NATO chief recommends end of Libyan ops via social media

In what could be a first instance in the history of social media, the inter-governmental military alliance North Atlantic Treaty Organization's top official bared plans to end operations in Libya through Twitter and Facebook. Following the capture and death of former Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) Admiral James Stavridis bared his plan on Facebook and Twitter. “An extraordinary 24 hours in Libya. As SACEUR, I will be recommending conclusion of this mission to the North Atlantic Council of NATO in a few hours. A good day for NATO. A great day for the people of Libya," he said in his Facebook account. He posted a similar message on his Twitter account, adding a link to his Facebook post. “An extraordinary 24 hours in Libya. As SACEUR, I will be recommending conclusion of this mission to the North...," he tweeted. Tech site Wired.com pointed out this “has to be a first in the annals of social media." It also noted NATO has yet to put out any such official press release, with its last one saying the North Atlantic Council would consider the issue of ending the war as early as Friday. “Stavridis hasn’t even posted the announcement on his NATO blog," it noted. On the other hand, Wired.com said that while social media did not cause the revolt that ousted Gaddafi, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have been what the military calls “force multipliers" – amplifying the effects of the social movements that destabilized entrenched dictatorships. These had allowed people to organize internally and broadcast their message globally in real time, it added. “Stavridis’ announcement is another milestone for social media. In this day and age, it’s rare for wars to end at all. But now, major geopolitical announcements like the conclusions of hostilities occur through fora typically used for sharing goofy videos or telling people how tasty their sandwich was," it said. Wired.com also “apologize" to Stavridis for knocking his use of social media last year in a piece on the “Military’s Worst Tweeters." — LBG, GMA News