On April 15, the State Department notified Congress
that it wanted to send $25 million of non-lethal military aid to the Libyan
rebels, but as of today that money is being held up by the White House and no
funds or goods have been disbursed.
The State Department's congressional notification about
the aid funds, first
reported on Tuesday by the Washington Times, stated that the aid would include "vehicles, fuel
trucks and fuel bladders, ambulances, medical equipment, protective vests,
binoculars, and non-secure radios" -- all items identified by the Libyan
opposition's National Transitional Council (NTC) as urgently needed to protect
civilians from Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi's
forces in cities such as Misrata.
"One of the reasons why I announced $25 million in
nonlethal aid yesterday, why many of our partners both in NATO and in the
broader Contact Group are providing assistance to the opposition - is to enable
them to defend themselves and to repulse the attacks by Qaddafi forces," Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton said on this morning.
"There's an urgent situation here and they need our help,"
State Department spokesman Mark Toner told
reporters on Wednesday.
But as of today, six days after the
State Department notified Congress it planned to give the aid, the White House
has still not signed off and none of the aid has begun its journey to the
rebels, despite that intense fighting is ongoing.
"Yesterday's
announcement of the 25 million in drawdown assistance was not fully cooked.
That still needs to head to the White House, be confirmed or ratified by the
president, and then we can begin implementing it," Toner explained at Thursday
afternoon's State Department briefing.
So what's the hold up? National
Security Staff spokesperson Tommy Vietor
declined to comment on why the White House was holding up the funds or when a
decision would be made.
Meanwhile,
a State Department official said that the State Department's top official in
Libya Chris Stevens continues to work with the NTC to figure out what they need
and whether the U.S. can provide specific items of assistance.
If
the aid is approved by the White House, Libya rebels could be soon wearing U.S.
military uniforms, although without the U.S. flag stitched on them.
"Many places around the world people wear old NYC
police uniforms, they won't be the current uniforms, they have old stocks," the
official said.
The U.S. and other countries are readying further
measures to increase pressure on Qaddafi through further sanctions on the
regime's oil business and tighter enforcement of existing sanctions, the
official said.
When asked if the U.S. was considering military
advisors to Libya, as the British and French are doing now, the official said,
"No."
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