Rice keeps close tabs on Middle East

By Sue Pleming

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice is closely tracking efforts to push Lebanon
and Israel to end their conflict and is prepared to return to
the region if needed when she leaves Malaysia on Friday, said a
senior U.S. official.

The official, who is traveling with Rice, said a final
decision had not been made whether Rice would go to the Middle
East this weekend but he stressed the top U.S. diplomat was
ready to step in if she felt she could push the process
forward.

Rice came to an ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur from a
diplomatic mission to both Beirut and Jerusalem as well as
attending a international conference on Lebanon in Rome.

Two of the Bush administration’s lead negotiators on the
Middle East, Assistant Secretary of State David Welch and top
White House official Elliott Abrams, stayed behind in the
Middle East to help lay the groundwork for a deal.

The senior U.S. official said Welch and Abrams were working
hard on “political elements” of a deal and were reporting
consistently to Rice, advising her when the time might be right
for her to use her diplomatic prestige.

“Based on their progress, the Secretary (Rice) will decide
whether or not it is time for her to return to the region,”
said the official.

Rice, Arab and European ministers agreed in Rome to work
with urgency toward a ceasefire deal but, under U.S. pressure,
stopped far short of calling for the immediate ceasefire that
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and others had sought.

At least 445 people, mostly civilians, have been confirmed
killed in Lebanon and 51 Israelis, including 18 civilians, have
been killed since the conflict was triggered on July 12 when
militant group Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and
killed eight in a cross-border raid.

The United States has said consistently that Israel has a
right to defend itself against Hizbollah and others. By not
pushing for an immediate ceasefire, it gave a green light to
Israel to continue its attacks on Lebanon.

Rice has strongly rejected the idea that the United States
is alone in not calling for an immediate ceasefire, but will
not say which countries support the U.S. stand.

She told reporters traveling with her that the Middle East
was “littered with broken ceasefires” and the goal was to get
conditions right for a lasting peace rather than a fast truce.

Last November Rice stayed up all night in Jerusalem
cajoling the Palestinians and the Israelis toward a deal
allowing for the crossing of goods between Israel and the
Palestinian Territories.

That deal has since collapsed but Washington hopes Rice can
use the same kind of influence now. Washington has said
Syrian-backed Hizbollah, which also gets help from Iran, will
not be party to any agreement.

Issues on the table include the creation of an
international force on the border region between southern
Lebanon and Israel, a prisoner exchange, the disarming of
Hizbollah and the right of Lebanon to have total sovereignty
over all its territory.

Lebanon is also pushing hard for Israel to pull out of the
disputed Shebaa Farms border area and Prime Minister Fouad
Siniora brought up the issue during the Rome conference.

Israel took control of the tiny region where Israel, Syria
and Lebanon meet during the 1967 Middle East War. The United
Nations and Israel both say Shebaa is Syrian land while Lebanon
argues it belongs to them.

“It’s been something the Lebanese have raised repeatedly
and it’s a feature of our discussions. For the Lebanese it is
very high on the agenda but the Israelis are more focused on
Hizbollah,” said the senior U.S. official.