Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner: Why another chemical attack is coming soon from Putin and Assad
According to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the U.S., British and French air strikes which targeted Syria on Saturday are a "one time thing."
That is, unless Syrian President Bashar Assad decides to employ chemical weapons once again.
I believe Assad will do so. At that point, the Trump administration will have a tough decision to make.
First off, while it's unsurprising that Russia has avoided retaliating in response to Saturday's attack, President Vladimir Putin will want to test the West's resolve in dealing with this crisis. After all, while Trump, Britain, and France are slapping themselves on the back for taking this action, the action was distinctly limited in its intent and effect.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 16, 2018
5 takeaways on Donald Trump's Syria attack: The best choice in a land of lousy options -- Aaron David Miller and Richard Sokolsky, USA Today
What is the West's end game in Syria? -- Farah Najjar, Al Jazeera
Western airstrikes unlikely to impact Assad’s war machine -- Zeina Karam, Defense News/Associated Press
Why Germany Didn't Join the Syria Strikes -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg
Saudi leadership offers Israel a chance -- Uri Savir, Al-Monitor
Emptiness of US rhetoric has been exposed by China bringing Vietnam to heel -- Ankit Panda, SCMP
Keeping Up with China's PLAN -- Robert Ross, National Interest
China’s Strategy in Djibouti: Mixing Commercial and Military Interests -- Council on Foreign Relations
Why China’s US trade stand-off is not a replay of Japan’s in the 1980s -- Wendy Wu, SCMP
Afghanistan: Endless War? -- Council on Foreign Relations
How Economic Growth Can Help Defeat Terrorism in Afghanistan -- The Diplomat
What North Korea’s 2017 budget report and 2018 projections tell us about its economy -- Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein, 38 North
Abe’s meeting with Trump may be his last as criticism builds -- Andrew Salmon, Asia Times
Orban and the autocratic spring -- John Lloyd, Reuters
The making of Vladimir Putin -- The Week
Clash of the Strategists -- Dov S. Zakheim, National Interest
The End of Peak Oil -- David Deming, American Thinker
