International Organizations

NATO Chief: “We are there to protect the Libyan people, not to arm the people”

By Slobodan Lekic, the AP

From Slobodan Lekic, the AP:  NATO’s chief said Thursday the alliance doesn’t support U.S. and British suggestions that the U.N. mandate for the international military operation in Libya allows arming rebels who are fighting Moammar Gadhafi’s troops.

New Report: “most NATO members have taken sides in what amounts to a civil war”

By the NATO Defense College

Europe’s Troubled Neighborhood (Policy)

By Matthew Czekaj

Unlike people, countries cannot choose their own neighborhoods, and the countries of the European Union are surrounded by some pretty turbulent suburbs. Yet, collectively, the EU has not been content to give in to the geographic hand it was dealt. Rather than simply putting up a barbed wire fence – though it has tried some […]

NATO chief: No military solution to Libya crisis

By David Brunnstrom, Reuters

From David Brunnstrom, Reuters:  NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Tuesday he would not guess how long the alliance’s military mission would last in Libya, but there could be no solely military solution.

EU, not NATO, should lead on Libya

By Sarwar Kashmeri, the Foreign Policy Association

Preserving the Coalition

By the Editors of the New York Times

From the Editors of the New York Times:  The United States, its allies and Libyan rebels all want to see Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi out of power and support United Nations-mandated military action to keep him from slaughtering innocent civilians.

Germany’s unhappy abstention from leadership

By Constanze Stelzenmüller, the Financial TImes

Pentagon puts Libya operation’s price tag at about $550 million

By Walter Pincus, the Washington Post

From Walter Pincus, the Washington Post:  The military intervention in Libya has cost the United States “about $550 million” in extra spending so far, a Defense Department spokeswoman said Tuesday

A Long-Term Strategy for Libya and the Mediterranean: Over to the European Union

By Sven Biscop

Now that operations have started, all eyes are fixed on the military intervention in Libya. That can only be useful though in the context of a comprehensive political strategy for the country and the region. Crafting such a strategy is the role of the EU. Intervening in Libya is not evident. The operation is far […]

Did Obama threaten to withdraw from coalition?

By Anne Applebaum, the Washington Post

From Anne Applebaum, the Washington Post:  The French Socialist Party triumphed in local elections last weekend. The Libyan rebels triumphed in Brega and Ras Lanouf.