array?

[sky753]

Hello Everyone,

What does the array in the following sentence mean?

The European controversy arrays Britain which provided bases
for the American attack on Libya, against France,
which denied overflight rights.

Regards

Sky

[thedeebo]

Not a teacher.

In this sense, it means basically to "line up as if for a battle." Britain and France are fighting (diplomatically, not militarily) over a controversy, so they are "arrayed against each other" in a sense.

[Anglika]

It is an odd use of the word, but looking at the source of this extract, it does appear to mean that Britain is put into a position of confronting France over the issue of allowing American planes to overfly en route to Syria.