Is Gaddafi offering a way out?

When the United States first intervened in Libya, we were told that it was to protect civilians. In fact, the United Nations Security Council Resolution that authorized force specifically limited itself to the protection of civilians. Well, apparently, someone didn’t tell the top U.S. Admiral involved in the operation: House Armed Services Committee member Mike [...]

The House GOP and the White House moved one step closer to a constitutional confrontation, but is it much ado about nothing?

The House of Representatives today approved a resolution on the U.S. mission in Libya that is much, much less than meets the eye: WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives voted Friday to harshly rebuke President Obama for continuing to maintain an American role in NATO operations in Libya without the express consent of Congress, and [...]

Remember Egypt?

An al-Jazeera film crew came up with the first direct evidence of Western military advisers on the ground in rebel-controlled Libya: Armed westerners have been filmed on the front line with rebels near Misrata in the first apparent confirmation that foreign special forces are playing an active role in the Libyan conflict. A group of [...]

Via the AP:  After 4 years, Egypt reopens its border with Gaza Egypt lifted a 4-year-old blockade of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, greatly easing travel restrictions on the 1.5 million residents of the Palestinian territory in a move that bolstered the Hamas government while dealing a setback to Israel’s attempts to isolate the militant [...]

A summary of the status of the “Arab Spring” uprisings with links to news coverage and commentary.

Via the BBC:  Libya: Rebels ‘to open office in US’ – Jeffrey Feltman US Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman has said Libya’s rebels have accepted an invitation to open a representative office in Washington. [...] Mr Feltman said the US was not negotiating with Col Gaddafi, and that the rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) [...]

The Obama Administration is offering an odd explanation for why it doesn’t need to comply with the War Powers Act.

The ICC may issue a warrant for Gaddafi.

Libya’s leader says he wants to talk about ending the conflict with the rebels, but not about leaving power: BENGHAZI, Libya — In a disjointed, defiant speech broadcast early Saturday morning on Libyan state television, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi said that he was ready for a cease-fire but that he had no plans to leave the [...]

Just about one month in, the public still isn’t thrilled with the idea of U.S. involvement in Libya: Our most recent national poll found that only 27% of Americans supported the military intervention in Libya to 40% who were opposed and 33% who had no opinion. Democrats only narrowly stand behind the President in supporting [...]

Events in Syria, and the world’s response to them, are revealing the moral bankruptcy of the justification for the war in Libya.

After stepping back several weeks ago, the U.S. is about to get more involved in the conflict in Libya: President Obama has approved the use of armed drones over Libya, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Thursday. The first flights began Thursday, but the drones were recalled because of the weather, said Gen. James Cartwright, vice [...]

Tim Hetherington, who produced and co-directed the excellent Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepo about one American platoon’s experiences in Afghanistan over the course of a year, has been killed during a battle in Misrata, Libya: BENGHAZI, Libya — Tim Hetherington, the Oscar-nominated film director and conflict photographer who produced the film “Restrepo,” was killed in the besieged [...]

Apparently, there wasn’t that much advance panning for the mission over Libya: Less than a month into the Libyan conflict, NATO is running short of precision bombs, highlighting the limitations of Britain, France and other European countries in sustaining even a relatively small military action over an extended period of time, according to senior NATO [...]

Francis Fukuyama: “In the developed world, we take the existence of government so much for granted that we sometimes forget how difficult it was to create.”

Apparently, the Pentagon’s definition of a “support role” is a bit nuanced: U.S. warplanes have bombed three ground targets in Libya since the Obama administration announced early this month that America was shifting to a support role in the NATO-led air campaign, the Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday. Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said that U.S. [...]

With the situation in Libya quickly moving toward stalemate, the two nations that pushed the US, the UN, and NATO to intervene in Libya are now pushing for expanding the mission: PARIS — France and Britain urged NATO on Tuesday to intensify airstrikes against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces and called on the alliance to do [...]

Not surprisingly, the Libyan rebels have refused to agree to a proposed cease fire deal put together by members of the African Union: BENGHAZI, Libya — A rebel council in the de facto capital of forces opposed to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi on Monday rejected an African Union delegation’s proposal for a cease-fire and continued [...]

Via the BBC:  Egypt: Hosni Mubarak to be quizzed over deaths The announcement came shortly after Mr Mubarak made his first statement since he was ousted two months ago, denying accusations of corruption. The former leader said he had the right to defend his reputation and denied having any assets in foreign countries. Mr Mubarak’s [...]

Libyan leader Mu’amar Qaddafi has reportedly accepted a cease fire proposal put forward by the leaders of the African Union: Embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, in negotiations with the African Union, has agreed in principal to a deal that would end the conflict in the nation he’s ruled for 42 years, South African President Jacob [...]

Remember when President Obama said there would be “no boots on the ground” in Libya? You didn’t actually believe that, did you?

In the days since NATO has taken over the no-fly zone from the US/UK/French, the Libyan rebels have been increasingly critical of the manner in which NATO is deploying its air assets: BREGA, Libya — A senior Libyan rebel leader sharply criticized NATO on Monday for bureaucratic delays that he said were putting civilians’ lives [...]

Libyan leader Mu’ammar Mu’aumer Qaddafi has sent a letter to President Obama, here’s the text: Our son, Excellency, President Obama U.S.A We have been hurt more morally that physically because of what had happened against us in both deeds and words by you. Despite all this you will always remain our son whatever happened. We [...]

