Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 27, 2017

Pepe Escobar, Asia Times: Unravelling the riddle of the Kurds’ Iraqi pipedream

Masoud Barzani has overplayed his hand – no regional powers are going to assent to partition of Iraq

Wily clannish capo Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), has announced that “Yes” won Monday’s non-binding independence referendum. Now that index fingers in indelible indigo ink are out of the way, the real battle between the KRG and Baghdad begins. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the Iraqi Supreme Court have denounced the referendum as “unconstitutional.”

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 27, 2017

Kurds find few friends in independence referendum -- Matthias von Hein, DW

The Dangerous Misunderstanding at the Core of the North Korea Debate -- Peter Beinart, The Atlantic

How to Achieve Peace on the Korean Peninsula -- Rand Paul, National Inerest

Saudi crown prince’s policies come with wins and misstep -- Aya Batrawy, AP

Freedom of the roads comes after long battle for Saudi women -- Sami Moubayed, Bloomberg

China Is Developing a More Muscular Foreign Policy: Bring the Popcorn -- Jonas Parello-Plesner, RCW

Yingluck’s conviction resets Thailand’s politics -- Shawn W. Crispin, Asia Times

Ditching the Iran Nuclear Deal Could Compromise America's National Security -- Martin Malin & Amit Grober, National Interest

Could Israel and Iran Trip Into War? -- Meir Javedanfar, Zenith

Could energy deals warm relations between Egypt, Israel? -- David Awad, Al-Monitor

Macron's Grand Ideas Will Be Shot Down, One by One -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Millions of people on brink of severe food crisis -- Bernd Riegert, DW

America's New World Order Is Officially Dead -- Hal Brands, Bloomberg

The Tide Is Turning Against Big Tech’s Monopolies—Because of U. of C. -- Whet Moser, Chicago Mag.