Jonathan Spyer, Wall Street Journal
Vladimir Putin is now the indispensable strategic arbiter in Syria. None of the remaining pieces on the broken chessboard can move without Mr. Putin's hand. The Assad regime owes its survival to Moscow's air intervention in September 2015. This reporter and others who have spent time in Damascus note the impunity with which Russian security and other personnel conduct themselves. They are effectively beyond the reach of the local authorities.
Steven Zhou, The Nation
In Canada, there is an inescapable tendency to use another, more influential country's politics to interpret one's own. In the tense lead-up to the federal election on October 21, a few Canadian leaders have tried to appropriate some of America's far-right revanchist languageso the same must be happening on the progressive end too, right? Does Canada have a Bernie Sanders? How about an AOC?Not quitebut it does have Jagmeet Singh.
Joshua Kurlantzick, World Politics Review
Two weeks ago, the Thai king issued a royal decree placing two army units under his direct control, rather than under the normal military hierarchy. The decree claims the change was made necessary by an emergency, but there is no obvious emergency that justifies such a decision.In reality, taking personal control of the military units is just the latest move by King Maha Vajiralongkorn to expand his influence over Thailand's politics, military affairs... Читать дальше...
David Herszenhorn, Politico EU
Ursula von der Leyen loves horses, but political horse-trading or show-jumping? Not so much.Since her confirmation by a narrow vote in the European Parliament in July, the European Commission's president-elect a former German defense minister and close ally of Angela Merkel has hunkered down with a small coterie of aides to prepare her five-year term, appearing little in public and saying even less.
Paul Wells, Maclean's
The maddening choice comes down to this: a government that is fiscally responsible or one that takes climate action seriously. You can't have both.
Ankit Panda, The Diplomat
Kim Jong Un's latest photo-op might inspire laughs, but it's an important sign.
Ronan McCrea, Irish Times
Having been apparently dead two weeks ago, a Brexit deal has suddenly risen Lazarus-like from the dead. However, the prospect of a last-minute deal raises significant difficult issues for a number of actors in the Brexit drama.This miraculous resurrection was made possible by a sudden and dramatic shift in the policy of the Johnson government which abruptly abandoned many of its key red lines and has signed up to a deal that, to paraphrase Seamus Mallon's take on the Good Friday Agreement... Читать дальше...
Curtis & Kennard, DM
The British military and intelligence establishment is playing a key role in fortifying the repressive regime in Bahrain, it can be revealed.
David Kampf, War on the Rocks
Ending a military intervention is hard. It's certainly harder than starting one. Every modern American president has learned this lesson, with President
S. Sierakowski, Balkan Insight
Elections in Poland and Hungary dealt a blow to authoritarian ruling parties and show that liberal democracy has yet to be snuffed out.
Claudia Rosett, New York Sun
Draconian rule having failed so far to shut down Hong Kong's protests, the government here now hopes to distract the public with economic handouts and yet more exercises in official "dialogue." That's what to expect Wednesday, when
Associated Press
Turkey has NATO's second biggest army, after the United States, and NATO allies rely on the Incirlik air base in southeast Turkey as a staging point for access to the Middle East.
Barbara Slavin, Al Monitor
A new poll shows that Iranian public support has decreased significantly for the JCPOA, and three-quarters of those polled indicate that they only support restarting negotiations with the United States if sanctions are lifted first.
Dore Gold, American Interest
America's withdrawal from the Middle East validates the long-standing Israeli view that it must not rely on external guarantees, but rather do what's necessary to defend itself, by itself. Israel's former UN Ambassador makes the case for the incorporation of the Jordan Valley.
N. Grossman, Arc
Never has a foreign policy decision gone so bad, so quickly, for such bad reasons.
Michael Knights, Washington Institute
Despite the damage wrought by the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, the main drivers of Islamic State resurgence in Iraq can still be restrained by local U.S. engagement, which is now even more vital than before.
Janan Ganesh, Financial Times
Those who grumbled about Pax Americana are being confronted with the alternative.
Robert Kaplan, Washington Post
China and Russia are bonding, while India has no choice but to quietly reach out to both.
Benjamin Haas, New Statesman
If you ask Li Peishan, an accountant from the north-east Chinese city of Shenyang, about the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, her stance is unequivocal. They promote Hong Kong independence with the goal of splitting China and destroying the country, she said, echoing Beijing's line almost to the word. Li is unclear why so many people have been demonstrating on a weekly basis Chinese state media does not broach such matters but she sees the protesters simply as a violent mob. Читать дальше...
Howard French, Guardian
A crackdown could alienate the mainland's middle class and damage Xi Jinping's standing.
Shmuley Boteach, Jer. Post
The first and most abominable sin is to commit genocide, defined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Mass murder has become all too familiar in the last century: In 1915, the Turks slaughtered perhaps 1.5 million people. Six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. From 1975-1979, Pol Pot killed as many as three million Cambodians. Читать дальше...
Jay Nordlinger, National Review
On Trump, Syria, America First,' and a changing world.
Robert Manning, The Hill
Recent developments are but the latest in a calamitous, tragic pattern of U.S. self-inflicted wounds helping to catalyze widespread disorder in the Middle East.
