The BBC is reporting on a leaked NATO report claiming that elements of Pakistani intelligence are directly aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan even as the U.S.-led NATO forces are fighting them: The Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services, according to a secret Nato report seen by the BBC. The leaked [...]

The well-respected aid group Doctors Without Borders is suspending its work in the jails in the city of Mistrata based on what it calls evidence of widespread torture taking place right under the new regimes nose: BENGHAZI, Libya — Doctors Without Borders has suspended its work in prisons in the Libyan city of Misrata because [...]

We, as a country, need to remember that do not hold levers that allow us to move events this way or that

Via the BBC:  Mohamed ElBaradei will end Egypt presidency bid Mr ElBaradei, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, said he had taken his decision in protest at the way Egypt’s military rulers governed "as though no revolution had taken place". [...] "My conscience does not permit me to run for the presidency or [...]

The last major holdout from the Ghadafi regime was captured today in Libya: TRIPOLI, Libya – Muammar Qadhafi’s son Seif al-Islam was captured in a southern Libyan city along with two of his aides who were trying to smuggle him out of the country, a militia commander said on Saturday. Bashir al-Tlayeb of the Zintan [...]

This interview between Herman Cain and the editors of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is even more painful to watch than Rick Perry’s 53 second “Ooops”: No debate formats, no moderators, no time limits. And this is what Herman Cain gives us. Pathetic. Update: NBC’s Chuck Todd posted this on Twitter: Campaig[n] says Cain was on 4 [...]

The leaders of Libya’s National Transition Council say that the people responsible for Muammar Qaddafi’s death will be prosecuted: Libya’s ruling National Transition Council pledged on Thursday to bring the killers of deposed leader Muammar Qaddafi to trial, Al Arabiya TV said. “With regards to Qaddafi, we do not wait for anybody to tell us [...]

Apparently, the Kim regime is concerned that North Koreans living in Libya have been exposed to a little too much revolution: North Korea has banned its own citizens working in Libya from returning home, apparently out of fear that they will reveal the extent – and final outcomes – of the revolutions that have shaken [...]

The first statements to come out of what is effectively the new Government of Libya are not encouraging: BENGHAZI, Libya — Libya’s top leader declared the country officially “liberated” Sunday from the four-decade rule of Moammar Gaddafi, pledging to replace his dictatorship with a more democratic but also a more strictly Islamic system. In a [...]

Should we be outraged over the manner in which Muammar Gaddafi died? I’m not losing any sleep over it.

Gaddafi is dead, but it was still wrong for the United States to get involved in Libya.

The BBC is reporting that rebels claim to have captured the ousted leader of Libya.

This is looking less crazy, less sudden, and less an exercise in presidential whimsy than it seemed.

One thing is clear: anyone who tries to make cheap political hay over the LRA is a fool.

Some information on Joseph Kony and the LRA.

Obama is trying to get into Guinness under “US President with Most Simultaneous Wars”

Earlier this month I took note of a report of a number of Russian made surface-to-air missiles that were missing from a weapons cache in Libya. It now appears that the problem is much worse than that: U.S. officials had once thought there was little chance that terrorists could get their hands on many of [...]

A new report from Amnesty International says that Libyan rebels have been guilty of atrocities during their campaign to overthrow the Gaddafi government: Rebels fighting to topple Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi committed unlawful killings and torture, Amnesty International said in a report released on Tuesday. The 100-plus page report, based on three months of investigation [...]

His government has collapsed, but Muammar Qaddafi remains able to elude capture: TRIPOLI, Libya — In another confusing round of claims and counterclaims by the Libyan rebels, a spokesman for their most powerful militia commander said Wednesday that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi had been cornered in the Sahara, a report dismissed by a spokesman for the [...]

Well, this is something that could be a problem: A potent stash of Russian-made surface-to-air missiles is missing from a huge Tripoli weapons warehouse amid reports of weapons looting across war-torn Libya. They are Grinch SA-24 shoulder-launched missiles, also known as Igla-S missiles, the equivalent of U.S.-made Stinger missiles. A CNN team and Human Rights [...]

Via the BBC:  Libya conflict: Troop convoy crosses border into Niger An armed convoy of about 50 vehicles from Libya has crossed over the southern desert border into Niger. The convoy is believed to be carrying mainly Tuareg fighters recruited by fugitive Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi to fight for his regime. [...] Officials from [...]

Steve Clemons highlights former first lady Laura Bush’s continuing work in promoting education and international engagement.

The collapse of the Libyan government has led to the discovery of a treasure trove of documents, including evidence of close cooperation between the CIA and Libyan Intelligence in the rendition and torture of suspected al Qaeda members: Documents found at the abandoned office of Libya’s former spymaster appear to provide new details of the [...]

Reports are coming out of Libya that paint the Libyan rebels in a very unkind light.

Via the BBC:  Libya crisis: Colonel Gaddafi says he will fight on. Call me crazy, but when the story start with the description “Libya’s fugitive ex-leader” and the defiant claims are being made form a hidey hole somewhere, I find them to be more than a little unimpressive. And just to put the cherry on [...]

Via the BBC:  Zimbabwe MPs shun circumcision

Apparently, the Libyan rebels have been receiving aid from the Islamic Republic of Iran: Iran “discreetly” provided humanitarian aid to Libyan rebels before the fall of Tripoli, Jam-e-Jam newspaper quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday as saying. We were in touch with many of the rebel groups in Libya before the fall of [...]

Any hope that a change in government in Tripoli would bring the people responsible for the bombing for Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland has gone out the window: TRIPOLI, Libya – The Libyan rebels’ interim government says it will not deport the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. The rebel Justice Minister [...]

