Commentaries, ANalysis, And Editorials -- December 15, 2017

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow on December 14, 2017. Photo: Reuters/ via Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin

M.K. Bhadrakumar, Asia Times: Moscow senses Trump’s travails could be ending

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to think Donald Trump may still be president in the coming months when the Mueller probe into Russia's alleged interference in the US election will reach its conclusion

The ongoing investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Special Counsel Robert Mueller over Russia’s alleged interference in the US election is sputtering. The role of the FBI and the Justice Department in boosting Hillary Clinton’s election prospects last November can no longer be shoved under the carpet.

The email correspondence between top FBI agent Peter Strzok and a bureau lawyer Lisa Page, who were working on the 2016 election (besides having an extramarital affair), suggests that they were fired up with messianic zeal to ensure that somehow Hillary won – and, importantly, that Trump lost. And they probably had ‘in-house’ meetings with then-No. 2 in the FBI Andrew McCabe, presently acting director, who subsequently handpicked Mueller as special counsel.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 15, 2017

President Moon’s China state visit spirals into PR disaster -- Andrew Salmon, Asia Times

While world watches North Korea, China builds in the South China Sea -- David Brunnstrom, CSM/Reuters

What Is The United States Doing In The South China Sea? -- Peter Pham, Forbes

Is China's Era of Cheap Labor Really Over? -- Dmitriy Plekhanov, The Diplomat

Exclusive video: South Sudan, a cursed land -- FRANCE 24

Who is going to replace South African President Jacob Zuma as ANC party leader? -- Subry Govender, DW

Europe's Leaders Watch Populism Rise -- Anne-Sylvaine Chassany & Guy Chazan, Financial Times

Europe Is Not Ready For the Next Migration Surge -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Honduran democracy is under assault -- Steven Levitsky & Carlos Flores, L.A. Times

Islamic Jihad pushes Hamas into a corner -- Shlomi Eldar, Al-Monitor

Is America Negotiating with the Islamic State? -- Daniel R. DePetris, National Interest

What Will ‘Actually Solve’ Terrorism Problem? -- James Kitfield, Breaking Defense

The Left’s Nuclear Delusions Die Hard -- Noah Rothman, Commentary

Have Trump and Tillerson Made the Secretary of State Irrelevant? -- Abigail Tracy, Vanity Fair