Embattled Qaddafi "May Flee Tripoli"

The Wall Street Journal reports:

New U.S. intelligence shows Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi is "seriously considering" fleeing Tripoli for a more secure location outside the capital, according to U.S. officials, raising the prospect Friday that the Libyan leader's hold on power is increasingly fragile.

The intelligence depicts a Libyan leader who "doesn't feel safe anymore" in Tripoli because of stepped-up strikes by NATO aircraft and by battlefield gains by rebel forces, according to a senior U.S. national security official briefed on the recent reports that the intelligence community has shared with the White House and other agencies.

The timing behind any possible move is not known and does not appear to be imminent, a U.S. official said. Such intelligence has been seen before, although with less intensity. U.S. intelligence agencies have seen no indications that Qaddafi intends to leave the country, the officials said.