a well rounded blog.
by the end of the day, i hope i leave a marc.
Why is the Arab world so easily offended?
by Fouad Ajami
Modernity requires the willingness to be offended. And as anti-American violence across the Middle East and beyond shows, that willingness is something the Arab world, the heartland of Islam, still lacks.
The Libyan precedent is not a hopeful one for Syria
by Peter Feaver
Was the Libya mission a model for an Obama doctrine on the use of force or was it just a one-off pick-up game? It appears it may have been both.
After Qaddafi’s fall, the White House was keen to tout the Libya operation as a perfect exemplar of how the Obama administration could wield U.S. power more effectively than previous administrations, something an advisor subsequently branded as a “lead from behind” approach. Even though Libya is still an unfinished project, if you talk to enough Obamaphiles as I do, sooner or later the Libya model will be touted again, especially the dramatic comparison of how low cost Libya was compared to Iraq.
It was low cost, at least for the United States, but as for a model, it may be a precedent for doing nothing in the future — at least that is the impression one gets from the latest reporting on Syria. Apparently, the White House has told Syrian rebels that they are on their own, that the United States will not be assisting them further, and so Assad may be on track to accomplish what Qaddafi could not: kill enough of his own citizens fast enough to defeat the rebellion before outsiders can intervene to tip the balance in favor of the “right side of history.”
In this, the Obama administration may be following the Libyan precedent to the letter. The problem with “leading from behind” is that it really means “following another leader.” In the Libyan case, the real leaders were the Europeans, especially the French and British. They led, Obama followed, and Qaddafi fell.
On Syria, no one is leading, not yet anyway. Perhaps the cross-border violence will finally prod Turkey into leading and, if so, perhaps the “Libyan model” will lead the Obama administration into acting. But until then, the Libyan lesson may simply be this: When no one leads, no one follows, and when no one follows, the international community does not act.
(Source: foreignpolicy.com)
When Condi Met Gaddafi
In an exclusive excerpt from Condoleezza Rice’s new memoir, ‘No Higher Honor,’ the former secretary of state tells all about her meeting with the recently killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi: his obsession with her, his WMD stockpile—and the infamous ‘tent.’
What's next for the Arab Spring?
by Marwan Muasher
(CNN) — Moammar Gadhafi’s exit from Libya is a reminder that the Arab awakening will not just fizzle out, despite what some observers are saying. Recently, commentators pointed to the public cheers heard in Egypt as the army pushed protesters out of Tahrir Square as a signal that the uprisings were petering out and the hope of the Arab Spring would soon be lost. The doomsayers were wrong.
This Week at War: Hold That Model
by Robert Haddick
It’s too early to call Libya a success story.
Keys to a brighter future for Libya
by Ambassador Edward Djerejian
(CNN) — The likely fall of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime poses critical challenges to the emerging new Libyan leadership, to the United States and to the international community, and has important political implications for the future of the Syrian regime.
(Source: CNN)
Libya Inspires the Arabs
by Marc Lynch
The scenes of the joyous reception for Libyan “Freedom Fighters” entering Tripoli with little resistance yesterday sent an electric shock through the Arab public.
(Source: foreignpolicy.com)
In Libya’s Wake: Pressure Builds on Assad
Was Syrian President Bashar al-Assad one of the millions around the world who watched Libyan revolutionaries triumphantly stream into their capital Tripoli on Sunday night? Did the sudden collapse of most of the Libyan regime’s defenses in and around Tripoli cause Assad to feel a heightened sense of anxiety? It’s impossible to tell but the Twittersphere certainly drew parallels between the two regimes, with many jubilant commentators predicting that the young Syrian president would be the next Arab leader toppled by his people.
(Source: TIME)
How Arab youth found its voice
by Ibrahim Mothana
When Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Tunisia in January, he did not only ignite a series of unpredicted revolts but also heralded the first appearance of Arab youth on the stage of modern history.
A Revolutionary Ramadan
by Foreign Policy
A great slideshow summarizing where the uprisings in the Arab world stand today.
A Ramadan of Discontent
by Babak Dehghanpisheh
Activists from Egypt to Syria to Libya will use the Muslim holy month to stage protests against hardline regimes—which may launch their own crackdowns, writes Babak Dehghanpisheh.
Sure, ‘Gaddafi Must Go’, But What Else Did U.S. Officials Tell the Libyan Leader’s Envoys?
by Tony Karon
Washington insists that the U.S. officials who met with representatives of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Tunisia last week were not negotiating; they simply went to deliver one message: “Gaddafi must go.” There’s no reason to doubt that this demand was the center-piece of what the Americans told Gaddafi’s emissaries, since Obama Administration concurs with all the NATO powers — and even those skeptical of the Western alliance’s war effort, such as Russia and the African Union — that the key to a political solution to the conflict is for the self-styled “Brother Leader” to relinquish power. But that message has been delivered repeatedly through the metaphorical megaphone of the media throughout the five-month civil war. Presumably the reason it was communicated discreetly by diplomats behind closed doors last weekend is that it was accompanied by some ideas on just how Gaddafi might “go”, and what would follow if he does.
(Source: TIME)
NIGHTNIGHT by DEDDY
