Word: truce
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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...
...four unarmed U.N. observers killed in the incident - from Canada, Austria, Finland and China - were members of the 50-strong Observer Group-Lebanon, part of the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), which has been monitoring the armistice lines along Israel's border since 1948. Their post, which consisted of a three-story whitewashed building with a bomb shelter, was only about 100 yards from a former South Lebanese Army prison that now serves as a Hizballah-run museum. There was no hiding that it was a U.N. post; "U.N." was painted in big black letters on the white walls...
...international force is needed to pull Israel's chestnuts out of the fire, then those who would constitute it - along with Hizballah and its backers - would likely have a substantial say in determining the nature of the truce it would enforce. Indeed, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, speaking in Rome, urged the inclusion of both Iran and Syria in the search for a deal to permanently end hostilities across the Israel-Lebanon border...
...officials say they're also demanding the unconditional release of the two Israeli soldiers held by Hizballah as a precondition for a truce. But according to Arab sources, the U.S. quest for a comprehensive solution will see the proposal also implicitly addresses Hizballah's stated reason for seizing soldiers on July 12, by accepting an exchange of prisoners between Israel and the Lebanese government. U.S. officials say although this idea has been raised by Arab governments, Washington has not yet accepted...
...matter of policy. While other Western and Arab powers will engage players from Hizballah and the Lebanese government to Iran and Syria, the U.S. remains key to the diplomatic process - for the simple reason that it is the only one capable of persuading Israel to accept a truce. But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice won't head for the region until early next week, a delay calculated to give Israel more time to succeed in its objective of eliminating Hizballah as a military threat. A senior Administration official told CNN Wednesday that the U.S. was giving Israel's military operation...