In friendlier times… Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, on September 28, 2017. Photo: Sputnik / Mikhail Klimentyev / Kremlin via Reuters
M.K. Bhadrakumar, Asia Times: Russian-Turkish axis in Syria faces meltdown
With suspicions running high that the nominal allies drew each other's blood on February 3, Ankara may well seek a modus vivendi with the US
Two things differentiate the downing of a Russian Su-25 ground-attack jet in the western province of Idlib on February 3 from the drone attacks on the Russian air base at Hmeimim a month earlier.
One, Russia could thwart the attack on January 5 by a wave of drone aircraft but singularly failed to anticipate the use of man-portable air defense systems by extremists operating in Idlib under Turkish watch. Russia lost an ace fighter pilot in the latter attack.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 6, 2018
Russia's retaliation for downed jet has just begun -- Maxim A. Suchkov, Al-Monitor
First Assad, Then the World: Al Qaida’s Strategy in Syria -- Bennett Seftel, Cipher Brief
US troop drawdown seen as boosting Iraq’s Abadi -- Jack Detsch, Al-Monitor
Why the U.S.-Israel honeymoon may not last much longer -- Daniel Pipes, Washington Times
Enjoy the Olympics but Talks with North Korea will Fail -- Robert E Kelly, National Interest
Winter Olympics thaw won’t warm young South Koreans to unity -- Andray Abrahamian, Reuters
China Is Furious With Rex Tillerson -- Curt Mills, National Interest
What Southern Africa Can Learn About Drought -- Andrew Slaughter, RCW
Fear and Loathing in the Bundestag -- Emily Schultheis, The Atlantic
The Berlin Wall Is Still Standing -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg
Cyber Assault On Electric Grid Could Make U.S. Feel Like Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico -- Constance Douris, Forbes
How Trump Just Might Close Guantanamo Prison -- Alberto Mora Former General Counsel of the Department of the Navy, Defense One
Trust, Confidence, and the Future of Warfare -- Julia Macdonald and Jacquelyn Schneider, War On The Rocks
Don't Mistake the Stock Market for the Economy -- Robert Burgess, Bloomberg
Elon Musk is launching a Tesla into space -- Ben Thornber, Asia Times
A Triumphant First Launch for Elon Musk's Giant Rocket -- Marina Koren. The Atlantic
