...d the idea of a no-fly zone, he should have taken command—and ownership. Instead, true to form, he dithered. He failed to explain this operation to the American people. He failed to establish a clear chain of command with our NATO allies. He even failed to say exactly what it is the United States wants to accomplish in Libya. If you don’t have an informed and supportive public, a workable command structure and a definable objective, you don’t go...
...irst direct talks in eight years. In 2008, it helped resolve the dangerous presidential standoff in Lebanon. In recent years, Ankara has taken a more active approach toward the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, sent troops to the NATO mission in Afghanistan, contributed to UN forces in Lebanon, assumed a leadership position in the Organization of Islamic Conference, attended several Arab League conferences; established closer ties with Iran, Iraq, an...
...t since Russia’s maritime power was bottled up in the Baltic and Black Seas, gaining direct access to the Mediterranean became Russia’s great challenge up to the late 20th century, particularly during the Cold War against the NATO alliance. Yet events are now turning dramatically in Russia’s favor. Arctic ice is melting before our eyes, and if the strategic interests of the Mediterranean are still critical for Russia, a new, much wider door is no...
...points of contention between Islamabad and Washington are only growing in number. The US’s grievances include squandering of millions of dollars of foreign aid money by Pakistan’s venal politicians and the closure of a NATO transport route that ran out of southern Afghanistan. For the last year, Pakistan has demanded that NATO pay a hefty $5000 per truck to reopen the route, representing a 20-fold increase from the previous price. Pakistan...
...into an ally, if not a vassal, of Iran, although it remains to be seen how this strategy turns out. This dual strategy is also appearing in, of all places, Afghanistan, where Iranian weapons have been discovered and, in 2010, NATO forces captured a Quds force operative. Further, the US military has attributed the influx of EFPs, money, and other advanced weapons systems in Afghanistan to Tehran, although they point out that the support has been m...
...national shipping company, and a Georgian government official recently announced that Armstrong would invest $150 million in Georgia’s oil infrastructure. Georgia also hopes that deeper ties with western institutions such as NATO and the European Union will protect it from Russian interference. “Georgia’s central foreign policy plank,” said Welt, “is to get the US and EU to exert pressure and offer incentives in order to get Russia to withdraw s...
Illustration by Esha Maharishi From the unannounced raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound that surprised and humiliated Pakistani officials, to a badly botched NATO operation that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, 2011 was not a great year for US-Pakistani relations. Many American policymakers are dismayed that neither friendship nor financial assistance has induced Pakistan to cooperate with American objectives in South Asia. Moreover, the strategic...
...to affect change in their own society was echoed by Elshgaabi, who worked with Libyan civil society during the transition period. “Somehow they [Libyans] are really thirsty to get an education,” he said in English. Following NATO’s intervention and U.N. Security Council Resolution 1970 referring the crimes in Libya to the ICC, Libya’s revolution has faced a tension surrounding the impending trial of former Qaddafi loyalists. Alsaghayer explained...
...abitants of the northern capital. Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is here, accompanied by Crown Prince Frederik, Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Danish members of Parliament. Also invited are numerous representatives from NATO, Norden, the ICC, Nordefco, the European Union, the United Nations, and special emissaries for northern issues from a plethora of multilateral organizations. European, American, and East Asian heads of state have each b...
...which is also the official symbol of the Hellenic Parliament) was banned from both the United Nations and the Olympic Games under Greek pressure and was ultimately modified. Greece, a member of both the European Community and NATO, put intense pressure on international institutions that resulted in a United Nations-led decision in 1995: Greece would not prevent Macedonia from joining international organizations so long as it adopted the temporary...
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