Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 19, 2019

Reuters

Jarrett Blanc, National Interest: Now or Never: America is on the Clock to Remove Troops from Afghanistan

Using U.S. leverage to craft an Afghan settlement demands incredible deftness in both Washington and Kabul.

Afghanistan has entered a period of intense political uncertainty. In December, President Donald Trump reportedly ordered the Pentagon to draw up plans for drawdown options including a complete troop withdrawal from the country. By March, bilateral talks between the United States, led by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, and the Taliban had “agreed in draft” on counterterrorism assurances the Taliban will provide to the United States and on U.S. troop withdrawal, addressing Washington’s key objectives. Kabul is not at the table, and its needs (an intra-Afghan dialogue and comprehensive ceasefire) were much more loosely “agreed in principle.” An informal intra-Afghan dialogue planned for Doha in April was canceled, and a Loya Jirga to demonstrate non-Taliban unity in Kabul instead laid bare deep divisions, with most opposition leaders refusing to attend.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 19, 2019

Is the United States heading for war with Iran? -- Jonathan Marcus, BBC

Trump is replaying his aggressive '150% pressure' North Korea negotiation playbook against Iran, but experts fear it could backfire spectacularly -- Tom Porter, Business Insider

For Iranians, economic crisis looms larger than US tensions -- Mehdi Fattahi and Nasser Karimi, AP

US-China trade war: What could Beijing do next? -- Karishma Vaswani, BBC

China’s currency is sending a warning signal about the trade war -- Patti Domm, CNBC

How a Chinese company targeted by US tariffs for the last 10 years has adapted and thrived -- Eric Ng, SCMP

‘Divide and conquer Asean’: China tries to go one on one with Malaysia to settle South China Sea disputes -- Catherine Wong, SCMP

Miracle win offers Australian PM authority and government stability -- Colin Packham, Reuters

Morrison scores shock win at Australia’s polls -- Lachlan Colquhoun, Asia Times

Sri Lanka anniversary: 10 years since civil war ended -- Bernard Smith, Al Jazeera

How the UN failed Tamil civilians in 2009 -- Nirmanusan Balasundaram, Al Jazeera

Here's Why ISIS And Al-Qaida Will Lose Their War Of Attrition -- Aki Peritz, NPR

Our solution for Libya -- Anwar Gargash, The National

France’s Macron forced to curb his ambitions for Europe -- Sylvie Corbet and Angela Charlton, AP

Is a ‘Green Wave’ heading for Europe’s parliamentary elections? -- France 24

The Justice Department Goes All-In on Origins of Russia Probe -- Hunter DeRensis, National Interest

Notre Dame's design competition is one for the ages, but some hope it's just one for Instagram -- Alan Weedon, ABC News Online