How Did Tripoli's Stubborn Stalemate Suddenly Become a Rout? -- Uri Friedman, The Atlantic Wire
When Defense Secretary Leon Panetta stated last week that Muammar Qaddafi's days were numbered, many news outlets--ourselves included--reported the news with some skepticism. After all, all sides in the conflict had declared imminent victory before, the Libyan leader was as defiant as ever, and the consensus among analysts was that the ragtag rebels faced steep challenges in seizing a relatively quiet and heavily fortified Tripoli. And then suddenly, on Sunday, the unthinkable happened: rebel fighters poured into the capital with relative ease, swiftly taking control of much of the city (as today's heavy fighting suggests, fully rooting out the regime is proving more difficult). What was behind the sudden shift in the six-month-old uprising, which observers had long dubbed an intractable stalemate? Let's take a look at some of the most intriguing theories:
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Has Obama's approach to Libya been vindicated? -- Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor
Libya inspires the Arabs -- Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy
Can victory make an illegal war legal? -- Timothy P. Carney, Washington Examiner
Gaddafi's fall unlikely to alarm Arab leaders -- Brian Whitaker, The Guardian
The lesson of Libya: Limited intervention can work -- Jason Ukman, Washington Post
Analysis: Gaddafi Collapse Will Embolden Arab Rebels -- New York Times/Reuters
Lessons of the Libya Intervention -- Shadi Hamid, The Atlantic
The Death of Egyptian-Israeli Peace -- Benny Morris, National Interest
Bahrain protests and Obama's 'drop by' diplomacy -- Christian Science Monitor editorial
Al Qaeda’s New Sinai Front -- Bruce Riedel, Daily Beast
Biden's China Visit: Supplicant to Beijing? -- Philip Bowring, Asia Sentinel
Apple core of capitalism -- Kevin Rafferty, Japan Times
EU leaders need to go against the grain with debt crisis -- Barrie McKenna, Globe and Mail