Libya Rebels Stiffed at White House

Members of the Libyan rebels made their case for official recognition at the White House Friday, but they left empty-handed. A delegation of the fighters met with National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, who issued a statement after the meeting recognizing the group as a “legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people”—but stopped short of officially acknowledging their makeshift government. Donilon also reiterated that Muammar Gaddafi has “lost his legitimacy to rule,” though the visit made no headway in the rebels’ request for access to $34 billion in Libyan state funds that the U.S. is holding.