“President Assad has met the state-of-the-art and most important aircraft in the world, the Russian Su-35, located at the Khmeymim airbase,” reads one of the posts, showing the Syrian leader climbing inside the cockpit of a fighter jet. Facebook
Nikolas K. Gvosdev, National Interest: Russia Knows Its Next Move in Syria. Does America?
Without a clearly defined understanding of U.S. interests, the risk grows that the United States will stumble into a clash with Russia and Iran.
The endgame has begun in Syria’s long and bloody civil war. As the grip of the Islamic State on the territories it has controlled in eastern Syria and western Iraq is pried up, there is no longer any way the question of Syria’s future can be postponed. Moreover, given the competing and clashes interests of the various major players in the Syrian conflict, major clashes are now inevitable unless some sort of agreement can be worked out.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 28, 2017
Can Americans Believe the President About Syrian Chemical Weapons? -- Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic
The Trump administration is right to threaten Assad against using chemical weapons again -- Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner
White House Threatened Syria While Trump Yawned, Insiders Say -- Asawin Suebsaeng and Spencer Ackerman, Daily Beast
The Coming Gulf War: Qatar vs. Everyone -- Robert Rabil, National Interest
Iranian flag joins array of enemy symbols planted on Lebanon border -- Byset J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post
Is Israel Catching Up Too Late to a Major Strategic Threat from Iran? -- Judith Miller, Tablet
Where to Draw the Line Against Iran’s Mideast Takeover -- Michael Horowitz, Daily Beast
Why Investors Shy Away From Saudi Arabia -- Robert Mills, Bloomberg
Is the U.S.-South Korea Alliance in Trouble? -- Scout Snyder, National Interest
Jacob Zuma wages war on South Africa’s institutions -- David Pilling, Financial Times
Obama’s Putin Patience: Russia tried to aggressively interfere with our elections. Why did Obama show so much restraint? -- Berny Belvedere, ARC
People around the world have more confidence in Vladimir Putin than in Donald Trump -- Max de Haldevang, Quartz
Tensions Rising in Balkans as Hopes for EU Future Fade -- Walter Mayr and Jan Puhl, Spiegel Online
Illinois Is Venezuela and the Solution Is Cryptocurrency -- Ken Kurson, Observer
Europe Versus Google -- Bloomberg editorial
The U.S. Will Pay a Price for Trump's Global Unpopularity -- James Gibney, Bloomberg
