NATO will take the lead and command in the military operations against Libya while the U.S. role is to "support and assist," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday.

When asked if the U.S. would enlarge its role in Libya miltiary operations as the European allies of NATO are running out of munitions, Jay Carney said,?the?U.S. role, as promised by? President Obama, is?to support and assist and "it remains an important role but not a lead role."

Jay Carney said that NATO has the capability and the capacity to fulfill the mission, adding that in the last 24 hours NATO there's been a dramatic increase in the number of sorties flown by NATO planes as the weather has cleared.?

"We provide capacities for jamming, for tanker refueling, for intelligence gathering and the like, and we continue to work with our NATO partners to find if there are other ways that we can assist," he continued.

"But we are not -- we have no plans to change our posture," the spokesman added.?

Earlier The Washinton Post reported that NATO?is running short?of?crucial ammunition like precision bombs after nearly a month?since the Libyan conflict started.?

Some officials have raised doubts whether the US can continue to avoid returning to its air campaign amid the ongoing crisis of ammunition if Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi clings on to power for some more months, The Washington Post reported.