Libya

The 32 nations of the Libya contact group, meeting in Istanbul, have decided to recognize the Transitional National Council in Benghazi as the legitimate government of Libya. The US was among those agreeing to do so, for the first time. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton made it clear that it took the US so long […]

Rebel forces took the city al-Qawalish on Wednesday, extending their control toward the capital and putting them in striking distance of the key city of Gharyan. Meanwhile, a Russian report said that Qaddafi was willing to step down (this strikes me as extremely unlikely, and why is it only coming via Moscow? Qaddafi has a […]

Free Libya leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said Sunday that Muammar Qaddafi could remain in Libya in retirement if he gave up power. This offer is the first time the rebel forces in Benghazi have spoken this way. Presumably the deal is impelled in part by the International Criminal Court indictment of Qaddafi, his son, and […]

Muammar Qaddafi’s increasingly beleagured security forces were hit with three demoralizing developments on Monday and Tuesday. First, the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations voted to authorize President Obama to pursue the Libya war for one year. Although members of the committee were critical of the president for not coming to them in the first […]

The International Criminal Court has issued indictments against Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and the head of the secret police. This move is a great good thing, and combines with an increasing conviction among close observers that the regime’s time in Libya is coming to a slow, inexorable close. Free Libya forces […]

The Republican-dominated US House of Representatives voted down an authorization for President Obama to have the US participate in the Libya War on Friday. (Many Democrats also joined in). The House did not agree to cut off funding for the war. With regard to US domestic politics and the rule of law, the vote would […]