海角大神

The Times of India / Mumbai

More troops in Afghanistan

鈥淚n a marked departure from his campaign rhetoric, US President Donald Trump has outlined his new Afghanistan strategy that favours realism over politics...,鈥� states an editorial. 鈥淭rump is right in assessing that a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan would create a vacuum for terrorists, including the Afghan branch of Islamic State (IS), to fill.... Obama鈥檚 Afpak policy didn鈥檛 work.... Announcing deadlines for a drawdown made it easy for the Taliban to wait out the Americans. Secondly..., Pakistan provided [safe] havens. The new Trump policy seeks to address both.... To buttress the new strategy Trump should also not rock the boat with Iran, which too has a stake in Afghan stability.鈥�

Dawn / Karachi, Pakistan

Trump鈥檚 Afghanistan policy leaves the devil in the detail

鈥淧resident Donald Trump, breaking with his derision for the 16-year-old conflict, has finally rolled out his long-awaited policy towards Afghanistan. The presidential decision to boost troop levels is an extension of the botched approach of his predecessors...,鈥� writes S. Mudassir Ali Shah. 鈥淭he US president has virtually left the devil lying in the detail.... As expected, the US would mount pressure on Pakistan to shut down militant safe havens on its soil and take concrete action against the Afghan Taliban.... By adding more troops ... he has toed the line of warmongering Republican legislators and military commanders.... As long as Kabul gropes for political and economic stability, frustrated youth will continue to swell the ranks of insurgent outfits.鈥�

Al Jazeera / Doha, Doha

Cloud over Buhari鈥檚 return

鈥淢uhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria, brought his 103-day medical leave in the UK to a grand end on [Aug. 19]...,鈥� writes Fisayo Soyombo. 鈥淭wo days after his return, Buhari transmitted a letter to the legislature confirming his official resumption of duties. But he signed that letter at home 鈥� not at his office. Ordinarily, that wouldn鈥檛 be worrisome, but there鈥檚 been some bad precedent.... After working from home on [Aug. 21], he met service chiefs on [Aug. 22] 鈥� again at his residence.... Unfortunately, enormous work awaits Buhari. Nigeria鈥檚 yearlong recession could extend.... Earlier this month, Boko Haram killed 27 and wounded 83.... Buhari鈥檚 anti-corruption war is in tatters.... [I]t is neither in Nigeria鈥檚 nor the president鈥檚 interest for him to combine recuperation with work.鈥�

The Guardian / London

Responsibility for fatal US Navy collisions

鈥淭he dismissal of Joseph Aucoin, commander of the US 7th Fleet, is more formal than practical as Aucoin was close to retirement anyway,鈥� writes Mary Dejevsky. 鈥淏ut heads had to roll after a series of accidents, including two recent fatal collisions.... When it was reported [in August] that a US navy destroyer had been involved in a collision with an oil tanker near Singapore and 10 US crew members were missing, it was hard to believe that this was not old news being reheated.... That [made] four incidents in just over a year.... [I]t is not just the US that the 7th Fleet has let down, but Washington鈥檚 allies in Asia, too.鈥�

The Globe and Mail / Toronto

Conventional conservatism is rebounding

鈥淥n being turfed out of the 鈥楩right House,鈥� sorcerer Steve Bannon said, 鈥業 think they鈥檙e going to try to moderate [President Trump] ... I think it鈥檒l be much more conventional,鈥� 鈥� writes Lawrence Martin. 鈥淸Mr. Bannon] could be right. His snake oil helped take the United States鈥� right-wing political fringe to dizzying heights. But its influence will now shrink. For the forces of stability, it鈥檚 been a heartening week.... At the White House, generals, globalists and traditional conservatives have pushed aside the Bannon radicals.... One week does not a permanent shift make. But conventional conservatism, beaten down for so long by the Tea Party, Breitbart and Trump is making a resurgence.鈥