1.) REBELS SIEZE OIL FIELDS – BENGHAZI, Libya, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Rebels in eastern Libya said on Friday they now controlled most of the oil fields east of the town of Ras Lanuf, and said they would honour oil deals as long as they were in the interest of the people. The eastern Libyan town of Brega and its oil terminal are under rebel control, and soldiers who have defected are helping the rebels to secure the port, Reuters witnesses said on Friday.
“This area is controlled by the people,” said Mabrook Maghraby, a lawyer from Benghazi who is now involved with the local committees defending Brega.  (full article)
2.) REBELS NOW ARMED AND ABLE TO DEFEND – BENGHAZI, Libya — Rebels seeking to overturn the 40-year rule of Colonel Moammar Khadafy repelled a concerted assault by his forces on cities close to the capital yesterday, removing any doubt that Libya’s patchwork of protests had evolved into an increasingly well-armed revolutionary movement.
Yesterday’s violence under scored the contrast between the character of Libya’s revolution and the uprising that toppled autocrats in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia. Unlike those Facebook-enabled youth rebellions, the insurrection here has been led by people who are more mature and who have been actively opposing the regime for some time. It started with lawyers’ syndicates that have campaigned peacefully for two years for a written constitution and some semblance of a rule of law.
Fueled by popular anger, the help of breakaway leaders of the armed forces and some of their troops, and weapons from looted military stockpiles or smuggled across the border, the rebellion has escalated quickly and violently in little more than a week.
Fathi Terbil, 39, the human rights lawyer whose detention first ignited the protests, drew a map of rebel-held territory in striking distance of Tripoli. “It is only a matter of days,’’ he said in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the revolt began.  A turning point in the uprising’s evolution was arguably the defection of the interior minister, Abdel Fattah Younes al-Abidi, an army general who had been a close ally of Khadafy.
The break by Abidi, who has family roots near the revolt’s eastern origins, encouraged other disaffected police, military and state security personnel to change sides as well.  “We are hoping to use his experience,’’ said Terbil, who some called the linchpin of the revolt.  In parts of the country, the revolutionaries, as they call themselves, appear to have access to potentially large stores of weapons, including small arms and heavy artillery, automatic weapons smuggled from Egypt and rocket-propelled grenades taken from army bases, like the Kabila in Benghazi.  (full article)
3.) EXTENT OF KHADAFFI’S VIOLENCE SNEAKS OUT – (JPost)– Evidence of execution-style murders in Libya as part of the growing turmoil in the North African country emerged in recent days based on videos uploaded on YouTube showing dead and bloody soldiers after they were executed for refusing to shoot demonstrators.
Other videos showed civilians preparing mass burials in Libya amid reports that as many as 2,000 people have been killed in the recent wave of unrest.
Meanwhile, former Libyan justice minister Mustafa Abdel Galil, who resigned from his post earlier this week, warned on Friday that Gaddafi may use biological and chemical weapons against civilians, according to an Al Jazeera report.   “We call on the international community and the UN to prevent Gaddafi from going on with his plans in Tripoli,” Galil told Al Jazeera.   “At the end when he’s really pressured, he can do anything. I think Gaddafi will burn everything left behind him.” (full article)
4.) ( AP ) Brandishing a microphone and wagging his finger, a defiant Col. Moammar Gadhafi surprised Libya and the world today when he abruptly appeared above Tripoli’s Green Square and told a sea of many pro-Gadhafi demonstrators that “I am one of you.”
Yelling in a raspy voice and flanked by several bemused-looking bodyguards, Gadhafi said “we can defeat any foreign attempts, we can defeat any aggression and we will arm all the people.”
His appearance came after there were reports that soldiers loyal to him opened fire on protesters in Libya, killing five people. (full story)
5.) Unreal… Team Obama Leaves Americans Stranded in Libya – THEY CHARTERED THE WRONG BOAT The Obama Administration won’t send the military to rescue US citizens in Libya.  They don’t want to look like war-mongers. Stranded: An estimated 600 U.S. citizens are stuck on board the Maria Dolores (pictured) in Tripoli, and won’t leave until at least Friday.

The Obama Administration is STILL grappling with whether or not to send the military into Libya to rescue US citizens.: 
The senior U.S. official also said the “prudent planning” for military options centers around the president’s priorities of protecting U.S. citizens and interests and stopping the violence against Libyan civilians. He cautioned against thinking the U.S. military “was about to storm the beaches,” but he also declined to specifically rule out the use of military force.
So far, the State Department has not requested the U.S. military to assist in the evacuation of civilians from Libya, which would be required for the military to get involved in that operation.
Several U.S. officials have confirmed to CNN there is a vigorous debate inside the administration about whether to involve the military because of concern it could cause further provocations by the Libyan regime.

UPDATE: They chartered the wrong boat. It was too small!
MEANWHILE…..