Alexander Baunov, Moscow Times
To answer why Putin decided to stay on, observers must examine the president’s views on Russia’s twentieth-century history and the legacy he inherited from his two predecessors.
Reuters
BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia has bought a new generation of medium-range, radar-guided surface-to-air missiles from China in a new sign of deepening cooperation between Beijing and Belgrade.
Fernando Cheung, NY Times
The government blames the pandemic. More likely, it was afraid to lose.
Arielle Del Turco, Daily Signal
In the campaign against people of faith, there is no line the Chinese government won’t cross.
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Ryan Cooper, The Week
But it now seems Western Europe is starting to experience a minor resurgence of the virus, taking some of the shine off their success. While these countries will likely get it under control much faster than they did the first time, it's yet another warning that controlling the pandemic is going to be a difficult, long-term project. Only an effective vaccine will allow a full return to normal life in most places
Ed Yong, The Atlantic
How did it come to this? A virus a thousand times smaller than a dust mote has humbled and humiliated the planet’s most powerful nation. America has failed to protect its people, leaving them with illness and financial ruin. It has lost its status as a global leader. It has careened between inaction and ineptitude. The breadth and magnitude of its errors are difficult, in the moment, to truly fathom.
Anthony Vinci, The Atlantic
America’s alliances were built to address a Soviet military threat. The economic bullying that Beijing uses requires a different kind of collective self-defense.
Candace Rondeaux, WPR
According to Washington’s punditocracy, there are only two ways to interpret the Pentagon’s announcement Wednesday that it plans to move ahead with withdrawing nearly 12,000 U.S. troops currently stationed in Germany. One view is that President Donald Trump is capitulating yet again to pressure from Russian President Vladimir Putin and handing Putin a gift in the form...
Brooke Sample, Bloomberg
The changing world order looks uncomfortably like the pre-World War I rivalry between Britain and Germany.
R. Jacobson & T. Wyler, FA
Reinvigorated North American supply chains would support a more globally competitive continent and stymie China's increasing ambitions.
Michael Roth, Der Spiegel
How should the EU stand up to China's power? Europe must demonstrate greater unity and use the single market as a lever, argues top German government official Michael Roth. When it comes to 5G, Europe must rely on domestic suppliers.
Natalie Sambhi, The Diplomat
The Indonesian military’s COVID-19 role is not a comeback in the making.
Shannon O'Neil, CFR
The pandemic has worsened all the factors driving migrants north, not least from Mexico.
Alex Massie, Times of London
The Conservatives have never been more gloomy about the Union but an SNP implosion could yet come to their rescue
T. Bell, Guardian
What happened after the fall of the Berlin Wall involved money, and lots of it
M. Clay & D. Blasko, WOTR
The enlisted force has been the weakest link in China’s military modernization for decades, inhibiting unit readiness and operational capabilities. In the late 1990s, China’s senior military leadership decided to build a professional noncommissioned officer (NCO) corps. Yet, 40 years after the Chinese military began its long-term modernization process, the People’s...
James Holmes, National Interest
In a sense the U.S. military could take advantage of role reversal in the Arctic, making the theater a laboratory for anti-access American style. Hostile forces may operate off U.S. seacoasts and will need managing if so. Fielding armaments able to reach out from land in concert with seagoing forces, and devising and practicing the necessary joint tactics, could let U.S. commanders glimpse the methods deployed by red teams around the world. And getting in the... Читать дальше...
Ilan Berman, CGPolicy
A new day is dawning in Sino-Iranian relations. Earlier this month, Iranian officials revealed publiclythat they were in the final stages of negotiations with China on a sprawling, 25-year strategic pact. The deal will, if implemented in full, dramatically expand military, economic, and political ties between the two countries. The new accord should not be surprising; Tehran and Beijing have historically cooperated on
