On June 1 in Brussels, the North Atlantic Council approved a prolongation of the NATO-flagged campaign in Libya for another 90 days –that is, until the end of September (www.nato.int, June 1). The Alliance had originally set a 90-day term, counting from March 31 when... MORE

As predicted from the outset of the Libya crisis (EDM, April 21, 26), Russia now officially proposes to “help” extricate the Western belligerents from their difficulties in Libya. Moreover, Moscow’s mediation is being solicited. At the G8 summit in Deauville, France on May 26 –... MORE

In the months following January’s successful vote for secession from the Republic of Sudan, South Sudan’s inherently weak government is already threatened by rebel militias, tribal violence and clashes between gunmen in its oil-rich Jonglei state, South Sudan’s largest. Prominent among the insurgent generals imperiling... MORE

“The bravest men can do nothing without guns, the guns can do nothing without plenty of ammunition, and neither guns nor ammunition are of much use in mobile warfare unless there are vehicles with sufficient petrol to haul them around.” General Erwin Rommel, 1942 [1]... MORE

African support for military intervention in Libya against Colonel Qaddafi has been far cooler than that displayed by the United States and Europe (see Terrorism Monitor, April 14). Among the African countries critical to the success of NATO activities in Libya, Algeria has rapidly emerged... MORE

As anticipated (EDM, April 26), Russia is offering its mediation services in Libya to capitalize on NATO’s predicament. The Russian government has invited emissaries from both Libyan sides, Tripoli and Benghazi, to Moscow for separate talks. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, is using foreign dignitaries’... MORE

NATO’s combat operation in Libya involves only 10 out of 28 member countries. It amounts to a coalition-of-the-willing from among NATO members, continuing a pattern set in Iraq (NATO’s flag could not be used there, but can and is being used for the Libya campaign).... MORE

The United States kick-started the Libya operation on March 19, in charge of Operation Odyssey Dawn, and launching air and missile strikes until April 3. The French, British, and several other governments (some of them with caveats) joined the operation from the outset. Washington, however,... MORE

Following in US footsteps, NATO has stumbled into its own war of choice in Libya. The rationale in this case is an assumed “responsibility to protect” populations, apparently anywhere, from mass-scale atrocities or war crimes, be they perpetrated by governments or resulting from civil conflicts.... MORE

Without food, employment or security, thousands of sub-Saharan Africans are taking to the sea in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats in desperate attempts to escape the violence in Libya. They are joining some 25,000 Tunisians who have already fled to the Italian islands of Lampedusa and... MORE