(Washington Post) Craig Whitlock - Libya's military has leveraged its overwhelming advantage in firepower to rout rebel forces in recent days, turning the tide of the conflict. Gaddafi leads the worst-trained, worst-maintained military in North Africa, but his decrepit armed forces have consolidated control around Tripoli and steadily reclaimed several cities and coastal territory that had temporarily fallen into the opposition's hands. Absent foreign intervention, officials and analysts say, leaders of the uprising will be forced to retreat completely to their base in the eastern city of Benghazi. Gaddafi has survived a popular revolt because he has largely retained the loyalty of his armed forces.
2011-03-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive