"At one rebel training base, a diversity of motivation" by Ben Hubbard, Associated Press / March 31, 2011
BENGHAZI, Libya — The hundreds of men who come daily to this town’s seized army base for lessons in shooting rifles, loading rocket launchers, and firing artillery shells agree on at least two things: Libyan ruler Moammar Khadafy must go, and arms are the only way to get him out.
Beyond that, their visions of Libya should Khadafy’s 42-year reign end differ vastly. Some want democracy. Others want a share of Libya’s oil wealth. Still others, albeit a minority, see Libya’s liberation as the first step toward establishing a regional Islamic state. That is bound to scare the international coalition bombing Khadafy’s forces....
The interim council, largely stocked with foreign-educated, Westernized Libyans, insists it seeks a liberal democracy based on a constitution and with regular elections.
But interviews with more than a dozen men receiving weapons training at the military base provide a window into the diverse motivations pulling rebel ground troops into battle....
NATO’s top commander, US Navy Admiral James Stavridis, told Congress Tuesday that officials had seen “flickers’’ of possible Al Qaeda and Hezbollah involvement with rebel forces....
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"Infighting hinders Libya rebel leadership; Opposition also stalled on battlefield" by Kareem Fahim, New York Times / April 4, 2011
BENGHAZI, Libya — As the struggle with Moammar Khadafy threatens to settle into a stalemate, Libya’s rebel government is showing growing strains that could hurt its effort to complete a revolution and jeopardize its requests for foreign military aid and recognition.
The divisions were evident last week, when the three men commanding the opposition forces were summoned to a series of meetings in Benghazi, the rebel capital, to discuss the sagging battlefield fortunes.
And yet if you read the other daily reports in the Globe it is always rebels are winning.
The rebel army’s nominal leader, Abdul Fattah Younes, a former interior minister and friend of Khadafy whom many rebel leaders distrusted, could offer little explanation for the recent military stumbles, two people with knowledge of the meetings said.
Making matters worse, the men could hardly stand one another. They included Khalifa Heftar, a former general who returned recently from exile in the United States and appointed himself as the rebel field commander, and Omar el-Hariri, a former political prisoner who occupied the largely ceremonial role of defense minister.
“They behaved like children,’’ said Fathi Baja, a political science professor who heads the rebel political committee....
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Also see: Libya's Next Leader
