That'd be news to Johnny Spann, were he still alive...
Posted on 03/30/2011 4:53:24 PM PDT by kristinn
The CIA has sent more than a dozen covert operatives to Libya as part of an escalating U.S. effort to vet the rebels working to oust Libyan strongman Muammar el-Qaddafi and lay the groundwork for funneling American aid to the insurgents, according to a person with direct knowledge of the CIA operations there.
The CIA’s deployment to Libya, which is virtually certain to expand in the coming days, comes amid word that President Obama has authorized U.S. intelligence agencies to provide direct assistance to the Libyan rebels. There are no U.S. military personnel on the ground in Libya yet, though the United Kingdom, America’s closest battlefield ally, has several dozen Special Air Service commandoes and M16 agents already operating there. News of the CIA deployments to Libya was first reported by The New York Times and then independently confirmed by National Journal.
The CIA operations inside Libya highlight the delicate balancing act that the Obama administration is facing when it comes to the U.S.-led military intervention there. Obama has been adamant that there will be no U.S. military "boots on the ground" inside Libya, and U.S. Special Operations personnel in nearby countries have been placed on high-alert but not yet deployed, according to military officials familiar with the matter.
But with the administration openly considering direct assistance to Libya's rebels, the administration appears to have decided that it needed to get CIA operatives into position there to make contact with Libya's disparate insurgents and begin orchestrating the logistics of providing weaponry, money, and other forms of aid to the fighters.
The small teams of CIA operatives are currently clustered primarily in Benghazi, the de-facto rebel capital, according to the person with knowledge of their activities. Beyond the outreach efforts to Libya's rebels, the U.S. personnel are also meant to gather frontline intelligence about possible targets for future coalition airstrikes, this person said.
The CIA declined to comment.
SNIP
White House spokesman Jay Carney issued a no-comment, non-denial.
"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."
FOX BREAKING -
Just said the White House said that the CIA does NOT count towards boots on the ground.
So there you have it
We are not at war
No boots on the ground
Ground troops (non SOF) will be in Libya by the end of April. Count on this.
Allahu akbar
Allahu akbar
Libya-nam.
President Cloward-Piven's only goal is to overwhelm the system.
Mission accomplished!
That'd be news to Johnny Spann, were he still alive...
Bump for later outrage.
Can’t we just offer a Libyan a few million to deprive Gaddafi of oxygen?
Thousands of lives and billions would be saved.
No doubt. the secret CIA mission we all know about will find the rebels to be fine Christian soldiers eating apple pie and waving American flags and wanting freedom and democracy!
I call BS on this!!!
Wake Up America -we got us a tyrant in the oval office!
The CIA has been on the ground from the very beginning, i.e., even before we launched the no-fly zone.
I like it.
Dick Gregory said ;
"It would have been cheaper to give them all $50,000.
..regarding Vietnam.
Allahu akbar
No doubt CIA hs been on the ground since the bombing began. Someone has to identify the good guys so they are not obliterated by C130’s.
Testing the water by going in deeper.
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