Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 20, 2020

President of Turkey and leader of Justice and Development (AK) Party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets the crowd during his party's group meeting at Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, February 19Adem ALTAN / AFP

Simon A. Waldman, Haaretz: Turkey’s Mideast Military Adventures Are Disasters. This Is Why Erdogan Doesn't Mind

From Syria to Libya to Palestine, Erdogan is staking Turkey’s claim to be a power player in the Middle East - by turning unmitigated losses into strategic wins

One might be forgiven for thinking that Turkey’s recent attempts to go it alone in international military adventures, from Syria to Libya, have been an unmitigated disaster.

In those conflicts, Turkey is either supporting a losing side, or contributing to a stalemate. However, Ankara’s priority in Syria and elsewhere is not necessarily to back a winner. Its aim, is to carve a stake in its near abroad, and to ensure that other powers sufficiently recognize Turkish interests.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 20, 2020

What's At Stake for U.S., Turkey, Russia and Iran As Tensions Rise in War-Torn Syria -- Tom O'Connor, Newsweek

Erdogan Idlib threat faces challenge from within -- Alison Tahmizian Meuse, Asia Times

Beyond rockets and air strikes: The Israeli-Palestinian trade war -- Marc Daou, France 24

Lebanon's cash crisis: Is the country heading for a default? -- Stephen Carroll, Kate Moody, and Farah Boucherak, France 24

Dissent becomes the next victim of coronavirus as China cracks down -- Verna Yu, The Guardian

The Xi Jinping Flu -- Dan Blumenthal, RealClearWorld

Journalists' expulsion a sign of China's insecurity -- Philipp Bilsky, DW

Trump Is Ill-Suited to Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak -- Peter Nicholas, Defense One/The Atlantic

Ghani's re-election: How will it impact the US-Taliban deal? -- Masood Saifullah, DW

Will Kagame and Museveni resolve their dispute? -- Hamza Mohamed, Al Jazeera

Why are French soldiers in the Sahel? Protesters have an answer -- Alexandra Reza, The Guardian

How Russia's President Is Preparing His Own Succession -- Christian Esch, Der Spiegel

Bolivia Is Still Stuck on Evo Morales -- Brendan O'Boyle, Americas Quarterly

Donald Trump's Venezuela Strategy Is a Total Failure -- Daniel R. DePetris, National Interest

Common Sense Trumps the National Security Establishment -- Spengler, Asia Times