Atlantic Council blogs

NATO Campaign Won’t Be a Model for Future Action

By Alistair MacDonald, John W. Miller and Nathan Hodge, the Wall Street Journal

From Alistair MacDonald, John W. Miller and Nathan Hodge, the Wall Street Journal:  The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Libyan air campaign succeeded in helping rebel fighters on their way to Tripoli, but NATO’s involvement lasted longer than politicians hoped

Forget “leading from behind,” US nearly doubled recent air attacks on Libya

By Larry Shaughnessy, CNN

From Larry Shaughnessy, CNN:  As the rebels in Libya push closer to ending the Moammar Gadhafi regime, US warplanes have been increasing their attacks on government positions.

Intell and Special Forces from allies helped rebels take Tripoli

By Karen DeYoung and Greg Miiler, the Washington Post

From Karen DeYoung and Greg Miiler, the Washington Post:  The rapid weekend advance of Libyan rebel troops into Tripoli was the result of an opposition strategy put in place two weeks ago with the advice of British, French and Qatari special forces on the ground

President Obama’s Statement on Libya

By Barack Obama, the White House

From Barack Obama, the White House:  Good afternoon, everybody.  I just completed a call with my National Security Council on the situation in Libya.

National Composition of NATO Strike Sorties in Libya

By Jorge Benitez

Eight nations participated in strike sorties in NATO’s Operation Unified Protector (OUP) in Libya. These nations are the US, France, Great Britain, Canada, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway.  However, there are now only seven nations conducting strike sorties because Norway withdrew its aircraft as of August 1. Britain contributed four additional fighters to help offset the loss […]

NATO Proves Critics Wrong

By Barry Pavel, the New Atlanticist

From Barry Pavel, the New Atlanticist:  The naysayers were proven wrong last night, as the Libyan rebels, much more quickly than even the closest observers predicted, took the Libyan capital from its dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, who had ruled with an iron fist for over 40 years.

Update: NATO activities in Libya on August 21

By NATO

Collapse of Gaddafi’s defenses startles NATO

By Michael Birnbaum, the Washington Post

From Michael Birnbaum, the Washington Post:  As rebels in Libya continued to establish their control of Tripoli on Monday, senior NATO officials they were startled by the speed with which Moammar Gaddafi’s defenses have collapsed.

NATO: combat air patrols over Libya to continue until all pro-Gadhafi forces surrender

By the AP

From the AP:  NATO will continue its combat air patrols over Libya until all pro-Gadhafi forces surrender or return to barracks, officials said Monday.