E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSThe New York Times: “The Central Intelligence Agency has inserted clandestine operatives into Libya to gather intelligence for military airstrikes and to contact and vet the beleaguered rebels battling Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces, according to American officials.”
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney released this statement: “As is common practice for this and all Administrations, I am not going to comment on intelligence matters. I will reiterate what the President said yesterday – no decision has been made about providing arms to the opposition or to any group in Libya. We’re not ruling it out or ruling it in. We’re assessing and reviewing options for all types of assistance that we could provide to the Libyan people, and have consulted directly with the opposition and our international partners about these matters.”
The Times also reports, “A day after Libya’s foreign minister defected to London, dealing a blow to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s government even as his forces made military advances, Britain said the Libyan official had fled of his own accord and without promises of immunity from prosecution.”
“The Obama administration’s closed-door briefings Wednesday for House and Senate lawmakers about U.S. military operations in Libya didn’t end the broadside from Capitol Hill,” Roll Call says. “Administration officials were repeatedly hammered with questions during their briefing with House lawmakers, but some Republicans said few answers were forthcoming.”
“The head of a major Wall Street company echoed White House officials Wednesday, warning that a default on America's debts would be ‘catastrophic,’” The Hill writes. “Speaking at an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., said America has a ‘moral obligation’ to ensure it pays its debts on time.”
This is interesting. “President Barack Obama was not on the ballot in 2010, but his campaign committee outspent all other presidential campaigns last year on legal fees, refunds to contributors and payments to the Treasury Department for unusable donations,” Roll Call reports. “Obama for America has spent more than $2.8 million on legal fees since the 2008 election, according to a CQ MoneyLine study of Federal Election Commission records. In all, the president’s campaign spent three times more on lawyers after Election Day than in the two years preceding it.”
“President Obama has threatened to veto the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill unless a provision on union organizing is removed,” The Hill notes.
Leave a Comment:
If Richard Engel can report from the Rebel camps, then certainly it's not difficult for Army Intelligence to embed itself in the fight. Watching his reports is almost like watching a strange, funny, deadly reality show.
Strange, funny, deadly reality show? So that's what War is to you? Interesting, I'll remember this asinine saying.
3WolvesandaMoon
Have you seen Richard Engel reporting from Libya with the rebels? Or do you only watch FOX news?
It almost looks like Engels wants to take over and lead the rebels himself. He probably has more experience with war. Last week he pointed out one of the rebels had a toy machine gun and, that man risked his life to retrieve it when they were under fire. Then Engels reported the rebels fired a rocket launcher: in the wrong direction, hitting a town. If you had seen one of Engels reports you would understand my comment.
No Amy, I'm in wonderful Baghdad where I get to see rocket come in at my direction. Why would the media report such information about toy guns? You think, just maybe the news is trying to send a message to help arm the rebels? Just a thought
Didn't the Vietnam war begin like this?
Juven
Vietnam was started because the north wanted independence from the south. the south was supported by France. the north in 1946 came to the united states for help, we turned them down because of our allegiance to France, so they went to the Russians and they were more than happy to give them what ever they wanted, soon the north stated attacking the south and kicked the french out, the south then came to us, president Eisenhower put advisers on the ground in 1959 and that is how the Vietnam war started.
This action in Libya i don't agree with, i think if we can watch the Israel kill people in Gaza then what happening in Libya should not bother us. but i will say this, if Bush had approached Afgan this same way, we would have gotten rid of the terrorist that attacked us not have lost so many brave souls and been trillions ahead.
Jeff may I suggest that the very people that brought down a passenger plane full of Americans over Scotland are the people being opposed here that the US has an obligation to the families of the dead to get to what Ghadahfy knew, when he knew it and get the SOB? Now that his right arm has fled and is in fact in custody we may get to the bottom of it all, don't ya think? To my way of thinking there is so much more cause here than fake WMD's and nothing but lies by an American President. I suppose that many Republicant Conservathieves are totally frustrated that Bush's way was an abject failure and that now so many are fighting for their freedom that we truly can not help them all as we are engaged in battle not unlike a civil war thus far without weapons right here at home. Not North/South but still a battle none the less.
Hope this man who defected gives us lots of usefull intelligence to help the freedom fighters of Libya. Would be great if Gaddafi would just step down and leave.
JuvenBachen,
Vietnam was less defined than this. The CIA was in before any military action began. Then special forces. When CIA realized it would be a mistake going in and recommended pulling out to Kennedy. He was assassinated shortly after and Johnson ignored the recommendation and went full force in. Big Mistake! This is why conspiracy theorist think Johnson, a Texan, had a hand in Kennedy's assassination. Johnson profited from the Vietnam War through companies under Lady Bird's name.