Rice will back demands for ceasefire - after a few more days of carnage
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldbriefing/story/0,,1823859,00.html
Simon Tisdall
Wednesday July 19, 2006
The Guardian
The US game plan for Lebanon, if game plan is not too distasteful a
word amid such daily carnage, is becoming clear: Israel has a few more
days, possibly up to a week, to inflict maximum damage on Hizbullah.
After that, and assuming there is no new major escalation involving
Syria, Washington will begin to swing behind regional calls for a
ceasefire and rebooted diplomacy.
Condoleezza Rice is expected to travel to the region soon. But the US
secretary of state is in no hurry. Her trip will not resemble the
urgent shuttle diplomacy favoured in Middle East crises by predecessors
James Baker and Warren Christopher. Her spokesman, Sean McCormack, says
Ms Rice will first consult a UN team sent to Beirut and other capitals
- but only after it returns to New York tomorrow.
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