Micah Halpern, Observer
Moscowà understands that the are targets at home and across the world, especially in Syrian and Iraq. That is why, several months ago, they scaled down and very publicly announced that they were leaving Syria.Butà Russia also knows another perilous fact: the country cannot allow ISIS to attack them again like they just did.
Michael Klare, TomDispatch
Pity the poor petro-states. Once so wealthy from oil sales that they could finance wars, mega-projects, and domestic social peace simultaneously, some of them are now beset by internal strife or are on the brink of collapse as oil prices remain at ruinously low levels.
Fabrice Balanche, Washington Institute
The group's choice of targets is a clear sign of its intention to inflame Sunni/Alawite tensions, raise the price of Moscow's intervention, and assert its symbolic leadership over the rebellion.
Ian Lesser, German Marshall Fund
Populism, nationalism and religion have emerged as leading forces.
Simon Jenkins, Guardian
These monoliths that dominate the skyline expose the tainted wealth that has the capital's gullible politicians in thrall.
Maclean's
Before Harper, there was an idea that was basically, âÂÂTax me, I'm Canadian.' When we had a problem, the knee-jerk reaction was to increase taxes. But Mr. Harper changed the rules, and now there's a tendency in Canadian politics that governments now will have to think twice before a increasing taxes.
Daniel Larison, Amer Conservative
Americans have no appetite for the more aggressive foreign policy we are all but certain to get from a Clinton administration.
Benjamin Cunningham, Slovak Spectator
Francis Fukayama's âÂÂend of historyâ thesis â which argued that liberal democracy and free markets were the ultimate form for organising humanity and inevitable after the collapse of communism in 1989 â has drawn criticism in recent years, but for the most part the political class in Europe and North America acted and continue to act as if he was correct. The big questions were answered, all that was left was to get on with implementing the obvious.But a few decades on... Читать дальше...
Andrei Lankov, NK News
When we talk about society and politics, one often encounters trends which are clear to people on the ground, but remain largely hidden from outside observers. Unfortunately, in many cases such tectonic shifts in popular sentiment, values and cultural fashions remain hidden within a thick cloud of rhetoric and accepted wisdom.Ã
Anna Fifield, Washington Post
Their names are Ted and James, and they look like the kinds of men you might bump into on the streets of Richmond, Va., where their father was born.
Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg View
The helicopter pilot released by Russia comes home as a heroine.
Jeffrey Lewis, Foreign Policy
Why visiting where we dropped an atomic bomb in 1945 is the only way to grasp the depths of human cruelty that transpired there.
George Friedman, Geopolitical Futures
Focusing only on casualty numbers ignores the broader context behind the decision to drop the bombs.
Samuel Bendett, RealClearWorld
Despite aà recent attack on a Russian military baseà in Syria that reportedly caused serious damage to weapons and equipment stationed there, Moscow is bullish on the overall progress of its forces. Russian Defense Ministerà Sergei Shoigu recently notedthat the fighting potential of his forces rose by one-third following structured reforms and direct involvement in various global hot spots.Ã
Ted Galen Carpenter, National Interest
Containment won't work.