Amid reports that President Obama had signed a secret order authorizing covert support for Libyan rebels, the White House issued a sweeping statement Wednesday evening saying the President has made no decision about supplying arms to the opposition.
White House spokesman Jay Carney first said he would not comment on intelligence matters, but went on to reiterate Obama’s recent assertions that he had yet to decide whether to provide arms to the opposition or “to any group in Libya.”
“We’re not ruling it out or ruling it in. We’re assessing and reviewing options for all types of assistance that we could provide to the Libyan people, and have consulted directly with the opposition and our international partners about these matters,” Carney said in the statement.
After attending a classified briefing by senior administration officials on Libya, a GOP lawmaker also said the administration has not decided whether it will arms rebels battling Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.
“They said they haven’t made a decision to give them arms,” Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) told reporters after a closed-door meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Hours earlier, Reuters, citing “government sources familiar with the matter” reported that President Barack Obama had signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to topple Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Obama signed the order, known as a presidential “finding”, within the last two or three weeks, the report said. Presidents use such findings as the first step authorizing secret CIA operations, a necessary legal step before activity can take place but not directing to take place.
