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US opposes Israeli offensive


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9 Aug, 9:33 PM


The White House said that it opposes Israel's decision to escalate the violence in the Mideast by deciding to order ground troops deeper into Lebanon to attack Hezbollah targets.

Although White House press secretary Tony Snow said the message was for both sides, his remarks came as Israel's Security Cabinet voted to expand its war effort.

The criticism was among the strongest the Bush administration has issued against Washington's long-time ally since the fighting began four weeks ago.

"We are working hard now to bridge differences between the US position and some of the positions of our allies," Snow told reporters gathered near President Bush's ranch, where he is on holiday. "We want an end to violence and we do not want escalations."

Meanwhile, rifts over a plan to stop the fighting at the UN Security Council delayed approval of a resolution.

A draft proposed by the US and France fell apart, and the two countries were offering competing visions.

France proposed new language on a total ceasefire and Israeli pullout, but the US rejected it out of concern that the Lebanese cannot assert control over Hezbollah strongholds in the south without help from a robust international force.

"The Lebanese army, while an absolutely essential part of any solution, is not itself independently capable of dealing with the problem, at least not yet," Snow said.

Snow said the US was working on another draft resolution, but he would not estimate when a vote might be possible.

"I think at this point it's beyond any of us to come up with a firm prediction about when you get a resolution," he said.




good news imo. the US are probably the only state that can stop or prevent israel doing anything (if thats even possible) and hopefully realising they don't have unquestioning support from the US will make them rethink some tactics.