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 ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

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:

has helped to move from dictatorship to democracy. 

Positive trends seen in 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

Tag: NATO

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