Washington also said that all options, including a no-fly zone, other military action and humanitarian assistance remained "on the table" amid accelerating international debate over the next steps in Libya.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned, however, that any US intervention in the conflict between Kadhafi and rebels besieging his regime would likely require international approval.

The White House made its latest delicate steps in complicated diplomatic maneuverings over Libya as it faced rising pressure at home and abroad for more robust efforts to protect civilians and to do more to prod Kadhafi from power.

"On the issue of... arming, providing weapons, it is one of the range of options that is being considered," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

"You have to be very cognizant however when you pursue these options of what it is you are trying to accomplish.

"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," Carney said.

Washington appeared to be wary of throwing weapons into a conflict involving groups about which there is a limited amount of intelligence.

"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," Carney said.

Carney said it was important to ensure that rebel groups shared the belief of the Libyan people in a government that is representative and responsive to their grievances.

Leading Republicans said over the weekend that arming, training and offering intelligence to the rebels was an option worth considering.

But State Department spokesman Philip Crowley noted it would be illegal under the new UN sanctions resolution for the United States to supply arms to Libyan rebels.

However, he did not exclude a future Security Council resolution or some other action that would reverse the ban.

"As events go forward, I can't predict what is going to happen," Crowley said.

There were also renewed calls in Washington and abroad to introduce a no-fly zone in Libya to protect civilians, despite warnings by the Pentagon that such a scheme would amount to an act of war, with attacks on Libya's air defense system.

The White House refused to say whether such a step was more or less likely than it had been last week, as diplomats said Britain and France could put a resolution on a no-fly zone to the UN Security Council as early as this week.

NATO, currently meeting in Brussels, was considering options "including potential military options" in Libya, Obama said.

But Carney downplayed interpretations suggesting that the president meant to signal possible US offensive operations.

"There are a range of options that could be categorized as military, including the substantial assistance that NATO could provide in the humanitarian realm," Carney said.

Gates said the Pentagon had prepared a number of military options for Obama, but added a substantial caveat.

"I think at this point there is a sense that any action should be the result of an international sanction before anything is done," he said.

And the US ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder told reporters that though a no-fly zone was possible, the alliance had detected a decrease in fighter and overall air activity over the weekend in Libya.

Obama has argued that in Libya and elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East, it would be counterproductive for the United States to be seen as a party to revolts, though he has openly called for Kadhafi's ouster.

But the Libyan government tried to to exploit the international effort, with Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa claiming it was clear that "France, Great Britain and the US are now getting in touch with defectors in eastern Libya. It means there is a conspiracy to divide Libya."

Obama also issued a new warning to Kadhafi's close circle that they would be held accountable for violence, in an apparent attempt to peel away support for the Libyan leader.

"I want to send a very clear message to those who are around Colonel Kadhafi. It is their choice as to how to operate moving forward. They will be held accountable for whatever violence will continue to take place there," he said.

earlier related report
Libyan air activity has decreased: US
Washington (AFP) March 7, 2011 - Libyan warplanes have reduced their activity in the fight against rebel forces since a peak last week, the US envoy to NATO said Monday as he played down the need for a no-fly zone.

Ambassador Ivo Daalder, speaking to reporters in a conference call from Brussels, also said NATO officials backed the idea of having round-the-clock surveillance of Libyan military activity by alliance radar planes.

But he de-emphasized the need for a no-fly zone, where US and allied planes would protect rebel forces by grounding Colonel Kadhafi's warplanes and helicopters.

"Our sense is that a no-fly zone is one possibility, but when you really look at what's going on, we have actually seen a decrease in both fighter and overall air activity over the weekend," Daalder said.

"It really peaked late last week and is starting to come down, and indeed, to date, the overall air activity has not been the deciding factor in the ongoing unrest" in Libya, he said.

"Other things are really determining what's happening on the ground," according to Daalder.

"No-fly zones are more effective against fighters but they really have a limited effect against his helicopters or the kind of ground operations that we've seen," he said.

"Which is why a no-fly zone, even if it were to be established, isn't really going to impact what is happening there today. That doesn't mean we shouldn't look at it, and we are, and we will," Daalder said.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned Monday that Moamer Kadhafi may already have committed "crimes against humanity" by attacking Libyan civilians and that the world might not stand "idly by" if such strikes do not end.

But Rasmussen insisted the Western military alliance would not use force unless expressly ordered by global leaders.

As he spoke, Britain and France were drafting a UN resolution on a no-fly zone over Libya which could be put to the Security Council this week, a diplomat said.

NATO has also decided in principle to have radar aircraft known as Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) monitor Libyan military activity around the clock, Daalder said.

"The decision was made to indeed increase the surveillance of the NATO AWACS capability to make it 24/7 to have a better picture of what's really going on in this part of the world," he said.

"Generally this was well received," he added.

Alliance defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday may be in a position to make a decision on the subject, he added.

He said NATO officials debated all the options but "the most immediate options that are now most available, that we are really looking at, is how can NATO support the humanitarian effort that is ongoing."

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