International Organizations

Post-Gaddafi Libya: The Kosovo Contingency

By Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy

From Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy:  [B]ack when NATO first got involved, a number of people made the obvious comparison to the 1999 war in Kosovo.

EU defence ambitions stuck in no-man’s land

By AFP

Europe’s last dictator

By David J. Kramer and A. Wess Mitchell, the Washington Post

From David J. Kramer and A. Wess Mitchell, the Washington Post:  Dubbed the last dictator in Europe, Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko is under growing domestic and international pressure because of his gross human rights abuses and responsibility for his country’s worst economic crisis since gaining independence 20 years ago.

Canada’s combat role in Afghanistan, was it worth it?

By Stephen Saideman

From Stephen Saideman:  I think Canada made a difference while it was there, improving conditions in Kandahar even if the quarterly reports might over-state the gains.

Bundeswehr joins EU combat force

By the Local (Germany)

From the Local (Germany):  The three European Union military powers signed an agreement in Brussels to put together a unit of 1,700 soldiers that will take part in the rotation of the EU’s rapid reaction force, known as battlegroups.

NATO Chief on post-Gaddafi Libya: “We want the United Nations to take the lead”

By AFP

From AFP:  NATO would like to see the United Nations assume the leading role in Libya’s transition to democracy once Moamer Kadhafi leaves power, alliance chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday.

European Parliament study criticizes unilateral defense cuts within NATO and the EU

By Julian Hale, Defense News

From Julian Hale, Defense News:  A study commissioned by the Security and Defence Committee of the European Parliament is calling for an European Strategic Defence and Security Review to help countries identify capability improvements