Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 31, 2018

Afghan men carry the coffin of one of the victims of a car bomb attack at in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 28, 2018. (Omar Sobhani/Reuters )

Anna Maria Tremonti, CBC: 'Chaos benefits the Taliban': Why the war in Afghanistan is getting worse

Afghanistan has declared a national day of prayer after a string of attacks in Kabul left 130 people dead over the course of 10 days.

It's an escalation of tensions in a country that has already seen 17 years of conflict.

"It's very tense," journalist Jennifer Glasse told The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti from Kabul. "People are very nervous. People are very suspicious."

The attacks happened in areas of the city previously considered among the safest. The Taliban claimed an ambulance bomb attack in the city centre that killed 100 people, and a siege at the Hotel Intercontinental that killed 20.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 31, 2018

16 Years of Presidents Talking About the War in Afghanistan: And the war keeps going -- Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic

Are Turkey and Russia at odds in northern Syria? -- Diana Hodali, DW

Yemen’s war within a war: What does new fighting mean? -- Maggie Michael, AP

Iran is threatening stability in the Middle East -- Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Financial Times

Iran threat not enough to bring Israel, Gulf states together, experts say -- Noa Amouyal , Defense News

Lebanon: About to Blow? -- Janine di Giovanni, New York Review Of Books

Wanted: A Strategy to Limit China's Grand Plans for the South China Sea -- Dean Cheng, National Interest

Fears of US ‘bloody nose’ attack on North Korea on the rise -- Andrew Salmon, Asia Times

North Korea Is Not the Threat Trump Would Have You Believe -- Isaac Stone Fish, The Atlantic

Jihad decree triggers demands for holy war on Kashmir -- Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, Asia Times

No checks, no balances in the Philippines -- Jason Castaneda, Asia Times

Europe's Migration Crisis is Anything but over -- Rachel Rizzo, National Interest

How We Got Donald Trump: A History of the Post-Cold War Era -- Andrew Bacevich, RCW

We have entered the post-American era -- Stan Grant, ABC News Online

What did Trump say — and not say — about foreign policy in Tuesday’s speech? -- Larisa Epatko, PBS