Martin Chulov, The Guardian: Has Isis been defeated in Syria, as Trump claims?
As president announces US withdrawal from the region, has the threat of Islamic State really been wiped out?
“We have defeated Isis in Syria,” Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday, “my only reason for being there during the Trump presidency.”
But is the US president right? The long fight against Islamic State looks good on a map, but it is yet to be decisive on the battlefield.
The terror group has lost more than 95% of the territory it claimed in 2014 and the juggernaut that threatened to shred the region’s borders has been battered back to where it all began for the group’s earliest incarnation – a sliver of land along the Euphrates River, bordering Iraq and Syria.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 20, 2018
A look at US involvement in Syria’s civil war -- AP
'Triumph for Erdogan' as US announces Syria pull-out -- Andrew Wilks, Al Jazeera
Why a new North Korean statement on denuclearization should come as no surprise -- Andrei Lankov, NK News
North Korea sounds the death knell for denuclearization -- Andrew Salmon, Asia
Times
Xi's Scary View of Last 40 Years of Chinese History -- Shannon Tiezzi, The Diplomat
China’s Crisis of Overconfidence -- David Bandurski, The Diplomat
Does the Century Have to Belong to China? -- John McLaughlin, OZY
The Rise and Rise of Bangladesh -- Gwen Robinson, Nikkei Asian Review
Overestimating the EU Economy -- Mohamed A. El-Erian, Project Syndicate
Holiday chaos as drones shut London’s Gatwick Airport -- Gregory Katz, AP
'Alone in the world': Canada squeezed by superpowers in Huawei dispute -- Jessica Murphy BBC
Russian Bombers in Venezuela Raise Cold War 2.0 Fears Across Latin America -- Frida Ghitis, WPR
Will Mexico carry its weight to meet growing drug threat? -- Roger F. Noriega, AEI
Stock market woes raise a nagging fear: Is a recession near? -- AP
The Globalist Mindset: They Hate You -- Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness
Xi's Scary View of Last 40 Years of Chinese History -- Shannon Tiezzi, The Diplomat
China’s Crisis of Overconfidence -- David Bandurski, The Diplomat
Does the Century Have to Belong to China? -- John McLaughlin, OZY
The Rise and Rise of Bangladesh -- Gwen Robinson, Nikkei Asian Review
Overestimating the EU Economy -- Mohamed A. El-Erian, Project Syndicate
Holiday chaos as drones shut London’s Gatwick Airport -- Gregory Katz, AP
'Alone in the world': Canada squeezed by superpowers in Huawei dispute -- Jessica Murphy BBC
Russian Bombers in Venezuela Raise Cold War 2.0 Fears Across Latin America -- Frida Ghitis, WPR
Will Mexico carry its weight to meet growing drug threat? -- Roger F. Noriega, AEI
Stock market woes raise a nagging fear: Is a recession near? -- AP
The Globalist Mindset: They Hate You -- Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness
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