White House spokesman Jay Carney said US officials were seeking to learn as much as they could about Libyan opposition groups, but that offering weapons to opponents of Moamer Kadhafi was only one option on the table.
However, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said it would be illegal for the United States to arm the opposition because of a UN Security Council banning all weapon shipments to Libya.
Carney told reporters: "On the issue of ... arming, providing weapons, it is one of the range of options that is being considered.
"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.
"Speaking more generally, you have to be very cognisant 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 PO Box in eastern Libya, we need to not get ahead of ourselves," Carney said.
On Sunday, Republican Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell called for the option of arming insurgents to be considered in Libya, further raising domestic political pressure on Obama over the issue.
Veteran diplomatic troubleshooter Bill Richardson, a Democrat, also made a similar call.
But Crowley said he understood such a move would violate action taken at the United Nations on February 26.
"In the UN Security Council resolution passed on Libya, there is an arms embargo that affects Libya, which means it`s a violation for any country to provide arms to anyone in Libya," Crowley said.
"It would be illegal for the United States to do that," he added. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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