“I come from Tunisia, everyone you see here comes from Tunisia, we are all afraid after the revolution that has taken place because nothing has changed up until now,” said one migrant who made it to Lampedusa. “From the date of January 14 (when Ben Ali left), nothing has changed. All of us here, we are not asking for anything, we only ask for a possibility to find work in Europe.”

Turkey has been an uncomfortable member of any Western organisation it was ever part of. Its only comfortable role was that of conqueror, oppressor and ethnic cleanser in the Ottoman Empire. If you think it’s uncomfortable now as a NATO member, just wait until it joins the EU. If we Eurowussies ever want to be cured of our decades-long colonial guilt-trip, we only have to look at the Turkish army’s annual parade in Istanbul (sorry, Constantinople), complete with Janissaries and Spahis in costume.

But tish and piddle. Re. NATO being slow in Libya: 1) It’s a bit rich of the rebels to start blaming NATO for their troubles when they cannot bring themselves to suffer even a small number of casualties in their advance to Tripoli, and 2) NATO cannot bring its high-tech power to bear if Gaddafi’s tanks are surrounded by civilians. In any case, NATO has chosen a very restrictive interpretation of UNSCR 1973, and it’s the individual members under national command who are doing any of the shooting.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/131391/20110406/libya-turkey.htm

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/gaddafis-men-try-to-obliterate-traces-of-massacre-in-zawiya-2263670.html

People’s perception changes from “hosanna” to “crucify him” within days.

So please leave the PR out of this. Governments which run on public perception and PR are bound to crash in a wall.

[Daphne – On the contrary, it is governments which do not do so that crash into that wall, John. I’m not talking here of perception without substance, but of substance with the right perception. Unfortunately, what Malta has on its hands in this crisis is no substance badly portrayed. A double negative.]

I’m quite sure there is at least an element of truth in that. It is exceedingly easily to screw up things in NATO thanks to its over-democratic way of running things, which is totally inappropriate for what is meant to be a military organisation.

There are surely elements in the Turkish government that love Gaddafi just as much as KMB does and if they happen to be in the right places they will find it all too easy to throw a spanner in the works. Keep in mind that in such an operation even a small delay is enough to render it ineffective. It is surprising that NATO action actually works at all in the best of times, let alone when being undermined from within.

Turkey has always been an uncomfortable member, for the other members that is. The only reason it was admitted was to deny it to the Soviet Union. Since that dissolved it has become no more than a liability to NATO.