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Libya's Opposition Leadership Comes into Focus
One of the biggest problems Western governments have faced throughout
the Libyan crisis has been in identifying who exactly the “eastern
rebels” are. Until the uprising began in February, there was thought to
be no legitimate opposition to speak of in the country, and thus no
contacts between the United States, the United Kingdom, France or
others. Many of those who now speak for the rebel movement headquartered
in Benghazi. There have been several defections, however, from the
regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to the eastern rebel leadership,
and it is men like these with whom the West is now trying to engage as
the possible next generation of leadership in Libya, should its unstated
goal of regime change come to fruition.
The structure through which the Libyan opposition is represented is
formally known as the Interim Transitional National Council, more
commonly referred to as the Transitional National Council (TNC). The
first man to announce its creation was former Libyan Justice Minister
Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who defected from the government Feb. 21, and
declared the establishment of a “transitional government” Feb. 26. At
the time, Abdel-Jalil claimed that it would give way to national
elections within three months, though this was clearly never a realistic
goal. Read more »
