Posted on 07/24/2006 5:18:03 AM PDT by SJackson
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Lebanon on Monday to launch diplomatic efforts aimed at ending 13 days of warfare between Israel and Hizbullah.
Rice arrived in Beirut in the afternoon and was set to meet with Prime Minister Fuad Saniora in the previously unannounced stopover before heading to Israel, Saniora's office said.
Rice has tried to walk delicately between supporting the democratic government of Lebanon while not dictating to Israel how it should handle its own security.
"We all want to urgently end the fighting. We have absolutely the same goal," Rice told reporters traveling with her to the region Monday.
Rice said any cease-fire agreement would have to be signed by Lebanon, not Hizbullah.
"The last time that I looked, Hizbullah had even run for office as a part of the government of Lebanon," she said, referring to Hizbullah's presence in the Parliament.
"If there is a cessation of hostilities, the government of Lebanon is going to have to be the party," she said. "Let's treat the government of Lebanon as the sovereign government that it is."
But she added that if the violence between Israel and Hizbullah fighters in Lebanon ends only to restart within weeks, "then all of the carnage that Hizbullah launched by its illegal activities, abducting the soldiers and then launching rocket attacks, we will have gotten nothing from that."
Rice also indicated openness to working with Syria to resolve the crisis, noting that the United States still has a diplomatic mission and State Department officials working in the Syrian capital.
"The problem isn't that people haven't talked to the Syrians. It's that the Syrians haven't acted," she said.
"It's not as if we don't have diplomatic relations," she said. "We do."
The US ambassador to Syria was recalled last year after the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Syrian officials have been blamed for the murder, which Damascus denies.
Rice's words to reporters on a flight from Washington to a refueling stop in Ireland came as she embarked on a difficult trip to the Middle East, where she will meet with key players trying to stop the violence along the tense Lebanese-Israeli border.
Rice is facing increasing international pressure to call for an immediate cease-fire. Yet she and US President George W. Bush have resisted, saying any peace agreement must come with the right conditions to ensure that it is sustainable. They particularly want to see an agreement that would help Lebanon control its entire territory, including the southern third that is dominated by Hizbullah.
Rice plans stops in Israel and then Rome, where she will join a high-level conference of key players of the Middle East and the international community to focus on the political underpinnings of a potential cease-fire. She's also focused on humanitarian aid for war-torn Lebanon.
Rice said the Saudis are urging the international community to use the so-called Taif Agreement and a similar 2004 UN resolution as the foundation for peace. Taif calls for the government of Lebanon to disarm Hizbullah within six months and underscores that Syria should not be allowed "to constitute a source of threat to the security of Lebanon under any circumstances."
"We and the Saudis have the same goal," Rice said. "The Saudis talked a great deal about the importance of Taif and getting a solution that indeed does lead to the fulfillment of the obligations" under that 19-year-old agreement.
step one: prop up Siniora.
Sometimes, just sometimes, we (The U.S.) should just sit back and let things unfold. This IMO would be one of those situations.
We truly are Team America - World Police.
Much as I love Condi, I wonder if all her travels and hard work accomplishes anything other than a facade.
From Who?? This is a usual press lie. The World knows Israel needs to fight for its safety and are going to allow it. The press just hates seeing the terrorists lose. Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters Shalom Israel
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel.
also Keywords 2006israelwar or WOT [War on Terror]
----------------------------
I'm not challenging Condi's abilities. Far from it, I think she's the best.
I simply question the premise that somebody has got to do it.
"I simply question the premise that somebody has got to do it."......Well, didn't that Eastern European Maid Gal say so,,,,watsername?...You know, the gal who solved the North Korean problem years ago....../sarc
Diplomacy is like a beautiful frosted cake. 90% of its value is a facade - after all, if you only want the taste, you can get that straight out of the can.
Why not nobody...and let these people fight it out...."peace treatys" or "cease fires" to muslms only mean an opportunity to rest, refresh and re-arm. In 6 months, rockets will be raining down on Israel again. Muslms lie and don't think anything about it.....their "book" says it all right to mislead infidels.
Oh great. Israel has a new peace agreement with somebody who doesn't call the shots. Sounds like a good deal for Lebanon, who can just turn around and say "It's not us! It's those nasty terrorists who are sending the rockets!" Meanwhile, Israel has to keep up their end of the bargain as usual. Thanks, State Dept. Doesn't matter if it's Condi or Bozo the Clown, State sucks.
It may be that this trip is merely window dressing for the MSM and the Euroweenies. Makes us look seriously "involved" in the "peace process" while giving the Israelis time to do what needs to be done.
"to launch diplomatic efforts aimed at ending 13 days of warfare between Israel and Hizbullah."
Why?
Delicious sarcasm like that requires no tag :)
And yes, exactly what I'm talking about.
I say if you kick the shiite outta them until they can't breath, the diplomacy should have a better chance. Aside from that, I think it's a waste of a valuable person's time.
Oh I think that's exactly what it is...rope-a-dope 101....W style.
And in that respect and that respect only do I see it having any worth at all.
Just as post-World War II Germany was "de-Nazified", so must today's Lebanon be "de-Hezbollahfied". I hope Bush (through Rice) doesn't propose anything stupid that will endanger Israel's efforts to eliminate the terrorists.
"Why does someone "have to do it"?
Why not nobody...and let these people fight it out...."peace treatys" or "cease fires" to muslms only mean an opportunity to rest, refresh and re-arm. In 6 months, rockets will be raining down on Israel again. Muslms lie and don't think anything about it.....their "book" says it all right to mislead infidels."
Ditto.
What also frosted me is that, because of all this unrest, our gas prices are going through the roof and, after it's done, we're going to give money to Lebanon to rebuild. So we have this endless Middle East conflict - and WE get it at both ends.
A "cease fire" is the stupidist thing I've heard since ... well, since John "War Hero" Kerry last opened his idiot mouth. Israel has laid down reasonable conditions for a cease fire - and if those conditions are not met, they should bomb away until those conditions ARE met or every last terrorist is exterminated.
Condi should take a week's vacation in the US.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.