"If the rebels take Tripoli, they take Tripoli …," hopes the WaPo reporter. But for good reasons they won't. Here the rebels in Libya admit what Captain Obvious claimed all along. They are only supported by a minority:
If the rebels take Zlitan, they would be within 85 miles (135 kilometers) of the eastern outskirts of Tripoli. A rebel official said opposition leaders in Zlitan have been meeting with their counterparts in Misrata, but he acknowledged they face challenges in advancing on the city.
“We need the people of Zlitan to push more courageously forward. They are dependent on our movements, but the problem is only a third of that city is with the rebels,” said Ibrahim Beatelmal, a rebel military spokesman in Misrata.
Of course if one bombs away the two third who are with Gaddhafi, as NATO tries, the rebels may eventually win.
Meanwhile the Guardian Editors tell us who the real troublemakers are in the Libya affair:
[T]here is no disputing that Libya has highlighted some of the wider logistical challenges facing Nato and has reopened the unresolved argument about European defence capability more generally. But the problem here is not with British – or French – levels of commitment. The difficulty lies with other European countries, including Germany.
Britain, France and the U.S. unilaterally decide to attack Libya for no good reason but the real problem with that are, as always, the Germans.
Well, they took down the British empire. Didn't they?