It’s difficult to know what is correct these days (see Doug’s post below), but this appears to be the latest, courtesy of The Guardian: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has offered to enter negotiations with the Libyan rebels over the formation of a transitional government as loyalist fighters are pushed further to the outskirts of Tripoli and [...]

The Daily Mail is reporting that Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi has been spotted in Zimbabwe: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has fled Libya to Zimbabwe on a jet provided by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, it was claimed today, as rebels began the march on his home town. President Mugabe’s political opponents claim their spies saw Gaddafi arrive in [...]

For those who are old enough to remember Operation El Dorado Canyon, the April 1986 air raid in which U.S. forces attacked military and other assets in Libya in retaliation for a terrorist attack that killed several American soldiers, the story of the claimed death of Muammar Gadhafi’s young adopted daughter is well known. Supposedly, [...]

Among the odder things discovered in the ruins of Muammar Gadhafi’s is a photo album the Libyan leader kept containing nothing but pictures of Condoleeza Rice: The ransacking of Moammar Gadhafi’s compound is turning up some bizarre loot. Following on from the Libyan leader’s eccentric fashion accessories and his edaughter’s golden mermaid couch, the latest discovery [...]

Success in Libya does not make the American mission any less unjustified than it was on the day President Obama announced it.

The battle for Tripoli took a new turn today as Libyan rebels breached the last line of defenses surrounding Muammar Gadhafi’s compound in central Tripoli: Rebel fighters flooded into Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s sprawling compound on Tuesday, overwhelming what remained of its defenses and running pell-mell through the grounds, as the crackle of gunfire and rumble [...]

CNN correspondent Sara Sidner is in Tripoli, Libya reporting on the rebel advance into the city. Unfortunately when she was interviewed recently whoever was in charge of graphics at CNN must’ve been someone who flunked geography: There is a Tripoli, Lebanon, of course, but it isn’t currently under rebel assault, and presumably not the hideout [...]

The events in Libya over the past 48 hours have been very fast-moving and, thanks to the fact that we don’t have the kind of on-the-ground coverage we had in Egypt back in April, often been based more in rumor than in fact. At various times, it’s been reported over the past two days that [...]

With rebel forces closing in around Tripoli, we’re once again getting word that the only man convicted in the bombing of Pam Am Flight 103, released by the British because he was supposedly dying of cancer, isn’t likely to die anytime soon: Scottish authorities have come under attack from around the world for the decision [...]

NBC News is reporting that Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi may be preparing to leave Libya as rebel forces once again advance on Tripoli: Moammar Gadhafi is making preparations for a departure from Libya with his family for possible exile in Tunisia, U.S. officials have told NBC News, citing intelligence reports. One official suggested it was [...]

The corruption trial of Egypt’s former president has begun. Via the BBC:  Mubarak trial: Egypt’s ex-president denies all charges The 83-year-old is being tried with his sons, who also deny charges against them, ex-Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and six other former officials.

Ben Smith picks up on this statement by Admiral Mike Mullen that the rest of the media seems to have missed: QUESTION: I wanted to ask you about the NATO campaign in Libya, if you think that it’s winnable as it is now, and what’s the latest on whether or not the U.S. will arm [...]

According to The New York Times, Libyan rebels are being accused of attacking civilians in several captured towns: Rebels in the mountains in Libya’s west have looted and damaged four towns seized since last month from the forces of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, part of a series of abuses and apparent reprisals against suspected loyalists that [...]

A potential game changer in Afghanistan today came with the assassination of Hamid Karzai’s half-brother, who happens to be a powerful presences in southern Afghanistan: KABUL, Afghanistan — The powerful half brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai was shot dead on Tuesday by a close family associate, according to Karzai family friends who were nearby. [...]

After years of civil war, the southern regions of Sudan are now their own country: JUBA, South Sudan — The celebrations erupted at midnight. Thousands of revelers poured into Juba’s steamy streets in the predawn hours on Saturday, hoisting enormous flags, singing, dancing and leaping on the back of cars. “Freedom!” they screamed. A new [...]

The House of Representatives voted to block funds going to Libyan rebels, but declined to take the full step of defunding U.S. military action there entirely The House on Thursday voted to limit how the U.S. can spend money on military efforts in Libya, but rejected a measure to defund the operation entirely. The approved [...]

The outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that the Pakistani government had, at least, advance knowledge of the killing of an outspoken reporter: The Pakistani government “sanctioned” the killing of a journalist last month, the top U.S. military official said Thursday, but he said he could not tie the death to [...]

Via VOA:  Turkey Recognizes Libyan Rebels, Offers Another $200 Million in Aid Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Sunday Ankara recognizes the rebel Transitional National Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people. He was speaking on a visit to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, the stronghold of the rebels who launched an [...]

Leon Panetta has been brought in to oversee significant cuts to the U.S. Defense budget. Meanwhile, we’re in six wars.

The Navy Times reports that American forces have been involved in operations over Libya to a far greater extent than the Obama Administration’s representations have led us to believe: Air Force and Navy aircraft are still flying hundreds of strike missions over Libya despite the Obama administration’s claim that American forces are playing only a [...]

Today’s Washington Post reports that  American drones have made strikes against “militants” in Somalia: A U.S. drone aircraft fired on two leaders of a militant Somali organization tied to al-Qaeda, apparently wounding them, a senior U.S. military official familiar with the operation said Wednesday. The strike last week against senior members of al-Shabab comes amid [...]

Via the BBC: Libya: ICC issues arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi The court had accused him of crimes against humanity and of ordering attacks on civilians after an uprising against him began in mid-February. The Hague-based court also issued warrants for two of Col Gaddafi’s top aides – his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief [...]