<p>"We are already taking measures that are non-lethal and looking at ways that we can help the opposition through humanitarian assistance and other non-lethal things that we can do to help them," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.<br /><br />The US is meeting with the Libyan opposition, he said, adding that the decision on whether or not assistance would include weapons has not been made. "We haven't ruled it in or out, but it's clearly something that is under consideration," Carney said.<br /><br />The UN Security Council Resolution 1973 authorises all necessary measures to protect Libyan civilians, and obviously the US was a participant in that and continues to be, he said. "The fact that we are working together with a coalition, and how assistance, whether it's non-lethal or lethal, the origin, source of origin of it, how it's put together and packaged, whether it's medical supplies or, if that decision were to be made, military equipment, is something for the coalition itself to decide," he said.<br /><br />"We are a part of this effort. It is not a unilateral US effort, and that is a good thing, for a variety of reasons, not just because sharing the burden with our allies reduces costs and risk for the American military, and not just because we have a lot of other commitments around the world, but because the President is focused, in this and in all things, on the end result," he said.<br /><br />"He believes that working together with coalition partners including Arab nations, the Arab League and our partners in NATO enhances the chance of success, and that this will end well. "That was the approach he took to Egypt and it's the approach he took around the region, and it's the approach he takes, frankly, to domestic issues as well as international ones that the point is not to do or say what feels good today from a political point of view," Carney said.<br /><br />Responding to questions on the Libyan opposition, Carney acknowledged that there's a certain amount of diversity on them. "What I can tell you is that the leaders of the council that the Secretary of State has met with and are saying the right things, they have been vetted by us and our partners, and they are committing themselves, through their statements, to a process that we would support -- a process that embraces democratic reform, that embraces free and fair elections, that espouses tolerance... So these are all good things," he noted.</p>
<p>"We are already taking measures that are non-lethal and looking at ways that we can help the opposition through humanitarian assistance and other non-lethal things that we can do to help them," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.<br /><br />The US is meeting with the Libyan opposition, he said, adding that the decision on whether or not assistance would include weapons has not been made. "We haven't ruled it in or out, but it's clearly something that is under consideration," Carney said.<br /><br />The UN Security Council Resolution 1973 authorises all necessary measures to protect Libyan civilians, and obviously the US was a participant in that and continues to be, he said. "The fact that we are working together with a coalition, and how assistance, whether it's non-lethal or lethal, the origin, source of origin of it, how it's put together and packaged, whether it's medical supplies or, if that decision were to be made, military equipment, is something for the coalition itself to decide," he said.<br /><br />"We are a part of this effort. It is not a unilateral US effort, and that is a good thing, for a variety of reasons, not just because sharing the burden with our allies reduces costs and risk for the American military, and not just because we have a lot of other commitments around the world, but because the President is focused, in this and in all things, on the end result," he said.<br /><br />"He believes that working together with coalition partners including Arab nations, the Arab League and our partners in NATO enhances the chance of success, and that this will end well. "That was the approach he took to Egypt and it's the approach he took around the region, and it's the approach he takes, frankly, to domestic issues as well as international ones that the point is not to do or say what feels good today from a political point of view," Carney said.<br /><br />Responding to questions on the Libyan opposition, Carney acknowledged that there's a certain amount of diversity on them. "What I can tell you is that the leaders of the council that the Secretary of State has met with and are saying the right things, they have been vetted by us and our partners, and they are committing themselves, through their statements, to a process that we would support -- a process that embraces democratic reform, that embraces free and fair elections, that espouses tolerance... So these are all good things," he noted.</p>