Libyan Rebels Open Office in D.C.

Growing international recognition of the Transitional National Council puts even more diplomatic pressure on Gadhafi's regime.

The Libyan Transitional National Council, the diplomatic arm of the anti-Gadhafi rebels, will open an office in Washington, D.C., at the behest of the U.S. government. While the office doesn't mean that the U.S. will officially recognize the TNC as the government of Libya, American diplomats said they now consider the council the legitimate representative of Libyan citizens. Over the weekend, the European Union also opened an office in Benghazi, the seat of the Libyan uprising, as the international community strengthens ties to the rebel leaders. The shift comes as NATO forces pounded the capital, Tripoli, harder than they ever have before, while Britain and France will send in attack helicopters to better target government forces firing on civilians.