On Wednesday, the Middle East Institute (MEI) partnered with International Relief and Development (IRD) to hold a discussion on the current status of humanitarian issues in Libya.  U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz delivered the keynote address.  Following Amb. Cretz's address, Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin moderated a question and answer session as well as a panel discussion. The panel included Mark S. Ward, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Democracy, ...

Muammar Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam vowed to continue the war and retake Gadhafi's capital in his first public appearance.  According to Saif al-Islam, 20,000 armed soldiers are prepared to defend Sirte, the central city that was Gadhafi's birthplace and continues to be his stronghold.  The regime's chief spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim rejected the rebel ultimatum to surrender in Libya's cities, Sirte, Bani Walid and Sabha by Saturday. Saif also urged Libyans to ...

Farnaz Fassihi writes in the Wall Street Journal that Iran's support for Syria "has rapidly eroded Tehran's credibility among Arab's" resulting in a "foreign policy dilemma" for Iran.  Fassihi argues that Iran's support for President Bashar al-Assad will further isolate Iran within the region, however, abandoning Assad "will crumble Iran's platform in Syria." Fassihi writes that Iranian officials have taken a "selective approach" to the Arab Spring hailing Egypt's movements as ...

Security forces shot two people dead and wounded nine others in the province of Idlib, according to activists from the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.  Activists also reported that two Syrians died of critical wounds in Homs and Deraa provinces, and a third person was found dead in Harasta near Damascus as a result of sniper shooting. Authorities also stormed villages, raided houses and made arrests.  Security forces also fought ...

Josh Rogin interviewed top White House official Ben Rhodes who reported that in regards to Libya, Obama administration's "multilateral and light-footprint approach to regime change is more effective than the troop-heavy occupation-style approach used by the George W. Bush administration in Iraq and Afghanistan." According to Rhodes, the Obama administration's strategy for military intervention will have better results in Libya's future and will also "form the basis of Obama's preferred model for ...

Last week Turkey's military endured a change-up when four top military officials resigned from their posts, leaving Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul to elect and confirm new leaders in their place. Erdogan received very little scrutiny from the general population, but attention has been called to the alleged coup that took place in 2003 leading to the continual detainment of military officials. Some are happy to see ...

Al-Jazeera reports that rebel spokesperson Mohammed Zawawi has claimed that a NATO airstrike killed Gadhafi's son, Khamis, in the western city of Zlitan. Khamis serves as the commander of Libya's 32nd Brigade which is composed of about 10,000 men. It is regarded as one of the most powerful military units in the country, if not the most powerful. Zawawi says that Khamis was among 32 others who were killed in the attack overnight. However, ...

Today, President Abdullah Gul appointed four new members to replace those who resigned last week in a symbolic move to protest against allegations of an attempted plan for military takeover. Gull approved the appointments at the annual Supreme Military Council four-day meeting which is a meeting geared at reviewing promotion options for senior military officials. Additionally, former head of the military police General Necdet Ozel was named the new chief of general ...

Libyan representatives have reported they are ready have more talks with the United States and Libyan rebels in an effort to further push Libyan Leader Muammar Gadhafi from power.  According to a Libyan government spokesman, Gadhafi "will not bow to demands he leave power."  After a productive dialogue with Libyan representatives and the U.S. last week where the U.S. officially recognized Libya's rebel government, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said, "We believe ...

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, said in an interview that the Libyan government is "holding real negotiations with France and not with the rebels." He reportedly said, "the French officially informed us that they wanted to set up a transitional government in Libya." A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson denied reports of beginning direct negotiations with the Gadhafi regime, but acknowledged that indirect contact had been made. And French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet ...

As Libyan rebels continue to make progress toward moving into Tripoli despite heavy casualties.  They have battled west from Misrata toward Zlitan and after six weeks of stalemate, rebels have pushed back the forces of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi. Tripoli still remains about 125 miles away. However, Gadhafi continues attacking the opposition on the Libyan frontline by relying on heavy artillery to defend their positions. Gadhafi supporters rallied in Green Square ...

New York Times' C.J. Chivers reports that 13 pro-Qadhafi soldiers and 7 rebels were killed on Wednesday when rebel troops took Qawalish, a small mountain town situated outside the capital of Tripoli. The rebel troops also took 15 pro-Qadhafi soldiers as prisoners. The rebels are inching their way towards the capital in hopes of disrupting the supply lines which feed Qadhafi's troops weapons, fuel, and other war-related goods. William Maclean asks ...

The African Union called on members to disregard the warrant for Muammar Gadhafi's arrest that was issued by the International Criminal Court.  According to the AU's chairman, Jean Ping, the court was "discriminatory and focused on crimes committed in Africa but ignored those committed by Western powers including in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan." On Friday, Gadhafi said that he would attack European "homes, offices, families" unless NATO stopped their attacks in Libya. ...

Josh Rogin argued for Foreign Policy that the rejection of H.R. 2278, sponsored by Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL) and designed to cut funding for the Libya campaign, does not reflect support for the administration's involvement in Libya. Rather, up to 70 of the 149 Democrats who voted against the bill are opposed to the Libya intervention, and "they voted 'no' on the Rooney's bill because they thought it was too weak, ...