The rebels in Benghazi to the east have been stalled for months, still some 700 miles from Tripoli across the Gulf of Sirte.
They're pinned down too in Misrata, also east along the coast, in no shape to move toward the capitol.
But in the Nafusah Mountains southwest of Tripoli, rebel forces have made significant progress in the past several weeks, aiming now for the Gadhafi army garrison town of Garyan, less than 60 miles from the heart of the Gadhafi regime.
There’s brave talk: "Yes, we are ready to attack soon at Garyan," Col. Juma Ibrahim told us in an interview in the town of Zintan.Imbrahim, a 30-year veteran of Gadhafi's Air Force who's now fighting for the rebels, told us he's in daily contact with armed rebel forces in Tripoli, waiting for the signal that the time is right for a coordinated move to take Gadhafi out. "Many groups" of rebels, he repeated, offering a genial smile. I ask him how he thinks the war will end. "Gadhafi will die," he says, "or he will be in prison."
