Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 22, 2016

Smoke rises at Islamic State militants' positions in the town of Naweran near Mosul. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

Alastair Sloan, Middle East Monitor: The military battle for Mosul may have begun, but the real battle has yet to start

Nobody I’ve spoken to about the recently-launched battle for Mosul is in a particularly optimistic mood. The Iraqi soldiers are nervous because they know from bitter previous experience how dangerous Daesh can make a city with their adept use of booby traps. The UN is irritated because half of the money that it’s been promised by the international community hasn’t been delivered. And civil society humanitarians are troubled by the way that most Mosul refugees are likely to stream south, away from the unwelcoming Kurds to the north. South, however, is where far too few aid camps have been set up. To put it bluntly, the aid that Mosul’s refugees will need is in the wrong place.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 22, 2016

The Worst Is Yet To Come in Mosul, US Leaders Say -- Kevin Baron, Defense One

A Precarious Alliance Takes on Islamic State -- Christoph Reuters, Spiegel Online

Battle for Mosul can shape or break Iraq further -- Samia Nakhoul, Michael Georgy and Stephen Kalin, Reuters

Iran Nuke Deal Will Spawn More Proxy Attacks Like The Ones In Yemen -- Capt. Sean R. Liedman, USN (Retired), USNI News

With President Aoun, Iran replaces Syria in Lebanon -- Alex Rowell, NOW Lebanon

Reports of death of US-Philippine alliance may be exaggerated -- Peter Lee, Asia Times

Will China Help North Korea? After Nuclear Sanctions, Chinese Foreign Minister Visits Pyongyang For Border Talks -- Tom O'Connor, IBTimes

For China's Xi, anticorruption drive is all about Communist Party's survival -- Michael Holtz, CSM

Avoiding Groupthink on China -- Greg Austin, The Diplomat

Why an Iran-Style Deal Isn't Possible with North Korea -- Ali Wyne, National Interest

After South Africa's withdrawal, how does the ICC stay relevant? -- Peter Ford, CSM

The New Poor: How The Ongoing Crisis Has Devoured Russia’s Small Middle Class -- Boris Grozovsky, Moscow Times

Spain after ten months of stagnation (Video) -- Arnd Riekmann, DW

The Next U.S. President Can Expect Weakened, But Still Lethal ISIS -- Phillip Ewing, NPR

Can the oil market be controlled? -- Inside Story/Al Jazeera