Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council, is inviting NATO to stay a while – at least until the end of the year:
“Qaddafi still has supporters in neighboring countries and we fear those loyalists could be launching attacks against us and infiltrating our border. We need technical support and training for our troops on the ground. We also need communications equipment and we need aerial intelligence to monitor our borders.”
I said this was critical in an update earlier and it’s good to see the NTC publicly agree and request this support. Whether or not you supported intervention in Libya a continued presence isn’t really negotiable at this point. We (especially Europe) can not afford for Libya to fail.
Expect the NTC to request an extension in December or at least continue to tolerate a covert presence. This will take a while.
Recommended on Twitter: @NTC_of_Libya. The National Transitional Council in Libya.
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