As NATO gets further bogged down in Libya, Steven Sotloff examines for TIME its worsening relationship with Libya’s rebel fighters. Some rebels contend that lack of communication between their forces and NATO have resulted in more deaths as expected air counterattacks never materialize or errant strikes result in rebel deaths. If these …
Libya
Obama Pulls A Bush On Libya Vote
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 …
Five Things the Conflict in Libya Is Not
Libya-related chatter in the U.S. on Wednesday seemed to revolve around how the White House was going to wriggle away from stipulations of the War Powers Act — Swampland’s Jay Newton Small has the answer here. Evidently, the U.S. is acting in a “support” role, with no boots on the ground, and is “not engaged in any of the activities …
Despite Modest Gains, Doubts Rise Over The Libyan Operation–And NATO’s Military Future
In what appears to a recurring paradox of the Libyan conflict, heartening news of advances by Libyan rebel forces aided by renewed NATO bombing strikes is being off-set by wider warnings from Western officials about the operation becoming an open-ended slog. As a result, even as reports from the ground now depict setbacks to loyalists of …
With Roman Ruins Under Threat, Libya’s Ancient Past Presses Against Its Present
According to a report on CNN.com, NATO officials overseeing the aerial bombing campaign against the forces of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya could target positions nestled within an ancient complex of Roman ruins. Rebel sources claim that Gaddafi troops have stashed rocket launchers and other military equipment at the site of the ancient city …
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 …
A Separation of Church and State? Not in the UK, Mate
The British government has no mandate to pursue its austerity policies, according to Dr. Rowan Williams. Dr. Williams is not an opposition politicians or firebrand activist; he’s the Archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Church of England. But in his capacity as guest-editor of the latest edition of the leftie magazine New …
The Syrian Conflict: Confusion Central
The popular uprising against Syria’s brutal regime that appears to be evolving towards full-blown civil war is of course serious business—deadly serious, as the reported 1,110 lives claimed in nearly three months of clashes demonstrate. But it’s also become a major source of head scratching among international observers. Whether …
NATO Hopes to Pass the Buck in Libya, But May Not Be Able to Hand Off Responsibility
“We do not see a lead role for NATO in Libya once this crisis is over,” the organization’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday. “We see the United Nations playing a lead role in the post-Gaddafi, post-conflict scenario.” He urged the international body to begin planning to take charge of a transition in …
Jacques Chirac’s Presidential Memoir: A Sarkozy Smack-Down
So much for locking his lips and throwing away the key. Just four years after leaving the Elysée with a pledge to never, ever comment on his successor and erstwhile foe Nicolas Sarkozy, former French President Jacques Chirac is now dishing some less than flattering views on France’s current head of state—and only 11 months ahead of …
Raising the Heat on Gaddafi, NATO Concerns Turn to the Day After He Goes
NATO’s daylight bombing of Tripoli on Tuesday appears to be part of an effort to bring the Libya conflict to a crescendo that topples Muammar Gaddafi: French and British ground attack helicopters have also been deployed in the effort to force the collapse of the regime, and new mediation efforts are afoot — with even the previously …
Syria Braces for a New Massacre, But Don’t Expect the West to Do Another Libya
If Syria’s showdown between the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and his opponents was following the trajectory of Libya’s struggle against Muammar Gaddafi, this could be the moment that a U.N. no-fly zone became a matter of urgency. Syrian authorities reported on Monday that armed groups in the town of Jisr al-Shoghour in the north …
British Boots on the Ground in Libya? The Mystery of the Soldiers Filmed near Misratah
“BRITAIN’S SECRET WAR” screams the headline in the June 1 Daily Mirror. The British tabloid has adorned its front page and an inside spread with blurred images captured by a crew from the al-Jazeera television network showing “footage of 11 ex-SAS and Parachute Regiment soldiers in Libya training the rebels in military tactics to defeat …