U.S. to use frozen Qadhafi assets for Libyan people

Speaking on Thursday at an international meeting on Libya, Ms. Clinton said the administration would ask Congress for legislation that would allow it to tap portions of the money to help the Libyan people.

As Italy's foreign minister Franco Frattini, sixth in from the left, raises his hands, attendees of the Second Contact Group Meeting on Libya, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, far left, pose for a group photo at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Rome, on Thursday. Photo: AP.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the Obama administration is moving to free up some of the more than $30 billion it has frozen in Libyan assets to support opponents of Muammar Qadhafi.

Speaking on Thursday at an international meeting on Libya, Ms. Clinton said the administration would ask Congress for legislation that would allow it to tap portions of the money to help the Libyan people. The administration has already authorized up to $25 million in non—lethal military assistance to the opposition and has pledged $53 million in humanitarian aid.

Ms. Clinton said it was important to isolate Col. Qadhafi and his regime, including by imposing travel bans on top officials, suspending Libyan embassies and sending envoys to work with the opposition’s Transitional National Council.