President Barack Obama seems determined to relinquish the hot potato of U.S. leadership over the Libya air war as quickly as possible, although disputes within NATO have prevented the Alliance stepping up to take charge of a mission whose strategic objectives remain unclear. Having effectively prevented Colonel Gaddafi from sending …
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Better Late than Never? British MPs Vote for Libya No-Fly Zone
Here’s an example of democracy in action, a privilege Western politicians are keen to extend as widely as possible. Today, members of Britain’s House of Commons discussed the wisdom of enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya. At 10.17 pm, almost seven hours after the start of their debate and more than three days after the establishment of …
Endgame in Yemen: As Saleh sinks, what should the U.S. do?
Over dinner in Sana’a late last year, a European diplomat told me that President Ali Abdallah Saleh’s 32-year-old regime was unlikely to be toppled anytime soon. He offered four key reasons: “The army are with him and the tribes are with him—which means the people will never rise against him. And of course, the U.S. is with …
Global Briefing, Mar. 21, 2011: Palin Goes to India, America Goes to War
America At War — Don’t count on a short or limited conflict in Libya cautions Tony Karon on Global Spin; Obama hopes Libya will rehabilitate the doctrine of humanitarian intervention, reports Massimo Calabresi on Swampland.
Tibetan Transition — Pico Iyer writes about Tibet’s ‘quiet revolution’ for the New York Review of Books. In …
Don’t Bet on a Brief – or Limited – War in Libya
President Barack Obama wants a brief and limited war in Libya; Colonel Muammar Gaddafi promises a long and messy one. And, unfortunately for Obama, Gaddafi may be in a better position to deliver.
Obama, together with France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy and Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, have made clear that they would like to …
The battle for Bahraini hearts and minds will be fought by Iran… and Iraq
Those who see the Bahraini uprising in the context of a larger contest for Middle Eastern supremacy between Iran and Saudi Arabia with desultory U.S. involvement are missing the potentially crucial role played by a fourth player: Iraq.
A little background, first. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi holy city of Najaf has …
Couch Potato Briefing: Japan’s Grief, Nuclear Terror and the Need for Speed
Here is Global Spin’s latest installment rounding-up movies that tell you the week’s news. Suffice to say, it’s been a dark, gloomy seven days. Compiled by Ishaan Tharoor and Tony Karon.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxv9ghINEhs&feature=related]
The Grave of the Fireflies
In the wake of the catastrophic 9.0 magnitude …
Egypt Resumes Gas Flow to Israel, but Relations Still in Flux
It took five weeks instead of five days, but Egypt has resumed natural gas shipments to Israel , repairing the damage from a sabotaged pipeline and offering succor to Israeli hopes that the world may not have turned entirely upside down after all.
Israel relies on Egypt for nearly half of its natural gas needs, and it has a plenty of …
Global Briefing, Mar. 18, 2011: Planes, Trains and Automobiles
This Means War? — On Swampland, TIME’s Mark Thompson explains the U.N. resolution on Libya and mulls the possibility of war.
Heading South — In a dispatch from Niigata, Hannah Beech tells the stories of those fleeing Japan’s devastated northeast by train. Full coverage, here.
Mighty Pricey — The United States is spending …
U.N. Intervention Vote Saves Libya’s Revolution From Defeat
As Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s forces closed in on the rebel capital of Benghazi, Thursday, the Obama Administration not only came around to the idea of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, but sought — and won — U.N. Security Council authorization for ground attacks on regime forces threatening to storm the rebel “capital” of Benghazi. …
In Shadow of Nuclear Disaster, Elderly Worry About the Future
This morning, Japan is transfixed by the high stakes operation taking place at the Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture. Japanese police are dumping seawater from the air on Thursday morning in an attempt to cool down the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima power plant, and soon will bring in high power water cannons to shoot into a …
A Marriage of Interests: Why Bahrain’s King Should Give Britain’s Royal Wedding a Miss
Westminster Abbey is a “Royal Peculiar.” The term applies to churches that fall under the direct jurisdiction of the British monarch rather than a bishop, but seemed especially apt during a Commonwealth Day celebration held there on March 15. The service blended the pomp and tradition associated with Britain’s state occasions with vivid …
Global Briefing Mar. 16, 2011: Conservatives, Closed Doors and Cash Cows
Japan’s Pain —Bill Powell has the latest on the nuclear situation; Michael Schuman weighs in on the global economic impact of the disaster; LightBox showcases pictures of the aftermath.
Bad Times in Bahrain — In a dispatch form Manama, Karen Leigh shows how the country is caught between Iran and Saudi Arabia; On Global Spin, Aryn …