Thursday, October 31, 2013

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- October 31, 2013



Iraq: With Friends Like These -- The Guardian editorial

Nouri al-Maliki's visit to Washington at the head of a large delegation is a source of some difficulty for Barack Obama

Nothing demonstrates the inability of the United States to finish what it started in the Middle East more than the continuing bloodshed in Iraq. America's combat role may have ended, but the civil war has not. This year is set to be the bloodiest since 2008, with an average of nearly 70 car bombings a month. Almost 1,000 people were killed in September alone.

The latest Iraqis to be targeted are the Sahwa movement or the Awakening Council, a grouping of Sunni militias formed by the US forces to fight the insurgency. Much of the current tension is a direct result of what an influential group of US senators called the authoritarian and sectarian style of the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. He has all but torn up a political powersharing agreement the Americans negotiated with the Sunnis, and driven many of their number into the arms of al-Qaida. This in turn has led to the remobilisation of Shia militias.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

National security expert: Obama could lose Iraq -- FOX News

The Anti-Surge: How Obama snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq. -- John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Foreign Policy

Senators: What's the strategy in Syria? -- Pauline Jelinek, AP

City of refugees: Syrians in Amman -- Terry Glavin, Ottawa Citizen

Five Reasons Why US Should Change Its Policies Toward Syria’s Kurds -- Amberin Zaman, Al-Monitor

The Kurds Get a Second Chance in Syria -- Fouad Ajami, Bloomberg

Saudi-Backed Salafists Returning To Iran’s Border? -- Meir Javedanfar, Al-Monitor

Israeli City Divided by Religion After Close Vote -- Aron Heller, AP

Outrage Over NSA Spying Spreads to Asia -- Zachary Keck, The Diplomat

Are China’s Banks Next? -- Simon Johnson, Project Syndicate

Analysis: Aquino's Mr Clean image skewered by Philippine pork barrel politics -- Manuel Mogato, Reuters

Overestimating Putin -- Seth Mandel, Commentary

Russia's Spying Craze -- Andrei Soldatov, Moscow Times

Mexico's Theology of Oil -- Enrique Krauze, New York Times

5 Hints Edward Snowden's New Employer Made a Risky Bet -- Susanna Kim, ABC News

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