THE "NEW" MIDDLE EAST
PUTTING THE FINAL PIECES IN PLACE ?
Middle East: Rice Calls For A
'New Middle East'
By Jeremy Bransten
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice again makes it clear that the United States is seeking major change in the Middle East, rather than a quick cease-fire.
PRAGUE, July 25, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- It was a meeting of the minds in Jerusalem today, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying the fight against Hizballah is a struggle that could reshape the Middle East.
Rice and Olmert reiterated their shared view that a cease-fire is not desirable if it leaves Hizballah fighters in control of southern Lebanon.
"As we deal with the current circumstances, we need always to be cognizant of and looking to what kind of Middle East we are trying to build. It is time for a new Middle East."Rice said the United States wants a durable peace, explaining that "a durable solution will be one that strengthens the forces of peace and the forces of democracy in this region."
Rice implicitly addressed Syria and Iran, who have backed the Shiite fighters currently battling Israel, as she framed the fight in larger terms.
"As we deal with the current circumstances, we need always to be cognizant of and looking to what kind of Middle East we are trying to build," she said. "It is time for a new Middle East. It is time to say to those who do not want a different kind of Middle East that we will prevail, they will not."
Though not favoring an immediate cease-fire, Rice said the United States is aware of the suffering caused to civilians, especially in Lebanon, as a result of the conflict. The United States has announced a $30 million aid package for Lebanon. U.S. forces are already airlifting relief supplies to Beirut.
Olmert was equally uncompromising, reminding journalists that it was Hizballah fighters who started the conflict and were continuing to fire rockets into northern Israeli cities and towns.
"Israel is determined to carry on the fight against Hizballah. We'll reach out for them, we'll stop them, and we will not hesitate to take the most severe measures against those who are aiming thousands of rockets and missiles against innocent civilians for one purpose -- to kill them. This is something that we will not be able to tolerate," he said.
Soon after he spoke, Hizballah fired a fresh barrage of rockets at the Israeli port city of Haifa. At least 25 people were reported injured.
Lebanese Civilians Under The Gun
A view of the destruction wreaked in a suburb in southern Beirut by Israeli air strikes (epa)Despite the civilian casualties its campaign is causing, Olmert once again said that Israel aims to help the Lebanese people and government.
He called on the Lebanese government to "distance [itself] from Hizballah and from terrorist organizations."
If it does so, it will "find in us partners for all kinds of accommodations that will make the life for the Lebanese easier and better, and certainly will help facilitate an arrangement that will end the war."
At best, those words are likely to be met with skepticism in Lebanon, where the death toll from the Israeli campaign has now reached almost 400 and where hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes.
A large part of the country's civilian infrastructure, including main roads, bridges, power stations, and television towers has been destroyed by the Israeli military.
In what has become an almost daily occurrence, a family of seven, including at least two children, were reported killed as an Israeli missile slammed into their house in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army has defended the use of cluster munitions in its military offensive in Lebanon as "legal under international law."
Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using the antipersonnel munitions in an attack on the Lebanese village of Bilda on July 19.
On July 24, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, launched a global appeal for funds for the humanitarian effort in Lebanon.
This "is an appeal for three months, and the clock has started ticking. We will in that three-month period ask for $150 million, about $10 million of those [dollars] for work for those who have fled from Lebanon to Syria."
Egeland, who has criticized the Israeli onslaught as a breach of humanitarian laws, also lashed out at Hizballah on July 25, accusing its fighters of hiding behind the local civilian population.
Rice In Palestine
Rice traveled to Ramallah in the West Bank later for talks with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmud
Abbas.
Israel's campaign in the Palestinian territories -- where another one of its soldiers was abducted -- has been largely overshadowed by events in Lebanon. But casualties and the destruction of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip continue unabated as militants battle Israeli forces.
The public welcome for Rice in Ramallah was limited.
"We do not welcome Condoleezza Rice's visit because she represents an imperialist and Zionist policy, and the proof to this is that she still insists not to make Israel stop their fire directed towards our people in Lebanon," said one Ramallah resident.
Rice travels to Rome on July 26, for an emergency international conference on the crisis. High-level representatives from 18 other countries and international organizations are to attend the meeting, including UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Annan says he will press for a truce and establishment of a buffer force in southern Lebanon, as well as the release of the two Israeli soldiers whose abduction sparked the Israeli retaliation and an end to Hizballah's rocket attacks on northern Israel.
Middle East: Rice Begins Talks With Surprise Stop In Lebanon
By Jeremy Bransten
Beirut residents seeking to evacuate on July 24
(epa)
PRAGUE, July 24, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived on a previously unannounced visit to Lebanon today and was due in Israel later for talks on resolving the broadening conflict with Hizballah.
