The reprisal for Tawerghans was swift after Gaddafi’s fall, with Misratan forces launching a series of attacks on the city that Amnesty International characterized as ethnic cleansing.
Reconciling Displaced Libyans and Their Neighbors
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Libya
The Mali Blowback: More to Come?
The French-led military offensive in its former colony of Mali has pushed back radical Islamists and allied militias from some of the country’s northern cities, freeing the local population from repressive Taliban-style totalitarian rule. However, despite these initial victories, it raises concerns as to what unforeseen consequences may lay down the road.
Obama Administration May, in Fact, Have Let Its Guard Down on Benghazi
The response of Libya to the Benghazi attacks provide hope that it may be capable of controlling the militias in the end.
The Islamophobe Fringe
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is a convicted conman. He knows almost nothing about Islam and even less about filmmaking. And yet, thanks to the power of the Internet and the tense relationship between the West and Islam, Nakoula has generated a major international scandal with Innocence of Muslims, his lowbrow, low-budget movie.
Embassy Protests and Middle East Unrest in Context
It seems bizarre that right-wing pundits would be so desperate to use the recent anti-American protests in the Middle East—in most cases numbering only a few hundred people and in no cases numbering more than two or three thousand—as somehow indicative of why the United States should oppose greater democracy in the Middle East.
Dogwhistling Past Libya
The deadly attack on U.S. diplomatic personnel in Libya calls into the question the efficacy of the NATO intervention in Libya.
Separated at Birth: Salafi Extremists and Pastor Terry Jones
The cold, dead hand of Salafi extremism was once again on display in Benghazi.
Mali’s War: The Wages of Sin
The bad dream unfolding in Mali is less the product of a radical version of Islam than a consequence of the West’s scramble for resources on this vast continent, and the wages of sin from the recent Libyan war.
Beyond Libya’s Election
Libya’s transition to democracy will require far more than a peaceful and democratic election. The legitimacy of the elected government depends on its capacity to disarm local militants while ensuring all Libyans’ security, effectively distributing Libya’s petro-wealth and specifying Islam’s role in governance. The resolution of these polarizing and controversial issues — peacefully within the framework of democratic institutions or through continued violence and authoritarianism — will define the post-Gaddafi era in Libya.
The Pitfalls of Presidential Priestliness
One of the most resonant details from The New York Times’ recent feature on the Obama administration’s targeted killing program is the president’s apparent fondness for the writings of Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo, two early Christian thinkers who attempted to reconcile the pacifist teachings of Christ with the compromises that leaders must make in their inherently violent line of work. The president, it is suggested, strives to wage a “just war” against militants abroad, exacting only as much violence as is necessary to protect the United States from harm.