President Bush said Saturday that while the fighting in Lebanon is "painful and tragic," it also presents opportunity for change in the Middle East, a region that has "suffered decades of tyranny and violence."
Bush, in his weekly radio address, said he will work with allies to get a U.N. Security Council resolution mandating a multinational force in southern Lebanon, where fighting has raged between Israel and the Hezbollah militia.
"This approach will demonstrate the international community's determination to support the government of Lebanon, and defeat the threat from Hezbollah and its foreign sponsors," Bush said.
The administration has insisted that any cease-fire come with conditions to address long-standing regional disputes, including the insistence by Israel that Hezbollah be disarmed — something the Lebanese government has been unable to do.
"An effective multinational force will help speed delivery of humanitarian relief, facilitate the return of displaced persons, and support the Lebanese government as it asserts full sovereignty over its territory and guards its borders," Bush said in his radio address.
Bush also said Iran "must end its financial support and supply of weapons to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah — and Syria must end its support for terrorism and respect Lebanon's sovereignty."
"This moment of conflict in the Middle East is painful and tragic, yet it is also a moment of opportunity for broader change in the region," said Bush. "Transforming countries that have suffered decades of tyranny and violence is difficult, and it will take time to achieve. But the consequences will be profound — for our country and the world."
Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, meeting at the White House on Friday, said a multinational force should be dispatched quickly to stabilize the region. The makeup of a multinational force will be discussed at a meeting Monday at the United Nations.
But Bush has not given support to a call for an immediate cease-fire in the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, something Arab and European leaders have been urging.
Bush has charged Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with working on getting agreement on the makeup and mandate of an international force to stabilize the Israeli-Lebanese border and help the Lebanese army establish control over Hezbollah.
Rice has said she doesn't anticipate that U.S. combat forces will be used in the international force. And Blair has ruled out contributing British forces, citing Britain's former role as a colonial power in the region.
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