Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- November 4, 2016

A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq's second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014. REUTERS/Social Media Website via Reuters TV

Mohamad Bazzi, Reuters: Beyond the bluster, Baghdadi signals Islamic State’s next move

In the early hours of November 3, Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, released his first statement in nearly a year – a defiant message that the group will not fade away quietly, even as Iraqi special forces breached the outskirts of Mosul, the last major city in Iraq under Islamic State’s control.

Baghdadi tried to project confidence that his jihadists would beat back the Iraqi government’s advance. “This total war and the great jihad that the Islamic State is fighting today only increases … our conviction that all of this is a prelude to victory,” he said in a 31-minute audio recording, his first since December.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- November 4, 2016

The battle for Mosul: Jihadists told: surrender or die -- The Economist

Battle for Mosul: What ISIL left behind -- Salam Khoder, Al Jazeera

Has the US prepared for the day after a Mosul victory? -- Ryan Browne and Elise Labott, CNN

How Archaeology Became an Israeli-Palestinian Battleground -- Ilan Ben Zion, WSJ

Under Duterte, is the Philippines undergoing Finlandization? -- John R. Deni, L.A. Times

The Dangerous Schools of the Taliban -- Maija Liuhto, The Diplomat

Sun Tzu Explains China’s Shaping Operations in the South China Sea -- Jules Hurst, National Interest

The Korea Peninsula: Time to Recognise the New Nuclear Status Quo -- Bernt Berger, Lowy Institute

The Indian Ocean: Emerging Great Power Competition -- Daniel Darling, RCD

Tsipras Caught Between EU and Voter Demands -- Giorgos Christides and Katrin Kuntz, Spiegel Online

How Putin is losing his grip on Russia's pipeline politics -- Agnia Grigas, Reuters

Why Montenegro's Elections Matter -- James Nadeau, National Interest

America needs to be the world's policeman, former NATO chief says -- SKY News

Nervous World Markets Signal a Real Possibility of a Trump Win -- David Francis, Foreign Policy

The ‘Nightmare Scenario’ If 8-Justice Supreme Court Has to Decide Election -- Mark Sherman, AP