Gadhafi is moving between the hospitals because he knows North Atlantic Treaty Organization aircraft won’t bomb them, the official said, citing intelligence on the ground. He declined to be named because the information is not in the public domain.
Gadhafi is staying no longer than one night in any hospital, the official said. He said the Libyan leader’s behavior also indicates he’s concerned that senior supporters in his military and government may turn against him.
Senior commanders in Gadhafi’s forces have also stopped using mobile phones because of concerns that their conversations are being intercepted by French, British and U.S. intelligence, limiting the regime’s top ranks from communicating effectively, the official said. The intelligence has been gleaned over the past week, he said.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama tried to marshal global economic support for Egypt and Tunisia at the gathering of industrialized countries Thursday, even as some European allies were privately urging him to increase the U.S. role in the military campaign in Libya.
While the United States is emphasizing the need to stabilize the economy of Egypt, its major Arab ally, France and Britain are eager to intensify the NATO airstrikes on Gadhafi.
These goals are not mutually exclusive, U.S. and European officials said. The United States said it expected the Group of 8 countries — France and Britain, among them — to express strong support for efforts to generate jobs and revive growth in Arab countries.
“Chancellor Merkel, President Sarkozy, a number of leaders, have all stressed the importance of using these meetings to show a unified front in providing support for Egypt and Tunisia,” Benjamin J. Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.
Libya and the Arab world dominated the meeting of world leaders in this fashionable seaside resort in Normandy. Sarkozy, the host, is still pushing for the United States to deploy A-10 attack aircraft and AC-130 gunships in Libya, said a French official, although he said Sarkozy was making his pitch privately.
Obama, who has rejected calls for more combat aircraft, is trying to keep the focus on economic stability and jobs in Egypt and Tunisia. At the same time, he is relying on European governments and international financial institutions to supply much of the capital.
In Tripoli, Libya’s capital, Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi pushed a cease-fire proposal Thursday and said for the first time the Gadhafi government was prepared to speak with its rebel adversaries.
Even so, the government insisted Gadhafi would not relinquish power, which he has held for more than 40 years. His departure is a key demand of the United States, European leaders and the rebels, who say they will not consider halting more than three months of fighting until Gadhafi goes.
The White House dismissed the proposal as not credible.