Rice says the United States believes a cease-fire for Lebanon is "urgent," but cannot happen until conditions are right. Washington rejects the imposition of an unconditional, immediate cessation of hostilities, despite the mounting civilian toll.
Fighting On The Border
As Rice arrived by helicopter in Beirut, missile strikes continued on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border.
There was also heavy fighting on the ground in southern Lebanon, as Israeli troops fought for control of the strategic town of Bint Jbail, a reputed Hizballah base.
Rice’s visit has been eagerly anticipated, as Lebanese authorities and many regional states increase their calls for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict that has already killed more than 400 people and displaced over 500,000.
"It's been over several days now," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland told reporters as he toured bombed-out neighborhoods in southern Beirut on July 23." It's between half a million and 1 million people in desperate need of international assistance. There are wounded who do not get sufficient treatment. There are people who do not have safe drinking water. There are first and foremost, tens of thousands of people who are now being besieged or who are now being in areas, which are in crossfire really. Where it's a particular worry is for this part of Beirut and the southern part of the country."
Washington Opposes Temporary Solutions
Jan Egeland speaking to reporters in Beirut on July 23 (epa) But unlike her European counterparts, Rice has repeatedly stressed that the United States does not want to see a cease-fire at any price, especially if it is only a temporary solution.
The United States says it favors a comprehensive solution that ensures Hizballah is no longer able to aim its rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon.
Israel says it seeks the same thing.
Officials in Jerusalem, including Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, announced on July 23 that Israel is prepared to accept foreign troops on Lebanon’s southern border -- possibly from NATO or the EU -- as part of a deal.
"We are going to discuss with the international community the best way to support the Lebanese government," Livni said. "We believe that the responsibility [for southern Lebanon] is on the Lebanese government, but we can support some ideas of effective forces that will help the Lebanese government in full implementation of the statements and the [UN] resolution in order to dismantle Hizballah, to take them out of the southern part of Lebanon and prevent rearming of Hizballah in the future."
That is a change from past policy for Israel and will undoubtedly be one of the issues Rice discusses during her visit. But there is a lot of skepticism in Jerusalem about what an international force could accomplish.
Stopping Hizballah
"Israel has usually been against international forces, taking into consideration the difficulties and the failures of such forces," says political scientist Efraim Inbar. "We should remember that nowadays, there is an international force under the auspices of the UN in southern Lebanon and it's totally ineffective. It is not clear how this type of force would be able to help disarm Hizballah or to stop the supplies of missiles to Hizballah. But this is probably one of the issues they'll be discussing."
There has been much speculation that one reason Rice delayed her visit to the region was to give Israel extra time to cripple Hizballah.
But so far that hasn’t happened. On July 22, Israel was hit by a record number of Hizballah missiles -- some 160 -- indicating the Shi'ite militants continue to operate at strength.
Inbar says it has become clear that Israel will only be able to achieve its aim of pushing back Hizballah from the border through a ground campaign.
"I think that to some extent, the emphasis on air power didn't meet the expectations of the Israelis," Inbar says. "They hoped that much could be done with the air force only and they [later] realized that they had to introduce ground forces."
It’s been slow going for Israeli soldiers, who have incurred mounting casualties during their clashes inside Lebanon.
Looking At Syria
Rice faces a difficult balancing act. The Bush administration appears to believe the current conflict offers a unique opportunity to weaken Hizballah -- and its Iranian and Syrian backers.
Rice speaking to reporters in Washington on July 21 (epa)But as calls mount for a cease-fire throughout Europe and the Arab world and civilian casualties escalate, Washington finds itself increasingly isolated. It may have to lean on Israel to curtail its operation soon.
But, Inbar believes that unless Hizballah is somehow forced to stop its rocket attacks, Israel will not lay down its arms, even if Washington pressures it.
"If there is a continuation of this missile barrage on Israel, in which over a million people live in shelters and a large part of the Israeli economy is paralyzed, I don't think that Israel will go for a unilateral cease-fire," he said.
Syria may hold the key. Reports from Washington, where senior Egyptian and Saudi emissaries met White House officials in recent days -- including Rice -- indicate that is the message the Arabs delivered.
If Syria can be persuaded to abandon its alliance with Iran, Arab leaders seem to feel, Hizballah could be neutralized and the conflict with Israel resolved.
Rice has hinted the United States may be considering the idea. But that too, won’t be easy.
Nevertheless, Rice, when quizzed, reminded journalists that Washington maintains diplomatic relations with Damascus and that dialogue is possible, unlike with Tehran.
Rice is due to meet in Rome with European and Arab officials on July 26 before flying to Malaysia for talks on North Korea -- another hot spot.
She has said she may return to the Middle East after that, as events warrant.
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