H. Horn, Atlantic
Theres substantial evidence that the arrival of refugees from outside Europe will be less beneficial than the influx of skilled immigrants from within Europe. The 2014 U.K. study, for example, showed non-European immigrants lagging behind European immigrants in terms of net contributions. We know that EU immigrants are on average better educated than non-EU citizens and that high-skilled immigrants have a strong positive fiscal impact, which is not the case for low-skilled immigrants, said Krieger. Читать дальше...
Victor Davis Hanson, NRO
America is slowly withdrawing from involvement abroad, using the same isolationist arguments heard in the 1920s. Past interventions in the Middle East have worn on the nation. Ingrate nations did not appreciate American sacrifices. In tough economic times, some contend that defense spending should be diverted to more social programs.
Ranj Alaaldin, The Guardian
Erdoan is becoming increasingly isolated. He will have to choose between peace with the Kurds, or his personal ambitions and the costly policy of backing jihadis in Syria – both of which are likely to hurt Turkey in the long run much more than the PKK can.
Paulien Bakker, Narratively
After the Islamic State overruns his hometown, a militiaman turned educator makes a harrowing decision to bring his family to freedom.
Giorgio Cafiero, Al-Monitor
The White House is determined to empty Guantanamo, which in Obama’s words is a “recruitment brochure for our enemies.” By taking the risk of accepting at least 21 Guantanamo prisoners since January 2015, Oman appears to be pursuing a strong relationship with the United States, playing the role of Washington’s ally and “moderate” Arab and Muslim country.
Mac Margolis, Bloomberg View
Maybe it's a cultural thing. Futebol, after all, is practically a religion in Brazil, perhaps because it’s where merit and talent trump connections and wealth. Brazilians are rightfully proud of the game that has won them an unequaled five World Cups (notwithstanding the national team's collapse in the last tournament), and homegrown talent may be the country's most successful value-added export.
Hussein Ibish, New York Times
Al Jazeera America was the latest, and perhaps most ambitious, branch of a media empire that the tiny but wealthy Gulf emirate of Qatar has used to project its influence, first regionally and then globally. The American-specific incarnation, begun in 2013, was partly an effort to rebrand for the United States the earlier iterations of the franchise, Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English. But the American network was hobbled from the start by this very legacy.
El Amrani, FP
More than you think -- and it’s growing. But putting boots on the ground could only make the situation worse.
CNN
JOHN BRENNAN: I'm expecting them to try to put in place the operatives, the materiel, whatever else they need to do, or to incite people to carry out these attacks. So I believe their attempts are inevitable. I don't think their successes necessarily are.
Aaron David Miller, RealClearWorld
The recent Congressional testimony of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper sharply frames the conundrum the United States faces when countering the Islamic State and other jihadists. The ISIS threat is growing, yet America's ability and capacity to counter it is not.
George Friedman, Geopolitical Futures
American officials have begun expressing concerns about the state of the European Union. In particular, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Feb. 12 that America has a "very strong" interest in the United Kingdom staying in the EU. Until now, the United States has seen the European Union's problems as something for the Europeans to settle among themselves. The U.S. did not see Europe's problems as directly affecting U.S. interests, nor did it see itself as capable of influencing EU policy. Читать дальше...
Vanessa Newby, Lowy Interpreter
And meanwhile, the power cuts continue, the potholes in the roads widen and the garbage piles up…
Jonathan Marks, Commentary
As Jonathan Tobin has observed, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain’s Labour Party, has been “openly sympathetic with Hamas and Hezbollah,” has “campaigned for the release of terrorists convicted of attacking Jewish targets,” and has “praised vicious anti-Semites.”
G. Wheatcroft, National Interest
The Cinque Stelle is not discernibly Left or Right but just anti: antiestablishment, antiausterity, anti-European. It could be called antipolitical, and almost anti-Italian. Such random protest parties are often labeled Euroskeptic, but although the graffito slogan you can see in the Veneto, “Basta Italia!,” will probably be painted by a supporter of the rightist Northern League, that’s the spirit of Grillo’s Five Stars as well: enough Italy as well as enough Europe... Читать дальше...
Thomas Donnelly, Weekly Standard
In sum, rather than running away from an Iraq debate, Republicans ought to be begging for one. To begin with, it can be a way to read Trump out of the party and return what Walter Russell Mead describes as the "Jacksonian," nationalist element – who, in addition to their grievances against the corruptions of the elite, hate the idea that the rest of the world is kicking sand in America's face – to the conservative coalition. Reframing the issue is also essential in the presidential contest itself... Читать дальше...
Max Fisher, Vox
Unsurprisingly, Trump was straying into conspiracy. But his allegations were not so far removed from a scenario that's been considered within the US government itself: could rogue Saudi officials, acting without sanction from their government, have funneled state resources to aid the attackers?
Teresa Puente, Vice
Medellin commended the pope for speaking plainly when many government officials, including President Enrique Pea Nieto, she believes, don't address the problems head on. Suspicion of government collusion with the cartels only grew after notorious drug lord Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn Loera escaped from prison a second time last July. Actors Sean Penn and Kate del Castillo met with El Chapo before he was recaptured again last month, causing embarrassment to the government. (Guzmn... Читать дальше...
Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times
The risks are no lower than before, but the costs of the war are mounting — mostly in the form of those refugees heading north. This was a choice Obama hoped to avoid in his final year in office, but he may no longer have that luxury.
A. Oppenheimer, Miami Herald
At first, the Morales government denied the whole story. As it usually does with any bad news, it blamed “U.S. imperialism” for spreading lies about the self-proclaimed revolutionary socialist president in order to discredit him ahead of Sunday’s referendum.
Nancy Yousseff, Daily Beast
The terror group is gaining ground in Libya. But the Obama administration has said no to a Pentagon plan to go after ISIS there.
E. Londono, NYT
Mr. Morales has dismissed the corruption allegations as a desperate ploy by the political opposition. “The right, led by the United States, has resorted to a dirty war,” he said in an interview on Monday. “Because they have nothing to offer, they wage a dirty war.”
Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal
There’s no record of his clear opposition before March 2003, despite his claims.
Adam Minter, Bloomberg View
The Printemps department store outlet in Shanghai's Pudong District would seem to have all the amenities necessary to succeed in modern Chinese retail: luxury brands, a venerable 150-year Parisian retailing history and an exclusive location.
