Clinton: We're Ready to Help Libya

The Obama administration stands ready to offer "any type of assistance" to Libyans seeking to oust Moammar Gadhafi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today, adding a warning to other African nations not to let mercenaries aid the longtime dictator. Clinton made no mention of any US military assistance. "We want him to leave," Clinton said. "We want him to end his regime and call off the mercenaries and forces loyal to him. How he manages that is up to him."

Clinton's comments stopped short of John McCain and Joe Lieberman, on tour in the region, who today called for the US to arm a provisional Libyan government and to enforce a no-fly zone over the country to prevent Gadhafi loyalists from firing on protesters from the air. But McCain added, "I'm not ready to use ground forces or further intervention than that." (More Hillary Clinton stories.)