Fighting continues in Lebanon between Israeli troops and Hezbollah terrorists.
The conflict erupted after a raid by Hezbollah into Israel in which eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two were kidnapped. Israel is attacking suspected Hezbollah sites in Lebanon while Hezbollah is firing rockets into northern Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the solution to the crisis lies in extending Lebanese government sovereignty over the entire country, disbanding the militias including Hezbollah, and then introducing a United Nations-mandated stabilization force. Ms. Rice has called for an international effort to provide humanitarian aid and reconstruction assistance to Lebanon. Secretary of State Rice said, “[The] fields of the Middle East are littered with broken cease-fires. And every time there's a broken cease-fire, people die, there's destruction, and there's misery." She said, “We need to try, this time, to put together an international effort that sustains an end to the violence.”
White House spokesman Tony Snow elaborated:
"What the Secretary is determined to do, and the President, is to work towards conditions that are going to create a durable peace in the region. . . .We have seen many, many peace agreements in the region before, and they have all come to naught. The determination this time is [to] create the conditions so that you not only have a piece of paper, you have the peace."
President George W. Bush says the U.S. does not want “a fake peace” that allows the problem to arise again." He says "[Now] is the time to address the root cause of the problem. And the root cause of the problem is terrorist groups trying to stop the advance of democracies."
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government.
