MIDDLE EAST: President George Bush and British prime minister Tony Blair have said they want an international force sent to Lebanon quickly but rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire.
The two leaders, who met at the White House yesterday, said the United Nations Security Council should consider a resolution authorising the force next week. The security council meets next Monday to discuss the possible composition of such a force, which is likely to be led by European countries.
Mr Bush said the UN resolution should set out a "clear framework for cessation of hostilities on an urgent basis" and mandate the multinational force.
"This is a moment of intense conflict in the Middle East. Yet our aim is to turn it into a moment of opportunity and a chance for broader change in the region," he said.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice returns to the Middle East today for talks on how to end the conflict between Israel and Hizbullah.
"Her instructions are to work with Israel and Lebanon to come up with an acceptable UN Security Council resolution that we can table next week," Mr Bush said.
The president said that Israel and Lebanon would have to agree to conditions before an international force could be deployed, adding that the UN-authorised force would not "fight its way in".
Mr Blair appeared to acknowledge that Hizbullah would have to agree to the terms under which an international force moves into Lebanon. "This can only work if Hizbullah are prepared to allow it to work," he said.
Mr Blair endorsed the president's assertion that a ceasefire must be part of a broader effort to address the origins of the conflict in Lebanon.
"Nothing will work, unless, as well as an end to the immediate crisis, we put in place the measures necessary to prevent it from occurring again. We take this opportunity to set out and achieve a different strategic direction for the whole of that region," he said.
Mr Bush said the purpose of any international force would be to help Lebanon be free and be able to govern and defend itself.
"One of the things you'll see in discussions there, is how do we help the Lebanese army succeed. What does it require? What's the manpower need to be in order to help this force move into the south so the government can take control of the country?"
Israel has said it could accept an international force in southern Lebanon but, although the force should be authorised by the UN, it should not be UN-led. Dr Rice has said that US forces will not be deployed in Lebanon but Turkey and a number of EU countries, including Ireland, have said they will consider sending troops.
Ireland's long experience of UN peacekeeping in Lebanon could prove valuable to the new force but the Government has made clear that other overseas commitments would make a substantial deployment of Irish troops impossible.
Britain and the US are almost alone within the international community in opposing an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, and Mr Blair showed no sign of breaking ranks with Mr Bush.
"We've got to resolve the immediate situation. But we shouldn't be in any doubt at all - that will be a temporary respite unless we put in place the longer-term framework," Mr Blair said.