Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- November 11, 2015

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