Paul McLeary the battle for mosul

Twenty-four hours a day, American artillery booms from dug-in positions outside of this small town on the banks of the Tigris River, providing Iraqi troops pushing into western Mosul with accurate firepower within minutes of relaying the request through their American advisors.

Foreign Policy, Feb. 26, on US support for the Iraqi army in Mosul.

MICHAEL O’HANLON Nato expansion

We do not owe the Russian strongman any apologies for the enlargement of the 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization to date—it has added 12 members, including three former Soviet republics, since the Cold War. Nor should we abandon democratic friends like Ukraine and Georgia to Russian domination. But we need a better way to help them.

The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 26, on balance of power with Russia.

David Leonhardt health care

Thanks in part to a surge of activism — town hall meetings, online postings, calls to Congress — the politics of Obamacare have flipped. Many Americans have come to realize that the care part of the law matters much more than the Obama part.

The New York Times, Feb. 28, on activism in defense of the Affordable Care Act.