Word: rice
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...Israel can't bring Hizballah down, could foreign forces help squeeze it into better behavior? Potential donors to a multinational force will be trying to hash out a plan this week. But its composition, mission and rules of engagement are acutely tricky. Rice declared that no U.S. troops would join; they're already overstretched in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. French President Jacques Chirac said he might be willing to commit French forces, but not through NATO. Soldiers from Muslim countries like Turkey and Egypt would be a plus, but so far none have materialized...
...harder question is what the force would do after deployment. The U.S. view is that it should keep Hizballah fighters and weapons out of a strip near the Israeli border and help Lebanon's army take a greater role there. According to Lebanese officials, Rice has suggested rules of engagement allowing its soldiers, who may number up to 20,000, to shoot back but not to go door to door looking for Hizballah. That reflects a realistic appreciation that foreign soldiers could not possibly disarm the group throughout the country and could become enmeshed in a nasty war if they...
...troops to Hizballah's traditional stomping grounds on the Israeli border with a mandate to let the Lebanese Army extend its jurisdiction there, an end to Israeli violations of Lebanese territory and possibly Israel's agreement to turn over maps of the land mines it left during the occupation. Rice is also encouraging Lebanon and Israel to work out a deal on the so-called Shebaa Farms problem. This tiny patch of territory is occupied by Israel. Historically it belonged to Syria, but Lebanon and Syria now assert that it is Lebanese--providing a pretext for further resistance...
...every party has signed up to the same package. In particular, Rice won't push a prisoner exchange unless Israel agrees. In Israel the package deal might look like rewarding Hizballah for starting a war. Still, it could also extricate the Israelis from a quagmire, and they can spin their victory too. "Nasrallah will probably give the last speech--a victory speech," says an aide to an Israeli Cabinet minister. "But we'll have managed to chop off his hands. It will take years for him to make up the damage we're causing his organization...
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is confident that both a cease-fire and a lasting settlement that prevents a resumption of fighting in Lebanon can be achieved this week. But events on the battlefield may be diminishing Washington's ability to shape the terms of the truce that will emerge - whether this week or at some point in the future...