Libyan official in Egypt with Qaddafi message

CAIRO - A high-ranking member of the Libyan military landed in Cairo on Wednesday and embassy staff told Egyptian officials that he was carrying a message from embattled leader Muammar Qaddafi.

A Egyptian army official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Maj. Gen Abdul-Rahman bin Ali al-Saiid al-Zawi, the head of Libya's logistics and supply authority, was asking to meet Egypt's military rulers.

No further details were immediately available.

After weeks of dramatic setbacks, Qaddafi appears to have at least temporarily seized the momentum in his fight against rebels trying to move on the capital, Tripoli, from territory they hold in eastern Libya.

Complete coverage: Anger in the Arab World
Qaddafi: Libyans will "fight" no-fly zone

The two sides traded barrages of artillery shells and rockets about 12 miles west of the oil port of Ras Lanouf, an indication that regime forces were much closer to the city than previously known.

Qaddafi's successes have left Western powers struggling to come up with a plan to support the rebels without becoming ensnared in the complex and fast-moving conflict.

President Barack Obama's most senior advisers were meeting Wednesday to outline what steps are realistic and possible to pressure Qaddafi to halt the violence and give up power.

They planned to examine the ramifications of a no-fly zone over Libya and other potential military options, although the final decision will rest with Mr. Obama, U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.

In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells "The Early Show" co-anchor Erica Hill, "we believe it's important that this not be an American, or a NATO, or a European effort. It needs to be an international one."

"We don't want there to be any room for anyone, including Col. Qaddafi, to say that 'This isn't about my people, this is about outsiders.' Because that would be doing a grave disservice to the sacrifice of the people in Libya."

Britain and France are pushing for the U.N. to create a no-fly zone over Libya, and while the U.S. may be persuaded to sign on, such a move is unlikely to win the backing of veto-wielding Security Council members Russia and China, which traditionally object to such steps as infringements on national sovereignty.

Qaddafi said in a Turkish television interview that Libyans would fight back if Western nations imposed a no-fly zone to prevent his regime from using its air force to bomb government opponents staging a rebellion.

He said imposing the restrictions would prove the West's real intention was to seize his country's oil wealth.

"Such a situation would be useful," Qaddafi said. "The Libyan people would understand their real aims to take Libya under their control, to take their freedoms and to take their oil and all Libyan people will take up arms and fight."

Hours later, al-Zawi arrived on a private jet, according to an Egyptian airport official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The Falcon carrying al-Zawi took off from a small Libyan airport and flew through Maltese and Greek airspace before landing in Egypt, according to Greek civilian and military officials.

Greek state TV said the plane belongs to the Libyan government, but cited no source for its information.

There have been no public contacts between the Libyan regime and Egypt's ruling generals since the Libyan uprising broke out on Feb. 15, and there have been no known government-related flights during that time.

Qaddafi spoke with Turkey's state-run TRT Turk television late Tuesday after a surprise appearance at a hotel where foreign journalists are staying in Tripoli.

In separate remarks, he called on Libyans in the rebel-held east of the country to take back control from the opposition leaders who have seized the territory.

Forces loyal to the Libyan leader have been fighting rebels in the east as well as in a handful of towns close to the capital Tripoli, where he has total control.

In the interview, Qaddafi was responding to U.S. and British plans for action against his regime, including imposing a no-fly zone to prevent Qaddafi's warplanes from striking rebels.

Qaddafi claimed such a move would lead Libyans to understand that the foreigners' aim was to seize oil and take their freedom away. If that happened, he said, he "Libyans will take up arms and fight."

Libyan state television also broadcast remarks by Qaddafi addressing a group of youths from the town of Zintan, 75 miles southwest of Tripoli. Qaddafi again blamed al Qaeda operatives from Egypt, Algeria, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories for the turmoil roiling his country since Feb. 15.

State television broadcast Qaddafi's address early on Wednesday, but did not say when the Libyan leader had spoken.

Qaddafi has been in power since 1969, when he led a military coup that topple the monarchy.

In the TRT Turk interview, Qaddafi said there were no legitimate grounds for a foreign intervention in his country, insisting that Libya was only fighting al Qaeda as in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

"If al Qaeda seizes Libya, that will amount to a huge disaster," Qaddafi said. "If they (al Qaeda fighters) take this place over, the whole region, including Israel, will be dragged into chaos. Then, (al Qaeda leader Osama) Bin Laden may seize all of north Africa that faces Europe."