Libyan rebels made gains Friday on the morale front from Sen. John McCain's visit to Benghazi and on the battlefront as they gained ground in central Misrata, under a bloody siege for weeks.
The rebels, locked in a deadly standoff with forces loyal to strongman Moammar Gadhafi, welcomed McCain to their de facto capital, Benghazi. McCain's tour came a day after the United States said it was deploying drones to Libya.
McCain, a strong proponent of beefing up U.S. efforts to oust Gadhafi from power, said the drones would increase NATO's capability but not enough to make up a shortfall in assets needed to break a "significant degree of stalemate."
He said he was against U.S. troops on the ground, but he said nations need to "facilitate" weapons and training for the rebels.
"We have prevented the worst outcome in Libya," McCain told reporters in Benghazi. "Now we need to increase our support so that the Libyan people can achieve the only satisfactory outcome to this mass protest for universal rights -- the end of Gadhafi's rule and the beginning of a peaceful and inclusive transition to democracy that will benefit all Libyans."
America's top military chief acknowedged a stalemate on the eastern front, around the oil towns of Ajdabiya and al-Brega, both of which have changed hands several times.
"The regime forces have changed their tactics, and changed it in a way where they essentially look like the opposition forces, so it's become a much more difficult fight," said Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"And as I've observed in recent days, essentially it is very much stalemate-like in the vicinity of Adjabiya and al-Brega," Mullen said at a news conference in Baghdad.
He said the eventual outcome -- toppling Gadhafi after 42 years of rule -- is certain. But when that might be achieved, he said, was "difficult to predict."
McCain, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Libya since the conflict erupted in February, challenged critics of intervention to tour Benghazi, as he did Friday, to see a "powerful and hopeful example of what a free Libya can be."
Many miles away, in western Libya, the battle raged in Misrata, the third largest city under a bloody siege for seven weeks by Gadhafi loyalists.
After days of fierce fighting, Libyan rebels were able to take control of a key building on the main thoroughfare of Tripoli Street, rebel military spokesman Ahmed Bani told CNN Friday.
"This victory is quite important for us, and it shows that we are advancing and we are heading in the right direction," Bani said.
He said some pro-Gadhafi fighters were negotiating for their lives and that the rebels gave them assurances in exchange for a surrender of weapons.
Doctors worked around the clock and hospitals overflowed in Misrata, a seacoast city that is hemmed in by Gadhafi's forces.
Another aid ship chartered by the International Organization for Migration left Benghazi for Misrata carrying food, medicine and other supplies. The organization hopes to rescue more stranded migrants and wounded people from the city.
"Given the increasing number of casualties in Misrata and the thousands of lives that are in danger, we felt a responsibility to act," said Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore of Ireland, which is helping fund the chartered vessels.
"Col. Gadhafi's forces have agreed to allow ships into the port to evacuate civilians and we have requested that the IOM undertake an emergency operation on our behalf," Gilmore said.
In Benghazi, people waved American flags as they greeted McCain. Some chanted, "Thank you John McCain! Thank you Obama! Thank you America! We need freedom! Gadhafi go away!"
The top Republican on the senate armed services committee stopped by a hospital and suggested that Western powers are not doing enough for the rebels.
"Let's face it: This is not a fair fight," said McCain, a decorated Vietnam veteran who carries clout in defense circles. "Maybe we should be doing everything we can to help these people and maybe we're not, and they're dying."
McCain visited Benghazi's Freedom Square, accompanied by, among others, Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, deputy chairman of the opposition Transitional National Council. He paused at a courthouse wall covered with scores of pictures of people allegedly killed by Gadhafi's forces and others who have gone missing since uprisings began.
"The American people support you very strongly, and we know it's necessary to help as much as we can," McCain told a woman who thanked him for U.S. support.
U.S. Predator drones were deployed Thursday in the North African nation as part of the NATO-led military efforts there. But as of Friday night, the drones had not made any strikes, said Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Darryn James.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said earlier that the deployed drones were forced to return due to bad weather.
Large explosions and the sound of jets over Tripoli Thursday night indicated NATO has likely increased the intensity of its airstrikes on Gadhafi's key command and control military sites.
The alliance has issued a new warning to Libyan civilians to stay away from military areas, foreshadowing plans for attacks on targets seen as strategically significant in stopping the government's attacks against civilians, a NATO military official said Thursday.
The next phase will largely involve increased airstrikes on key Gadhafi command, control and communications sites in and around Tripoli, although targets in other areas could be hit as well, said the official, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
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