WHERE WILL ESCALATION OVER SYRIA TAKE RUSSIA AND THE US? (Vladimir Yevseyev, Paul J. Saunders, Richard Weitz, Hans-Joachim Spanger, Irina Zvyagelskaya, Valdai Discussion Club)

The continuing escalation in Syria has led to both a worsening of US-Russian ties, including an end in cooperation on plutonium disposal, and the deployment of a new anti-missile system in Syria.

http://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/where-will-escalation-over-syria-take-russia-us/

The GOP’s Halfhearted Support for Trump Will Be Wholly Unsuccessful (Paul J. Saunders, The National Interest)

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-gops-halfhearted-support-trump-will-be-wholly-16520

Obama's Reckless Overseas Attack on Trump (Paul J. Saunders, The National Interest)

When looking for support for his foreign policy, President Barack Obama wants Republicans to line up behind him because politics should stop at the water’s edge. But when trying to elect a Democratic successor, Mr. Obama takes politics with him wherever he goes, including to this week’s G-7 Summit in Japan. Speaking at a press conference, he pontificated on the ongoing primary elections, including sharp jabs at Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. While he might think that his attacks on Trump’s “ignorance” and “cavalier attitude” will somehow help former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, they in fact diminish not only Mr. Obama and his office, but the country he has traveled overseas to represent

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/obamas-reckless-overseas-attack-trump-16366

There Is No Secret Russian Oil War (Paul J. Saunders, The National Interest)

Moscow’s promotion of instability in order to increase oil prices is one of the most popular theories concerning Russian foreign policy in the Middle East. Billionaire oil investor T. Boone Pickens recently expressed this view after Moscow’s recent intervention in Syria. The theory goes like this: Russia contributes to instability, which generates uncertainty, which raises oil prices. But is there any real evidence that raising oil prices is a major priority of Russia’s foreign policy?

Continue reading here ...



Paul J. Saunders is executive director of The Center for the National Interest and associate publisher ofThe National Interest. He served in the State Department from 2003 to 2005.