Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 14, 2021

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, front, and the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea during a Strait of Hormuz transit [File: Elliot Schaudt/AFP]

Alex Gatopoulos, Al Jazeera: What’s behind the significant build-up of US firepower in the Gulf

The last few weeks have seen a sharp build-up of American combat power in the Gulf.

Already home to the formidable 5th Fleet – based in Bahrain – the US Navy recently sent a powerful Ohio-class submarine, the USS Georgia, escorted by two guided-missile cruisers – the USS Port Royal and USS Philippine Sea – through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf.

The USS Georgia is nuclear-powered, specialises in attacking targets deep inland and has an inventory of 154 Tomahawk Cruise missiles, each delivering 450 kilogrammes (992 pounds) of conventional warhead up to 2,700 kilometres (1,677 miles) away.

Designed to fly low under radar cover, they can destroy strategic targets with little to no warning. Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- January 14, 2021

Are we seeing more realistic geopolitics in the Middle East? -- Michael Young, The National

Afghan interview exposes the real Javad Zarif -- Kourosh Ziabari, Asia Times

Normalization and the turmoil in Yemen - opinion -- Neville Teller,

Jerusalem Post

EXPLAINER: What is WHO team in Wuhan looking for -- AP

Mongolia weathers the storms of 2020 -- Julian Dierkes, East Asia Forum

Uganda's sham election, another waste of time -- Isaac Mugabi, DW

Taking stock of Tunisian democracy, 10 years after the revolution -- France 24

How strong is democracy in Europe? -- Thomas Sparrow, DW

What Has Not Changed in U.S.-China Relations -- John Cookson, National Interest

Biden Can't Fall for DPRK's Latest Trap -- David Maxwell & Matthew Ha, 1945

North Korea No Longer Poses a Threat, So Says Trump Administration -- Daniel R. DePetris, National Interest

Could Donald Trump be barred from running for president in 2024? Here's how it could play out -- Peta Fuller, ABC News (Australia)

Now that he’s been banned we can say it: Donald Trump was a genius at Twitter -- Dan Brooks, The Guardian

Why does the Russian opposition reject the Twitter Trump ban? -- Leonid Ragozin, Al Jazeera

Fact check: As Wikipedia turns 20, how credible is it? -- Uta Steinwehr and Mikhail Bushuev, DW