U.S. Planning Stronger Ties With Libya Rebels

The Associated Press reports:

The Obama administration is preparing to strengthen ties with Libya's main opposition movement as it becomes increasingly clear that the group will govern a post-Gadahfi Libya, senior U.S. officials said Thursday.

Traveling with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to an international meeting on Libya in Turkey, the officials told reporters on the plane that Washington would bump up its relations with the Transitional National Council once it presents detailed plans for a democratic, transparent and inclusive government.

The council is expected to lay out plans for moving forward at Friday's meeting of the Contact Group on Libya in Istanbul. The officials said it was not yet clear if the presentation would satisfy concerns that the initial post-Gadhafi regime represent the full spectrum of Libyan society: all regions, all tribes and all political parties.

When and if it does, the U.S. will move to upgrade ties, freeing up financial assistance and improve the council's credibility although it would not likely amount to formal diplomatic recognition, the officials said. It would, however, be a step up from where the council stands now, they said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration plans.