The U.S. is stepping up the pressure on Moammar Gadhafi. American diplomats held face-to-face talks with the embattled Libyan leader's representatives in Tunisia over the weekend, and demanded that he step down. The U.S. and more than 30 other nations also agreed at a meeting in Istanbul to officially recognize rebel leaders as Libya's legitimate governing authority. Is this move a nail in Gadhafi's coffin, or is it mostly a symbolic gesture?
This gives the rebels a very real boost: Recognizing the Libyan opposition as the country's legitimate governing authority is far more than symbolic, says Wolf Blitzer at CNN. Now the Obama administration can let the rebels have the $33 billion in frozen Libyan assets in the United States. "They will no doubt begin using some of those funds to purchase badly needed weapons and spare parts to fight Gadhafi's forces."
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