US
Josh Rogin takes a look at complaints leaders of the Free Syrian Army have about Obama’s abandonment of Syria's moderates:
The Obama administration seems to be betting on the idea that tamping down the violence in Syria can lead to a new negotiation with the Assad regime, but there’s scant evidence that Assad, much less Islamic State, are on board with that plan. If the FSA loses its last strongholds in Aleppo because of a lack of international support, the administration’s fear that it has no reliable partner in Syria could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Professors John Ferejohn and Frances Rosenbluth argue that the appointment of a physics instructor and researcher as Secretary of Defence symbolizes how war today relies on technology more than on human strength (and that this requires extra vigilance):
America in 2014 is in no imminent danger of slipping into authoritarian rule. Nor are Ashton Carter’s scientific credentials a sign that the United States is becoming a technocratic state beyond the reach of political accountability in matters of war and peace. But it is time for US citizens to recognize that, manned by volunteers and mercenaries, powered by high-tech machinery, and financed substantially by foreign-floated government debt, America’s war machine is increasingly off the public’s radar.
Israel
Mazal Mualem writes about Avigdor Lieberman and Moshe Kahlon, whom she deems as this election’s “true power couple”:
The slate of the power couple of Israeli politics will be seized by former Likud Minister Moshe Kahlon and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, who will hold the top jobs in the next coalition government, whatever its constellation. They are the ones who will determine the identity of Israel’s next prime minister: Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or perhaps Kahlon or Liberman, according to a certain rotation scenario.
Nachum Barnea points out that Netanyahu is responsible for the Herzog-Livni alliance and that all of Israel’s other major political leaders are also quite tired of him:
The common denominator among all of these politicians is the sense that the Netanyahu era is over. This is not an ideological debate. Each of them has years of working with Netanyahu, either in the same party or the same government. Nor is it isolated incident, or sudden, like winter floods in the Negev. This has been a long process. Six consecutive years in power have taken their toll, both on Netanyahu and on his colleagues. His authority has waned, his performance has suffered, his political senses dulled. He is sick of his ministers and his ministers are sick of him.
Middle East
Shashank Joshi tries to figure out how serious the gulf’s joint military forces are:
The Gulf’s foreign military patrons—principally France, the United Kingdom, and the United States—have reason to welcome the Gulf’s independence, but also to be wary of it. A self-reliant Gulf is appealing to the West only if the region’s aims overlap with Western ones. Here, there is cause for concern. Although Western states have urged compromise, for example, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have adopted uncompromising, aggressive positions toward largely nonviolent Islamist movements, such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Although the West is inching toward détente with Iran, the Gulf states want to dampen Iran’s influence.
Amir Hadjani examines Iran’s fall as an oil power and how it relates to the sanctions:
In the future, Iran could again play a significant role in international oil markets as it holds the fourth largest known crude reserves in the world. However, it can only return to relevance if it is able to fully realize its export potential and ramp up production. This can only happen with a deal on its nuclear dossier that lifts restrictions on its energy sector and allows for foreign investment and the inflow of technology that it lacks.
Jewish World
David Glasner offers an interesting response to Mosaic’s monthly essay about the engagement and integration of Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox community:
Of course, Rabbi Glasner, despite his preeminence as a talmudic scholar, is not one from whom most haredi rabbinical leaders would gladly take instruction, being tainted by his identification with Zionism and a reputation for independent thinking. But his arguments for the religious value of work in the land of Israel—not to mention somewhat similar arguments made by his greatly revered great-grandfather, the Hatam Sofer—are the kinds of arguments, and are derived from the kinds of sources, to which haredi society is accustomed.
Liel Leibovitz writes about the Jewish man who invented the video game console:
Ralph Baer, the father of video games, died this week in his home in New Hampshire at the age of 92. Few of his heirs—the millions who spend hours each day playing video games—mourned. Most likely, they did not know Baer’s name, which has become the answer to an extra-credit question, trivia for nerds alone to entertain. It’s understandable: Even though Baer produced the first version of a home video game console, he was soon eclipsed by more audacious marketers, by better businessmen, by swamis who knew the right chants to sweep the masses. But Baer understood more than the hardware of video games; he divined their spirit, too. For that, no tribute can ever suffice.
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