For a man whose sobriety, intellectual rigor, and oratory skills have often impressed supporters and opponents alike, U.S. President Barack Obama certainly seems comfortable in his current re-enactment of Bill Clinton’s infamous Lewinsky-era attempts to spin reality with heavy-handed semantic ploys. With Clinton, the issue of whether …
Libya
Russian Politico, Chess-Master and UFO Enthusiast Comforts Gaddafi
Simon Shuster reports for TIME that proponent of alien lifeforms, chess, and anti-Western dictators Kirsan Ilyumzhinov visited with Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi Sunday evening. Ilyumzhinov, a Russian politician and former head of the Russian republic of Kalmykia, sat down with the embattled leader to offer him some comfort and play a game of …
Where’s a Deposed Dictator to Go? Five Top Tyrant Retirement Homes for Gaddafi
With NATO ever more confident of, and explicit about, deposing Muammar Gaddafi and the Libyan leader losing even some of his longest-standing supporters in Africa, the question increasingly becomes not whether he will go but, assuming he survives, where. Here’s five possible retirement homes for the 69-year-old.
1. Zimbabwe. Even if …
Global Briefing, May 30, 2011: Control Freaks and Calls to Arms
Last Legs— Panicking over the demonstrations, Assad has backtracked on economic liberalization, reports our correspondent in Syria. Will economic collapse end his rule?
Control Freaks — America’s response to the ‘Arab Spring’ is an attempt to re-assert its control over the region, argues Soumaya Ghannoushi at AJE. “After watching …
Can Zuma Pull Off a Surprise in Libya?
South African President Jacob Zuma flies into Tripoli Monday to try to forge peace between Libyan leader Mouamar Gaddafi and the country’s rebels. Top of the agenda, according to Agence France-Presse: persuading Gaddafi to go. Zuma’s initiative, conducted on behalf of the African Union (AU), has met widespread skepticism, particularly …
Gone And Forgotten: But Obama’s U.K. Visit Has Boosted Key Players
Here are a few telling symptoms of Obamamania: shiny eyes; raised pulse rate; terminal hyperbole; an urge to trample others to gain physical proximity to the President of the United States, and to do so despite phalanxes of sharp-shooters braced to liquidate anyone who might pose a threat to him. During the Obamas’ state visit to the U.K., …
Bernard-Henri Lévy: France’s Libya Warmonger-in-Chief
French media celebrity (and one time philosopher) Bernard-Henri Lévy has been called many things over the years by his equally large and outspoken armies of detractors and supporters. “Curveball”, however, was never among them. It might be time to consider adding that name to the list. Because Lévy was essential to French President …
Global Briefing, April 21, 2011: Gimme Shelter
Troublemakers — Damascus claims subversives out of Lebanon are inciting unrest in Syria, says Nicholas Blanford in a dispatch from Wadi Khaled. But his visit to the border seems to provide evidence that the traffic is the other way around.
Killed in Action — Two photojournalists were killed in Libya yesterday. The New York Times‘ …
In Memoriam: Chris Hondros
War photographers are the bravest people I know. In many years of covering conflict, from Kashmir to Palestine to Iraq, I’ve had the honor to befriend and work with some of the finest, and bravest, of the breed. Few were in the league of Chris Hondros. I am heart-broken by the news that he and Tim Hetherington, another photographer, have …
Al Jazeera Correspondent Slams Chinese Coverage of Arab Uprisings
In recent years China has greatly expanded the global voice of its state-run media. The goal is to boost China’s image abroad and to counter the influence of Western media outlets, which some people believe are overly critical of China. In doing so China has looked to the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network as a model of how non-Western media …
NATO Members Feud While Gaddafi Forces Batter Misratah
It’s increasingly looking like the only factor capable of resolving the international community’s dilemma in Libya is also the one element to that will never cooperate in finding a solution: Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi himself. Because as the meetings, summits, and declarations of coalition partners come and go, it becomes …
Sarkozy Goes to War: Is France Back Once More at the Center of World Affairs?
France’s predominant role in international operations like the NATO-led mission over Libya–or this week’s United Nations helicopter strikes in Ivory Coast–have generated a flurry of media reports suggesting formerly Clark Kent-like French diplomats have shed their earlier mild mannered restraint, and have started wading into …
Global Briefing, April 1, 2011: This Is No Joke
Tank vs. Kalashnikov — For Libya’s rebels, the difference between victory and defeat may come down to weaponry, writes Abigail Hauslohner from Benghazi.
Taking Control — As Japan’s nuclear crisis enters its fourth week, the government is considering taking over TEPCO, says Lucy Birmingham in a dispatch from Tokyo. But will the …