Syrian families and fighters from a Kurdish militia attended a funeral last month in Qamishli, Syria, for fighters killed more than a year ago. Credit Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
Ben Hubbard, New York Times: On the Road in Syria, Struggle All Around
After Kurdish militias push out ISIS, people are eking out livings in a border area where state services have collapsed.
RMEILAN, Syria — After boiling crude oil from the ground near here all day in a metal tank to refine it into diesel, Ali Mohammed braved the fumes to bang the tank’s drain open with a shovel. He stepped back as the dregs oozed into the dirt and burst into flames.
As a column of putrid smoke rose into the sky, he pulled a cigarette from his oil-soaked shirt and explained how the Syrian civil war had turned him into a diesel bootlegger.
He had once worn clean scrubs as a nurse in a state-run hospital, but was fired after rebels took over his village, making all residents suspect, he said. Later, stretched by the war, the government had left the area, leaving its oil up for grabs.
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- November 11, 2015
Iran’s Military Involvement in Syria Will Lead to Even More Death and Destruction -- Behrooz Behbudi, Algemeiner
Podcast: The true horrors of life under Islamic State -- Matthew Gault, Reuters
Who picks up your trash when you live in the ‘Islamic State?’ -- Matthew Gault, Reuters
The Islamic State is getting weaker by the day -- Scott Stewart, Market Watch
No one is coming to rescue Islamic State’s capital -- Aki Peritz, Reuters
Russia's Syria plan: Just the beginning -- Jonathan Marcus, BBC
Russia's Syria Propaganda -- Anna Borshchevskaya, Forbes
The Obama administration is trying to follow a similar playbook in Syria — but it might be doomed from the start -- Natasha Bertrand, Business Insider
Taiwan and China: a handshake more symbolic than constructive? -- Maddy Crowell, CSM
What Does the Ma-Xi Meeting Mean for China, Taiwan and America? -- Shannon Tiezzi, The Diplomat
EU's deep dilemmas over refugees laid bare at Malta summit -- Ian Traynor, The Guardian
Is Germany, Europe's Rock, Starting to Crumble? -- Foreign Policy
Why Did the ‘Twitter Revolutions’ Fail? -- Ivan Krastev, NYT
Colombia is Again World's Top Producer of Coca -- Nick Miroff, Wash. Post
IEA history lesson makes $100 oil more likely -- Andy Critchlow, Reuters