Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 15, 2016

Ben Thompson, CSM: Why are NATO and the US planning to stay in Afghanistan?

NATO said Wednesday it will keep its bases in Afghanistan open and possibly extend its mission there, while US officials may postpone the withdrawal of thousands of troops planned for later this year.

One day after announcing a defensive buildup in Poland and the Baltics, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed to maintain its presence in Afghanistan as the United States reexamines whether it will follow through on the planned withdrawal of thousands of troops there later this year.

The US, which has seen more than 2,200 military fatalities in Afghanistan since 2001, had previously announced plans to scale back its force there of 9,800 troops by nearly half this year – although talk of keeping forces longer in Afghanistan has persisted for months. Now, the US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter could be considering an official reversal on the troop reduction pledge, according to a British official.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 15, 2016

ISIL’s long game is revealed by Syria’s south -- Hassan Hassan, The National

A Rough Patch in U.S.-Saudi Relations -- Bennett Seftel, The Cipher Brief

Did Islamic State claim credit for latest attacks too soon? -- AP

Does the US still need Saudi Arabia? -- Kim Ghattas, BBC

Obama’s Bitter Afghan Legacy -- Brahma Chellaney, Project Syndicate

South China Sea: China Willing to Pay the Price of Defiance -- Christopher Bodeen and Jim Gomez, AP

Coast Guard Commandant ‘Concerned’ About China’s Arctic Ambitions -- Yasmin Tadjdeh, National Defense

This Is Why China Got So Angry About Obama’s Meeting with the Dalai Lama -- Tara John, Time

How Mao's Cultural Revolution is shaping Chinese politics, half a century on -- Geraldine Doogue, ABC Australia

Made in Africa: Will Ethiopia’s Push for Industrialization Pay Off? -- Jonathan W. Rosen, WPR

Paramilitary Groups Ready to Defend Poland -- Monika Sieradzka, DW

In France we’ve lost our joie de vivre -- Agnès Poirier, The Guardian

Flood Of Weapons Makes Eastern Ukraine Ripe For Arms Trade -- Tony Wesolowsky, RFE

Venezuela: Oil shock and economic catastrophe -- Virginia Lopez, Al Jazeera

How did the U.S. security system miss this terrorist? -- Matt A. Mayer, CNN

Latest group seeking to curb US gun violence: military veterans -- Anna Mulrine, CSM

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