The Obama administration has sent teams of CIA operatives into Libya in a rush to gather intelligence on the identity, goals and progress of rebel forces opposed to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, according to U.S. officials.
Such information has become more crucial as the administration and its coalition partners move closer to providing direct military aid or guidance to the disorganized and beleaguered rebel army. Officials said that, though no decision has been made, President Obama, in a covert finding, has authorized preparations to launch such an effort.
In Libya, in the face of a new onslaught by government troops, rebel forces fled eastward Wednesday from cities and towns they had captured just days ago. But Gaddafi suffered a political defeat with the defection to Britain of his foreign minister, Musa Kusa, the most senior official thus far to break ranks.
Kusa, one of the most senior figures in Gaddafi’s government, quit to protest attacks on civilians by government forces, news agencies reported, citing an account from an associate. Kusa served as chief of Gaddafi’s intelligence apparatus from 1994 until 2009, when he was appointed foreign minister. Kusa previously had been considered likely to stick with Gaddafi to the end.
Kusa traveled to Tunisia on Monday for what was described as a “private” visit, then flew to London Wednesday afternoon. His apparent decision to defect is a victory for Western officials, who have urged members of Gaddafi’s inner circle to abandon the Libyan leader.
“We can confirm that Musa Kusa arrived at Farnborough Airport on 30 March from Tunisia,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement. “He travelled here under his own free will. He has told us that he is resigning his post. We are discussing this with him and we will release further detail in due course.”
In Libya, after having been driven back from the town of Bin Jawwad on Tuesday, the rebels retreated through the oil hubs of Ras Lanuf and Brega on Wednesday en route to the strategic city of Ajdabiya, fighters reported. Rebels in a motley assortment of vehicles raced eastward on both lanes of the coastal highway toward Ajdabiya after coming under shelling in Brega from the more heavily armed Gaddafi forces, witnesses said.
The headlong retreat demonstrated the limits of the rebels’ fighting abilities in the face of superior firepower and military organization on the loyalist side. It also underscored how dependent the anti-Gaddafi forces have become on airstrikes and missile attacks launched against the loyalist army by a Western-led coalition that was formed less than two weeks ago to enforce a no-fly zone and to protect Libyan civilians.
After airstrikes decimated government forces in Ajdabiya last week, the rebels recaptured the city Saturday and quickly took back Brega, Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawwad in a westward push that they vowed would soon overrun Sirte, Gaddafi’s birthplace and stronghold on the Gulf of Sidra. But a loyalist counterattack rapidly drove the rebels back the way they had come, leaving them pleading for more Western airstrikes.
Full Story: Rebels continue retreat in eastern Libya – The Washington Post