This Tuesday, March 7, 2017 frame grab from video shows US forces patrol on the outskirts of the Syrian town, Manbij, a flashpoint between Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters and US-backed Kurdish fighters, in al-Asaliyah village, Aleppo province, Syria. (Arab 24 network)
The Trump administration has quietly escalated against Assad and his allies—and risks sparking regional chaos.
While Washington was fixated this week by former FBI director James Comey’s testimony, on the other side of the planet, a major story was playing out that could have profound consequences for the United States.
Three times in the last month, the U.S. military has come into direct conflict with the combined forces of the Assad regime, Iran-supported Shiite militias, Hezbollah, and possibly even Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The clashes have reportedly resulted in the deaths of a small number of pro-regime forces, and are much more strategically important than the much-ballyhooed U.S. air strike on the al-Shayrat airfield back in April in response to the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 9, 2017
The Islamic State’s Fallback -- Jacob Shapiro, Geopolitical Futures
Qatar vs. Saudi Arabia: How Iran and the Brotherhood Tore the Gulf Apart -- David Andrew Weinberg, National Interest
Why Qatar won't let a crisis turn into a disaster -- Wang Lei, CGTN
What is fuelling Islamic State's wave of Ramadan violence? -- Jason Burke, The Guardian
Islamic State killings: sign of things to come for China in Pakistan? -- Tom Hussain, South China Morning Post
How the China-North Korea equation is changing -- The Economist
Russia's Oil Bargain With Iran Has Political Overtones -- Matthew Bodner, Moscow Times
Missing From Comey's Fireworks: Trump-Russia Collusion -- Bloomberg editorial
Comey Served at the Pleasure of Himself -- George Neumayr, American Spectator
Comey's testimony shows: the impeachment machine is warming up -- Richard Wolffe, The Guardian
No-one likes Trump, I don’t care -- David Goldman, Asia Times
5 takeaways from the UK election -- Charlie Cooper, Politico
EU fears Brexit delay, uncertainty after shock UK vote -- Alistair MacDonald, Asia Times
Theresa May's Disastrous Failure -- Bloomberg editorial
Theresa May’s failed gamble -- The Economist
Theresa May is right to stay. For now. -- John Lloyd, Reuters
By staying in office, UK’s Theresa May courts disaster -- Peter Apps, Reuters
Jeremy Corbyn's Achievement -- John Cassidy, New Yorker
