Richard Sokolsky, WOTR
Americans have not paid much attention to the war In Yemen. With all eyes on Syria and the neo-Cold War rivalry there with Russia, Yemen did not come up at
Anne Applebaum, Wash. Post
Putin uses the scare tactics to stay in power â and in Syria â but now Trump is repeating the threats.
Michael Doran, LA Times
Over the last five years, President Obama has placed a big bet on Moscow and Tehran.à He tacked away from the United States'à historic allies in the Middle East â Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey â to create a space for the Russians and the Iranians in the regional security architecture.à Again and again, that wager has come up craps.
Cecilia Olivet, EU Observer
The response of many European leaders to Wallonia's opposition to Ceta suggests many are yet to learn deep concerns many in Europe have with free trade deals that trade in the public interest.
Mona El-Naggar, New York Times
âÂÂWe're not allowed to even go to the supermarket without permission or a companion, and that's a simple thing on the huge, horrendous list of rules we have to follow.âÂÂ
D. Gartenstein-Ross & S. Jensen, The Cipher Brief
In the coming months, and possibly weeks, the Iraqi Security Forces, with the help of a diverse group of fighters spanning the Iraqi political spectrum, will raise the Iraqi flag atop the Ninevah Provincial Government Center in Mosul. This symbolic gesture will signal to Iraq, and to the world, that the Iraqi capital of the evil and perverse Islamic State (ISIL) has fallen, and Iraq's most treasured cityâÂÂnext only to BaghdadâÂÂhas been liberated.
Yosef Abramowitz, Jerusalem Post
Next level growth and impact will come from harnessing Israel's and the Jewish people's values and scaling companies that can advance the dignity of life for the billions of people.
James Buchanan, The Diplomat
While most Thais mourn their late king with decorum, a sinister ultra-royalism rears its ugly head.
John Deni, Carnegie Europe
At a summit on October 20, the European Union stepped back from the threat of sanctions against Russia for its role in bombing civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo. The EU's inability to arrive at consensus in the face of a Russian-supportedâÂÂand, in some cases, Russian-instigatedâÂÂhumanitarian catastropheà begs the question, how bad does it need to get in Aleppo for Europe to do something?
J. Michael Cole, National Interest
Money, persuasion and coercion have all failed.
Democracy Digest
A top-level meeting of the ruling Chinese Communist Party has endorsed President Xi Jinping as a âÂÂcoreâ leader, giving him equal billing with late supreme leaders Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong, official media reported on Thursday.
M.K. Bhadrakumar, Asia-T
In the downstream of the horrific terrorist attack Monday night on the police academy in Quetta, Pakistan, some early conclusions can be drawn. The latest reports suggest that Pakistani intelligence had advance information that a terrorist attack targeted at security personnel was to be expected.Ã
Satyajit Das, Bloomberg View
At this point, a long period of stagnation is inevitable.
Harold Trinkunas, Brookings Institution
Venezuelan politics manage to keep getting more chaotic. One thing is clear: Venezuela is no longer a democracy but rather an increasingly illiberal regime. But it's not clear what comes next, nor how best to help Venezuelans fix the hot mess that their politics have become.
Kateryna Boguslavska, CH
The EU and the US must close existing loopholes in the sanctions regime and upgrade compliance measures.