CIA officers in Libya are aiding rebels, U.S. officials say

[pulledpork]

That headline does not inspire me with confidence.



WASHINGTON — CIA officers on the ground in Libya are coordinating with rebels and sharing intelligence, U.S. officials say, but the White House is still mulling whether to provide weapons to those trying to oust Moammar Kadafi.

"No decision has been made about providing arms to the opposition or to any group in Libya," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement. "We're not ruling it out or ruling it in."

The White House had no comment on a report by Reuters that said Obama had signed a presidential finding authorizing secret aid to the rebels within the last two or three weeks.


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/sc-dc-0331-cia-libya-20110330,0,2762769.story

[gateley]

1. The "secret" authorization that Reuters reported -- do you think that the

WH leaked that for some reason? I never know whether to think they're true "leaks" or intentional.

[GSLevel9]

2. they must not be wearing BOOTS.

;)

[Baclava]

3. Has anyone seen my sandals?

[Distant Observer]

11. Organizing "Live:" calls into AC3360 etc does not require boots. First phase is mainly PROPAGANDA

[Keith Bee]

4. Wow. What a shock.

The Company is always on the ground, in whatever country we're attacking at the moment.

[Distant Observer]

15. SHOCKED! SHOCKED! This has never happened before

[LAGC]

5. I'm all for arming the rebels and letting THEM fight their own damn revolution!

That's what we should have done in Afghanistan, just aided the Northern Alliance and let THEM over-throw the Taliban. Wouldn't have this messy occupation to deal with.

I'd much rather see the CIA peripherally involved than a full-scale military invasion.

[Runework]

6. lol "much rather see the CIA"

yeah, they usually have the population's interests at heart...

'53 Iran

'54 Guetemala and on forward

etc.........but Im sure theyre the "good guys" now !

gee, I wonder how much privatization there will be if this succeeds...

[Duende azul]

9. That´s the perplexing part of DU`s reaction to Libya.

Never seen so much people here comfortable with the company they find themselves in

[EFerrari]

10. Americans, unlike other Western democracies, conflate themselves

their government and their country. So it's little wonder that they want to believe the best of structures like the CIA in spite of all evidence to the contrary.

[pulledpork]

18. Chile in '73

And on it goes. Expect blowback to arrive in 2020 or so.

[opihimoimoi]

7. Its a recon move to determine who the freedom fighters are..And can be trusted enough for commitment

We needed this info badly...

[onenote]

17. +1

[Distant Observer]

8. "Spider" Marks said "special-ops" spotters on the ground doing "lighting" Gaddafi forces for Air

attacks.

The whole fight is basically the Western Air Forces wiping out Gaddafi troops on the ground with
spotting from intelligence on the ground, while the "rebels" mop up and being the local "cover" for the action.

Unfortunately for CIA, Gaddafi fighters seem ready to keep fighting even in the face of withering Western fire power.

[Luminous Animal]

12. Yay CIA! God, I love them. They've got our backs.

[indimuse]

13. KNR! n/t

[Distant Observer]

14. Its a shame how the SBB could not do a Coup without so much killing.. Gaddafi's was bloodless.

Gaddafi and his fellow revolutionaries managed to build their network and plot revolution
for 5 years in total secret and carry out the 1969 coup swiftly and without bloodshed.

The Western/GCC plot has been world of lies and propaganda, massive destruction
and internal strife for the Libyan people and bloodshed as far as the eye can see.

Whatever the CIA has been doing, the history of how Gaddafi did his revolution
contrasts starkly with their counter-revolution. It puts their efforts to shame.

A shame on the SBB. A shame on Obama.

[Bandit]

16. Where there are CIA operatives, Special Forces can't be far behind..

They seem to work hand and foot in situations such as this one.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. The CIA is well known for it's Humanitarian aid and pro-democracy stance.

In about the same way that the KKK is well known for it's work for racial equality.

[EFerrari]

20. This is the CIA that suffered no consequences for a worldwide torture program, too.

Trained professionals.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. Well, be fair. Look at the consequences that guy that murdered 2 Paikistanis suffered.

A free ride home and into oblivion.

Seriously, though. I can't see any scenario in which this half-baked FUBAR of a mission can come out well. If Gadhaffi holds on, retaliation against the rebels and their supporters is likely to be horrific. If the rebels win the retaliation against the Gaddhafi supporters will be equally horrific. If neither win, it will be a long and bloody civil war.

Adding the CIA into the stew is akin to adding arsenic into the salad dressing. Even a hint of CIA involvement can only solidify the belief (with good reason) that the "humanitarian" mission is a thinly disguised effort at neo-colonialism to the Arab "Street". Hell, even the "leaders" of the mission can't agree on what they're doing there or how they're going to get out.

[EFerrari]

22. Gaddafi said that if he is ousted, Libya will fragment into a bunch of

Islamic states and he is probably right to a degree. He also said foreigners were creating disturbances and he was probably right about that, too.

I don't understand, after watching Iraq splinter, why on Earth anyone thinks they can take Gaddafi out and put in some manufactured council to hold all those different people together. I guess greed is unteachable.

Plus, it's just gross to me for people to keep invoking that raped woman as if CIA is in Libya to protect women from rape.