NATO’s chief surrenders to irrational exuberance
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is undoubtedly relieved that the military operation against the Gaddafi regime is winding down. The prolonged mission was a divisive one within the alliance, with only a minority of members contributing fighting forces and several key members openly skeptical. The relatively peaceful transition of power in Tripoli has also been ...
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is undoubtedly relieved that the military operation against the Gaddafi regime is winding down. The prolonged mission was a divisive one within the alliance, with only a minority of members contributing fighting forces and several key members openly skeptical. The relatively peaceful transition of power in Tripoli has also been very welcome. Had Tripoli turned messy, the alliance would have faced enormous pressure to dispatch a stabilization force, something for which its members have no appetite. But even a wave of relief can't fully account for the recent reckless optimism of NATO's chief. On Twitter today Rasmussen let loose these gems:
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is undoubtedly relieved that the military operation against the Gaddafi regime is winding down. The prolonged mission was a divisive one within the alliance, with only a minority of members contributing fighting forces and several key members openly skeptical. The relatively peaceful transition of power in Tripoli has also been very welcome. Had Tripoli turned messy, the alliance would have faced enormous pressure to dispatch a stabilization force, something for which its members have no appetite. But even a wave of relief can’t fully account for the recent reckless optimism of NATO’s chief. On Twitter today Rasmussen let loose these gems:
#NATO has helped#Libya to move from dictatorship to democracy.Positive trends seen in
#Libya over last weeks are irreversible.
It’s almost as if he’s daring events to prove him wrong.
David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist
More from Foreign Policy

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.