White House hasn’t decided yet on arming Libyan rebels

The White House reiterated Wednesday that the U.S. hadn't determined whether to arm Libyan rebels, while pointedly refusing to comment on multiple reports that President Obama signed an official finding authorizing aid to those rebels.

White House press secretary Jay Carney released a statement late Wednesday afternoon refusing to confirm or deny reports by Reuters and ABC that Obama had issued a finding in recent weeks that authorized covert support to opponents of Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

"As is common practice for this and all Administrations, I am not going to comment on intelligence matters," Carney said in a statement.

The finding, according to reports, gave broad cover to covert U.S. forces in providing assistance to Libyan rebels. It comes amid an open debate by the Obama administration over whether to provide arms to the rebels, and a promise earlier during the U.S. Military intervention in Libya that no U.S. ground forces would be sent into Libya.

"I will reiterate what the President said yesterday – no decision has been made about providing arms to the opposition or to any group in Libya," Carney said. "We’re not ruling it out or ruling it in."

Some lawmakers have questioned the wisdom of arming the Libyan rebels, especially among some indications that some anti-Gadhafi forces might be allied with al-Qaeda.

Carney repeated what he told reporters during his daily press briefing, saying the U.S. is actively reviewing the possibility.

"We’re assessing and reviewing options for all types of assistance that we could provide to the Libyan people, and have consulted directly with the opposition and our international partners about these matters," he said.