UAE strikes on Libya stir US fears of a free-for-all in the Middle East

The region's US-armed powers could stage their own interventions as Washington steps back from decades of war

August 28, 2014 | http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/8/28/libya-air-strikeconcern.html

by Michael Pizzi @michaelwpizzi

The U.S. was reportedly caught off-guard last week by a mysterious set of airstrikes in Libya, which senior White House officials told the New York Times had been carried out by the United Arab Emirates with Egyptian support. The report, denied by both countries, has sparked concerns that transnational military action without Washington’s endorsement by two of the region’s U.S.-armed powers portends a free-for-all of military intervention in the Middle East amid waning U.S. influence.