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Premature to arm Libyan rebels: U.S.

Washington: The U.S. was considering whether to arm the out-gunned rebels in Libya as one of the range of options but said it would be premature to do so now, amid increasing pressure from its allies.

“I think that it would be premature to send a bunch of weapons to a post office box in eastern Libya. We need to not get ahead of ourselves in terms of the options we're pursuing,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his daily news conference.

“On issue of arming, providing weapons, it is one of the range of options that is being considered. When you talk about arming the rebels; we are pursuing a number of channels to have conversations and discussions with the opposition, groups and individuals, as we try to learn more about what they are pursuing, what they want and that they also believe what we believe the Libyan people want,” he said.

State Department spokesman P J Crowley said this would be in violation of the Security Council's arms embargo against Libya. But he did not rule it out altogether.

U.S. is using many channels — diplomatic, the business community, NGOs — to reach out to those in Libya who are working to bring about a government that respects the rights and aspirations of the Libyan people, he said, but refrained from giving any insight into it.

Mr. Carney also ruled out deployment of ground troops. A no-fly zone is an option, he said. “A no-fly zone option is certainly one that would be discussed at NATO. In terms of the procedures of getting there, should we want to pursue that option, I'm not going to elaborate on the paths, but only to say that it is being considered,” he said. — PTI

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