General Bouchard acknowledges that NATO’s informants in Libya were journalists

In a 31 October 2011 interview on Radio Canada, Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, who led Operation Unified Protector in Libya, revealed that an analysis unit was set up at NATO headquarters in Naples. It’s mission was to study and decipher what was happening on the ground, that is to say both the movements of the Libyan Army and those of the "rebels."

To fortify the unit, several information networks were created. "The intelligence came from many sources, including the media who were on the ground and provided us with a lot of information regarding the intentions and the location of the ground forces."

This is the first time a NATO official admits that foreign journalists in Libya were assets of the Atlantic Alliance. Shortly before the fall of Tripoli, Thierry Meyssan caused a stir by affirming that most Western journalists staying at the Hotel Rixos were NATO agents. In particular, he pointed the finger at the teams working for AP, BBC, CNN and Fox News.