WH: Qaddafi Allies May Switch Sides

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Top Obama administration officials predicted that Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi's regime may crack from within, as allied warplanes, resurgent rebels and the international community put more pressure on Tripoli.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in appearances on Sunday talk shows, said they had received indications that some officials close to Kadafi might be ready to abandon him.

"We have a lot of evidence that people around him are reaching out," Clinton said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "We're also sending a message to people around him: Do you really want to be a pariah? Do you really want to end up in the International Criminal Court? Now is your time to get out of this and to help change the direction."

Gates, on CBS' "Face the Nation," said that Kadafi "could see elements of his military turning, deciding this is a no-win proposition. The family is splitting. Any number of possibilities are out there, as long as the international pressure continues and those around him see no future in staying with him.

"One should not underestimate the possibility of the regime itself cracking," Gates said. "I would not be hanging any new pictures if I were him."