Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 26, 2016

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera: Russia overplays its hand in Syria

Obama has failed in Syria, but so will Putin.

Why on earth would Russia back out on a sweet deal with John Kerry that had allowed it to cash in on its Syria gamble and become the United States' senior partner in shaping Syria's future and in the coalition for the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS)?

By trampling over the much-hyped US-Russia brokered ceasefire in Syria, Vladimir Putin has proved right Kerry's detractors in the Obama administration. Cynical as they may be, the Pentagon and the CIA have questioned Russia's seriousness about the ceasefire and the diplomatic process from the very beginning.

Russia has taken advantage of Kerry's concessions, not to exercise influence over Bashar al-Assad, but rather to unleash him to "retake the whole country" from the "terrorists".

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 26, 2016

Syria Believes It's On Way to Military Victory -- Edith M. Lederer, AP

While they were talking: How the world failed Syria this week -- Sheena McKenzie, CNN

The 'Barbarism' in Aleppo -- J. Weston Phippen, The Atlantic

Has Turkey Occupied Northern Syria? -- Shane Reeves and David Wallace, Lawfare

Yemen: The Graveyard of the Obama Doctrine -- Samuel Oakford and Peter Salisbury, The Atlantic

China's Syria Agenda -- The Diplomat

Japan and China’s maritime tensions in the South China Sea are resurfacing World War II-era wounds -- Steve Mollman, Quartz

Preventing China from changing the status quo -- Dennis Blair and Jeffrey Hornung, Japan Times

Squeezing North Korea: old friends take steps to isolate regime -- Ju-min Park and Tony Munroe, Reuters

Warning: The Korean Peninsula is Falling into Disequilibrium -- William R. McKinney, 38 North

Russia's pivot east ignores South-east Asia -- Ian Storey, The Straits Times

Russian Economy Takes Hit From Putin's Grip -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Lula's Downfall Won't Fix Brazil's Political Mess -- Mac Margolis, Bloomberg editorial

Security Challenges for the Next Administration -- Leone Lakhani, Cipher Brief

Get ready for the new normal: Fighting terror in the US -- Retired Gen. Keith B. Alexander, The Hill