Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 12, 2015

Ian Black, The Guardian: How international divisions contributed to Syria's war without end



After four years of conflict, it is clear President Assad’s allies have been more determined to keep him in power than his enemies have been to remove him



No one knows how Syria’s war will end. Four years of violence, destruction and instability have had a terrible impact on millions of its people, on the country and the wider Middle East. But it is already clear that international divisions over the greatest crisis of the 21st century have contributed to its severity and longevity.



Americans, Europeans, Russians, Iranians and Arabs all played their part. Competing interests, misreadings and indecision were on display when the uprising began in March 2011. Western governments were still dazzled by the speed and drama of the early Arab spring. Dictators had been overthrown in Tunisia and Egypt, protests were shaking Bahrain, and Nato was poised to intervene in support of rebels in Libya fighting Muammar Gaddafi.

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 12, 2015

Syria: how far will Barack Obama go? -- Tom McCarthy, The Guardian



What strategy for Tikrit, Mosul and beyond? -- Alia Brahimi, Al Jazeera



How ISIS Ate Al Qaeda -- Olivier Guitta, Daily Beast



Secret North Korea talks? -- Bill Gertz, Washington Times



Secret meetings in Pakistan expose obstacles to Afghan peace talks -- Jibran Ahmad and Mehreen Zahra-Malik, Reuters



Who wants what in Libya? -- BBC



Is Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood ready to fight? -- Louisa Loveluck, CSM



Dear Greece: World War II Ended 70 Years Ago -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg



Is Putin ill? 'Everything is fine' despite canceled meetings and old photos -- Alec Luhn, The Guardian



There's a theory that someone killed prominent Putin critic Nemstov in front of the Kremlin to scare Putin -- Christian Lowe and Jason Bush, Reuters



Putin's grab of Crimea still rankles West. How about Crimeans? -- Fred Weir, CSM



Is Venezuela Really an ‘Extraordinary Threat’ to the United States? -- Greg Grandin, The Nation



Letter Won't Change Iran's Game Plan -- Stephen L. carter, Bloomberg



Obama Administration Falls Into GOP’s Iran Letter Trap -- Tim Mak, Daily Beast



Does Obama have a private e-mail account? Why White House won't say. -- Husna Haq, CSM