There’s no fool like an old RINO fool.

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — U.S. Sen. John McCain called for increased military support Friday for Libya’s rebels, including providing weapons, training and giving close air support to the opposition in the battle to oust Moammar Gadhafi.

McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said at a news conference in the rebels’ stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya that he did not believe U.S. ground troops are in order.

“We need to urgently step up the NATO air campaign to protect Libyan civilians, especially in Misrata,” he said, referring to the besieged rebel-held city in western Libya. “We desperately need more close air support and strike assets.”

His visit came a day after the United States started flying armed drones to bolster NATO firepower and try to break a battlefield stalemate with Gadhafi’s forces. McCain said he supported the use of the drones “so we can better identify Gadhafi’s forces as they seek to conceal themselves in civilian areas.”