Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 27, 2016

Howard Lafranchi, CSM: At center of Obama-Abe Pearl Harbor meeting: the power of reconciliation

Though Japan and the US have been solid allies for decades, they remained divided about the tragedies of the beginning and the end of World War II.

When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that he would become the first Japanese leader to visit Pearl Harbor, meeting President Obama in Hawaii Tuesday, it was noteworthy that both leaders characterized the visit as an opportunity for reconciliation.

The United States and Japan, after all, would seem to have reconciled long ago. The two nations have made peace and become close allies since the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 75 years ago and the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima four years later.

But the two leaders' message is clear. What the Obama-Abe visit will demonstrate is that reconciliation is not a one-and-done, but is a perpetual work in progress between onetime adversaries – even after decades of close relations. Coming seven months after Mr. Obama’s groundbreaking visit to Hiroshima, Mr. Abe’s Pearl Harbor trip is yet another step beyond a declaration made decades ago.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 27, 2016

Is Abe the wrong messenger for Pearl Harbor? -- Jeff Kingston, Special To The Japan Times

Is Abe the first sitting Japanese leader to visit Pearl Harbor? Well, actually, he may be the fourth. -- Adam Taylor, Washington Post

After Aleppo, Syria's Tehran-Moscow axis starts to fray -- Ed Blanche, UPI/The Arab Weekly

Why UN resolution against Israeli settlements could backfire -- Christa Case Bryant, CSM

Obama Fulfills His Prophecy on Israeli Settlements -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg

Why do EU leaders still think they can engage with Eritrea's regime? -- Martin Plaut, The Guardian

A real Asia pivot: Why Donald Trump should meet with Taiwan’s president -- Harry J. Kazianis, Washington Times

Analysis: What Will Trump Do About North Korea's Kim Jong Un? -- Bill Neely, NBC

Is This the Real Aung San Suu Kyi? -- Jon Emont, New Republic

In 2017, Putin faces his toughest challenge: Russian pessimism -- Fred Weir, CSM

Putin's Winning Streak Will Be Hard to Extend -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Why Russia's military adventures worry Europe -- Ivan Watson, Antonia Mortensen and Jeffrey Kehl, CNN

Stop Poking the Bear -- Robert W. Merry, National Interest

What's in store for Europe in 2017? A look at possible scenarios -- Jon Henley, The Guardian

Angela Merkel is destroying Europe -- Michael Brendan Dougherty, The Week

Will Europe Let Germany Lead? -- Marcel Fratzscher, Project Syndicate

What's Really Behind Venezuela's Vanishing Banknotes -- Farid Kahhat, World Crunch

New president faces too many icebergs, too many Titanics -- Harlan Ullman, UPI