US under pressure to arm Libya rebels

The administration of President Barack Obama has come under mounting pressure to arm Libyan rebels facing an emboldened and regrouping military, amid charges Washington missed recent chances to oust the country's strongman.
Obama has insisted that all options, including military action, remain on the table with respect to Libya, where Moamer Kadhafi's forces have unleashed deadly airstrikes on rebels and civilians in efforts to crush an uprising in which thousands are feared dead.
But with the administration cautioning that a decision on a no-fly zone was still far off, opinion among US lawmakers and former officials appeared to coalesce around the likelihood that supplying weapons to the outgunned rebels was a way forward.