From today's Times.

James Hider, Michael Evans, Deborah Haynes, Tom Coghlan Last updated August 17 2011 12:01AM
The collapse of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime would lead to a dangerous power vacuum in Libya, with the Western-backed rebel leadership in disarray and not ready to take control, diplomatic and military sources have warned.

A Western diplomat based in Benghazi described the prospect of Tripoli falling to the rebels as the "worst-case scenario" in the present climate.

Signalling the extent of Nato's concerns amid speculation that the endgame is in sight, officials from the alliance told The Times that victory against the regime would result in what is now being referred to as "catastrophic success".

A senior alliance diplomat told The Times: "This is the phrase now being generally used in Nato, that we are facing a catastrophic success in Libya. And even if it's not catastrophic it will be chaotic success because the opposition is not ready to govern and there will be a vacuum if Gaddafi goes.

Deep and deadly divisions within the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) appeared last month with the murder of the rebel army chief, General Abdel Fatah Younis, by one of his own militia groups, an unsolved killing that led to the Cabinet being dissolved. No new Cabinet has yet been formed.

"With the killing of Younis and the possible fall of Tripoli now, the planning has gone with the wind," said the Western diplomat, based in Benghazi. "There's no NTC structure at all, the executive committee is gone, nothing has taken its place. I think it'd be the worst case scenario if Tripoli falls right now, there'd be nobody to take charge."

He warned that the West had seriously underestimated the growing influence of Islamists and the "significant" role played by Libya's tribes, instead focusing on Western-educated liberals who "said the right things". Full article