Split over Libya?

TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI/BERLIN (Own report) – The serious tensions developing
among the countries attacking Libya are enhancing Germany’s future
chances of influence on this North African country. Following rather
frankly expressed annoyance on the part of Italy, France is also
dropping out of war alliance and is surging ahead with negotiations
with the Gadhafi clan. The fact that Paris is no longer insisting on
Moammar al Gadhafi’s total withdrawal, has provoked heavy protests not
only in London but also in Washington. The British press sees a
looming split in NATO on the question of Libya. These cracks in the
war alliance are to Berlin’s advantage. In the case of the rebels not
being able to make a clean sweep in the near future, Berlin can hope
to become, in the intermediate and long term, a lucrative mediator
between Tripoli and Benghazi. Collateral benefits are also beckoning
in Africa. Whereas the African Union is calling for a negotiated
solution in Libya, Berlin is recommending itself as a power
independent of the USA and a possible partner, even in conflict
situations. It is wrong to believe “that we could never have our own
opinion (…) [other] than the Americans,” explained Berlin’s Africa
Commissioner, immediately before the Chancellor set out on her trip to
Africa, in the hopes of enhancing Germany’s position on the African
continent.
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