reporter: too soon, some republicans say, with moammar gadhafi s forces gaining ground and rebels fleeing. at a time when the gadhafi forces have literally tragically routed the anti-gadhafi forces, that s when we announce the united states is abdicating its leadership role and removing some of the most valuable assets that could be used to great effect. reporter: sources tell abc news, president obama has signed a secret presidential finding authorizing covert operations to help the rebels. it does not direct arms to be provided to them now, though the president could make a decision to do that in the future. and that would put a new focus on those fighting gadhafi. if you ask who are those guys, you re going to think about whether or not you really want to arm them. because our history of arming groups we don t know hasn t been a terribly good one. reporter: there are reports the cia already has small groups of operatives in libya and international envoys are beginning to c