Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 13, 2017

© AFP 2016/ SAUL LOEB

John McLaughlin, OZY: Why We Need Intelligence Officers More Than Ever

Finally, the president-elect has acknowledged what U.S. intelligence agencies have long declared all but certain — that Russia tried to manipulate the U.S. election. Perhaps not surprisingly, he also disparaged the agencies in nearly the same breath, accusing them of “leaking” a 35-page set of allegations about his alleged illicit relations with the Russians.

It was an apt capstone to a strange, weeks-long episode, during which the president-elect seemed to be at war with the very intelligence agencies on which he must rely in defending the country. Was the press conference a step toward repairing or worsening their frayed relationship? And how should U.S. intelligence respond to their soon-to-be commander in chief?

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 13, 2017

Malta raises alarm on Russia in Libya -- Eric Maurice, Nikolaj Nielson, and Andrew Rettman, EU Observer

How far is Russia willing to go in Syria? -- Yezid Sayigh, Al Jazeera

Iran's Syria project: pushing population shifts to increase influence -- Martin Chulov, The Guardian

Is the Search for a Palestinian State Over? -- Matthew Duss, RCW

South Korea's Choi Soon-sil – the woman who brought down a government -- Julian Ryall, DW

Ivory Coast: A mutiny in Ivory Coast -- The Economist

As Zimbabwe seethes, fleeing activists find little welcome in its neighbors -- Ryan Lenora Brown, CSM

A Turning Point for The Gambia? -- Sophie Gallop, RCW

How Venezuela’s corrupt socialists are looting the country to death -- Thor Halvorssen, NYP

U.S. Russia Relations: How Did We Get Here? -- Curt Weldon, National Interest

Will Trump Take On Tehran? -- David M. Weinbrg, Jerusalem Post

Trump's Wall: will Mexico pay after all? -- Jan D. Walter, DW

Updated Missile Defense Policy Clears a Path for Trump to Expand Missile Defense -- Henry A. Obering and Rebeccah L. Heinrichs, Weekly Standard

Donald Trump is acting on a belief that politics have infiltrated the U.S. intelligence community -- Paul D. Shinkman, US News and World Report

Buzzfeed just did Donald Trump a huge favor -- Rich Lowry, New York Post

The Russia Story Reaches a Crisis Point -- Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone