Libya

Gaddafi Envoy Goes to London

Regime may be looking for exit strategy.

One of Col. Gaddafi's most-trusted envoys has gone to London—and not, this time, as a defector. Mohammed Ismail, a senior aide to Gaddafi's son Saif, is in London for confidential talks with British officials. Though the British Foreign Office tells The Guardian that it doesn't want to “provide a running commentary” on contacts with regime officials, a diplomat cited "increasing evidence recently that the sons want a way out." Meanwhile, the defections of Musa Kusa, a close ally of Gaddafi's since the revolution, and of Ali Abdussalam el-Treki, a former foreign minister, seem to have shaken the Gaddafi regime. Rumors swirled that the intelligence chief and the speaker of parliament fled to Tunisia, though this has not been confirmed. But just in case, Libyan officials posted guards to prevent any other officials from leaving the country.