Insights, analysis and must reads from CNN's Fareed Zakaria and the Global Public Square team, compiled by Global Briefing editor Jason Miks.

August 14, 2018

Trump Is Right. Time to Kick This "Ally" to the Curb

The Trump administration may have thrown gasoline on the fire of US-Turkey ties, but that doesn't mean it's wrong to push back against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, writes Steven Cook for Foreign Policy. Turkey has stopped acting like an ally, so America shouldn't treat it like one.

"Turkey and the United States have different interests and priorities. The lists of grievances on both sides reflects that fact. The fallout is not a function of the unique personalities and worldviews of the American and Turkish presidents, but rather at a fundamental level is the result of a changing world in which Washington and Ankara no longer share a common threat," Cook writes.

"[T]he pressure that the Trump administration has brought to bear on Turkey is a welcome change from the passivity of the last two administrations, which preferred to overlook Turkey's malign policies, either in an effort to try cajole Ankara to support the United States or because they did not want to risk a rift with a 'strategic partner.' Not only did this approach not work, but it also sent the message to Ankara that it was so valuable an ally that there would be no consequences for its actions."

What Europe Needs to Tell Trump

President Trump's sanctions on Iran are likely to deepen the country's economic crisis, writes Christiane Hoffmann for Der Spiegel. The Trump administration might feel sanguine about the instability it is stoking, but Europe can't afford to be.

"The Middle East is Europe's neighbor. What happens there has immediate repercussions for Europe, as the refugee crisis showed. The civil war in Syria helped the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party gain traction, it altered the political landscape in Germany and Europe and it undermined Merkel's leadership. If the US fans the flames of instability in the region, Europe's security will be at stake," Hoffmann writes.

"It is not enough for Europe to seek to preserve the nuclear deal. Washington needs to be told that a policy of destabilization toward Iran and the Middle East runs contrary to European security interests. Trump's Middle East policy must become a European priority."

Why China's Leaders Are Rattled

"China's economy is showing further signs of cooling as the US prepares to impose even tougher trade tariffs," Reuters notes. That could leave China's leadership rattled, write Keith Bradsher and Steven Lee Myers for The New York Times.

"If the trade war escalates…some worry that the public's faith in the economy could be shaken, exposing the nation to much more serious problems than a drop in exports," they write.

China's leaders believe their "authoritarian system can stifle dissent and quickly redirect resources, and they expect Washington to be gridlocked and come under pressure from voters feeling the pain of trade disruptions.

"But the Communist Party is vulnerable in its own way. It needs growth to justify its monopoly on power and is obsessed with preventing social instability."

Are America's Doctors Too Educated?

The growing demands of an aging population have left the United States facing a shortfall of as many as 100,000 doctors by 2030, writes Akhilesh Pathipati for The Washington Post. One reason? Too much education.

"US physicians average 14 years of higher education (four years of college, four years of medical school and three to eight years to specialize in a residency or fellowship). That's much longer than in other developed countries, where students typically study for 10 years. It also translates to millions of dollars and hours spent by US medical students listening to lectures on topics they already know, doing clinical electives in fields they will not pursue and publishing papers no one will read," Pathipati writes.

"Decreasing the length of training would immediately add thousands of physicians to the workforce. At the same time, it would save money that could be reinvested in creating more positions in medical schools and residencies. It would also allow more students to go into lower-paying fields such as primary care, where the need is greatest."

Why the Accident Excuse Doesn't Wash in Yemen

"Yemen now rivals and even surpasses Syria as a humanitarian abomination," writes Frederic Hof for the Atlantic Council. The strike on a Yemeni school bus last week is just the latest reminder that America needs to pull the plug on the Saudi-led military intervention.

Even if Saudi Arabia and its supporters "are not deliberately targeting civilians, what practical difference is perceived by Yemenis on the receiving end of high explosives, nutritional shortfalls, and medical deprivation? Will they be reassured and comforted to learn that perhaps incompetence, carelessness, and bad intelligence—rather than deliberate design—account for their unspeakable suffering?" Hof writes.

"And without for a moment discounting the monetary resources being dedicated by Riyadh to Yemeni humanitarian assistance, is anyone in the Kingdom calculating the possible long-term costs (reconstruction, chronic instability, Yemen as a permanent host for terrorists) of this horrifically destructive military campaign?"

The Most "Livable" City in the World Is…

Vienna is the most livable city in the world, bumping Melbourne into second place, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2018 index.

"Although both Melbourne and Vienna have registered improvements in livability over the last six months, increases in Vienna's ratings, particularly in the stability category, have been enough for the city to overtake Melbourne," says the report, which scores cities on 30 factors within five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

Rounding out the top five cities are Osaka, Calgary and Sydney, while Damascus, Dhaka and Lagos make up the bottom three cities, thanks largely to concerns over stability and healthcare.

Per US News and World Report: "[C]ities in the United States did not rank in the top 15, according to the index. Honolulu scored the highest rating for the US, ranking No. 23 overall."

Forward

Cable News Network, Inc. A WarnerMedia Company.

One CNN Center

Atlanta, GA 30303

Add us to your address book

What did you like about today's Global Briefing? What did we miss? Let us know what you think: GlobalBriefing@cnn.com

Sign up to get updates on your favorite CNN Original Series, special CNN news coverage and other newsletters.

unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences