Libyan Oil Chief Defects

There’s another vacancy in Muammar Gaddafi’s beleaguered regime. According to Tunisian officials, Shokri Ghanem, the chair of Libya’s National Oil Corporation, has fled across the border. It’s yet another blow for Gaddafi’s regime, which has seen a slow but steady exodus of top officials, including key ministers and generals. That’s good news for rebels: although outright military victory seems like a long shot, even with NATO air support, they hope that the regime may collapse due to defections and other pressures. Just Monday, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued a warrant against Gaddafi for killing prosecutors.