WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday the Obama administration is rethinking its opposition to arming Syrian rebels, becoming the first top U.S. official to publicly acknowledge the reassessment.

During a Pentagon news conference with British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond, Hagel said arming the rebels was one option that the administration was considering in consultation with its allies. But he said he personally had not decided whether it would be a wise or appropriate move.

"Arming the rebels -- that's an option," he said. "You look at and rethink all options. It doesn't mean you do or you will . . . It doesn't mean that the president has decided on anything."

Hammond said his country was still bound by a European Union arms embargo on Syria, but he said Britain would look at the issue again in a few weeks when the ban expires and make a decision based on the evolving situation on the ground in the two-year-old civil war.

Hagel's comments affirmed what had been a quiet but emerging dialogue within the Obama administration: That arming the rebels might be preferable amid growing indications that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against its own people, an action President Barack Obama characterized as a "game-changer" that would have "enormous consequences."

Obama said yesterday the United States will continue to evaluate its options.

"We want to make sure that we look before we leap and that what we're doing is actually helpful to the situation as opposed to making it more deadly or more complex," Obama said at a news conference in Mexico.

Both Hagel and Hammond also indicated that strong evidence still was needed to provide a solid legal basis for any military action the Washington or its allies might take. Hammond said the public still remembers that claims of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in 2003 turned out to be untrue.

"There is a very strong view that we have to have very clear, very high-quality evidence before we make plans and act on that evidence," Hammond said.

Detective facing hate crime charges ... Congestion pricing returns ... New dog patrolling MacArthur airport Credit: Newsday

Firefighter charged with arson ... Detective facing hate crime charges ... New dog patrolling MacArthur ... Statewide toy drive

Detective facing hate crime charges ... Congestion pricing returns ... New dog patrolling MacArthur airport Credit: Newsday

Firefighter charged with arson ... Detective facing hate crime charges ... New dog patrolling MacArthur ... Statewide toy drive

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