Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 31, 2017

Whitney Eulich, Christian Science Monitor: Venezuela knocks over its democracy. The region pushes back.

For years, Venezuela has flirted with authoritarianism. This week, it bid goodbye to any pretense that it remained a democratic country.

The nation’s Supreme Court announced Wednesday it would take over legislative powers and essentially dissolve the National Assembly, the only government pillar controlled by the political opposition. President Nicolás Maduro “is now the National Assembly,” the body’s president, Julio Borges, told the Associated Press after the decision was announced. “It’s one thing to try and build a dictatorship and another to complete the circuit.”

But the crumbling of Venezuela’s democracy isn’t a challenge confined to those living there. Problems caused by drug-trafficking and Venezuela’s increasingly dysfunctional economy are beginning to spill over into neighboring countries. And despite the region’s sensitivity to foreign meddling, given its rich history of US-backed coups, those countries are beginning to speak up.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 31, 2017

Why Syria’s Kurds Are America’s Key Ally -- Frtiz Lodge, Cipher Brief

Pakistan Is No Friend to America -- C. Christine Fair, National Interest

India May Be Rethinking Nuclear First Strikes -- Max Fisher, New York Times

The Two Sides of India's Prime Minister -- Kanchan Chandra, Foreign Affairs

Why Is Alexei Navalny Still Free in Putin's Russia? -- Frida Ghitis, World Politics Review

How a 40-year-old lawyer could help reset U.S.-Russia relations -- John Lloyd, Reuters

Anger over Brexit will not get Ireland anywhere -- Noel Whelan, Irish Times

Montenegro Joining NATO Is Against U.S. Interests -- Sen. Rand Paul, Time

How Marine Le Pen could win -- Nicholas Vinocur, Politico

Ecuador Isn't an Easy Win for Latin America's Right Wing -- Mac Margolis, Bloomberg

3 Maps That Explain Why South America Is Politically Isolated -- George Friedman, Mauldine Economics

Top US nuclear commander says banning nukes would make wars worse -- Jacqueline Klimas, Politico

Is the Russia Investigation Turning the Left Into Conspiracy Theorists? -- Jeet Heer, New Republic

Privacy Is the Price We Pay for Our Internet Lives -- Stephen L. Carter, Bloomberg