Myanmar President Thein Sein is poised to receive red carpet treatment today at the White House in Washington even as his army wages war against Kachin inside his country and religious violence scars the Southeast Asian nation. Of more importance to Washington is progress in its ties with Myanmar's military, starting with the navy, and issues of regional security. - Bertil Lintner (May 20, '13)

The development of violent outbursts against Mynamar's Muslim population has brought Burmese Buddhists to a crossroads in which they need to initiate conversations about the ways in which the Buddhist community should adapt to the reality of multiculturalism without abandoning its distinctive core values. - Matthew J Walton (May 20, '13)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wasted a golden opportunity in an interview to explain to the Western public, even briefly, why petro-monarchies Saudi Arabia and Qatar, plus Turkey, have the hots for setting Syria on fire. While he was talking, Russia was walking, sending a message it is ready to go where the Pentagon and others fear to tread. - Pepe Escobar (May 20, '13)

Steady gains by regime forces by no means indicate they are about to win the Syrian civil war, even as the reversals suffered by the rebel forces and their penetration by ever-more extreme groups prompt international backers to have second thoughts about their support. Meanwhile, the potential for a spillover of violence in the region is growing. - Victor Kotsev (May 20, '13)

While atrocities in Syria, such as the cannibalism viewable on YouTube, transfix the West, the real horrors of war are still to come in the Middle East. Americans, whose appetite for horror shows little sign of satiation, cannot abandon the region, but should avoid the conflict in the grim recognition that civilizations determined to destroy themselves cannot be prevented from doing so. (May 20, '13)