According to NYT National Security Correspondent Mark Mazzetti, President Obama signed a secret "Finding" several weeks ago, approving CIA teams on the ground in Libya, to gather intelligence, establish contact with the uprising, and arm them.
A "couple of dozen" CIA officers are there now, helping coordinate air strikes, and establishing liaison, toward figuring out who they might give the weapons to.
None of this been formally announced or acknowledged by the administration or the military, as of this posting.
NPR Interview with Mazzetti
The US right is already calling Obama's involvement in Libya "illegal", as are elements on the left. Such criticism will no doubt escalate now, over "boots on the ground", even though it appears to be just a small contingent of military and intelligence "advisors".
The real issue will be who, exactly, they connect with, assist, and end up arming.
If those people turn out to be relatively cool, more or less, and it's over fairly soon, it could be all good, pretty much.
If not, then not so much.
Could we see an unprecedented reversal of virtually all US foreign policy for the past 50 years, where the CIA actually steps in and helps a country get to their feet democratically, for a change?
Or will it prove to be just another clusterfuck of the same kind of usual suspect CIA clients, ripping off and murdering their own people, even worse than Gadaffi?
I'm willing to reserve judgement, and hope for the best, as bad as it may seem, for now.
Why, you might ask? For one thing, events are under an unprecedented degree of international public scrutiny, with Al Jazeera on the scene, and electronic media strong among the people.
Al Quaeda, as well as old-school Monarchists, and various Bourgeois elements are all weaseling for the oil money, obviously.
Was this whole situation a CIA operation, up front?
Will the popular democratic revolution be able to actually survive, develop a viable civil society, and achieve genuine democracy?
Will they be able to resist the imperialist maneuvering of world powers?
Will Libya inevitably devolve into just another client state, based on a few well placed bribes?
Will it turn into a war between CIA and Al Quaeda?
Will US troops be committed?
Everyone will be on edge, until this is all resolved.
Here's hoping it's resolved well, for a change, but ultimately, if we really want any real hope for substantial real change, we're going to have to seize the power in the US, with a progressive/moderate Democratic super-majority in the House and Senate.
It's not going to do any good to protest and demonstrate, send emails, letters and phone calls, etc. etc. Not saying don't do any of those things, but just saying...
Ultimately, we materially have no real juice, as long as the Chamber of Commerce remains effectively in control of the House and Senate.
The right must be purged and suppressed, democratically, electorally, to the greatest extent possible.
This situation in Libya, and the likely scenarios of what may ensue, that we are all sweating over uncomfortably, in wary anticipation? Prospects for North Africa, Arabia and Persia, and, of course, Israel, in general?
It's all just one more example of why we absolutely must seize the power in this country in 2012, for justice and peace, to save the planet.