Is U.S. missing a 'window of opportunity' in Libya?

BENGHAZI, Libya  Libyans battling Col. Moammar Gadhafi are increasingly desperate for a no-fly zone and say the United States is missing a chance to topple an anti-American dictator and win the gratitude of a new democracy in the Middle East.

"This is a window of opportunity for the United States," said Zahi Mogherbi, a political science professor and unofficial adviser to the provisional government. "They are not taking it or they are taking their time."

People in eastern Libya, where rebels are in control of a swath of the country, are urging the West to impose a no-fly zone against Gadhafi's air force.

The calls have become more urgent as forces loyal to Gadhafi have blunted a rebel offensive as it moved toward Tripoli.

"People are losing faith in the international community," said Essam Gheriani, a spokesman for the rebel movement. "What are they waiting for?"

The White House said Wednesday that it continues to consult with allies over Libya and that military pressure is an option. President Obama has said Gadhafi should step down but has not backed a no-fly zone or any military means. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, said the U.S. should be arming the rebels.

Marina Ottaway, director of the Middle East Center at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said she doubted the rebels' claim that the U.S. would get a new ally if it helps them remove Gadhafi.

"For whom are they talking? The leadership is very uncertain," she says. "How much control do they have on the outcome?"

Some experts suggested that Islamists could rise up if Gadhafi falls, but Mogherbi and others say that will not happen.

"It is not an Islamist movement," he said. "This is a genuine movement against a regime that systematically tried to destroy his country."

Who has the upper hand in Libya is not clear.

In Ras Lanouf, where rebels are dodging airstrikes, forces loyal to Gadhafi set two oil installations on fire. Gadhafi claimed to have recaptured Zawiya, the city closest to the capital.

People here have an ambivalent view toward the U.S., Mogherbi said. President Reagan was the first world leader to highlight Gadhafi as an international pariah and sponsor of terrorism. That earned him credit, Mogherbi said.

"People thought of that as some kind of support to the Libyan people," he said.

Mogherbi said, however, that Libyans believe the U.S. became critical of Gadhafi only when he threatened U.S. interests, such as with terrorist attacks against U.S. targets. "But nobody talked about what he was doing to the Libyan people," said Mogherbi, who has a doctorate from the University of Missouri.

Many Libyans said they approved of Reagan's targeting Gadhafi in 1986, but mostly they recall that he missed. "We would be happy if Gadhafi was killed, but no one liked Reagan when he bombed Libya," said Khalid Ali, 28, owner of a clothing store.

"The United States has a lot it can do to support the Libyans," Ali said. "I wonder why they are taking it slow?"

John Pike, director of the Globalsecurity.org, said the U.S. may regret not helping the rebels overthrow Gadhafi.

"It would be reasonable to assume he might go back to his old troublemaking ways," Pike said, referring to Gadhafi's sponsorship of terrorism. "Certainly we would lose the opportunity we thought we had to turn Libya into a normal country," at peace with its neighbors.

Zakaria al-Mowhab said Obama is slower to act because he is trying to repair America's image in the Middle East, which was hurt by the Iraq War.

Sipping coffee in a cafe where TVs were turned to the news, Mowhab, 38, said the impulse is understandable but Libya needs the help.

"Of course we want a no-fly zone," he said. "But Libyans have dignity. We don't want to beg."

Contributing: Oren Dorell