(VOVworld)—The Obama administration opened the door slightly Tuesday to international military assistance for Syria's rebels, with officials saying new tactics may have to be explored if President Bashar Assad continues to defy pressure to halt a brutal crackdown on dissenters. In coordinated messages, the White House and State Department said they still hope for a political solution. But faced with the daily onslaught by the Assad regime against Syrian civilians, officials dropped the administration's previous strident opposition to arming anti-regime forces. White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters that the US does not want to take actions that would contribute to the further militarization of Syria because that could take the country down a dangerous path, but the US does not rule out additional measures if the international community should wait too long and not take the kind of action that needs to be taken.