Condi: Don't Expect a Ceasefire

Much to the chagrin of the Agenda Media, Condi Rice did her best to lower expectations for an immediate ceasefire in the Israeli-Hezbollah war:
Officials from the United Nations, Europe and other Arab countries have already urged an end to the fighting. Rice and Bush have rejected calls for an immediate cease-fire, saying it does not make sense if the terrorist threat from Hezbollah is not addressed. They have said Israel has a right to defend itself from terrorism and Hezbollah must return two captured Israeli soldiers and stop firing missiles and rockets into Israel if they want the fighting to stop. For years, the Saudis have been among the United States' closest allies in the Arab world, despite strains from U.S. pressures aimed at increasing democracy in the conservative kingdom.
Rice and President Bush won't push for a ceasefire for at least another week because it's like telling Israel to stop eliminating the people who want to destroy them. At some point, I expect President Bush to be amenable to a ceasefire but only after the Israelis dramatically degrade Hezbollah's capabilities, at minimum. I'm confident that President Bush isn't near that point yet.
A White House spokeswoman, Eryn Witcher, would not comment on the Saudi proposal. She said Bush and the Saudis have "shared goals of helping the people of Lebanon and restoring sovereignty of the government of Lebanon and building stronger Lebanese armed forces." "They discussed the humanitarian situation and reconstruction and putting conditions in place for an end to violence," Witcher said.
TRANSLATION: We know that Israel is killing people and breaking things. We won't tell them to stop but we'll send humanitarian aid to ease the suffering of Lebanese innocents.



Posted Monday, July 24, 2006 4:03 PM

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