Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 23, 2015

Eli Lake, Bloomberg: Obama's Rushing to Disaster in Iraq



Now would be a very good time for U.S. President Barack Obama to think about what happens after Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, is liberated from the Islamic State.


Last week, top Pentagon officials briefed reporters about plans for the Iraqi army and Kurdish forces, with U.S. air support, to retake Mosul in April or May. Iraq's prime minister, Haidar al-Abadi, has been more sober, telling the BBC that he hoped Mosul would be retaken in a "few months." On Sunday, Iraq's new defense minister declined to say whether even this time frame was realistic.

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- February 23, 2015

The Islamic State: The Beast Keeps Growing -- John McLaughlin, OZY



America’s Freelance ISIS Killers -- Jesse Rosenfeld, Daily Beast



Iran Press: Obama Desperate for Nuclear Deal -- Daniel Harper, Weekly Standard



Make a Deal With the Taliban? Maybe -- Bloomberg editorial



Kim Jong-un gets new look. Does makeover add grandfatherly gravitas? -- John Power, CSM



Collision Course: The Looming U.S.-China Showdown Over Taiwan -- Denny Roy, National Interest



Boko Haram insurgency takes rising economic toll on Nigeria's neighbors -- Ngala Killian Chimtom, CSM



The Widening War Against Boko Haram -- Siddhartha Mitter, Daily Beast



Now Comes the Hard Part for Greece -- Mohamed A. El-Erian, Bloomberg



Greek surrender: When all hope is gone -- C J Polychroniou, Al Jazeera



Greece blinked in loan battle, Putin’s gaze remains steely -- John Lloyd, Reuters



Putin surveys the map as he ponders next move on Ukraine -- Timothy Heritage, Reuters



Russia Bullies Sweden and Sweden Blinks -- Elisabeth Braw, World Affairs



Not Another Iron Curtain -- Judy Dempsey, Real Clear World



Is there a Place for ‘Total War’ in the Modern World? -- Captain Justin Lynch, Cicero



70 Years Later, Iwo Jima Still Makes the Mind Reel -- Paul Huard, Real Clear Defense/War Is Boring