In a joint appearance with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bush stated that the administration is now operating a war on terror on three fronts: Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon. The president is hopeful that a UN Security Council resolution, calling for international troops to help the Lebanese central government gain control of Hezbollah-dominated areas, will take this over on this new “front”.

“We must help people in both Lebanon and Israel return to their homes and begin rebuilding their lives,” Bush told reporters, “without fear of renewed violence and terror.”

Bush placed the blame for the violence first on Hezbollah. “Hezbollah attacked Israel, Hezbollah started the crisis,” he said, “and Hezbollah suffered a defeat in this crisis.”

However, Bush also asserted his belief that Hezbollah has been armed by Iran, with weapons passing through Syria. “I know they claim they didn’t have anything to do with it,” the President told reporters, “but sophisticated weaponry ended up in the hands of Hezbollah fighters, and many assume and many believe that that weaponry came from Iran through Syria.”

The United States and ally nations plan to call for UN troops to seal off Syrian borders and ports soon after the Hezbollah resolution is considered.

rawstory.com

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