We talk to Ali Sulieman Aujali, the former Libyan Ambassador to the United States who is now siding with the opposition and playing a key role in determining who would lead Libya if Moammar Gadhafi were ousted.

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PART ONE

Satire

It's Tuesday, March 29th.

Stephen Harper kicked off the campaign pledging a $2.5-billion tax break for parents of children under 18.

Currently, nothing says we love children like the gift of more federal debt.

This is The Current.

Libyan Opposition - Survey of Experts

U.S. President Barack Obama went on television last night just before prime time in a bid to convince the American people -- and the world -- that the U.S. involvement in the military operation in Libya is the right course of action.

President Obama vowed to ensure the safety of the Libyan people and to prevent Moammar Gadhafi from using force against them. But he stopped short of military support for the Libyan opposition. And according to Michael Singh -- a former Senior Director at the National Security Council -- there's a good reason for that.

Yesterday, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral William Gortney -- the staff director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- told reporters that the United States is trying to address what he called "knowledge gaps" about the Libyan opposition. Which essentially means they don't have a clue whose in charge of the opposition. So we started calling around to to see what they know.

We head from Christopher Preble -- the Director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Cato Institute -- with his best guess on who is leading the Libyan Opposition. We also heard from Janice Stein, the Director of the Munk Centre of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

And if we're talking about unknown figures ... there have been suspicions that some of those in the mix have links to Al Qaeda. We heard from former CIA officer Mike Baker.

Here in Canada all four parties in Parliament gave their unanimous support to the military intervention in Libya. We asked Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic, Bob Rae, if he had any concerns over the composition of the opposition in Libya.

We also contacted the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon. And we didn't get a clip of him but we did get a statement. It reads:

Canada considers the Transitional National Council as a valid interlocutor. Minister Cannon met with a senior representative of the Transitional National Council in Paris. The TNC has recently appointed a representative to Canada who is in regular contact with Canadian officials.

The National Transitional Council is currently running much of Eastern Libya. And according to Michael Singh -- a former Senior Director at the U.S. National Security Council -- that at least tells us something.

And, according to Fadel Lamen -- the head of the American-Libyan Council, a defacto leader is emerging from within that Transitional National Council. For its part, the National Transitional Council is trying to assure people that it is committed to democratic values. We heard from the council's spokesperson, Abdul Hafidh Gogha.

Libyan Opposition - Ali Suleiman Aujali

Ali Suleiman Aujali is playing an important role in determining who will rule Libya in the future. He is a long-time Libyan diplomat and the former Libyan Ambassador to the United States. Late last month, he resigned that position and threw his support behind the opposition. He says he now represents the Libyan people. He was in Washington.

Related Links:

• Arab Revolts Force Diplomats to Remake Lives and Careers By Sheryl Gay Stolberg - New York Times
• Libyan reformer now face of rebellion By Farha Stockman - Boston Globe
• The Interim Transitional Council - Council Members
• Libyan Rebel Commander Says His Fighters Have Al-Qaeda Links
  By Emily Esfahani Smith - The Blaze

Other segments from today's show:

• Consensus Government
• Rebuilding Japan