Atlantic Council blogs

Italy’s treaty with Libya may impede cooperation with NATO and EU

By Christopher Emsden, the Wall Street Journal

From Christopher Emsden, the Wall Street Journal:  As is well known, Italy and Libya signed a Treaty on Friendship in Benghazi in the summer of 2008, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rolled out the red carpet for [Col. Moammar] Gadhafi’s visit to Rome last year, even allowing the Libyan leader to openly proselytize a selected […]

Proposals and disagreement over NATO meeting on Libya

By Slobodan Lekic, the AP

From Slobodan Lekic, the AP:  Before the North Atlantic Council meeting began Friday afternoon, Spain said it will propose that NATO deploy radar-equipped surveillance aircraft known as known as AWACS off Libya’s coast to monitor the situation.

Atlantic Update 2/25/11

By Jason Harmala

NATO’s North Atlantic Council convenes an emergency meeting to discuss Libya, President Sarkozy arrives in Turkey on Friday to discuss the EU’s response to Middle East turmoil, and the EU downplays Italy’s fears of a mass Libyan exodus to Europe.

General Is Said to Order Effort to Sway U.S. Lawmakers

By Thom Shanker, the New York Times

From Thom Shanker, the New York Times:  The American commander in Afghanistan will order an investigation into accusations that military personnel deployed to win Afghan hearts and minds were instructed over their own objections to carry out “psychological operations” to help convince visiting members of Congress to increase support for the training mission there, military […]

Putin Questions Europe’s Foreign and Energy Policies

By Stephen Castle, the New York Times

From Stephen Castle, the New York Times:  Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia warned European officials on Thursday that uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East could produce governments hostile to the West, and he criticized the European Union’s energy policy.

Gaddafi: Manic Depressive Megalomaniac

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

In the late 1970s, Egyptian Foreign Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali couldn’t figure out why African summit meetings unanimously voted against Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel. So he decided to sprinkle his delegation with intelligence gumshoes for the next summit in Sierra Leone in 1980. Their mission: Find out what kind of chicanery was going on behind […]

UK urges pressure on Gaddafi, EU weighs intervention

By Adrian Croft and Justyna Pawlak, Reuters

SecGen calls for emergency NATO meeting on Libya

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO:  What is happening in Libya is of great concern to all of us. It’s a crisis in our immediate neighbourhood.

Palin calls for NATO involvement in Libya

By Sarah Palin, Facebook

From Sarah Palin, Facebook:  It’s a little perplexing looking at the White House today.

U.S. Military Running PsyOps Against Congress? Probably Not.

By James Joyner

The Rolling Stone correspondent whose expose last July ended Stanley McChrystal’s career has identified "Another Runaway General." Or so he says.