Confusion west of Tripoli as Rommel manoeuvred (9)
I believe the answer is:
maelstrom
'confusion' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'west of tripoli as rommel manoeuvred' is the wordplay.
'west of' suggests taking the first letters (most west - leftmost - letter).
'manoeuvred' indicates anagramming the letters.
The first letter of 'tripoli' is 't'.
't'+'as'+'rommel'='tasrommel'
'tasrommel' with letters rearranged gives 'MAELSTROM'.
(Other definitions for maelstrom that I've seen before include "Confused situation" , "Strong circular current of water" , "violent upheaval" , "Powerful whirlpool" , "Large whirlpool" .)