[NY Times] Twice in the last seven days, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have secretly launched Arclight airstrikes against Islamist-allied militias battling for control of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, Libya, four senior American officials said, in a major escalation of a regional power struggle set off by Arab Spring revolts.
The United States, the officials said, was caught by surprise:
NSA can tell you what Grannie had for breakfast on Thursday but it can't track an air strike from Egypt to Tripoli? Really?
Egypt and the Emirates, both close allies and military partners, acted without informing Washington, leaving the B.O. regime on the sidelines. Egyptian officials explicitly denied to American diplomats that their military played any role in the operation, the officials said, in what appeared a new blow to already strained relations between Washington and Cairo. |