McCain calls on U.S., allies to step up airstrikes on Gadhafi forces

BENGHAZI, Libya — Sen. John McCain, on a visit to rebel-controlled eastern Libya
on Friday, urged the U.S. and its allies to increase airstrikes and
facilitate weapons deliveries to bolster the insurgent cause, a call
for stepped-up intervention that clashes with the Obama
administration’s more cautious approach to the conflict.

McCain, from Arizona
and the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee,
urged official U.S. recognition of the opposition leadership here “as
the legitimate voice of the Libyan people.” And he said “we should take
out Gadhafi’s television station,” referring to the government channel
broadcasting from Tripoli, the capital.

“Let’s face it: This is not a fair fight,” McCain
said at a harbor-side hotel here after meeting with opposition leaders.
“Those who are struggling for liberation are outgunned.”

A military standoff currently prevails in Libya. Neither the rebels or loyalist forces have been able to advance significantly in recent days.

Western leaders have argued that airstrikes and other steps taken in Libya
were in accordance with United Nations guidelines calling for the
protection of Libyan civilians. But fearful of being drawn more deeply
into a civil war, they have been hesitant to comply with repeated rebel
requests for heavy weapons.

McCain reiterated his opposition against deploying
U.S. ground forces to assist rebels trying to depose the longtime
Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi..

But he did urge the United States and other countries to help deliver more arms to the rebels. He cited the precedent of the 1980s war in Afghanistan, when Washington funneled weaponry through Pakistan to Islamist rebels fighting a Soviet-backed regime.

“Same thing we did in Afghanistan when they were fighting against the Russians,” McCain said. “Weapons delivery can be facilitated.”

McCain said he was not worried about Islamic
extremism taking hold among the Libyan opposition, warning that
allowing the current standoff to continue could incubate more extreme
religious sentiment.

“If there is a stalemate here, it could open the
door to radical Islamic fundamentalism, because of the frustration that
thousands and thousands of young people will feel,” McCain said.

In Misrata Friday, rebel fighters consolidated
control of a key building in a part of the city that had been used by
Gadhafi fighters to terrorize the port community with mortars, rockets,
cluster bombs and sniper fire.

The rebels occupied the Tamim Life Insurance building that had been abandoned by Gadhafi gunmen a day earlier. The building is located on Tripoli Street,
the commercial boulevard that has become the city’s main battleground.
But Gadhafi fighters continued to control a vegetable market and
Misrata’s old main hospital, while gunfire, artillery and rockets were
fired throughout the day.

Residents began to leave the area around the Tamim
building by mid-afternoon as it became clear there would be no respite
from the heavy shelling.

McCain called on Washington to join a handful of states, including France and Italy, that have recognized the rebel council in Benghazi as Libya’s legitimate government. “All of them have long records of opposition to Gadhafi,” McCain said of the council.

Most names of the 31 council members are not
publicly known because of “security reasons,” the rebel leadership
says. But several prominent members, including Mahmood Jibril a U.S.-educated strategic planner, and Mustafa Abdul Jalil, a former Justice Minister, previously served in the Gadhafi regime.

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