Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 24, 2017

Members of Pakistan's Frontier Corps patrol the border with Afghanistan outside Torkham, Pakistan, on June 16, 2016. Fayaz Aziz / Reuters

Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic: How the U.S. Can Pressure Pakistan

Can anything stop the South Asian nation’s support for militants?

President Trump announced Monday a new strategic review for the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. He offered tough words for Pakistan, which supports militants inside Afghanistan, but gave few details of how the U.S. could persuade it to change its ways. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that U.S. support for Pakistan would be conditioned upon its leaders’ ability to “change their approach” of backing militant groups that are “disrupting peace efforts inside of Afghanistan.”

Complaints about Pakistan’s apparent unwillingness to cooperate with the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan date back almost to the U.S.-led invasion of the country following the attacks of September 11, 2001: The country is known to provide support and a safe haven not only for the Taliban, but also groups that target neighboring India in Kashmir and elsewhere, not to mention the al-Qaeda leadership that’s believed to be inside the country.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 24, 2017

Are ‘Restrictions’ Keeping Us From Winning in Afghanistan? -- Patrick Tucker, Defense One

10 Fatal Flaws in Donald Trump's Afghanistan Plan -- Lawrence J. Korb, National Interest

Trump's New Afghanistan Strategy -- Sten Rynning, RCD

12 Big Changes in Afghanistan Strategy -- Jeff Goodson, RCD

Can Trump Deal with North Korea and China? -- Jeffrey Frankel, Project Syndicate

Pyongyang and Washington’s war of words — where does it end? -- Robert E. McCoy, Asia Times

What a Korean Agreement May Look Like -- George Friedman, Geopolitical Futures

India Feels the Heat From China's Belt and Road -- Dhruva Jaishankar, Lowy Institute

In Vietnam, Repression Threatens Growth -- Ilaria Maria Sala, Bloomberg

Ahrar al-Sham demise signals defeat of ‘moderates’ in Syria -- Sami Moubayed, Asia Times

Iran, Turkey move to re-establish role as regional backbone -- Ali Hashem, Al-Monitor

Buhari's unconvincing return from medical leave -- Fisayo Soyombo, Al Jazeera

The Russian-Saudi rapprochement and Iran -- Leonid Issaev, Al Jazeera

War Isn't Precise or Predictable — It's Barbaric, Chaotic, and Ugly -- Mark Gilchrist, RCD/The Bridge

This Is What the Navy Doesn't Want You to Know about Its Deadly Ship Crashes -- James Holmes, National Interest