U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice intends to travel
to the Middle East as early as next week to press for a
political solution to reduce fighting between Israel
and Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon,
her spokesman said on Thursday.
The aim of the trip was "to address the tactical
situation but also to try to address the root causes and bring about a
strategic change," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told
reporters.
Rice's plans for a trip to the region have been announced
but until now there has been no official indication of when she would travel.
On Thursday, Hizbollah fought
Israeli troops on the Lebanese border, as thousands more foreigners fled the
nine-day-old war in Lebanon,
including 1,000 Americans evacuated by U.S. Marines.
The United States
appears increasingly isolated in refusing to pressure Israel,
its top Middle East ally, for a ceasefire in a war that
has killed many civilians.
Unlike the United Nations and key European allies that want
a ceasefire as soon as possible, the United
States stresses the need for what it calls a
"durable" solution to the crisis before any ceasefire can be
implemented.
Otherwise, U.S.
officials say, the potential for conflict would always be present despite a
temporary halt in the violence.
Posted: 7/20/06
Source: Reuters
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