US Committing $25 Million in Aid to Libyan Opposition

April 20, 2011

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gestures while speaking at the State Department in Washington, DC, April 20, 2011

The Obama administration is preparing to provide $25 million in non-lethal aid to Libya’s opposition Transitional National Council, the TNC. The plan was confirmed Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who also expressed concern about mounting casualties among pro-democracy protesters in Syria.

Clinton is stressing that the aid package contains no weapons and does not amount to a "blank check" of unlimited U.S. aid to the TNC.

But it does represent a significant upgrade of U.S. backing for the umbrella Libyan opposition organization, which Clinton said is "holding its own" militarily in the face of what she termed a "brutal assault" by Moammar Gadhafi’s forces.

Speaking at a joint press event with Haiti’s President-elect Michel Martelly, Clinton said the items going to the Libyan rebels are being drawn from U.S. stockpiles and include such things as medical supplies, uniforms, boots, protective gear and radios.

She said the aid pledge is being made in close coordination with U.S. international partners - among them Britain, France and Italy - which this week announced the dispatch of military advisers to help the TNC.

"This is not a blank check. But this action is consistent with the United Nations Security Council resolution 1973, which among other actions, authorized member states to take all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas," said Clinton.