The U.S. is working to turn the words of United Nations Security Council Resolution one-seven-zero-one into action. The resolution calls for a cease-fire between Hezbollah terrorists and Israeli forces in Lebanon. It also authorizes an expanded U-N force to help the Lebanese army take control of southern Lebanon as Israel withdraws.
President George W. Bush says, "this force will help Lebanon's legitimate armed forces restore the sovereignty of its democratic government over all Lebanese territory and stop Hezbollah from acting as a state within a state":
"The resolution will help make it possible for civilians in both Lebanon and Israel to return home in safety and begin rebuilding their lives without fear of renewed violence and terror."
Fighting began in July after Hezbollah terrorists entered Israel, killed eight Israeli soldiers, kidnapped two others, and began to fire rockets into Israel. Israel responded by attacking Hezbollah sites in Lebanon. "The conflict in Lebanon," says Mr. Bush, "is part of a broader struggle between freedom and terror that is unfolding across the region":
"Terrorists and their sponsors recognize that the Middle East is at a pivotal moment in its history. Freedom has brought hope to millions, and it's helped foster the development of young democracies from Baghdad to Beirut. Yet these young democracies are still fragile, and the forces of terror are seeking to stop liberty's advance and steer newly free nations to the path of radicalism."
"The terrorists fear the rise of democracy because they know what it means for the future of their hateful ideology," says Mr. Bush. He says the U.S. will help, "defeat the terrorists by strengthening young democracies across the broader Middle East."
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government.
