NATO’s intervention in Libya
NATO members have been divided over exactly what their role should be in the country.
The international operations in Libya are now into their second week – under US command and control.
However, the US has insisted that its leadership role be temporary and has pushed for transferring command of the operation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO.
But there have been arguments among NATO members as to exactly what the nature of the operations should be.
Turkey and Germany, in particular, are insisting that NATO should only accept responsibility for the maintenance of a no-fly zone, arguing that military action beyond this objective is not mandated by the UN resolution.
Are two centres of command and control viable? Is this division in responsibility a reflection of differences over exactly what is mandated by the UN Security Council resolution on Libya?
Inside Story is joined by guests: Jay Stout, a former US marine pilot and author of a book about the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq; Tarik Yousef, a Libyan political analyst and dean of the Dubai School of Government; and Phyllis Bennis, the director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.
This episode of Inside Story aired on Friday, March 25, 2011.