RICE IS FAILING HER FIRST REAL CRISIS AS SECRETARY OF STATE

"...Underscoring the fragile security situation, Rice's car convoy whisked past armed Lebanese security guards as it shuttled across the battered capital..." So writes AP Writer Shrader in her piece on Secretary Rice's meeting with Lebanese AND Hezbollah Officials. Her meeting with Nabih Berri is interesting. It demonstrates the unrealistic positioning of the United States in this affair. It also shows the inexperience of Rice and her team. Berri is an old name from Lebanese Affairs going back to the Nixon-Ford era. My theory is that Rice is not personally comfortable with Shuttle Diplomacy as she has been noted to have "performance anxiety" in other, less streesful situations. Therefore, the White House and the State Department damped down expectations--"no cease-fire for the sake of a cease fire" I believe is how Rice put it. Of course, cease-fires are useful things even as an end in themselves because they prevent loss of life. Over 700 civilians have died in the fighting thus far. But--in the world of Condi Rice--a cease-fire is worthless when it only prevents further loss of life.

Once again, the Bush Administration damages America's moral authority and reputation for "getting things done".--m2k

Rice visits Lebanon, disappoints leaders
By KATHERINE SHRADER,
Associated Press Writer

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought to buttress Lebanon's fragile democratic government Monday after nearly two weeks of warfare, making this stricken capital a surprise first stop on a high-stakes Mideast diplomatic mission.

At the same time, the Bush administration announced it was sending humanitarian aid.

Rice's visit marked the first high-level U.S. diplomatic mission to the area since fighting erupted on July 12. But she disappointed Lebanese leaders who had hoped her lightning trip would hasten a cease-fire in the fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militants in Lebanon that has claimed hundreds of civilians' lives.

"Thank you for your courage and steadfastness," she told Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who has repeatedly asked for international help in bringing a halt to cross-border Israeli-Hezbollah shelling. Rice flew next to Jerusalem but made clear that she would not pressure Israeli leaders for an immediate cease-fire during meetings Monday and Tuesday.

In a meeting that appeared tense, Saniora told the U.S. diplomat that Israel's bombardment had taken his country "backwards 50 years," the prime minister's office said. And Nabih Berri, a veteran Lebanese politician who is Lebanon's parliament speaker and Hezbollah's de facto negotiator, rejected proposals brought by Rice almost as soon as she left.

Berri told Rice that a cease-fire must precede any talks about resolving Hezbollah's presence in Lebanon, an official close to the speaker said. Rice, reflecting the U.S. view that a quick cease-fire would not be sustainable, had proposed that the fighting stop at the same time that an international force deployed in southern Lebanon, the official said. Rice also proposed that Hezbollah weapons be removed from a buffer zone extending about 18 miles from the Israeli border, said the official. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private.

Berri proposed instead a two-phased plan. First would come a cease-fire and negotiations for a prisoner swap. Then an inter-Lebanese dialogue would work out a solution to the situation in south Lebanon.

The Bush administration has said that a cease-fire would be premature unless it addresses the threat Hezbollah fighters pose to Israel.

Asked whether Rice's meeting with Berri went poorly, Assistant Secretary of State David Welch replied, "That's unfair." Welch added, however, that Berri approached the session with the position that a prisoner exchange would resolve other problems.

"That is not what we think," Welch said.

Underscoring the fragile security situation, Rice's car convoy whisked past armed Lebanese security guards as it shuttled across the battered capital. Though south Beirut has been heavily targeted by Israeli warplanes because of Hezbollah's presence there, no explosions were heard during her stay.

Rice said Bush wanted her to make Lebanon the first stop on her trip to the region.

Rice's nearly two-hour meeting with Saniora went on longer than planned. She also met for about 45 minutes with Berri, who is considered friendly to Syria, which held political and military sway in Lebanon for decades before pulling out troops last year.

Going into the session at Berri's lavish office and residence, Rice said, "I am deeply concerned about the Lebanese people and what they are enduring. I am obviously concerned about the humanitarian situation."

Berri is an influential figure in Lebanon's complicated and factionalized political structure. Although the United States considers Hezbollah a terrorist group and has no direct dealings with it, Rice has met with Berri before. Rice could use her discussions with him to send an indirect message to Hezbollah, and to try applying pressure on Syria.

Rice also met with members of the Lebanese parliament who have been staunch opponents of Syria's influence in Lebanon. After visiting Israel, she was to fly to Rome, where she expects to meet with officials of European and moderate Arab governments.

Rice's five-hour visit to Beirut was not announced in advance because of concerns for her safety. She rode in a phalanx of SUVs through largely deserted streets patrolled by Lebanese Army troops.

Beirut, shattered during Lebanon's horrific civil war, has again become a war zone as Israel tries to extinguish what it calls the terrorist threat from Hezbollah militants.

American and other refugees have been streaming out of Beirut for more than a week. Israeli bombing has displaced an estimated half million people in Lebanon, and destroyed infrastructure worth an estimated $1 billion.

"We're talking about the humanitarian situation, and we're also talking about a durable way to end the violence," Rice said.

President Bush has ordered helicopters and ships to Lebanon to provide humanitarian aide, the White House announced.

Welch, the assistant secretary of state, said the U.S. was offering $30 million worth of goods, part of what was hoped would be a $150 million international aid package. He said the U.S. assistance would include medical kits for 100,000 people and 20,000 blankets.

"We are working with Israel and Lebanon to open up humanitarian corridors," Bush spokesman Tony Snow said at the White House.

Nearly 12,000 Americans have been evacuated over the past week, including more than 2,000 in the past 24 hours, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.