Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council, today reiterated his demand that former rebels turn in their weapons and recognize the authority of the NTC.
Rebel leaders responded unanimously with the middle-finger salute. One thing the disparate rebel factions can agree on is now that they have lots of guns and a measure of influence, they won't be turning either over to a bunch of suits in Benghazi.
The rebels underlined their resolve by making not one but two attempts on the life of General Khalifa Hifter, the NTC's official leader of the armed forces. Rebel intransigence is also obvious in the refusal of the faction who captured Gadaffi's son Saif several weeks ago to turn him over to the NTC.
For its part the NTC refuses to make public exactly who is in their governing council. They remain holed up in Benghazi under a tight security cordon provided by elite forces from Qatar, spending their time trying to convince the international community to unfreeze the estimated $150 billion in assets seized by their Western backers as the war on Gadaffi raged.
Meanwhile, the stalemate is preventing normal life from returning to Libya. Eventually they're going to need a new strongman to knock a few heads together and unite the country once again.
Someone like... Colonel Gadaffi.
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