Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 28, 2017

“President Assad has met the state-of-the-art and most important aircraft in the world, the Russian Su-35, located at the Khmeymim airbase,” reads one of the posts, showing the Syrian leader climbing inside the cockpit of a fighter jet. Facebook

Nikolas K. Gvosdev, National Interest: Russia Knows Its Next Move in Syria. Does America?

Without a clearly defined understanding of U.S. interests, the risk grows that the United States will stumble into a clash with Russia and Iran.

The endgame has begun in Syria’s long and bloody civil war. As the grip of the Islamic State on the territories it has controlled in eastern Syria and western Iraq is pried up, there is no longer any way the question of Syria’s future can be postponed. Moreover, given the competing and clashes interests of the various major players in the Syrian conflict, major clashes are now inevitable unless some sort of agreement can be worked out.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 28, 2017

Can Americans Believe the President About Syrian Chemical Weapons? -- Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic

The Trump administration is right to threaten Assad against using chemical weapons again -- Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner

White House Threatened Syria While Trump Yawned, Insiders Say -- Asawin Suebsaeng and Spencer Ackerman, Daily Beast

The Coming Gulf War: Qatar vs. Everyone -- Robert Rabil, National Interest

Iranian flag joins array of enemy symbols planted on Lebanon border -- Byset J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post

Is Israel Catching Up Too Late to a Major Strategic Threat from Iran? -- Judith Miller, Tablet

Where to Draw the Line Against Iran’s Mideast Takeover -- Michael Horowitz, Daily Beast

Why Investors Shy Away From Saudi Arabia -- Robert Mills, Bloomberg

Is the U.S.-South Korea Alliance in Trouble? -- Scout Snyder, National Interest

Jacob Zuma wages war on South Africa’s institutions -- David Pilling, Financial Times

Obama’s Putin Patience: Russia tried to aggressively interfere with our elections. Why did Obama show so much restraint? -- Berny Belvedere, ARC

People around the world have more confidence in Vladimir Putin than in Donald Trump -- Max de Haldevang, Quartz

Tensions Rising in Balkans as Hopes for EU Future Fade -- Walter Mayr and Jan Puhl, Spiegel Online

Illinois Is Venezuela and the Solution Is Cryptocurrency -- Ken Kurson, Observer

Europe Versus Google -- Bloomberg editorial

The U.S. Will Pay a Price for Trump's Global Unpopularity -- James Gibney, Bloomberg