The Obama administration opened the
door slightly Tuesday to international military assistance for Syria's
rebels, with officials saying new tactics may have to be explored if
President Bashar Assad continues to defy pressure to halt a brutal
crackdown on dissenters.
In coordinated messages, the White House and State Department
said they still hope for a political solution. But faced with the daily
onslaught by the Assad regime against Syrian civilians, officials
dropped the administration's previous strident opposition to arming
anti-regime forces. It remained unclear, though, what, if any, role the
U.S. might play in providing such aid.
"We don't want to take actions that would contribute to the further militarization of Syria because that could take the country down a dangerous path," White House press secretary Jay Carney
told reporters. "But we don't rule out additional measures if the
international community should wait too long and not take the kind of
action that needs to be taken."
The administration has previously said
flatly that more weapons are not the answer to the Syrian situation.
There had been no mention of "additional measures."
At the State Department, spokeswoman
Victoria Nuland used nearly identical language to describe the
administration's evolving position.
"From our perspective, we don't believe that
it makes sense to contribute now to the further militarization of
Syria," she told reporters. "What we don't want to see is the spiral of
violence increase. That said, if we can't get Assad to yield to the
pressure that we are all bringing to bear, we may have to consider
additional measures."
Neither Carney nor Nuland would elaborate on
what "additional measures" might be taken but there have been growing
calls, including from some in Congress, for the international community
to arm the rebels. Most suggestions to that effect have foreseen Arab
nations such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia -- and not the West -- possibly providing military assistance.
Other officials said discussions are now
under way about adding a military component to a package of humanitarian
and political aid to the opposition that's to be discussed at a major
international conference on Syria this week in Tunisia.
More than 70 countries have been invited to
meet Friday in Tunisia for a "Friends of Syria" meeting. The meeting
follows the failure of the UN Security Council to endorse an Arab plan that would have seen Assad removed from power.
The meeting of the "Friends of Syria" in
Tunis is not likely to produce decisions on military aid or even
recognition of Syria's disparate opposition groups, according to U.S.
officials. But countries are considering creating large stockpiles of
humanitarian aid along Syria's borders, the officials said.
U.S. officials stressed that discussion of
military assistance is still preliminary. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the diplomacy. To
maintain the pressure against Assad, Washington is trying to keep as
many countries as possible involved in the international coordination
against Syria's government -- even if there is no consensus strategy on
arming the rebels.
This week's talks will seek to clarify some
of the confusion. The U.S. is trying to get a clearer picture of what
promises countries such as Syria's Arab neighbors are making to elements
of the opposition; which rebels each government might support; and some
agreement on what types of assistance would be helpful or damaging.
The backdrop to the discussions is the increasing fear that Syria could descend into an all-out civil war.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon on Tuesday disputed reports that Iranian ships docked at a Syrian port over the weekend.
Iranian state-run Press TV said Saturday
that an Iranian navy destroyer and a supply ship had docked in the port
of Tartus to provide training to ally Syria's naval forces, as Syria
tries to crush the opposition movement.
But Defense Department press secretary
George Little said Tuesday the U.S. military saw no indication that the
ships docked or delivered any cargo. Little said Tehran's ships went
through the Suez Canal and now appear to be going back through the canal again.
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