Members of coalition special operations forces wait for an air drop of supplies in the Shah Joy district in Afghanistan's Zabul province, Afghanistan, Jan. 25, 2012. Such drops help resupply forces in remote areas of Afghanistan. U.S. Navy Petty Officer Petty Officer 2nd Class Jon Rasmussen
Afghanistan: No Escape from Empire’s Graveyard -- Brahma Chellaney, Project Syndicate
NEW DELHI – With the stage set for secret talks in Qatar between the United States and the Taliban, US President Barack Obama’s strategy for a phased exit from war-ravaged Afghanistan is now being couched in nice-sounding terms that hide more than they reveal. In seeking a Faustian bargain with the Taliban, Obama risks repeating US policy mistakes that now haunt regional and international security.
Since coming to office, Obama has pursued an Afghan strategy that can be summed up in three words: surge, bribe, and run. The military mission has now entered the “run” part, or what euphemistically is being called the “transition to 2014.”
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Get used to it: Intervention in Syria is coming -- Hussein Ibish, NOW Lebanon
Syria slides towards civil war -- Michael Peel, Abigail Fiedling-Smith and Roula Khalaf, Financial Times
Where is Syria crisis heading? -- Nick Thompson, CNN
Saving Syria requires Russia’s cooperation -- Washington Post editorial
Russia has pride, contracts at stake in Syria -- Will Englund, Washington Post
Syria crisis: Why is Russia defending Bashar al-Assad? -- Artyom Krechetnikov, BBC
Russia, and the Putin Rules: A Pessimistic Assessment -- Paul Roderick Gregory, Forbes
Germany's Role in the European Debt Crisis -- George Friedman, Real Clear World/Stratfor
The Oil Off Cuba: Washington and Havana Dance at Arms Length Over Spill Prevention -- Tim Padgett, Time
The New Falklands War – OpEd -- Eurasia Review
Britain’s Falklands message to Argentina: don’t even think about it -- Niles Gardiner, The Telegraph
A war anniversary that U.S. wishes to forget -- Emil Guillermo, McClatchy News
Obama Exploits the Navy SEALs -- Leif Babin, Wall Street Journal
Revive Made in USA? Easier said than done -- Parija Kavilanz, CNN
Twitter's censorship cheerleaders -- Uri Friedman, Foreign Policy