Category: Blogs

Mr. Sarkozy, tear down this wall

By the Editors of the New York Times

From the Editors of the New York Times:  Mr. Sarkozy needs to step back and let NATO take the lead.

Juppé: “It is important to make clear that the leadership is not NATO”

By Ian Traynor and Nicholas Watt, the Guardian

From Ian Traynor and Nicholas Watt, the Guardian:  Amid arguments over the scope and command of the air campaign against Tripoli, Turkey both blocked Nato planning on the no-fly zone and insisted that Nato be put in control of it, in order to be granted a veto over its operations, senior Nato officials said.

Allied leaders speak out: “This command-and-control business is complicated”

By Mark Landler and Steven Erlanger, the New York Times

From Mark Landler and Steven Erlanger, the New York Times:  “This is complicated,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said to reporters with him in Moscow.

Coalition News: Arab obstacles, Romanian delays, and Ops data

By Andrew Rettman, EUobserver

From Andrew Rettman, EUobserver:  Cyprus, which opposes the campaign, first declined permission for three Qatari planes to use its Larnaca airport to refuel on the way to Libya.

Day 6 of NATO’s Political Impasse: “No decision on anything”

By David Brunnstrom, Reuters

Obama: “The exit strategy will be executed this week”

By the AP

From the AP:  Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he can’t predict how long the no-fly zone operation will last, but that the U.S. could turn over control of it as early as Saturday.

NATO briefing on Operation Unified Protector

By NATO

From NATO:  Excerpts from briefing by NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu, Brigadier General Pierre St-Amand of the Canadian Air Force and Director of the Strategic Plans in the Capability Plans and Policy Branch at Allied Command Operations

Norway threatens to ground its F-16s over operational decisions

By Wojciech Moskwa, Reuters

Discord between France and Germany

By Peggy Hollinger and Quentin Peel, the Financial Times

From Peggy Hollinger and Quentin Peel, the Financial Times:  The German government was first deeply irritated by French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s recognition of the opposition Libyan National Council without consulting European partners. A few days later, Paris was taken aback by Berlin’s decision to mothball some of its nuclear reactors following the Japan disaster, bolstering […]