Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 17, 2018

A member of the Afghan security forces stands guard next to damaged army vehicles after a Taliban attack in Ghazni city, Afghanistan August 15, 2018.

Luis Martinez, ABC News: With large-scale attacks, is the Taliban experiencing a resurgence?

A series of high-profile Taliban attacks throughout Afghanistan this week that killed at least 200 Afghan security forces have raised questions about whether those forces can contain what appears to be a resurgent Taliban.

The attacks come at a time when U.S. officials had indicated that the Trump administration's South Asia Strategy had created progress toward peace talks to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

The string of violence began last Friday with a highly coordinated Taliban attempt to overtake the city of Ghazni, located 75 miles south of Kabul.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 17, 2018

The new face of Afghanistan's war -- Petr Apps, Japan Today/Reuters

Europe Watches as Turkey Burns -- Matthew Karnitschnig, Politico EU

Turkey's lira falls 3 percent, Trump won't take pastor's detention 'sitting down' -- Daren Butler, David Dolan and Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters

Turley: The Currency Crisis of 2018? -- Jacob Shapiro, Geopolitical Futures

Is Turkey really looking for alternatives to the West? -- Leonid Issaev, Al Jazeera

Syria's Uncertain Future under Bashar Assad -- Christoph Reuter, Fritz Schaap and Christian Werner. Spiegel Online

North Korea's Economy in 2018: Reform and Delay -- Ruediger Frank, 38 North

On China's Muslim crackdown -- Richard Javad Heydarian, Al Jazeera

China, Taiwan and a bakery: How a coffee sparked a diplomatic row -- BBC

'Stress is huge': New Zealand's foreign buyers ban brings home scale of crisis -- Eleanor Ainge Roy, The Guardian

Mali re-elects Ibrahim Boubacar Keita: What you should know -- Andrew Lebovich, Al Jazeera

Financial nightmare: How Russia's worst crisis began 20 years ago -- TASS

How Brexit could create a crisis at the Irish border (Video) -- VOX

Scotland wants to avoid Brexit but doesn't know how -- Peter Geoghegan, DW

How safe are Italy's roads and bridges? -- Inside Story, Al Jazeera