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 …
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 …
Aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan: The Navy Grapples with Japan’s Disaster
Lieutenant Junior Grade James Powell tells me to hold my hands out in front of my waist and waves a detector a few inches above them. “So where are you from?” he asks casually. Eyeing the digital numbers flickering on the counter, I answer. He tells me to turn around and lift my left foot so he can scan the sole of my sneaker for …
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 …
Libya: Another Graveyard of Empires?
With U.S. and European strikes now pounding Libyan government positions, a new chapter is being written in the long and bloody history of Western military intervention in North Africa. At present, it seems unlikely that foreign governments will deploy boots on the ground. But here are some invasions of Libya that didn’t go quite as …
Rattled, U.S. Military Families Get Ready to Leave Japan
It was an offer Chiharu Marsh couldn’t refuse. Just eight weeks pregnant, the 28-year-old from Yokosuka had two days to decide whether to take the U.S. military up on its offer to fly her to America for a month, or to stay in Japan with her family and friends. As the wife of a U.S. service member at the Misawa Air Base, Marsh is one of …
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 …
One More Scandal: Indian Prime Minister Reckons With New Wikileaks Charges
Wikileaks has revived one of the most sordid episodes in India’s recent history — in which members of the opposition waved bundles of cash on the floor of Parliament — and forced Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to answer, yet again, for charges of corruption within his party.
The cable in question, from July 17, 2008, was sent by …
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 …
By Declaring ‘Ceasefire’, Gaddafi Muddies the Waters on Libya
So who will be the sharp end of the spear enforcing the U.N. Security Council resolution that demands an end to the Libyan regime’s assault on civilian population centers — a squadron of French Mirage fighters? British Tornadoes? A couple of F-16’s from the United Arab Emirates Air Force, to emphasize Arab participation? None of the …