U.S. Urges Vote on Draft Resolution to End Israeli-Hezbollah Fighting

JOURNALIST: Many strategists say that we'll never get to the bottom of this crisis unless the U.S. engages directly with Syria and Iran. Why not talk to them directly about this and have a back-and-forth conversation?

GEORGE W. BUSH: We have been in touch with Syria. Colin Powell sent a message to Syria in person. Dick Armitage traveled to Syria. Bill Burns traveled to Syria. We've got a consulate office in Syria.

Syria knows what we think. The problem isn't us telling Syria what's on our minds, which is to stop harboring terror and to, you know, help the Iraqi democracy evolve. They know exactly what our position is.

The problem is, is that their response hasn't been very positive. As a matter of fact, it hasn't been positive at all.

In terms of Iran, we made it clear to the Iranians that, if they would honor previous obligations and verifiably stop enrichment of nuclear materials, we would sit at a table. So there's a way forward for both countries; the choice is theirs.

Now, you know, I appreciate people focusing on Syria and Iran, and we should, because Syria and Iran sponsor and promote Hezbollah activities all aimed at creating chaos, all aimed at using terror to stop the advance of democracies. You know, our objective, our policy is to give voice to people through democratic reform.

JOURNALIST: Mr. President, what are the specific stumbling blocks that are preventing this first resolution from being passed quickly? What are the people -- what are the parties objecting to in the language that needs to be altered?

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. Secretary of State: There is more agreement than you might think about how to prevent, again, a situation in which you have a state within a state able to launch an attack across the blue line.

For instance, there is agreement that the Lebanese government needs to extend its authority throughout the country, that it needs to have the Lebanese armed forces move to take care of this vacuum that has been existing in the south, that there should not be any armed groups able just to operate in the south in the way that Hezbollah has been able to operate in the south, that there ought to be respect for the blue line.

These are all agreements between the two parties. And so there is going to be some pressure from both sides to get things onto the agenda because they want to get them onto the agenda. But I think we have a reasonable basis here that both sides can accept; I think there are some issues of timing and sequence that need to be worked out.

There are some concerns about when an international force would actually be available, but everybody agrees it's time to have a cessation. We're going to work a little bit more with the parties, and I think this resolution will be the right basis, both to cease the hostilities and to move forward.

JOURNALIST: Lebanon's parliament's speaker, Nabih Berri, who's been negotiating for Hezbollah, has rejected the first resolutions saying it's unacceptable. They want the Israeli troops to pull out immediately; is that a negotiable point?

GEORGE W. BUSH: Whatever happens in the U.N., we must not create a vacuum into which Hezbollah and its sponsors are able to move more weapons. The idea is to have the Lebanese government move into the south so that the government of Lebanon can protect its own territory and that there be an international force to provide the help necessary for the Lebanese government to secure its country.

MARGARET WARNER: And Ray Suarez has more on the diplomatic efforts.

RAY SUAREZ: For the latest on negotiations under way at the United Nations, we talk to Colum Lynch, correspondent for the Washington Post.

Colum, as details have emerged about the proposed resolution, what's been the reaction among the member states?

COLUM LYNCH, U.N. Correspondent, Washington Post: Well, it's been varied, as you can see. Lebanon and its supporters in the Arab world have objected to a number of elements, primarily the fact that Israel would not be required to withdraw from southern Lebanon immediately.

The Americans and the French, the chief sponsors of this resolution, have generally gained broad support throughout the rest of the council for this resolution for its swift passage. The only sort of question mark around this is what position Russia would take.

Russia, over the last couple of days, its envoy, Vitaliy Churkin, has expressed some concern about adopting a resolution that doesn't have the support of both parties. They haven't threatened to cause trouble; they haven't begun to negotiate in earnest on behalf of the Lebanese. But if Russia's concerns are not addressed, that could cause real problems and really delay this process, but they're a bit of a wild card at this point.

RAY SUAREZ: Well, remind people about why the Russians are so important in the Security Council vote.

