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Sen. McCain Meets With, Praises Rebel Forces During Visit To Libya

Staff Reporters |
April 22, 2011 | 9:58 a.m. PDT

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) praised Libyan opposition forces after meeting with them during a previously unannounced visit to Libya on Friday. “They are my heroes," he said.

McCain, one of the Senate's strongests advocate of American military intervention in Libya, is in the rebel forces stronghold of Benghazi to assess the situation from the ground. "I came here to get an on the ground assessment of the situation….We are meeting with the [rebel transitional] council, we’re meeting with the military, we’re meeting with lots of people," he said

The senior Senator from Arizona has pushed the U.S. to arm Libyan opposition forces as they try and force longtime leader Col. Moammar Gaddafi from power. He has also been critical of the U.S.'s decision to take a back seat in military efforts in Libya, which are being led by NATO.

During his visit, McCain also pushed the U.S. and other Western nations for more support of the rebels.

McCain's visit follow Thursday announcement that President Obama had authorized the use of Predator drones over Libya. During a press conference on Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the drones a “modest contribution” to NATO’s effort.

The Guardian reported:

the announcement on Thursday night of the US deployment of armed Predator drones over Libya indicates a renewed effort to relieve the siege of Misrata and force a breakthrough in the deadlocked conflict in the east.

Predator drones – controversial because of their use against targets in Pakistan and Afghanistan in which civilians have been killed – were expected to be deployed over Misrata immediately. However, the first mission, armed with Hellfire missiles, was forced to turn back because of bad weather.

The Libyan government said their use would result in the deaths of "more civilians" and was "illegitimate". The authorities claim many civilians have been killed by Nato airstrikes, although they have failed to provide evidence to foreign media based in the west of the country.

Libyan rebels, however, said they approved of the use of the armed predator drones.

Following the announcement of the drones, Adm. Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday that it appeared the conflict was "moving towards a stalemate," though he also said Gaddafi's ground forces have been reduced between 30 and 40 percent by airstrikes. 

The Washington Post reported: "Speaking to U.S. troops during a visit to the Iraqi capital, Mullen said the capabilities of those ground forces 'will continue to go away over time,' Reuters news agency reported. Ultimately, he said, “Gaddafi’s gotta go,” and coalition actions “are going to continue to put the squeeze on him until he’s gone.” But he said it was unclear how long that would take. 'Is he going to figure that out? I don’t know,' Mullen said."



 

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