Gwynne Dyer, Japan Times
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal was to isolate the Islamists and reconcile the rest of the rebels with the Assad regime, and it is well on the way to accomplishment. It will not be a happy ending for any of the groups involved in the Syrian civil war, but it is the least bad outcome that can now be realistically imagined.
David Horovitz, Times of Israel
Bernie Sanders exacerbated his shockingly under-informed address on Israel from late last month with an interview to the New York Daily News this week in which he casually traduced Israel.
Laura Kroet, Politico EU
Referendums make the Dutch establishment nervous. Eleven years ago, the country rejected plans to give the EU greater powers through a European Constitution, embarrassing the government and forcing a rethink in Brussels. History could repeat itself Wednesday.
Alex Massie, Spec.
We know all too well how it feels when politics becomes inescapable. The rest of you are about to find out.
Sam Bendett, RCW
Ultimately, it is not just the weapons, old or new, that will determine the success of Ukraine's military in its struggles against Russian-backed rebels. That success will depend on raising professional standards for all fighting units, and on incorporating new tactics, techniques, and procedures that would allow for the waging of a modern warfare, where older forms of fighting coexist with state-of-the-art communications, observation, and command and control technologies.
Eirikur Bergmann, The Guardian
Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson went from people’s saviour to arrogant leader unseated by offshore dealings revealed in the Panama Papers. For Icelanders, this hurts.
Christian Borys, The Daily Beast
Poland’s Catholic Church and conservative government may have figured a draconian new “pro-life” law would have general acceptance. It was wrong.
Uri Friedman, The Atlantic
Constructing Trump’s wall along America’s 2,000-mile southern border would likely constitute the largest infrastructure project in the United States since Dwight Eisenhower’s highway system. Trump says the wall will cost no more than billion, but some experts estimate that it could require an investment of billion or more, not including hefty maintenance costs. Others claim that given the expense, along with myriad engineering, environmental, and legal obstacles, the wall simply can’t be built.
Kadri Gursel, Al-Monitor
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s personal agenda precludes a negotiated settlement with the Kurds, and a military solution remains just as out of reach.
Ivan Krastev, Fin. Times
In Europe there is fear that foreigners will compromise traditions.
Andrew Bacevich, TomDispatch
Let's face it: in times of war, the Constitution tends to take a beating. With the safety or survival of the nation said to be at risk, the basic law of the land -- otherwise considered sacrosanct -- becomes nonbinding, subject to being waived at the whim of government authorities who are impatient, scared, panicky, or just plain pissed off.
Economist
Earlier in Mr Xi’s rule, observers had wondered whether, after establishing himself, he would turn to carrying out the reforms that he says he wants. But hopes are fading that a big reformist push will ever materialise. Mr Xi appears to have little time for the politically irksome business of making the party follow the law, closing down loss-making state-owned firms, or bringing about much-needed social changes, such as scrapping restrictions on access by rural migrants to urban public services. Читать дальше...
Charles Kennedy, Oil Price
It’s not the first time—nor will it be the last—but this colorfully unstable dictatorship will eventually crack, and the price of that could very well be devastatingly nuclear.
P. Cleppe, Open Europe
Certainly, the Dutch government would have a big crisis on its hands, in the middle of its EU Presidency. Geert Wilders’ anti-EU formation Party for Freedom is already firmly leading the polls, gathering more votes than the VVD and PvdA combined. Rutte also said that if the Dutch parliament decides not to ratify the agreement – a big question mark right now – this would, according to him, be the “end of the exercise”, meaning that the EU would need to renegotiate or give up the association deal with Ukraine. Читать дальше...
Philip Freeman, Project Syndicate
After the elite rebuffed him, Clodius began breaking every rule in his quest for power. He gave up his standing as a nobleman and officially joined the plebs, positioning himself as the leader of the angry Roman working classes. Using his natural charm, fiery rhetoric, and keen sense of how to play establishment politicians against each other, he rammed through legislation establishing the first regular handout of free grain in Western history. This provided him with a huge following among the common people... Читать дальше...
Theodore Boutrous Jr., Panam Post
President Correa Has Vilified the Country's Best-Known Cartoonists and Journalists.
Walter Mayr, Spiegel
It increasingly looks as though a new sanctuary for IS fighters, planners and recruiters has been established right in the middle of Europe. In some remote villages, the black flag of IS is flown and, as a share of the population, more fighters from Bosnia-Herzegovina have joined IS than from any other country in Europe, except for Belgium. Around 30 Bosnians have lost their lives in the Middle Eastern battlefields, with some 50 having returned home.
Shannon Tiezzi, Diplomat
Many observers have pointed out that China’s implementation of the sanctions will make or break their overall effectiveness, for the simple reason that China accounts for nearly all of North Korea’s foreign trade. Trade data from the South Korean Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, analyzed by Ruediger Frank for 38 North, reveals that China accounts for a staggering 90 percent of North Korea’s foreign trade. In 2014, Pyongyang’s trade with China comprised nearly billion... Читать дальше...
Barry Blechman, The National Interest
No, Mr. President, your nuclear record has not been impressive. Decency demands you return your Nobel Peace Prize.
A. Nesvetailova, The Conversation
Aware that president Vladimir Putin would be linked to offshore schemes, the people around him began their PR manoeuvres ahead of time. The week before the papers were released, the Kremlin was forewarning the public about an imminent “information attack aimed at destabilising Russia in light of its success in Syria”.
Rohollah Faghihi, Al-Monitor
“My No. 1 priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran. I have been in business for a long time. I know deal-making and let me tell you, this deal is catastrophic.” “If we know the JCPOA is disastrous, then we should reject it, and be sure that nothing will happen afterward.” These quotes aren’t from the same person; in fact, the two live far away from each other. The first one is from Donald Trump, and the latter is from Hossein Shariatmadari, the well-known... Читать дальше...
Eitan Haber, Ynet News
Despite striving for such a lofty goal, due to the inherent nature of war it is truly impossible for a moral army to exist.
Yonina Pritzker, Jerusalem Post
I stand with Israel because the Land of Israel is the Jewish national homeland; the history, faith, religion, culture and identity of the Jewish people have been, are and forevermore will be tied to this land which bears its name, from its ancient name of Judea to its modern name of Israel. I stand with Israel because the Jewish people was born as the People of Israel in the Land of Israel, a land and a people inextricably and eternally united. I stand with Israel... Читать дальше...
Sholto Byrnes, The National
Imagine if two or three hundred years ago an enterprising and militaristic group of men set sail from Asia and landed in a remote part of Europe. Declaring the area so sparsely populated as to constitute “terra nullius", or land that didn’t really belong to anyone, the newcomers set up a state, to which they brought thousands more of their countrymen. The local Europeans, who were considered childlike savages with nothing that could be regarded as a proper legal system... Читать дальше...
J. Lafitte & D. MacShane, Haaretz
At its most simple level, Israel would lose an important ally within the EU against the many opponents the country faces. All recent British prime ministers have been both philo-Semites and strongly pro-Israel, notably Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Margaret Thatcher.