Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 7, 2016



Nick Miriello, VICE News: Why Aleppo matters

Assad is going to take back the crucially important city. So what happens next?

The past two weeks have seen large parts of Aleppo, once Syria’s largest city and a bustling hub of finance and industry, reduced to rubble as an intensified offensive by President Bashar al Assad’s allied forces picks up pace. The former Syrian metropolis has become a symbol of Assad’s determined and bloody grasp for power, as well as the West’s inability or unwillingness to decisively intervene in the yearslong civil war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, displaced millions more, and regularly raised charges of war crimes.

With Syrian government forces’ sudden and major advancements into the city’s rebel-held eastern territory in recent weeks, Aleppo’s uncertain fate is starting to crystallize, once again posing two central questions: Why Aleppo, and what next?

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 7, 2016

After Aleppo falls, Syria's bloodshed may continue -- Haid Haid, CNN

The real battle in Aleppo and Mosul -- CSM Editorial

The Death Strip at the Turkish-Syrian Border -- Riham Alkousaa and Maximilian Popp, Spiegel Online

Trump can't fight Islamic State without wading into Syria's war -- Mohamad Bazzi, Reuters

Why Trump’s Taiwan Call Might Be the Least of Traditional Diplomacy’s Worries -- Ellen Laipson, WPR

Former Diplomats: Countering North Korean Missile, Nuke Programs to be Major Trump Challenges -- John Grady, USNI News

China Puts the Squeeze on Taiwan -- Stratfor

Abe’s tribute at Pearl Harbor -- Japan Times editorial

The Consequences of Egypt’s Potential Military Engagement in Syria -- Abdulrahman al-Masri, Huffington Post

In Europe, the Moderate Right Is Winning -- Conrald Black, NRO

The city getting rich from fake news -- Emma Jane Kirby, BBC News

Does the Pentagon Really Waste $125 Billion on Pencil Pushers? -- Kevin Drum, Mother Jones

Did the Pentagon Bury Billions in Waste? Dig a Little Deeper -- Tobin Harshaw, Bloomberg

How Defense Secretary James 'Mad Dog' Mattis Will Remake The Pentagon -- Loren Thompson, Forbes

UNESCO world heritage list grows to 55 as ancient treasures come under threat -- ABC News Online

1 comment:

RRH said...


Al Jazeera is just shameless,


A (nother) ceasefire to help the civilians? The same civilians -actually hostages- the "rebels" won't allow to leave? Nonsense.

Since Day One I've believed Hama rules would apply in Aleppo and where ever else these "rebels" raise their heads. They've been offered re-location. They've been offered amnesty. Years of diplomacy, millions of dollars have been spent on deals made and broken over these gangs while they routinely shell government held areas, produce fake videos, use humanitarian aid convoys as cover, consort with foreign enemies of the government, and play every rotten trick or game there is.

Now the bell tolls and the SAA is set to send them to hell. Good riddance to them.