No. 91: Impartial and Stuck: NATO's Predicament in Libya

Author(s): Daniel Möckli
Editor(s): Daniel Möckli
Series: CSS Analyses in Security Policy
Issue: 91
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich
Publication Year: 2011

The military operation in Libya is supported by a remarkably broad UN mandate and has gained wide international backing. With a no-fly zone quickly established, it has succeeded in protecting large numbers of civilians. However, as Gaddafi has changed tactics, the allies are struggling to identify new military targets. Yet NATO's biggest challenge is the lack of agreement concerning the political outcome of the mission. If the Alliance sticks with its declared impartiality, it faces a potentially long engagement without a clear exit strategy. If it considers extending stronger support to the rebels, it risks a major internal rupture.

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Military Operations in Lybia: National Contributions

Civil War in Libya (2011): Gaddafi vs. the Rebels