International Organizations

CSDP – the Atlantic Alliance’s savior?

By Sarwar Kashmeri, European Geostrategy

From Sarwar Kashmeri, European Geostrategy:  Even before the onset of hostilities in Libya it was obvious to insiders on both sides of the Atlantic that NATO was increasingly dysfunctional.

How Libya revealed the huge gap between U.S. and European military might

By Lawrence F. Kaplan, the New Republic

From Lawrence F. Kaplan, the New Republic:  In 1992, the foreign minister of Luxembourg, Jacques Poos, declared that “the hour of Europe” had arrived.

Turkey: Bosnia and Serbia should join NATO, EU

By Jovana Gec, the AP

From Jovana Gec, the AP:  Turkey wants to help turn the war-ravaged Balkans into a region of cooperation with a joint future in the European Union and NATO, the Turkish president said Tuesday

European mercenaries fighting for Gaddafi, expert says

By Andrew Rettman, the EUobserver

From Andrew Rettman, the EUobserver:  Between 300 and 500 European soldiers of fortune, including EU nationals, are working for Colonel Gaddafi in Libya, a leading criminologist has said.

Finish the Job

By James M. Dubik, the New York Times

From James M. Dubik, the New York Times:  In war, leadership is not exercised from the rear by those who seek to risk as little as possible.

Humanitarian missions can be cruel

By Eugene Robinson, the Washington Post

From Eugene Robinson, the Washington Post:  President Obama made the intervention possible by giving his approval and committing U.S. assets.

Europe Falters in Efforts to Implement the UN Resolution in Libya

By Hugh De Santis

NATO’s management of the UN-sanctioned campaign to take “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan civilians is looking more futile by the day. Reminiscent of Europe’s hapless effort to assert leadership following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, internal bickering has once again precluded military cohesion and made mockery of the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security […]

The Franglosphere – No, Not Bad BBC Science Fiction

By Julian Lindley-French

I was in London this week and two things happened that suggest l’albion perfide might be about to do the dirty on both America and France. First, in high-level meetings in the Ministry of Defence British officials confirmed that the disastrous 2010 Strategic Security and Defence Review (Strategic Pretence and Impecunity Review) had been the […]

Libya: Mission creak

By the Editors of the Guardian

From the Editors of the Guardian:  The 20 British and French military advisers being sent to help the rebels in Benghazi do not constitute an occupation force.

Libya crisis reveals divisions on EU defense policy

By Judy Dempsey, the International Herald Tribune