Libya Archives - Page 3 of 19 - Foreign Policy In Focus

NATO vs. Rogues?

by John Feffer | May 1, 2012

Institutions rarely vote themselves out of existence. Not if they still have money in their budgets. Large institutions in particular have an almost genetic propensity to cling to life even after their reasons for being have vanished. That’s why I don’t expect NATO, which will gather in Chicago later this month, to suddenly declare game over and disband – even though the alliance’s rationale has become wafer-thin. The Soviet Union is no more, al-Qaeda is a spent force, and NATO members are rushing for the door in Afghanistan. Indeed, most of Europe is cutting back on military spending, and the debt-saddled region has a diminished appetite for intervention.

Militias Still Have the Run of Libya

by Paul Mutter | Apr 16, 2012

Many fear that militias will interfere with Libyan elections.

Is Libya Dissolving?

by Felipe Umana | Mar 30, 2012

The Congress for the People of Cyrenaica, which was held in eastern Libya’s largest city, Benghazi, attracted international attention after the group demanded greater autonomy from the central government in Tripoli and a reversion to the federal Libya that existed in the 1950s.

Qadhafi Family’s Money Confiscated, Accounts Frozen

by Paul Mutter | Mar 20, 2012

Some African Union leaders now miss Qadhafi’s largesse as Libyan Investment Authority assets are being returned to the new Libyan government.

Body Counts in Libya Could Prove Embarrassing

by Chris Toensing | Mar 8, 2012

Most of the deaths in Libya occurred after the UN Security Council authorized the NATO sorties.

In the Aftermath of Libya: a Chance to Define “Responsibility to Protect”

by Paul Mutter | Feb 18, 2012

Responsibility to protect (R2P) must focus on persuading militias to lay down their arms and commit to a political process.

Cult of Personality

by John Feffer | Jan 17, 2012

He is, in the words of Barbara Walters, a “mild-mannered ophthalmologist.” Indeed, the rather squeamish leader-to-be chose eye surgery because it didn’t involve much blood. He speaks fluent English and can get by in French as well as his native Arabic. His wife is a knock-out, a “rose in the desert” according to a Vogue profile. Reluctant to take over the family business from his father, he interrupted his medical training in London to return home only after his older brother died in a car accident. Then, once at the helm, he released a number of political prisoners and instituted economic reforms that got a thumbs-up from the international business community. He cooperated with the United States in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Even today, he uses all the right words: transparency, dignity, reform.

Strategic Dialogue: Libya after Gaddafi

by Michael Berube, David Gibbs | Jan 17, 2012

In this strategic dialogue, Michael Berube and David Gibbs reply to each other’s initial essays on the legacy of the NATO intervention in Libya.

Libya for Libyans

by Michael Berube | Jan 12, 2012

I write in late December 2011, as the United States finally withdraws combat troops from Iraq, and the likely Republican nominee for president in 2012, Mitt Romney, criticizes President Obama for his “precipitous” withdrawal. Nearly nine years in Iraq in a disastrous war of choice is apparently not enough for dead-ender hawks like Romney, who, undaunted by the long debacle, continue to insist that the United States should leave up to 30,000 troops in the country–perhaps in partial fulfillment of John McCain’s suggestion that the United States remain in Iraq for 100 years.

Libya and the New Warmongering

by David Gibbs | Jan 12, 2012

The NATO intervention in Libya is likely to produce a more militarized and insecure world, and this will be its most enduring legacy. The military “success”in Libya has increased the possibility of new wars. There is a widespread perception that NATO has achieved an easy victory against Gaddafi, and the resulting sense of hubris augments the risk of future military actions against Iran, Syria, and other possible targets. Politicians in NATO countries surely welcome the public distraction that war provides, especially in the context of the world-wide economic slump, and this may prove an additional motivation for new military action.