Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- July 19, 2017

Fred Kaplan, Slate: The Iran Trap

Trump is stuck with Obama’s nuclear deal. And his efforts to undermine it can only help Tehran.

President Donald Trump is having, even by his standards, a very bad week. On Monday alone, quite apart from the continuing Russia scandal, he found himself blocked from fulfilling his dreams and campaign promises to repeal the two landmark achievements of the Obama years—the Affordable Care Act and the Iran nuclear deal.

In the former, Senate Republican leaders couldn’t muster enough votes, even within their own party, for an alternative plan that was drawn up in secret and would snatch health care from more than 20 million Americans. In the latter, Trump was met with—and, at first, tried to resist—an unpleasant surprise: The Iranians, it turns out, are in full compliance with the accord’s quite stringent terms. The deal, which Trump and other critics had denounced as dangerous and unworkable, is working.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- July 19, 2017

Exclusive: Iran's Foreign Minister Warns Donald Trump That Tehran Can Abandon the Nuclear Deal -- Mohammad Javad Zarif, National Interest

With US indifferent, scope of Syria ‘peace talks’ has shrunk -- Sami Moubayed, Asia Times

What's the US Plan for Post-ISIS Syria? Let Them Fight Among Themselves -- Newsweek

Doha must negotiate its way back into the fold or face years of isolation -- Hassan Hassan, The National

Addiction and intrigue: Inside the Saudi palace coup -- Reuters

Is Turkey Headed for Another Coup? -- Mohammed Ayoob, National Interest

Empty US threats over North Korea are serving Beijing’s interests -- Hugh White, SCMP

Mouth-dropping corruption charges rock Indonesia -- John McBeth, Asia Times

What's Driving the India-China Standoff at Doklam? -- Ankit Panda, The Diplomat

Honour Mandela: SA can no longer stand by and watch their 'house' burn -- Chris Jones, Mail & Guardian

Kenya is set to hold one of the most expensive elections in Africa -- Abdi Latif Dahir, Quartz

Don’t Tolerate the Intolerable from Chechnya’s Strongman Kadyrov -- Tanya Lokshina, Moscow Times

French Class: Macron Embraces Trump -- Ronald Tiersky, RCW

Five Years After Benghazi, U.S. Diplomats Still Think ‘It’s Not Going to Happen to Me’ -- Kimberley Dozier, Daily Beast

When Strategic Bombing Works and When It Doesn't -- Robert Farley, The Diplomat