Libyan Protesters Elect Interim Leader

These are desperate times in Libya: As protesters advance, taking control of the contested town of Zawiya and several key Tripoli suburbs, cities under rebel control have appointed an ex-justice minister to head a provisional government, though it’s not clear how much support the ex-minister has. However, Gaddafi still manages to cling to power in Tripoli. Saturday, he blocked protesters from reaching Green Square through his most violent crackdown yet, then assembled thousands of supporters there himself, where he threatened to open the state’s arsenals for his supporters. "Every Libyan individual will be armed, every Libyan tribe will be armed. So Libya will turn to hell," he said in the square. This is indeed the fear of U.S. officials, who worry that the power vacuum left by Gaddafi’s departure would turn the country into the next Somalia or Afghanistan.