The CIA and other US intelligence agencies have been gathering information throughout the conflict from contacts they had developed when they were working closely with Gadhafi’s government on counterterrorism against al-Qaida-related Islamic militant groups operating in Libya.

This thawing of relations between two longtime adversaries, lasting only a few years, paid unexpected dividends later.

Foreign military advisers on the ground were key to getting real-time intelligence to the rebels, helping them accurately concentrate their limited firepower on the enemy.