ONE HAND CLAPPING – AT 10:43 A.M. ET:  Libyan rebels, according to AP, are making progress, following NATO-led air attacks on government forces:

RAS LANOUF, Libya -- Libyan rebels seized back two key oil complexes and pushed west toward Tripoli on Sunday, gaining momentum after international airstrikes that tipped the balance away from Moammar Gadhafi's military.

The coastal complexes at Ras Lanouf and Brega were responsible for a large chunk of Libya's 1.5 million barrels of daily exports, which have all but stopped since the uprising that began Feb. 15 and was inspired by the toppling of governments in Tunisia and Egypt.

On the eastern approach of Ras Lanouf, airstrikes apparently hit three empty tank transporters and left two buildings that appeared to be sleeping quarters pockmarked with shrapnel.

"There was no resistance. Gadhafi's forces just melted away," said Suleiman Ibrahim, a 31-year-old volunteer, sitting in the back of a pickup truck on the road between the two towns. "This couldn't have happened without NATO. They gave us big support."

COMMENT:  We write "one hand clapping" because of recent, cautionary reports that rebel forces have been infiltrated by Al Qaeda supporters.  If the rebels win, and Al Qaeda becomes a major influence in the Libyan government, we'll be in a worse spot than we were in before.  We really don't have much good intelligence on who the rebels are, and we desperately need it.

March 27, 2011