford, National Post

Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart -- NYT

Uzbekistan’s Longtime Dictator Suffers Stroke as Succession Questions Loom -- Reid Standish, Passport/Foreign Policy

Winners and Losers in the New China -- Christopher Balding, Bloomberg

Trudeau's challenge in China: forging closer ties while remaining wary -- Jessica Murphy, The Guardian

A Partnership Between Russia and the West? Here's Why It's Not Happening -- Defense News editorial

Sorry, Folks. There Is No Rules-Based World Order. -- Patrick Porter, National Interest

Your Zika Apathy Is Spreading the Virus -- Samantha Allen, Daily Beast

How exactly did lightning kill 323 reindeer in Norway? -- Angela Chen, The Verge

Omran Daqneesh and the limits of war photography -- Listening Post/Al Jazeera

An Internet Giveaway to the U.N. -- L. Gordon Crovitz, WSJ