Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret support for Libya rebels

[EFerrari]

By Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON | Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:54pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

Obama signed the order, known as a presidential "finding", within the last two or three weeks, according to four U.S. government sources familiar with the matter.

Such findings are a principal form of presidential directive used to authorize secret operations by the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA and the White House declined immediate comment.

News that Obama had given the authorization surfaced as the President and other U.S. and allied officials spoke openly about the possibility of sending arms supplies to Gaddafi's opponents, who are fighting better-equipped government forces.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-libya-usa-order-idUSTRE72T6H220110330?WT.tsrc=Social%20Media&WT.z_smid=twtr-reuters_%20com&WT.z_smid_dest=Twitter

[sad sally]

1. Despite warnings, the US will plow ahead and hope for the best.

This part, describing covert action, is chilling:

"The article, by VOA intelligence correspondent Gary Thomas, said covert action "can encompass many things, including propaganda, covert funding, electoral manipulation, arming and training insurgents, and even encouraging a coup."

U.S. officials also have said that Saudi Arabia and Qatar, whose leaders despise Gaddafi, have indicated a willingness to supply Libyan rebels with weapons.

Members of Congress have expressed anxiety about U.S. government activities in Libya. Some have recalled that weapons provided by the U.S. and Saudis to mujahedeen fighting Soviet occupation forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s later ended up in the hands of anti-American militants.

There are fears that the same thing could happen in Libya unless the U.S. is sure who it is dealing with. The chairman of the House intelligence committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, said on Wednesday he opposed supplying arms to the Libyan rebels fighting Gaddafi "at this time."

"We need to understand more about the opposition before I would support passing out guns and advanced weapons to them," Rogers said in a statement"

[JoePhilly]

7. Ohhhh .... "government sources" .... scary.

"Some have recalled' ....

Oh no!!!

[EFerrari]

9. I guess you'd have to be groped at an airport to fully appreciate

what blowback means in a concrete way. :)

[leftstreet]

2. K&InvisibleR

[tekisui]

3. Wonder where it will end. It is clear we will start arming the rebels.

Will we provide on the ground training?

Assistance? What more?

I guess as long as any US military and CIA wear sandals or slippers, we won't have any boots on the ground.

[EFerrari]

4. The same bad plot over and over.

What ever happened to "American ingenuity"?

[MadHound]

5. Variation upon an old theme.

Move along, no change here.

[Distant Observer]

6. Sadly there is an operations manual for all this, just like for the "no-fly-zone." "implementation"

[Runework]

8. So Obama is a liar

he said the mission was to protect the people of Benghazi

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Distant Observer]

13. Obama is clearly going along with the BAU of the SBB

[hulka38]

10. The pace of the mission creep

has been very fast.

[Baclava]

11. 'It's just a no-fly zone - we'll be done in a jiffy'

Covert Ops?

Some secret.

Guess Libya didn't roll over like a good dog in Egypt.

I'm breaking out my Splinter Cell games - send me in coach.

[Exilednight]

14. When will we ever learn from our failed mistakes? I once believed that Obama was smarter than this.

[suffragette]

15. The script for this must be pretty dogeared at this point

having been used and reused so often.


From the British side:



http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/british-officials-working-with-rebels-in-east-2255739.html

Yesterday, David Cameron said British officials were liaising with rebel ground forces in eastern Libya. "We are actually now in proper contact with the rebels and a Foreign Office official is now having proper discussions with them, which I think is vital as we need to get to know and work with them and make these points with them," the Prime Minister told the Commons.

The team has been in Benghazi for several days and has held talks with the Interim National Transitional Council (INTC), which was set up in the city earlier this month.




For some reason, I keep picturing these guys:

[Baclava]

17. For some reason I keep thinking of these guys - 'advisors' in Vietnam

[jakeXT]

16. great stuff k&r nt