Are we approaching endgame in Ivory Coast? Via the BBC:  Ivory Coast: Besieged Gbagbo ‘in basement’ of residence. Ivory Coast’s defiant President Laurent Gbagbo is sheltering with his family in the basement of his surrounded residence in the main city, Abidjan, the UN and military sources say. Troops loyal to Mr Gbagbo’s rival, UN-recognised President [...]

The same sort of people who were pushing for intervention in Libya now want President Obama to take action in the Ivory Coast: As civil war grips the West African nation of Ivory Coast, critics claim that President Obama is neglecting a potential crisis in Africa even as he wades into conflicts in the Middle [...]

Public skepticism with the intervention in Libya remains at a very high level: Only a quarter of Americans believe the Obama administration’s military intervention in Libya is worth the cost, and even fewer support arming anti-regime fighters, according to a new poll for The Hill. Notably, among the 1,000 likely voters polled, a greater proportion [...]

President Obama says he acted in Libya to avert an imminent genocide, but there’s no evidence that any such thing was about to occur.

We seem to be giving up on the idea of a quick resolution in Libya: U.S. officials are becoming increasingly resigned to the possibility of a protracted stalemate in Libya, with rebels retaining control of the eastern half of the divided country but lacking the muscle to drive Moammar Gaddafi from power. Such a deadlock [...]

A NATO airstrike killed 13 rebel fighters, who were mistaken for Gaddafi’s forces. Apparently, they were shooting at NATO planes.

The political crisis over presidential elections in the Ivory Cost have erupted into serious political violence. Via the BBC: Ivory Coast: ’800 die in Ivory Coast ethnic violence’.

Tom Marino (R., Pa.) needs a geography lesson: Rep. Tom Marino, R-10, Lycoming Twp., said he supports Mr. Gadhafi’s removal but said Mr. Obama should have consulted Congress before acting. Instead, the president’s action raised questions about whether he violated the constitutional provision that gives Congress the power to declare war, or the War Powers [...]

The conflict between the stated desire to see Muammar Gaddafi removed from power and the actual authority granted by UNSCR 1973 is becoming readily apparent: WASHINGTON — Members of the NATO alliance have sternly warned the rebels in Libya not to attack civilians as they push against the regime of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, according to [...]

A truly pessimistic look at the state of the Libyan rebellion last night on CNN:

For all his recent military success, Muammar Gaddafi may have suffered a more significant setback yesterday: Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister, has defected to the United Kingdom, the British foreign ministry has said. The ministry said in a statement that Koussa had arrived at Farnborough Airport, in the south of England, on a flight [...]

The setbacks for the Libyan rebel fighters seem to be getting worse: BREGA, Libya — Forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi advanced rapidly on Wednesday, seizing towns they ceded just days ago after intense allied airstrikes and hounding rebel fighters into a chaotic retreat. Having abandoned Bin Jawwad on Tuesday and the oil town of [...]

Reuters is reporting that the U.S. is now going to start arming the Libyan rebels: (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters on Wednesday. Obama signed the order, known as a presidential “finding”, [...]

The U.S. seems to be on the verge of changing war strategies in Libya, even as it becomes clear that these rebels aren’t necessarily our friends.

One week in to Operation Odyssey Down, public opinion is, to put it as nicely as possibly, ambivalent.

As allied involvement in Libya’s civil war increases, there are signs that the rebels may not be able to close the deal.

Hillary Clinton February 14, 2007: CLINTON: “If the administration believes that any, any use of force against Iran is necessary, the president must come to Congress to seek that authority,” “It would be a mistake of historical proportion if the administration thought that the 2002 resolution authorizing force against Iraq was a blank check for [...]

Robert Gates and Hillary Clinton made a tour of most of the morning shows today to talk Libya, and on more than one occasion the Defense Secretary seemed to discount the importance of Libya to the United States: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that Libya did not pose a threat to the United States [...]

There’s more evidence today that many of the men engaged in fighting against the Gaddafi regime have ties to an organization that killed 3,000 Americans about 9 1/2 years ago: Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the Libyan rebel leader, has said jihadists who fought against allied troops in Iraq are on the front lines of the battle against [...]

Barack Obama speaking at the AFL-CIO Presidential Forum on August 7, 2007: “But the fact of the matter is that when we don’t talk to the American people – we’re debating the most important foreign policy issues that we face, and the American people have a right to know,  It is not just Washington insiders [...]

President Obama’s grand coalition against Libya is a lot less than meets the eye.

One of the common comments from critics of the intervention in Libya has been that we don’t even know who the rebels are. Well, now we’re starting to learn about them, and it’s not entirely good news: Shortly after unrest broke out in eastern Libya in mid-February, reports emerged that an “Islamic Emirate” had been [...]

The White House’s effort to avoid calling a war a war reached even more absurd levels today during the Press Briefing: American and allied planes and ships pummeled Libyan air defenses and other military targets Thursday as the international alliance confronting Moammar Gadhafi moved toward shifting its command lead from Washington to NATO. U.S. officials [...]

The New York Times is reporting that the reparations that Libya paid as part of the settlement of the claims against it for the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 were actually paid by BP and other oil companies: WASHINGTON — In 2009, top aides to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi called together 15 executives from global [...]