BENGHAZI, Libya — With the rebels’ battlefield fortunes sagging, the three men in charge of the Libyan opposition forces were summoned late last week by the ad-hoc leadership of their movement to a series of meetings here in the rebel capital.
Rebels waited on Sunday for dinner to be served at their makeshift camp in Ajdabiya. The inexperienced opposition movement is still trying to assert its authority.
The Libyan RebellionInteractive map of the major clashes in Libya, day by day.
The rebel army’s nominal leader, Abdul Fattah Younes, a former interior minister and friend of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi 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, the movement’s leaders said, 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.
Little was accomplished in the meetings, the participants said. When they concluded late last week, Mr. Younes was still the head of the army and Mr. Hariri remained as the defense minister. Only Mr. Heftar, who reportedly refused to work with Mr. Younes, was forced out. On Sunday, though, in a sign that divisions persisted, Mr. Heftar’s son said his father was still an army leader.
As the struggle with Colonel Qaddafi threatened to settle into a stalemate, the rebel government here was showing growing strains that imperil its struggle to complete a revolution and jeopardize requests for foreign military aid and recognition.
In an appearance Sunday on “State of the Union” on CNN, Gen. James L. Jones, President Obama’s former national security adviser, said that the United States “is buying space for the opposition to get organized.”
But a White House official said last week that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was extremely reluctant to send arms to the rebels “because of the unknowns” about who they are, their backgrounds and motivations.
“It’s a moment in time where there is no real clarity,” said General Jones, who is now a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “But the things being worked on are being worked on to get that clarity.”
The meeting on the faltering military effort was a study in the struggles of an inexperienced rebel movement trying to assert its authority, hold on to its revolutionary ideals and learn how to run a nation on the job. In a country where politics was dominated for decades by the colonel, his family and his loyalists, the rebels have turned for leadership to former government figures and exiles they seem to know by reputation alone, and whose motives they do not always trust.
There have been several hopeful signs. Experts on oil and the economy have joined the rebel ranks, and a spokesman prone to delusional announcements was quietly replaced. Police officers appeared on the streets of Benghazi this week, in crisp new uniforms. Despite the dismal progress on the battlefield, thousands of Libyan men still enthusiastically volunteer to travel to the front every week.
Still, many decisions remain shrouded in secrecy and are leaked to Libyans piecemeal by a few rebel leaders who seem to enjoy seeing themselves on Al Jazeera, the satellite news channel. And with each day that Colonel Qaddafi remains in power, the self-appointed leaders of the rebel movement face growing questions about their own legitimacy and choices.
After the Benghazi meetings, a screaming match broke out when Mr. Heftar’s supporters berated a rebel leader for choosing Mr. Younes to lead the army. A young lawyer, Fathi Terbil, who helped start the uprising, was reduced to running around trying to separate people. Watching the argument, Wahid Bugaighis, who was recently appointed to oversee oil interests, said the tumult was the inevitable result of Colonel Qaddafi’s long dictatorship.
Even so, he was cautiously hopeful. “At least they’re not shooting each other,” he said, before security guards escorted a reporter away from the scene.
On Sunday, the military shake-up seemed to be under review again. An adviser to the rebels said they were now consulting field commanders as a way of determining who should lead the army.
The location of the meetings last week, in a hotel conference room, signified how the rebel movement has evolved from its earliest days. The courthouse by the Mediterranean where the rebels started their protests now often seems empty, more of a shrine to a popular movement than its headquarters.
It has become increasingly difficult to locate the center of rebel power.
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Rebels waited on Sunday for dinner to be served at their makeshift camp in Ajdabiya. The inexperienced opposition movement is still trying to assert its authority.
The Libyan RebellionInteractive map of the major clashes in Libya, day by day.
The rebel army’s nominal leader, Abdul Fattah Younes, a former interior minister and friend of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi 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, the movement’s leaders said, 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.
Little was accomplished in the meetings, the participants said. When they concluded late last week, Mr. Younes was still the head of the army and Mr. Hariri remained as the defense minister. Only Mr. Heftar, who reportedly refused to work with Mr. Younes, was forced out. On Sunday, though, in a sign that divisions persisted, Mr. Heftar’s son said his father was still an army leader.
As the struggle with Colonel Qaddafi threatened to settle into a stalemate, the rebel government here was showing growing strains that imperil its struggle to complete a revolution and jeopardize requests for foreign military aid and recognition.
In an appearance Sunday on “State of the Union” on CNN, Gen. James L. Jones, President Obama’s former national security adviser, said that the United States “is buying space for the opposition to get organized.”
But a White House official said last week that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was extremely reluctant to send arms to the rebels “because of the unknowns” about who they are, their backgrounds and motivations.
“It’s a moment in time where there is no real clarity,” said General Jones, who is now a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “But the things being worked on are being worked on to get that clarity.”
The meeting on the faltering military effort was a study in the struggles of an inexperienced rebel movement trying to assert its authority, hold on to its revolutionary ideals and learn how to run a nation on the job. In a country where politics was dominated for decades by the colonel, his family and his loyalists, the rebels have turned for leadership to former government figures and exiles they seem to know by reputation alone, and whose motives they do not always trust.
There have been several hopeful signs. Experts on oil and the economy have joined the rebel ranks, and a spokesman prone to delusional announcements was quietly replaced. Police officers appeared on the streets of Benghazi this week, in crisp new uniforms. Despite the dismal progress on the battlefield, thousands of Libyan men still enthusiastically volunteer to travel to the front every week.
Still, many decisions remain shrouded in secrecy and are leaked to Libyans piecemeal by a few rebel leaders who seem to enjoy seeing themselves on Al Jazeera, the satellite news channel. And with each day that Colonel Qaddafi remains in power, the self-appointed leaders of the rebel movement face growing questions about their own legitimacy and choices.
After the Benghazi meetings, a screaming match broke out when Mr. Heftar’s supporters berated a rebel leader for choosing Mr. Younes to lead the army. A young lawyer, Fathi Terbil, who helped start the uprising, was reduced to running around trying to separate people. Watching the argument, Wahid Bugaighis, who was recently appointed to oversee oil interests, said the tumult was the inevitable result of Colonel Qaddafi’s long dictatorship.
Even so, he was cautiously hopeful. “At least they’re not shooting each other,” he said, before security guards escorted a reporter away from the scene.
On Sunday, the military shake-up seemed to be under review again. An adviser to the rebels said they were now consulting field commanders as a way of determining who should lead the army.
The location of the meetings last week, in a hotel conference room, signified how the rebel movement has evolved from its earliest days. The courthouse by the Mediterranean where the rebels started their protests now often seems empty, more of a shrine to a popular movement than its headquarters.
It has become increasingly difficult to locate the center of rebel power.
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Do For Your Business. Try It Now!
google.com/Adwordsoogle.com/AdWords
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Are You Writing a Book?
Get A Free Guide To Professional
Editing And Publishing Options.
Cheap Airfare to India
Discount Tickets To Indian
w.NovaTravel.com
w.ChangeMasters.com
Free book by world famous business
expert Dale Carnegie. Downloadable!
www.DaleCarnegie.com
Peaks Within Reach
Performance Enrichment Consulting
Achieve Peak Performance
www.peakswithinreach.com
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