Bush Calls Attack on Qana ‘Awful,’
but Refrains From Calling for Immediate Cease-Fire
By JOHN M. BRODER
The New York Times
August 1, 2006
WASHINGTON, July 31 — President Bush used the word “awful” to describe the lethal Israeli air attack on an apartment building in Qana, Lebanon, that killed dozens of civilians over the weekend, but he continued to resist calling on Israel to accept an immediate cease-fire.
Facing one of the most awkward moments in recent relations with Israel, he described the current Middle East crisis as part of a larger struggle between the forces of freedom and the forces of terror. He said the United States remained steadfast in its support of Israel’s right to defend itself against cross-border attacks by Hezbollah militants. But he also said the administration was working urgently through the United Nations to fashion what he called a “sustainable” cessation of hostilities.
He sought to broaden the context of the current fighting, saying that Iran and Syria must end their support of terrorism in the Middle East and beyond.
“For decades, the status quo in the Middle East permitted tyranny and terror to thrive,” Mr. Bush said at an appearance before members of the Coast Guard in Miami. “And as we saw on Sept. 11, the status quo in the Middle East led to death and destruction in the United States, and it had to change.”
He did not refer directly to the airstrike on the village of Qana in his public appearance in Miami, but in a later interview with Fox News Channel, he said that he wanted to see the killing in southern Lebanon end.
“And look, it’s a terrible situation when innocent people lose their lives,” Mr. Bush said. “And yesterday’s situation was awful. We, I understand that. But it’s also awful that a million Israelis are worried about rockets being fired from their, from their neighbor to the north.”
Mr. Bush has not spoken directly with Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, about the Qana bombing and did not plan to do so, a White House spokesman said Monday.
Support for Israel remained strong in Congress but as the military and civilian crisis grew, Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, said that American friendship with Israel had to be balanced by concern for relations with Muslim nations. He urged Mr. Bush to become more deeply engaged in the region and broker an end to the fighting quickly.
“The sickening slaughter on both sides must end now,” Senator Hagel said in a floor statement. “President Bush must call for an immediate cease-fire. This madness must stop.”
White House officials said they believed that the president was not yet facing serious erosion of domestic political support for his approach to the Middle East, but that they hoped the administration’s diplomacy would bear fruit over the next few days.
If the White House seemed shaken on Sunday, by Monday it had turned back forcefully to the line it had held since the crisis began nearly three weeks ago.
“In terms of the overall outlines of the strategy, they are the same,” Tony Snow, Mr. Bush’s spokesman, said in a telephone interview. “Nor are you going to change your approach to what you think a real effective solution to the problem in Lebanon is, which is to have Hezbollah cease operating as an independent force.”
President Bush told Fox News that one element of the emerging plan for a cease-fire was to restore Lebanese military control over its southern border with Israel, which the nascent government in Beirut had essentially ceded to armed Hezbollah fighters.
“We want that young democracy in Lebanon to succeed,” Mr. Bush said. “And one way to help it succeed is to help the Lebanese Army move to the south, and then, with help from forces from elsewhere, begin to bring some security to the region, for the sake of the Lebanese people and the Israelis.”
President Bush planned to meet with Secretary Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley on Monday night to discuss strategy for dealing with the crisis.
By JOHN M. BRODER
The New York Times
August 1, 2006
WASHINGTON, July 31 — President Bush used the word “awful” to describe the lethal Israeli air attack on an apartment building in Qana, Lebanon, that killed dozens of civilians over the weekend, but he continued to resist calling on Israel to accept an immediate cease-fire.
Facing one of the most awkward moments in recent relations with Israel, he described the current Middle East crisis as part of a larger struggle between the forces of freedom and the forces of terror. He said the United States remained steadfast in its support of Israel’s right to defend itself against cross-border attacks by Hezbollah militants. But he also said the administration was working urgently through the United Nations to fashion what he called a “sustainable” cessation of hostilities.
He sought to broaden the context of the current fighting, saying that Iran and Syria must end their support of terrorism in the Middle East and beyond.
“For decades, the status quo in the Middle East permitted tyranny and terror to thrive,” Mr. Bush said at an appearance before members of the Coast Guard in Miami. “And as we saw on Sept. 11, the status quo in the Middle East led to death and destruction in the United States, and it had to change.”
He did not refer directly to the airstrike on the village of Qana in his public appearance in Miami, but in a later interview with Fox News Channel, he said that he wanted to see the killing in southern Lebanon end.
“And look, it’s a terrible situation when innocent people lose their lives,” Mr. Bush said. “And yesterday’s situation was awful. We, I understand that. But it’s also awful that a million Israelis are worried about rockets being fired from their, from their neighbor to the north.”
Mr. Bush has not spoken directly with Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, about the Qana bombing and did not plan to do so, a White House spokesman said Monday.
Support for Israel remained strong in Congress but as the military and civilian crisis grew, Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, said that American friendship with Israel had to be balanced by concern for relations with Muslim nations. He urged Mr. Bush to become more deeply engaged in the region and broker an end to the fighting quickly.
“The sickening slaughter on both sides must end now,” Senator Hagel said in a floor statement. “President Bush must call for an immediate cease-fire. This madness must stop.”
White House officials said they believed that the president was not yet facing serious erosion of domestic political support for his approach to the Middle East, but that they hoped the administration’s diplomacy would bear fruit over the next few days.
If the White House seemed shaken on Sunday, by Monday it had turned back forcefully to the line it had held since the crisis began nearly three weeks ago.
“In terms of the overall outlines of the strategy, they are the same,” Tony Snow, Mr. Bush’s spokesman, said in a telephone interview. “Nor are you going to change your approach to what you think a real effective solution to the problem in Lebanon is, which is to have Hezbollah cease operating as an independent force.”
President Bush told Fox News that one element of the emerging plan for a cease-fire was to restore Lebanese military control over its southern border with Israel, which the nascent government in Beirut had essentially ceded to armed Hezbollah fighters.
“We want that young democracy in Lebanon to succeed,” Mr. Bush said. “And one way to help it succeed is to help the Lebanese Army move to the south, and then, with help from forces from elsewhere, begin to bring some security to the region, for the sake of the Lebanese people and the Israelis.”
President Bush planned to meet with Secretary Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley on Monday night to discuss strategy for dealing with the crisis.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 8:36 AM
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