Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 1, 2016

US Marines fire a Howitzer artillery gun during the Second Battle of Fallujah. / Photo by Lance Corporal Samantha L. Jones, USMC.

Mark Thompson, Time: Former U.S. Commanders Take Increasingly Dim View of War on ISIS

As conflict enters its third year, endgame still elusive.

It’s a most peculiar war: rarely has the U.S. been killing so many while risking so few. The U.S. is beating ISIS handily, judging by Vietnam’s body-count metric. The total number of ISIS battlefield deaths claimed by U.S. officials has jumped, from 6,000 in January 2015 to 45,000 last month—a bloodbath for an enemy force estimated to number about 30,000. Three U.S. troops have died. That’s an eye-watering U.S.-to-ISIS “kill ratio” of 15,000-to-1. “We’ve got good momentum going,” General Joseph Votel, chief of U.S. Central Command, who is overseeing the war, said Tuesday. “We are really into the heart of the caliphate.”

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 1, 2016

When Allies Become Enemies (Before the War is Over), Obama’s ISIS Plan Has Another Problem -- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Defense One/Council on Foreign Relations

Abu Muhammad al-Adnani's death does not signal the demise of Isis -- Martin Chulov, The Guardian

Turkey's Jarablus operation scorecard -- Galip Dalay, Al Jazeera

After sweeping into northern Syria, Turkey faces hard choices -- David Dolan, Reuters

Iran and the future of the Middle East -- Clifford D. May, Washington Times

What are Netanyahu and Putin plotting? -- Ben Caspit, Al-Monitor

Iran and Russia's Uncomfortable Alliance -- Mohsen Milani, Foreign Affairs

Russia-Turkey Relations: Rapprochement on Russian Terms -- Eugene Kogan, Defense News

Algeria: A Bulwark Against ISIS -- Bennett Seftel, Cipher Brief

What Are the U.S. and China Fighting Over? -- Fu Ying, Bloomberg

Who is the new Taliban military chief? -- Massood Saifullah, DW

Putin's Military Is Playing the Long Game in Ukraine -- Michael Kofman, Foreign Policy

Dilma Rousseff's impeachment, explained in 500 words -- Zack Beauchamp, VOX

As despair spreads in Venezuela, Maduro doubles down -- Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Special to The Globe and Mail

Apple ruling threatens the Irish tiger’s revival -- Jennifer Duggan, Politico

How Apple Calculates and Pays Its Taxes -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Did SpaceX’s Future Just Explode? -- David Axe, Daily Beast