Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 14, 2019

David E. Sanger, New York Times: Trump Followed His Gut on Syria. Calamity Came Fast.

President Trump’s acquiescence to Turkey’s move to send troops deep inside Syrian territory has in only one week’s time turned into a bloody carnage, forced the abandonment of a successful five-year-long American project to keep the peace on a volatile border, and given an unanticipated victory to four American adversaries: Russia, Iran, the Syrian government and the Islamic State.

Rarely has a presidential decision resulted so immediately in what his own party leaders have described as disastrous consequences for American allies and interests. How this decision happened — springing from an “off-script moment” with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, in the words of a senior American diplomat — likely will be debated for years by historians, Middle East experts and conspiracy theorists.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 14, 2019

Who’s Who in Northern Syria? -- Lindsay Maizland, Council on Foreign Relations

Winners of Trump's Betrayal Are Iran, Russia and ISIS -- Piers Morgan, Daily Mail

Neo-Ottoman Turkey’s ‘String of Pearls’ -- Christina Lin, Asia times

Russian shadow falls over Syria as Kurds open door for Assad -- Martin Chulov, The Guardian

Saudi visit signals Putin's growing Middle East influence -- Olesya Astakhova and Stephen Kalin, Reuters

Azerbaijan in crosshairs as Gulf tensions escalate -- Dnyanesh Kamat, Asia times

China’s National Day show of military muscle risks backfiring -- Cary Huang, SCMP

In trade 'deal,' China suggests we simply have an agreement to agree -- Sandeep Gopalan, The Hill

Will China’s revised cybersecurity rules put foreign firms at risk of losing their secrets? -- Simone McCarthy , SCMP

Special Report: The hunt for Asia's El Chapo -- Tom Allard, Reuters

Where Will Ukraine Go from Here? -- Nikolas K. Gvosdev, National Interest

What is the story of Catalan independence – and what happens next? -- Sam Jones, The Guardian

Will Trump Destroy America's Alliance With Europe? Does Europe have a future? -- Jacob Heilbrunn, National Interest

What Just Happened with the NBA in China? -- China File