Condi Visits Beirut
Here's a surprise. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise stop in Beirut on her way to Israel today.
Rice planned to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, other leaders of his government and members of parliament about the surge in fighting along the southern border in the last two weeks.
Saniora greeted Rice, kissing her on both cheeks. On her way into the meeting, Rice told him, "Thank you for your courage and steadfastness."
Her visit is intended to make a show of support and concern for both the Saniora government and the Lebanese people, administration officials said. She also plans to talk with Lebanese leaders about how the central government can gain control of the entire country.
Rice has said her trip this week to the region will find ways to get much humanitarian aid to Lebanon. She plans to announce U.S. financial aid in her stops. But her mission took a dramatic turn with her arrival here under heavy security.
"We all want to urgently end the fighting. We have absolutely the same goal," Rice told reporters traveling with her.
Under heavy guard, Rice flew over the Mediterranean from Cyprus. She arrived still resisting international pressure to call from an immediate cease-fire. As Rice's motorcade sped through Beirut on the way to her meeting with Saniora, aides said the idea to stop in Lebanon was Rice's.
R. Nicholas Burns, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, said Monday that Rice will seek to use "our influence to see if there can be a cessation of hostilities."
However, he told CBS' "The Early Show," any cease-fire would have to be long-lasting and involve a removal of Hezbollah rockets on the U.S.-Lebanese border* (sic) and a return of Israeli soldiers taken captive.
(* How's that little slip for the reporter and editor to let through?)
I've always thought highly of Dr. Rice, this act just raises my opinion. A move like this takes physical courage. She'd win if she were to run for president in 2008 I think.
By Santay, Monday, 24 July , 2006 @ 6:24 am
We’ve had secretaries of state going over there for peace talks for over 40 years. They keep trying to come up with a political solution to a religious problem. You can’t negotiate with people whose only desire is to kill all non-believers.