Europe & Eurasia

U.S. and Britain have deployed clandestine forces in Libya

By Mark Hosenball, Reuters

From Mark Hosenball, Reuters:  President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi

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

Germany’s unhappy abstention from leadership

By Constanze Stelzenmüller, the Financial TImes

Obama: “Our most effective alliance, NATO, has taken command”

By Barack Obama, the White House

From Barack Obama, the White House:  In this effort, the United States has not acted alone. Instead, we have been joined by a strong and growing coalition.

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.

North Africa is Europe’s problem – not Obama’s

By the Editors of the Observer

From the Editors of the Observer:  Committees are sometimes the fairest way to decide policy; rarely, if ever, are they the most efficient. As a system for conducting wars, their shortcomings are obvious.