Europe & Eurasia

Berlin’s stance on Libya has isolated Germany in NATO

By Nicholas Burns, Deutsche Welle

From Nicholas Burns, Deutsche Welle:  There’s no question that the European members of NATO would have been more effective as a military unit if German forces had contributed to the mission.

UN rebuffs EU proposal for humanitarian mission to Libya

By DPA

From DPA:  The United Nations has rebuffed a European Union offer to deploy a military mission to assist humanitarian aid efforts in Libya, European officials in Luxembourg said Tuesday.

Sweden blocks planning for EU mission in Libya

By Valentina Pop, EUobserver

From Valentina Pop, EUobserver:  Foreign ministers have sketched out the basic outlines of an EU ‘military-humanitarian’ mission to Libya, amid concern about putting ground soldiers into a volatile situation. The meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday (12 March) saw ministers discuss the so-called concept of operations (Conops) for the Eufor Libya mission, the first step in […]

France criticizes NATO’s management of Libya operation

By Matthew Lee and Raf Casert, the AP

From Matthew Lee and Raf Casert, the AP:  At a European Union meeting in Luxembourg, Paris lamented the limited U.S. military role in Libya and chided Germany, too, for its lack of involvement.

Pace of Attacks in Libya Conflict Is Dividing NATO

By the New York Times

From the New York Times:  But, before the gathering opened here [Doha, Qatar] on Wednesday, Mahmoud Shamman, a spokesman for the insurgents, reinforced the French and British criticism

Deutschland, unter alles…

By David Rothkopf, Foreign Policy

From David Rothkopf, Foreign Policy:  I will be happy to tell you how a host of the world’s current problems will work out if you answer one question for me: How far will Germany go to solve other countries’ problems?

France and Britain spark row with NATO

By  Maria Golovnina, Reuters

From Maria Golovnina, Reuters:  France and Britain, who first launched air attacks on Libya in coalition with the United States, said on Tuesday NATO must step up bombing of Muammar Gaddafi’s heavy weapons to protect civilians. NATO took over air operations from the three nations on March 31 but heavy government bombardment of the besieged western city […]

Will the Libya intervention bring the end of NATO?

By Anne Applebaum, the Washington Post

From Anne Applebaum, the Washington Post:  Two very important NATO members, Germany and Turkey, openly oppose the Libya mission and are refusing to play any operational role. A number of smaller members have made their objections known behind the scenes and aren’t sending anything much beyond the odd crate of food. The NATO secretary general […]

Germany and Libya

By Charlemagne, the Economist