COLUM LYNCH: Well, the Russians, as you know, have a veto power. So no resolution gets through the council if Russia says no, if it decides to vote against it.

RAY SUAREZ: This was such a difficult negotiations, I guess there's no chance, is there, that there could be modifications still made before a vote to reflect some of those Arab nation objections?

COLUM LYNCH: Well, you never say it's impossible until it's done. I mean, the Arabs, first of all, don't have veto power. The lone Arab country on the council, Qatar, has been acting essentially on behalf of Lebanon, but it's not clear whether they're just trying to negotiate a somewhat better deal and, at the end of the day, they will support this resolution.

But I think that, you know, essentially, this is a sort of resolution that could possibly get through with some changes. And there was an important announcement by the Lebanese government today that they're willing to send 15,000 Lebanese soldiers into southern Lebanon to essentially fill the void that, you know, they hope and that the international community hopes would be left by a departure by Hezbollah.

It's not at all clear that they will be able to deploy. They have been committed to deploying in the region for many years and haven't done it. Whether this is a serious offer or not will have to be taken into account, but it's certain that this idea is likely to sort of be integrated into this discussion in the Security Council.

RAY SUAREZ: While it's only Security Council members that have a vote, when there's such an important resolution coming before the council, do members of the General Assembly start just speaking out? Do member states make their views known to reporters like you?

COLUM LYNCH: Generally they do make their views known. However, often when there are sort of a clamor for public discussion, there is an opportunity to open up the Security Council for a sort of open public debate which allows every government, all the 192 members of the U.N., to participate in that.

It could be that the discussion tomorrow -- there's a delegation headed by the Arab League tomorrow by its secretary general, Amr Moussa, this could provide a sort of forum for others to express their views. So there's plenty of opportunity to do it without going to the General Assembly. And I'm not aware of any effort at the moment to take this up in the General Assembly.

RAY SUAREZ: Is it yet clear when there will be a vote on this proposal?

COLUM LYNCH: Not clear at all. Secretary Rice was hoping to come into town tonight to get passage of the resolution tomorrow. Initially they had hoped to do it last week. Now, with the arrival of the Arab delegation, it's not going to happen tomorrow.

The earliest possible date is Wednesday, possibly Thursday, but then again, as I mentioned, if the Russians start to express serious reservations about the resolution, that could turn this into a protracted discussion that could go on for many weeks.

RAY SUAREZ: Well, as the president explained it, this is a two-phase proposal and you can't get the international force in there until you get that first resolution passed. Why the slow movement on this thing?

COLUM LYNCH: Well, there are important, you know, sort of issues being debated in this resolution. It's not just about a cessation of hostilities; it basically outlines a kind of road forward.

And a lot of the issues that are dealt with -- I mean, for example, the whole question of the fact that the resolution doesn't require Israel to withdraw, I think that, from the Lebanese side, they're sort of wondering, "Well, what if we go on for weeks, and months, and forever without reaching the next resolution? What if there is no political agreement? I mean, does that mean the Israelis can stay in here indefinitely?"

RAY SUAREZ: Well, now that there's something on paper that at least in some vague way describes the international force, is there any more wisdom around the United Nations about who's going to be in it, how big it's going to be, and the circumstances under which it could enter southern Lebanon?

COLUM LYNCH: Well, this is another very serious issue. I mean, no one is going to send troops in there first of all to disarm, to forcibly disarm Hezbollah. France, which is likely to lead such a force, has made it clear that it doesn't believe that that's possible. So that's the sort of initial problem.

I mean, there will be discussion. Countries probably will sign up. But then there's the other problem which is Lebanon has indicated that it doesn't want an international force. It doesn't mind a U.N. blue-helmeted force being expanded, but it doesn't want a big foreign, European-led force.

They said it looks too -- it sort of reeks of neocolonialism. They say that it would be rejected by Hezbollah. Hezbollah's two key backers outside of Lebanon, Iran and Syria, have also sort of fiercely objected to the notion of an international force.

RAY SUAREZ: Colum Lynch from the U.N., thanks a lot.

COLUM LYNCH: Thanks for having me.