Report: CIA is already on the ground in Libya

Whatever their choice of footwear:

The Central Intelligence Agency has inserted clandestine operatives into Libya to gather intelligence for military airstrikes and make contacts with rebels battling Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces, according to American officials.

While President Obama has insisted that no American ground troops join in the Libyan campaign, small groups of C.I.A. operatives have been working in Libya for several weeks and are part of a shadow force of Westerners that the Obama administration hopes can help set back Colonel Qaddafi’s military, the officials said.

This is coming from US officials. Why? Why now?

There is a war over the war-we’re-not-calling-a-war within the administration.

And I’d be willing to bet that these CIA operatives aren’t the only American boots pennyloafers gators shoes of indeterminate structure on the ground in Libya. We’ve previously reported on the insertion of A-10’s and B-1’s into the conflict. Typically, such aircraft require some tactical assistance on the ground. That’s usually Air Force enlisted personnel; it’s a segment of the AF special operations called combat control.

CIA could possibly be trained to perform combat control, but it’s more likely that any CC activity is being done by actual US airmen. Who, odds are, are wearing boots.