• Listen to this segment

• Listen to the entire program

The war in Libya against Colonel Muammar Gaddhafi, and assisted by the U.S. and NATO has taken a new turn this week. With rebel forces advancing toward Tripoli, the lines between armed rebels and civilians has weakened. Some civilians have taken up arms and joined the more organized militias. NATO commanders have issued a strong warning to anti-Gaddhafi rebels against harming civilians. Senior NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu that the UN resolution which authorized force applies to both sides of the war and that “those who target civilians will also be targets for [NATOs] forces.” Added to that are news reports that President Obama has secretly signed an order to arm the rebels and that the U.S. CIA now has operatives on the ground in some parts of the country. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the press yesterday, however, that his organization opposes arming the rebels and that NATO will comply with the arms embargo that was part of the UN resolution. NATO has now taken sole command over the air war as the U.S. pulls back from launching air strikes even as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has come under fire from Republican hawks for not doing enough. Senator John McCain has made public his anger over what he sees as the U.S. pulling back from its leadership role. Gates has responded by assuring lawmakers that U.S. warplanes would be on stand-by.

GUEST: Robert Naiman, Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy

Find out more at www.justforeignpolicy.org