McCain: Increase military support to Libyan rebels … Fund the Muslim Brotherhood is what McCain asks. Aiding and abetting the enemies of our Peace, Order, Liberty and Prosperity.
BENGHAZI, Libya – U.S. Sen. John McCain called for increased military support Friday for Libya's rebels, including providing weapons, training and giving close air support to the opposition in the battle to oust Moammar Gadhafi.
McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said at a news conference in the rebels' stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya that he did not believe U.S. ground troops are in order.
"We need to urgently step up the NATO air campaign to protect Libyan civilians, especially in Misrata," he said, referring to the besieged rebel-held city in western Libya. "We desperately need more close air support and strike assets."
His visit came a day after the United States started flying armed drones to bolster NATO firepower and try to break a battlefield stalemate with Gadhafi's forces. McCain said he supported the use of the drones "so we can better identify Gadhafi's forces as they seek to conceal themselves in civilian areas."
U.S. Marine Gen. James Cartwright said the drones "are uniquely suited for urban areas," with their ability to fly lower and counteract the pro-Gadhafi forces' tactic of traveling in civilian vehicles that are difficult to distinguish from those of rebel forces. The first mission was flown Thursday, but the aircraft — armed with Hellfire missiles — turned back due to poor weather conditions without firing any of its munitions, Cartwright said.
Rebels have complained that NATO airstrikes since April 4 — when the U.S. turned over control of the operation to the military alliance — have been largely ineffective in stopping Gadhafi's forces.
