Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 21, 2018

Simon Tisdall, The Guardian: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's risky gamble could quickly turn sour

Turkish president defies Russia, the US and Bashar al-Assad with assault on Kurds in Syria

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Kurdish vendetta has taken a dramatic new twist with the cross-border ground assault on the Afrin enclave in north-west Syria.

Defying Russia, the US, and Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Turkey’s headstrong president is betting on a decisive victory over Syrian Kurd forces. But his risky gamble could quickly turn sour.

The initial incursion by Turkish troops and their Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies on Sunday, preceded by days of airstrikes and artillery shelling, appeared tentative and limited in scope. The Syrian Kurd People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia, said to number 10,000 fighters in Afrin, is not giving an inch. They are dug in and they are defending the Rojava – the fabled Kurdish homeland.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 21, 2018

Is America's Alliance with Turkey Worth It? -- Ted Galen Carpenter, National Interest

Turkey’s State of Emergency: Could the Kurdish issue be the one that ultimately shakes Erdoğan’s seemingly unbreakable grip on power? -- Maurice Glasman, The Nation

Palestine's Outdated Leadership Threatens Its Future -- Mohammed Ayoob, National Interest

Destroying the Iran Deal While Claiming to Save It -- Philip Gordon and Robert Malley, The Atlantic

Iran's wealth gap: tens of millions struggle to get by -- Zein Basravi, Al Jazeera

Iran's Latest Revolution Won't Fade Away -- Geneive Abdo and Abdallah Hendawy, Bloomberg

The next supreme leader could transform Iran -- Saeid Golkar, Al Jazeera

Why is Jerusalem so central to Pence's Middle East visit? -- Reuters

On the Politics behind Tunisia’s Protests -- Issandr El Amrani and Michael Ayari, Cairo Review

Anger that drove the Arab spring is flaring again -- Emma Graham-Harrison, The Guardian

Big News From China: Its Implosion Didn't Happen -- Daniel Moss, Bloomberg

Matteo Renzi fights to save Italy (and himself) -- Giada Zampano, Politico

U.S. rising as world's 'undisputed' energy leader, global chief tells senators -- John Siciliano, Washington Examiner

The World Has Never Seen an Oil Spill Like This -- Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic

What to do when liberals are the censors? -- John Lloyd, Reuters

A year of real change -- President Donald Trump