While focusing on Libya, mass killings happened in Syria… a roundup

SYRIA: Graphic footage surfaces after Daraa clashes

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Turkey and the ambivalent, reluctant military intervention over Libya by Gülnur Aybet

Libya no-fly zone leadership squabbles continue within Nato

Turkey calls for an alliance-led campaign to limit operations while France seeks a broader ‘coalition of the willing’

A flotilla of warships has begun patrolling the Mediterranean under Nato command to block attempts by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to replenish his combat forces with arms and mercenaries.

Why Turkey recalibrated its Libya stance

NATO’s top military commander holds talks in Turkey over Libya no-fly zone

Turkey to reluctantly join Libya military campaign

ANKARA, Mar 24, 2011 (AFP) – Turkey’s parliament was to vote Thursday on sending a naval force off Libya as the Islamist-rooted government gave a reluctant nod to military action in the conflict-torn country despite anger at Western-led air raids.

Supporting the children of Omar Mukhtar

from AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (IN DEPTH)

Western intervention in Libya marks a difficult moment in Arab history as empowerment is overwhelmed by helplessness.

Libyans on the move

from AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (IN DEPTH)

As the battle for Libya continues, thousands flee towards the Egyptian border.

New Qaddafi media strategy: Blame Denmark

from FP Passport by Joshua Keating

Six Danish F-16s have joined the international effort to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya, though none have yet fired missiles. Cearly, an anti-Islamic conspiracy is at work:

The Commons debate on Libya: a milestone for British democracy?, Stuart Weir

from open Democracy News Analysis – by Stuart Weir

The Commons debate on Libya has been dismissed by some as irrelevant, as military intervention has already begun. Yet this is a milestone for democracy, as Cameron has acknowledged the emerging convention that parliamentary approval is required for the deployment of British forces abroad

EU Foreign Policy: Kum-bay-ah or Machiavelli?

from Open Europe blog by Open Europe blog team

The EU?s fledgling External Action Service has regularly been mocked for its naivety and ?Kum-bay-ah? approach; all too often it seems to base its polices on projecting a positive image of the EU, occasionally backed by some suitably bland statements, supposedly helping autocrats and dictators around the world to see the error of their ways and embrace reform.

Arab revolutions, Turkey?s dilemmas: zero chance for “zero problems”, Ivan Krastev

from open Democracy News Analysis – by Ivan Krastev

Turkey?s ambition of becoming a regional power with global relevance is reflected in the domestic and foreign policy of its confident political elite. But changing realities at home and abroad present new problems, says Ivan Krastev. In particular, the Arab democracy wave exposes the limits of Turkey?s ?zero problems with neighbours? approach.

Libya’s war, history’s shadow , Paul Rogers

from open Democracy News Analysis – by Paul Rogers

The diplomatic context of the anti-Gaddafi war is different from that of earlier western military interventions in the Arab world. But its motives, methods, silences, and falsities are all too familiar.

Libyan no-fly zone under fire , Josephine Whitaker

from open Democracy News Analysis – by Josephine Whitaker

Libyan no-fly zone appears to lack direction as operations enter third day. Thousands of young Gbagbo supporters rush to enlist in national army. Yemeni general backs rebels after army fires on protestors. Bahrain?s monarch thanks GCC states for help in foiling foreign plot to destabilise the kingdom.

Why NATO Members Disagree on Libya

from Atlantic Review

The 28 NATO members gave the Alliance a new Strategic Concept with three core tasks: collective defense, crisis management and cooperative security. Yet, just four months after the historic Lisbon summit, the members disagree considerably on NATO’s role in the crisis management concerning Libya.

MAIN FOCUS: Conflict over Libya mission | 23/03/2011

from euro|topics

The international criticism of the military intervention in Libya continues unabated, while Nato’s members remain at odds over their goals. The intervention is just and necessary, the European press writes, but fears the repercussions could be dire.

 

Analyst: Libya ground intervention ‘unlikely’

from EurActiv.com

The intervention of ground troops in Libya is unlikely and would run counter to the objectives of the Western coalition, Dominique Moïsi, founder and senior advisor at Ifri (French Institute for International Relations), told EurActiv.

A bright voice from Libya’s darkness

from FP Passport by Blake Hounshell

What does grief and courage sound like? It sounds a lot like the voice of Perditta Nabbous, the wife of Libyan citizen journalist Mohammed Nabbous, 27, who was shot and killed last Saturday by forces loyal to Muammar al-Qaddafi. Mohammed was the charismatic voice and face of Libya al-Hurra, the online TV station he set up in the early days of the uprising. Mo, as his many fans and supporters around the world called him, was attacked while trying to record footage from Benghazi.

Was right or wrong to attack Gaddafi?

from Reset Dialogues on Civilazations

Syria: Reports of Mass Killings, and a Blogger and a Journalist Disappear

Written by Anas Qtiesh

The crackdown on protesters in Daraa, Syria continues. At dawn a special army unit reportedly killed at least six people during an attack on Al Omari Mosque to disperse the protesters who have been using it as a gathering place and makeshift hospital.

Syria: Horror Mounts as 150 Protesters Reportedly Dead in Daraa

Written by Amira Al Hussaini

Alarming news from Syria has dominated my Twitter timeline, with reports of up to 150 people allegedly killed by security forces in Daraa, in southern Syria, where anti-regime protests continue.

Arab World: The Arab Tyrant Manual

Written by Amira Al Hussaini

The Arab Tyrant Manual is out, and is being tweeted as I type. On Twitter, Iyad Elbaghdadi is joined by other Twitter users to compile all the excuses we have heard from the governments of Arab countries which have had protests calling for regime change and reforms since the Tunisian uprising at the end of 2010.

Syria: Citizen Videos Show Horror in Daraa

Written by Jillian C. York

As the crackdown on protests in Daraa continues and reports pour in of more deaths, citizen reporters in the town are capturing video and uploading it to YouTube, which was only recently unblocked in Syria. The videos show the violent crackdown on Syrians in the southern city of Daraa.

Fear of the future in Yemen

Coalition offensive: Operation Odyssey Dawn

The globalisation of revolution

EU diplomats ponder if Syria next to fall

from EUobserver.com – Headline News

Libya intervention threatens the Arab spring

The politics behind Europe?s Libya split

from Ideas on Europe by European Geostrategy

The IRGC and the ?New? Middle East, Annie Tracy Samuel

In recent weeks leaders of Iran?s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the powerful force tasked with guarding the revolution, and their allies in the regular army have promoted their definition of the recent uprisings in the Middle East: The events signal the beginning of a new era, one that has resulted from and is characterized by the decline of U.S. power, the growth of the power of Islam, and a more expansive role for the Islamic Republic in the Middle East. In the process, IRGC officials have stated what they must do to ensure Iran a dominant position in the new environment: maintain the unity of the Iranian people under the mantle of vilayat-i faqih (guardianship of the jurist, the principle underlying the government of the Islamic Republic) while increasing Iran?s hard and soft power.