“The West should realise that Libya is not Kosovo,” runs the front page headline in Dutch daily De Volksrant following a NATO meeting on the issue, held on June 8. The paper points out that the “the difficult war in Libya” has lasted for 82 days while the war in Kosovo in 1999 ended after 78 days of bombings. “The question is becoming more and more painful for the West and its allies: how much longer?” the paper notes at a time when the General Secretary of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, says he’s “optimistic” about the mission and persuaded that the Gadhafi era is soon to be in the past, yet government forces are still bombing the rebel town of Misrata and NATO bombed 40 targets in broad daylight. But “pumping up the pressure” doesn’t seem to have impressed Gadhafi who declared on Libya television on June 7 that he had but “a single choice; go all the way”.
Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!
It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.
Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!