Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 9, 2018

Charles Lister, Daily Beast: The Israeli Airstrike on Syria Monday: A Message to Iran, Russia—and Trump

The days of ‘rolling back’ Iran in Syria are gone. Containment and deterrence may be all that is left. And the situation is too dangerous for Trump to kick down the road.

In the early hours of Monday morning, two Israeli fighter jets crossed into southern Lebanon and launched a number of missiles at Syria’s strategic T4—or Tiyas—airbase in Homs province. The missiles struck a section of the base used exclusively by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its external specialist Quds Force and Hezbollah to house senior personnel, strategic weaponry and sophisticated drones in semi-hardened air hangars. At least 14 people were killed in the missile strike, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later labeled a “very dangerous development” in an unusually harsh rebuke of the sort of Israeli action that Moscow usually has glossed over quietly.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 9, 2018

Striking Syria Again Would Be a Grave Mistake for America (and President Trump) -- John Allen Gay, National Interest

What Is America Going to Do About Syria Now? -- Uri Friedman, The Atlantic

Will Macron Follow Trump into Syria? -- Jacob Heilbrunn, National Interest

Only Assad’s victory will end Syria’s civil war. The west can do nothing -- Simon Jenkins, The Guardian

The 1 Reason No Nation Wants to Wage a War Against Israel -- Kyle Mizokami, National Interest

Why Iran won’t cut back on its missile program -- Maysam Behravesh, Reuters

Iraq is still far from establishing peace, stability, democracy and prosperity -- Kamran Karadaghi, The National

China tiptoes toward massive retaliation in trade war -- William Pesek, Asia Times

China's Strengths in a Trade Spat Are Also Its Weaknesses -- Daniel Moss, Bloomberg

US innovation widens the trade deficit with China -- David P. Goldman, Asia Times

Skripal Case Descends into a Propaganda War -- Spiegel Online

Could Brexit revive Ireland’s ‘Troubles’? -- John Lloyd, Reuters

The Anti-Semitism Problem Corbyn Created -- James Kirchick, CapX

Jailing Lula Won't Fix Brazilian Justice -- Mac Margolis, Bloomberg

A Trump-Castro encounter may steal the show at the Summit of the Americas -- Andrés Oppenheimer, Miami Herald

Silicon Valley Falls to Earth -- Franklin Foer, The Atlantic