Today, Libyan rebels began fighting in the western town of Zlitan when troops loyal to Gadhafi launched an offensive on the outskirts of the region. Col. Ahmed Omar Bani said that opposition forces had launched a counter-offensive in Zlitan, and were now involved in a "vicious fight" with pro-Gadhafi forces in the centerof the city. He also stated that clashes had broken out in the oil city of Brega, and lasted ...

According to a report by Reuters, a U.N. envoy to Libya discussed plans to resolve the civil war, but no definite initiative had taken shape. Despite continued NATO strikes, Gadhafi and his family remain clinging to power in the embattled country. Senior rebel official Mahmoud Jibreel informed Reuters that, "his side would reject any initiative that did not involve the removal of Gadhafi from power..." However, the Libyan government has said that official ...

Blake Hounshell, writing at Foreign Policy, highlights the power brokers who are involved in the current unrest and who could spell out the future if Yemen divulges into civil war. The first and most important being current president Ali Abdullah Saleh who has ruled since 1978 and is described as a "lifelong military man" and a man who cares more about enriching himself and his family than building a country. ...

Robert Satloff and Amos Yadlin of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy argue that while the Obama administration's mixed approach to the Arab Spring mostly falls al0ng the traditional realist-idealist divide, such tension does not exist in Syria which is against American values and interests. Hence, they classify the debate over Syria as between the devil you know and the one you don't. The administration's recent decision to extend ...

Najla Abdurrahman, a Libyan-American doctoral student at Columbia University, in an open letter to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, accuses Russia of hypocrisy over its stance against international intervention in Libya.  Ms. Abdurrahman says that Putin in particular has tried to play on Muslim and Arab historical sensitivities by likening the NATO intervention to a medieval crusade; yet Russia, she says, has a terrible record in its relationship with the ...

In a brief for the Arab Reform Initiative, Abdel Sattar Hatita discusses the power vacuum that could potentially be left following the fall of Gadhafi along with the potential groups who could fill it.  He argues: "At best, it seems that the opposition has liberal political leanings but remains, according to data from the ground, fragile and incoherent, or arguably is still in the process of being formed." Due to ...

Bilal Y. Saab, writing for The National Interest, argues that a collapse of the regime would have ripple effects across the Middle East and the country's network of external relations could collapse.  He outlines two ways in which a post-Assad Syria could develop.  On the positive side, Syrian intervention in Lebanese politics could essentially be eliminated along with its support for Hezbollah.  This would significantly weaken Hezbollah he argues.  The ...

Raymond Ibrahim, writing for the Hudson Institute, criticizes President Barack Obama's military intervention in Libya as misguided policy rationalized by "sentimental and idealistic platitudes" while lacking common sense.  Ibrahim accuses Obama of conflating "interests" with "values," treating them as one in the same, something that should not be done.  Failing to draw conclusions from Iran, Obama fails to understand that his false assumption that, "people will always choose liberal, humanitarian ...