White House urges restraint by Israel
STRALSUND, Germany – President Bush and his top diplomats scrambled Thursday night to quell spiraling violence in the Middle East and protect the new democratic government in Lebanon as Israeli forces escalated their strikes.
Bush initially told reporters that “Israel has a right to defend herself,” qualifying the statement only with a call to avoid toppling the Lebanese government, which he deems a model for the region.
But as fighting worsened, the White House grew increasingly anxious and issued a late-night appeal to Israel. “We just continue to ask that the Israelis exercise restraint, be concerned about civilian casualties, be concerned of course about civilian infrastructure,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters at a hastily called news conference 10 hours after Bush’s original comments.
Moments later, Daniel Ayalon, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, said on CNN that Israel had tried restraint with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon since 2000, only to be targeted once again. “I think they misinterpreted our restraint for the last six years,” he said.
The flurry of public statements and private telephone calls Thursday night and the shift in message further complicated the president’s diplomacy as he travels to a summit of leaders of the Group of 8 leading industrialized countries in Russia this weekend.
Bush had kept a distance from the Lebanon crisis as he focused on persuading summit partners to bring new pressure on Iran and North Korea to give up nuclear programs.
The new conflict threatened to widen divisions with allies. France, Russia and the European Union criticized Israel’s actions as disproportionate, while Bush backed what he called Israel’s right to respond to abductions of its soldiers and rocket attacks on its soil.
“Every nation must defend herself against terrorist attacks and the killing of innocent life,” Bush said at a news conference here with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “It’s a necessary part of the 21st century.”
The only reservation he expressed was that Israeli attacks could jeopardize the fledgling democratic government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, which does not control the radical Islamic Hezbollah militia that Israel says it is targeting. “Democracy in Lebanon is an important part of laying a foundation for peace in that region,” Bush said.
Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley reinforced that message in a later appearance and said they would not judge any specific Israeli act. But they called on Israel to avoid civilian sites and keep border crossings open and take other precautions.
The flare-up dominated a day of meetings as Bush visited Merkel’s home district in the former East Germany. Bush came here to demonstrate his growing friendship with her, in contrast to the strained relationship he had with her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder.