Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 25, 2017

Daniel Lewis, National Interest: Kurdistan Independence: An Island of Stability or Source of New Conflict?

And why America could be in a lose-lose position.

Today, millions of people living in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) area of Iraq will go to the polls to vote on an independence referendum. Will the vote help usher in stability for the region or fuel yet more disruption and violence, possibly even a new war? Either is possible, yet neither is set in stone.

To support Kurdish independence would potentially pit the Trump administration against NATO ally Turkey, cause a rift between Baghdad and Washington, and just as the fight against ISIS appears to be winding down, possibly spawn a civil war between the Kurds, Shia and Sunni militias within Iraq. America is in a lose-lose position.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 25, 2017

The inconvenient Kurds -- David Goldman, Asia Times

What is the Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum? -- Matthias von Hein, DW

What’s next after Iraqi Kurds vote on independence -- AP

Iraqi Kurdistan’s Unlikely Ally -- Kamran Bokhari, Geopolitical Futures

This Man Helped The US Fight ISIS. Now He Wants Payback. -- Mike Giglio, BuzzFeed

Japan’s Abe calls snap election amid worries over North Korea -- Linda Sieg, Asia Times

Abe gambles on snap election as Koike surprises with new party -- Tomohiro Osaki and Reiji Yoshida, Japan Times

Bangladesh holds the key to Rohingya insurgency -- Bertil Lintner, Asia Times

The Future of Germany's Social Democrats -- Michael Bröning, Foreign Affairs

Angela Merkel's Bitter Victory -- E. Wayne Merry, National Interest

Merkel's Lackluster Win Is Good for Germany -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Three myths about Catalonia’s independence movement -- Francisco de Borja Lasheras, European Council on Foreign Relations

Catalans are not alone. Across the world, people yearn to govern themselves -- Neal Ascherson, The Guardian

The Devastation of Puerto Rico -- Daniel Larison, American Conservative

Corruption in Latin America: Taking Stock -- David Lipton & Alejandro Werner & Carlos Gonçalves, IMF Blog

OPEC Deal With Russia Is Showing Signs of Strain -- Robin Mills, Asia Times

The NFL Can't Afford to Become a Battleground -- Megan McArdle, Bloomberg